Blog for Self Improvement

Do you live in a state of constant stress, anxiety, fear and panic, or do you enjoy peace of mind?

Do you let external influences affect your moods and state of mind, or do possess inner strength and detachment?

Are you obsessed by fearful thoughts and worries, or do you have control over your thoughts?

Too many people are anxious, stressed, worry too much, subject to moods and have no control over their thoughts and feelings. This situation leads to emotional, mental and physical problems, unhappiness and failure.

The truth is that that situation can be changed. Inner peace can be developed, just like other skill. You can gain a state of inner peace and inner strength that nothing can shake.

Inner peace, which is peace of mind, is not the sole possession of yogis and hermits. You too can enjoy it without becoming a yogi or a hermit.

There is an erroneous concept relevant, which says that peace of mind is sought and can be attained only by people who lead a completely spiritual life in ashrams or monasteries. Some even think that real peace of mind is an illusion and cannot be attained. These are erroneous assumptions. Some might attain a higher level of peace and others a lower level, yet everyone can gain at least some measure of inner peace. Such peace will certainly improve the quality of life, health, relationships and everything else.

There are various treatments for stress, anxiety, fears and panic attacks. Some involve psychological help, some use hypnosis and others involve the use of medications. All these treatments involve external help. There is another way to handle these problems, which does not involve external help. It is through inner work and training.

Don't be afraid of the word words inner training and work. You are not required to do impossible things. A mental training program for peace of mind starts from really simple actions, which you can incorporate in your daily life. They include a change of attitude, being more positive, developing of inner detachment, developing some control over the thinking process and later, also some special meditations aimed toward increasing the level of inner peace.

Stress, anxieties, worries, fear and panic start in the mind. They start as thoughts, which grow in strength and affect your behavior, actions and habits. Your thoughts and attitudes act like a filter, a screen or lenses, through which you see the world in a particular way, which does not always depicts reality. Your aim is to be more aware of them, and use certain techniques to stop their power over you. There is no reason to go on through life being at the mercy of uncontrolled thoughts, feelings, anxieties, worries and fears.

You can transform your life! You can change the state of your mind! Even a small amount of inner peace would do a great deal to you. Are you afraid of some effort? Can't you spare just a few minutes for making your mind and life a little calmer, with less fear and worries?

'Peace of Mind in Daily Life' is a book that goes into detail about this most important subject. It teaches in simple and easy to follow progressive steps how to attain this coveted state of inner peace, right here where you are, without the necessity of making any outer changes in your life. True peace starts from the inside, and is independent of external conditions.

Here are a few tips to help you start:

# Learn to use the replacement method, of changing every negative thought, as it arises, into a positive thought. Don't fight negative thoughts, just divert your attention a positive thoughts or mental images.

# Write down and keep a list of inspiring and uplifting quotes, and read them several times a day.

# Think positive and inspiring thoughts before falling asleep.

# Though it might not be so easy, try to keep an attitude inner detachment in dealing with difficult or unpleasant people. Don't take too personally their remarks or criticism.

# Don't watch thrillers or action movies on TV before going to bed or falling asleep.

# Reduce the number of times you listen to the news on the radio or TV. Know what is going on in the world, but there is no need to constantly fill your mind with news that cause you stress or fear.

# Repeat positive affirmations several times a day. Do so also when you feel stress or fear.

Here are a few examples:

- I feel peace and tranquility filling my mind and body.

- My mind is calm, like a lake on a quiet summer day.

- I feel calm relaxed and peaceful.

- I am a center of peace, calmness and happiness.

© Copyright Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson teaches and writes on positive thinking, creative visualization, motivation, self-improvement, peace of mind, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, among which are "Peace of mind in Daily Life", "Will Power and Self Discipline", "Visualize and Achieve" and "Affirmations - Words of Power".

Visit his website and find articles and books filled with inspiration, motivation and practical advice and guidance.
Website: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com
Books: http://www.successconsciousness.com/ebooks_and_books.htm

Everybody suffers from anxiety at some point or anther. Anxiety is just a normal part of everyday life. It can actually be a useful emotion in helping us to cope with stressful situations. Other times, anxiety can be out of control and interfere with our ability to function normally in stressful situations even if the stress is just manufactured in our minds.

There will always be reasons to feel anxious. All ages experience anxiety. Children feel it in school before a test; even young babies feel it when separated from their mothers. Adults have plenty of opportunities to feel anxious whether it is from a job, finances, romance, or due to being self conscious.

Sometimes anxiety comes about because people have to do something they fear doing. One of the most common anxiety producing experiences is when it comes to public speaking. Many people fear being in front of the public, either as a speaker or just as someone being singled out or noticed in a crowd.

Do you have a fear of speaking in public or performing on a stage? If so, you could be suffering from a type of performance anxiety. Do you have any of the following apply to you? If so, you may have performance anxiety.

-Worry about looking foolish in front of other people and being laughed at?

-Worry that people can see how nervous you are?

-Suffer from stage fright if you have to speak in front of others or perform onstage.

-Experience anxiety in advance of the event simply from anticipating your fears.

-Feel immediate and intense fear upon learning you need to perform in public.

-Attempt to get out of public performances or not show up if you can’t get out of it.

-Missed out on opportunities because of your fear of being in the public spotlight.

Performance anxiety is actually all in the mind of the sufferer. After all, not everyone fears going on stage, there is no danger in doing so. The fear comes from imagined dangers such as feeling like you are not smart enough or good enough to avoid ridicule. So the way to overcome your performance anxiety is to change your way of thinking.

There are four steps involved in overcoming performance anxiety. Let’s take a look at them below.

Step one: Self Assessment

-Get to know yourself, both as a person and as a performer.

-Identify the problem thoughts that are holding you back and creating anxiety.

Step two: Exposure and Preparation

-Find opportunities for limited performance exposure but not to the point your anxiety kicks in.

-Practice your speech or performance. Tape it and watch yourself. Practice until you have it down pat. Always be totally prepared before giving your performance so you feel confident.

-Learn relaxation techniques and practice them right before your performance.

Step three: The Performance

-Visualize the audience as friends and family that wish you well.

-Don’t think of yourself. Think of the audience.

-Stay calm and enjoy yourself.

Step four: After the Performance

-Don’t criticize yourself no matter what happens.

-Congratulate yourself for doing your best.

-Reward yourself for making progress

Train yourself to change your thoughts and instead of worrying about what people will think, just go ahead and imagine they are thinking good things about you. Imagine yourself as self confident and thoroughly capable of completing the performance. As you change your thinking, you will see your performance anxiety start to slip away.

Source: http://www.articlecube.com

Sarah Thomas is an established freelance writer. You can find more of her writing at anxietysos.com and help-alzheimers.com.

There are many medications for anxiety and depression. Yet anxiety and depression are not caused by a lack of these medications.

There are some important things to consider regarding these medications. Here is what I tell my clients when they ask me if they should go on meds:

“If your anxiety or depression feels so unmanageable that you are not able to do the inner work you need to do to heal, then meds might help you stabilize enough to give you an opportunity to heal. However, be aware that all drugs have some side effects and that long-term use might cause problems. The drug may help you, but unless there is an inherited chemical imbalance, the drug does not heal the underlying stress causing the anxiety or depression, or the stress that may be causing the chemical imbalance.”

Whether or not the person decides to go on meds, he or she still needs to address the underlying cause of most anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and Self-Judgment

Imagine for a moment that you have a young child and that you are constantly saying to the child things like:

“If that person doesn’t like you, then you are unlovable and unworthy, so you better act right and say the right things.”

“If you fail at this, then you are an unworthy failure, and you will probably end up on the streets.”

“You are such a jerk. You always say the wrong thing. That person must think you are a real loser.”

“If you lose your friend, then you are a failure, a loser.”

“Don’t make a mistake. You don’t want anyone to know how stupid you are.”

The child would likely be a very anxious, nervous and stressed child, always trying to do things right and always being afraid of rejection.

If you start to notice the things you tell yourself, you might discover that you are often telling yourself some version of the above statements. You might also want to notice that anytime you judge yourself, you immediately feel anxious and stressed. While meds can calm some of this anxiety, they don’t heal the underlying self-judgment that is often the cause of inner stress. In fact, meds may even mask the anxiety to the point where you can continue to abuse yourself without knowing it. This is definitely not in your highest good!

Depression and Self-Neglect

Now imagine that your young child whom you have been judging and scaring is acting out with anger and some form of destructiveness toward self or others. Imagine that instead of attending to this child and finding out what the problem is, you put the child on meds or just ignore him or her. Now what happens is that the child gets depressed. He or she shuts down to avoid the pain of the judgment and the pain of being ignored and neglected.

Again, this is what happens on the inner level. If you beat yourself up with self-judgments and then ignore the stress that results from beating yourself up, your inner child will eventually feel depressed. In some cases, the depression can become so severe that you cannot function, in which case you need meds to help you move out of the depression.

I work with many clients who come to me on meds. After diligently working with the Inner Bonding healing process that I teach, many of them find that, not only do they no longer need the meds, but that the meds are now getting in the way by dulling their feelings. They find that they want to know if they are feeling anxious or depressed because these feelings are informing them that they are judging or ignoring themselves.

Once you decide to use your feelings of anxiety and depression to inform you regarding your behavior toward yourself, rather than just try to avoid or repress these feelings, you can discover what you are doing that is harming you. When you learn to treat yourself in kind and caring ways, it is likely that your anxiety and depression will gradually disappear.

About the Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" and “Healing Your Aloneness.” She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding® healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or email her at margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available.

Source: http://www.easyarticles.com