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Posts Tagged ‘anxiety’

21 Ways To Stress-Free Living and Decluttering Your Mind

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

So I woke up 5:30am Sunday morning, stomach in knots, and pretty anxiety-ridden. This upcoming week is a big one. I just launched The Erica Diamond Jewelry Collection for Ice, I’m missing back to school on Wednesday to shoot a TV segment out of town, and just the mommyhood, wifehood and life duties swirled around in my already cluttered brain. Perhaps you can relate to a frenetic pace as back to school approaches, work deadlines creep up, bills have to get paid, food has to make its way into your fridge, and laundry has to somehow magically get done. Perhaps you have a supportive partner who helps out. Perhaps you’re doing it alone.

I actually tweeted about my anxious state yesterday morning, and someone told me to try taking pills. Well, I don’t even take an Advil for a headache so that wouldn’t go over well. I did however, do yoga, then push-ups, then dips, then 2-minute planks, then ate a great healthy breakfast, and by 9:30, I was seriously 90% better. No joke. And a light-bulb went off in my brain, an ‘AHA moment,’… we are SO MUCH IN CONTROL OF OURSELVES AND OUR LIVES. We are in control of our health, our well-being, our mental state, our marriage, our children. Everything. It’s up to us to give ourselves the best life possible. No one else can do it for us, and truth is, it’s best when we can do it for ourselves. It was a powerful realization.

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When Things Aren’t Working, Try Something Else…

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

By Guest Blogger Rana Waxman

What do you think when you look in the mirror? — I am a beautiful, awesome, wonderful, powerful, loving and capable woman!!

“WHAT??????” You’re probably saying as you read this, “NO WAY!! I am tired, stressed out, overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, anxious, and frustrated.”

Sound familiar?  If stress has taken over your life like a garden full of weeds, you are not alone.You may feel alone though, and that “aloneness” makes it all the more challenging to make the changes that can lead you toward feeling better, thinking better, and leading a better life (from the inside out).  So, if you are feeling any of the emotions I just mentioned, you need what my sister-in-law Caren calls, “a Plan.”

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Running On Empty

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
running on empty

Have you been suffering from chronic fatigue lately? Find yourself tossing and turning at night unable to shut off your brain? Feeling at a low… emotionally, physically or spiritually? Have you lost your appetite? Or are you binge eating from stress or boredom? Been looking for your mojo and can’t seem to find it anywhere?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Many women today are running on empty. I certainly feel a little like this lately. Now we all have stresses in our life… be it stress with our kids, in a marriage, in a career, financial pressures, or even the stress as a result of being stuck in traffic and running late for a meeting. But the key in all of this, is how we deal with it. Some deal better and take to exercise, healthy eating and a positive attitude to cope with stress. Some take to the bottle, to drugs, and to other toxic forms of self soothing. But, when stress and anxiety are not taken care of and are allowed to fly out of  proportion, they start to feed off your body for survival and this leads to problems. I read a quote that I like “When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.” Catherine Pulsifer

letting go of stress

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A Panic Attack and a Birthday

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Happy Friday ladies!! Hello, best day of the week! I was going to Blog about something else today, but the beauty in having your own Blog is that you can switch it up at any time, and today I really needed to reach out to you for help.

Last night something very weird and disturbing happened. I am wondering if it has ever happened to any of your kids. My parents are leaving on a trip today, so naturally they wanted to spend some time with the boys before they left. It is also my hubby’s 36th birthday today, so it was sort of like a going away / birthday dinner. At around 6:30PM, we all headed downtown to the boys’ favorite burger joint– me, the kids, my parents, and hubby came directly from work. The place was busy, as our Montreal Canadiens were playing last night, and the restaurant was very loud, and very crowded.

panic

We all sat down, starved. All of a sudden, completely out of the blue, my 6 year old son began to panic. He complained that it was very loud, and he began to cry uncontrollably. He then said he wanted to throw up, so I immediately ran him to the bathroom. He didn’t throw up, but was complaining he HAD to go home. Not even the burger and fries on the table (which he usually LOVES) could calm him down. We took him outside, and the minute he got outside, he started to relax. He was back to normal. It was near 7Pm at this point, and I knew he was hungry, so I tried to bring him back inside. The minute he came back in, he started to almost shake again, cry, and was literally eating his burger with tears streaming down his eyes, with his coat on. He just wanted to go home. So, after he ate a little, we did just that. We darted home. Besides one time a year ago at a hockey game, where he did something similar, this has NEVER happened in 6 1/2 years.

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You’re Only As Happy As Your Least Happy Child

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Have you every heard this expression? I have a very good friend who always says this, and I believe it to be true. If you’re a mommy reader, I think you’ll be able to relate.

It’s Monday evening, and I officially began writing my book today. I completed the outline last week, and got it back from my editor this weekend. There weren’t too many corrections, I was happy to learn. This morning, I dropped my babe off at school, and then I took to Starbucks. I worked from home last week, and was starting to lose all self respect. It went something like this– shower, put on cozy sweats, leave in the minus 25 with wet hair, carpool, and back home to work. At  least I had enough self respect today to put on a pair of skinny jeans, some blush and lip gloss, and leave my house.

Me in bed working. My son snapped this shot!

Me in bed for a change in my bathrobe and no makeup! My son snapped this shot!

And while I am enjoying the incredible ride my Blog and book have taken me on, and my hubby is getting his groove back at work, my kids have been off lately. My big son had a very tough week last week. He woke up unhappy to go to school and complained about a few things that bothered him.  He was crying, not eating, and not himself (well the eating part was himself. He hardly eats, period). But, he usually LOVES school.  So I emailed his teachers last week to see what was going on. There were a multitude of things that transpired last week, but in the end, I will NEVER let him miss a week of school again. When he missed the first week back while we were in Florida, he fell behind. And unfortunately for him, he is EXACTLY LIKE HIS MOTHER and panics when he falls even a little behind. I can’t blame him. I was the exact same way. Anyhow, he is all caught up now, and awoke and came home happy today, so I’m thankful.

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If Worrying Were An Olympic Sport, I’d Get The Gold For Sure

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

It’s a brand new year! Hello 2010, welcome!

I wracked my brain over what my first 2010 Blog post should be. Every topic didn’t seem to do a new decade justice. So, I decided to do what I usually do… write about what I’m feeling connected to at the moment. With the end of the vacation in sight, and reality about to kick back in real soon, worrying seemed like the perfect topic.

worry wart

Us Diamonds are worry warts- me, hubby and both kids. It’s true. We are not the most relaxed kinda people, and we come by it honestly. We have worriers on both sides of the family.  I worry about my loved ones becoming  ill. My husband worries about the economy. My big son chews his sleeve when he’s anxious. And my little son hasn’t even walked down to the ocean once this trip, due to his fear of the waves. We pretty much threw him in the ocean the other day, which may have been mean, but we’re trying to de-sensitize him.  He didn’t worry one bit though, to drop his diaper and pee all over this big brother last week. Ew, gross! He got majorly punished for that one.

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Change… The Only Constant

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Hi All,

Yesterday was a busy and fun day. Massage was wonderful. Lunch was yummy. Disney on Ice was… well… fun for the kids! The evening didn’t end successfully with my two year old barfing all over my bed after coughing for three straight hours. Exhausted this morning!

But back to the Blog. Today is a very gloomy day in Montreal, so perhaps that’s why today’s Blog is a little more introspective.

I wanted to explore a topic that is the only constant in our lives… change. We can fight it, we can try to avoid it, but change happens. And what better time to discuss the concept of change and transformatoin but during the onset of the fall season? We just need to look outside our window and see the brilliant colored leaves falling gently from the trees. We also can see the flock of birds flying south to warmer climates. Fall is a time of change.

Now no one likes change. No one likes chaos. No one likes starting over again; be it if you find yourself out of a job seeking a new one, out of a marriage and alone, if your kids have moved out, if you’ve just been told you are sick. And while change can come as a relief if we’ve just moved past a bad chapter in our lives, change can also be very scary. It involves a tremendous amount of risk, and puts us outside our comfort zone. But, I quote the title of James Moore’s book, “You Can Get Bitter Or Better.” It’s true, you make that choice about how you’re going to respond to change. You hold the power.

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