Anxiety Attack

           Here we go on the amazing Holiday "Joy" ride!  How many of us swear that, "Next year I am going to cut back"  We spend our time racing around, spending money that really cannot be spared, stressing over the condition of our home, the volume of food in the fridge, the travel arrangements, the wrapping and on and on. 
          The past few years have taught me much. (An old dog can learn!)  The swing of the economy forced me to stop spending on gifts that will be forgotten tomorrow. 
Instead...
I shop from my closet, giving away precious things that mean the world to me and have been admired by the friends I gift them to. 
I am spending time with my friends and family instead of shopping.
I am spending time being grateful for what I have.  
This is a difficult thing for so many of my clients. They get bogged down in their lack, their loss, their loneliness.  I ask them, to spend a few moments each evening prior to sleep to jot down what they are grateful for.  Some days it can be tough...perhaps the only thing to be grateful for was the hot cup of coffee in the morning.  Other days it is easier and full.  This exercise is to get you to think about the good and not go to sleep focused on the bad.  

This day I am Grateful for...

The smiling faces of my two dogs that say "Good morning" each day,

The warm sunshine streaming into my living room,

The coffee, of course,

The fire wood that heats my home,

The cell phone that connects me with the world outside....

I could go on and on, and its not even noon!

Starting now, for the Holidays, give it a try. 
Give your anxiety a time out and focus on the good around you. 
Give yourself that gift.
One of my teachers, Abraham once said, "Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don't want." Create what you do want...more of your Grateful list!

The following is one of my Horse Wisdom Cards

Anxiety Attack

Oh no...you’ve allowed

your deepest fears to take over!

First, take some deep breaths

to calm yourself. Then get to a safe

place and remember what you were

thinking before you suddenly

tensed up. Just because something

spooked you here once doesn’t mean

there’s a danger now.

Take another look at the trail

and your fear and realize

that you’re all right