The Art of Gratitude

"Anxiety weighs down the heart but a kind word cheers us up." Proverbs 12:25 There is a lie that we often believe: "That my pain and suffering is pointless. There's no reason to talk about it. (Redemption, M. Wilkerson p.54)." Anxiety, worry and stress is part of everyday life. We live in a whirlwind of technology, information and opportunity. It is easy to get caught off guard by anxiety. This Holiday season try the following remedy on. See if it fits you? *Identify the thing (conversation, situation, event) that caused you anxiety, stress or worry. By identifying the feeling and connecting it to the stressor, you are validating your feelings. *Next pay attention to your physiological response to the stressor you identified above. For instance: Did you heart rate increase, did you get a pit in your stomach, did you feel butterflies." *Finally link your bodies response to the experience and NAME IT. For instance: I feel anxious because 20 people are coming to my house for dinner and my house isn't as clean as I had hoped. or I feel anxious because my family is coming together for the Holiday and I know that 1/2 of them voted for Obama and the other 1/2 voted for Romney. The power of naming your stressor and identifying your physiological response will help you overcome those pesky "out bursts" or times that you lose your cool. Anxiety can often move us from processing in our frontal cortex (the organizing, strategic part of our brain) to the limbic system (Fight, Flight or Freeze). By following the formula above it will reduce "out bursts" or the behaviors that do not fit with your value system. For instance: those times when you say "I didn't like the way I handled that." The final step is to turn your anxiety, stress or worry on its ear. *Take a moment to look at the positive side of your stress. For instance: I'm stressed about how my boss treated me in the last staff meeting and I'm grateful to have a job. The art of gratitude is the acknowledge and appreciate what you have received. For more information about identifying stressors: www.simplypyschology.org/SRRS.html