Anxiety can create tremendous emotional and physical problems. With it usually comes attacks, which make you feel like you can’t breathe. You might feel as though your throat has swollen and the air passage is closing. Some people feel lightheaded and dizzy, too. Overall, a feeling of loss of control overwhelms those who suffer with anxiety.

Fear plays a huge role in all this. In fact, fear can probably be pinpointed as the starting point of worry and anxiety.

The most common way fear worms its way into your mind is by playing the “What if…?” game. You might have a thought, then think, ‘What if…?’ These what if statements end up turning into huge, drawn-out thought processes that leave you feeling helpless and out of control.

It is important when you are fighting anxiety to remember that you are in control of your mind. You must calm yourself into a relaxed state of mind so that you do not trigger those what if thoughts again. You must learn to relax and ignore those hypothetical questions.

When you allow your fears to take control of your mind, anxiety kicks in worse than ever. It will plague your mind and body like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. Take charge of your mind and throw fear out the window.

If you have suffered from low self-esteem for some time, you should know that raising your self-esteem is something that must be worked on continuously. You will not notice a quick, overnight change. But if you stick with it, you can build up your self-esteem. Here are some pointers to give yourself quick shots of self-esteem:

• Do something nice for yourself. Have you been admiring a new outfit for a few weeks, but keep telling yourself that you aren’t worthy of such a beautiful thing? Do you often give of yourself and your time to others, but rarely do anything nice for you? Turn the tables and do something special for yourself today.
• Forget about what others might be saying about you. In all truthfulness, when you think someone is talking about you, they very well could not be. When you start to feel a bit paranoid about what others might say or think about you, remind yourself that only what you say and do matters. You can’t change other’s opinions, but you can control what you do.
• Reward yourself for having done a nice job. Many people with low self-esteem go out of their way to help others because they seek recognition and acceptance from their peers. Don’t keep waiting for others to acknowledge your good deeds. Return the favor to yourself the next time.
• Create your personal mission statement. Just knowing who you are, what your personal values are, and what you stand for can create a sense of pride in yourself. Take some time to write out your own personal mission statement, then pull it out and re-read it frequently.

Happiness is defined as a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Let’s break down this definition to get a clearer picture of exactly what happiness is…

First, take note that happiness is defined by your emotions. Let that thought soak in for a minute. Now read it again: Happiness is defined by your emotions. That means you can choose to be happy, or not. Happiness is clearly and solely dependent upon your attitude and thoughts.

Your emotions, ranging from contentment to joy, is what defines that feeling of happiness you can experience. Contentment is simply being happy with your lot in life. If you are crippled, but can accept your handicap as the way it was meant to be, you will experience happiness every day. But if you look at your handicap as a negative attribute that hinders you from living your life to its fullest, then you’ll be miserable every single day.

Your attitude defines your happiness…or unhappiness.

The secret of happiness doesn’t lie in having all the things you think you need. Many people say that if they just had a couple more thousand dollars, or a bigger house, or a better job, then their life would be better and they’d be happier.

The truth is, no matter how much physical possessions you own, those things can never define your happiness. You must reach deep within yourself and become content with your life as it is. That is when you’ll learn the true secret of happiness.

TIP #1: Be reasonable. Do you tend to set your personal goals so high that they are simply unreachable? This could be your biggest problem. It’s okay to aim for the stars, but don’t set your expectations so high that you can never get there.

It is best to set small, manageable goals. You’ll be able to set benchmarks to see your progress over a period of time. This will motivate and encourage you to keep moving forward towards your goals.

TIP #2: Be firm. One of the biggest pitfalls for many people is procrastination. You set a goal, then you plan out every step you need to take to reach that goal. Half-way there, though, you lose motivation and you slip and stumble. You put your goals on hold for other things.

Don’t let yourself fall into this trap. Be firm with yourself. Have personal pep talks, if you have to. Get yourself motivated and pumped up about your own goals.

TIP #3: Never stop. The key ingredient to success is to never give up. No matter what obstacles you may face, or walls you run into, don’t ever give up. Always keep your goals in mind. Be persistent and steady and you will reach your goals.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIP #1: Drop half your work load. You’re probably thinking that isn’t possible, but it is. The truth is that you can most likely stop doing half of what you do every day and nobody would be any worse of because of it. Overloading yourself, whether at work or at home, creates a vicious cycle of never having enough time because you have way too much to do.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIP #2: Get a planner…and use it. Whether a paper planner or digital, this could be your best friend in a few weeks. As soon as you have an appointment, make note of it in your planner. You’ll use your planner to stay focused and on task and should never be late for another appointment again.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIP #3: Turn off the phone. The telephone is, next to the Internet, one of the biggest time wasters ever. When you’re ready to start working on an important project or task, turn off the ringer on your telephone. When you finish the task, you can turn the ringer back on again. This will prevent interruptions that could cause you to become sidetracked.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIP #4: Let someone else do it. In addition to dropping half your work load, start doling out responsibilities to others. At home, put your children in charge of household chores, like laundry or dirty dishes. At work, form a team and hand out task sheets for everyone to pull together and get the job done.

1. Write a daily TO DO list. If you aren’t already writing a TO DO list every day, start now. Not everyone likes TO DO lists, but they help you see what needs to be done. They also give you a visual of what you’ve already completed.

2. Condense your TO DO list. Lots of people make the mistake of making a TO DO list that is a mile long. Don’t make this mistake. If your TO DO list contains more than 20 tasks, condense it down to about 10 tasks or so.

3. Forget about what isn’t important. When condensing your TO DO list, cross off any tasks that are small or meaningless. Your TO DO list should never include things like brushing your teeth or making your bed. Those are considered everyday tasks and do not belong on your list.

4. Delegate. There will always be some tasks that you don’t have to do yourself. Dole out more responsibility to your family and ease some of your own load.

5. Treat yourself for a job well done. If you worked really hard at completing a task then received no recognition for it, you probably subconsciously thought it must have not been very important. These negative self-messages generate laziness that makes you want to procrastinate later. Start treating yourself for completing a major task on your list.

6. Take a look over your shoulder. When you’re working on a large task, it’s always important to stop for a minute and check your progress. This will always motivate you to keep working hard.

7. Live like there’s no tomorrow. Another biggie is telling yourself that you can just do it tomorrow. What if you didn’t have a tomorrow? What would you get done today? Live like this every day.

Maybe you’d like to take up a hobby but aren’t sure what to do. Here are some great ideas for stress-soothing hobbies:

• Wood burning and carving – Men especially find wood burning projects very calming and soothing. Likewise, sculpting beautiful images from wood can be not only a stress reliever, but rewarding hobby as well.
• Ceramics – Ceramics is almost a lost art today. However, the process of taking a raw piece and creating a beautiful work of art is a very rewarding hobby.
• Reading for pleasure – If you do a lot of reading every day for your business, then you probably don’t read for pleasure any more. Grab a book in a genre that you’d never read and give it a go.
• Hand embroidery – Designing and creating beautiful fiber art by hand is extremely calming.
• Golf – Golf has been widely used as a stress-relieving hobby. Many golf enthusiasts claim that golf can take your mind off your problems and greatly reduce your stress levels.

No matter what hobby you take up, the idea is to do something to relieve stress. Set aside time every week to work on your hobby and you’ll soon find that your stress levels will be greatly reduced in very little time.

Perhaps one of the reasons for women being more susceptible to depression than men is because we are the caregivers. We take care of our families and everyone else and put ourselves on the back burners. It is time to stand up and make a positive change, though. Here are several ways you can brainstorm your way to better health:

1) Write down 5 ways you would like your health to improve.

2) List 4 reasons why you need to work harder on improving your health.

3) Write down every person in your family who has health problems and list what problems they are. Now put a check by the ones that you are experiencing right now.

Continue brainstorming in this fashion. Sometimes it just takes a cold, harsh dose of reality to wake you up.

After you get all these things on paper, now start over and brainstorm all things you can do to become proactive in your life. List all the tiny changes you can start to make. Once you get busy working n the little things, the bigger things will become easier to change, too.

Research has shown that patients suffering from depression see a dramatic improvement in their mental status whenever they keep a regular exercise routine. Practice some of these exercises on a daily basis to improve your mental health:

• Walking – It can’t be said enough that walking is one of the simplest and easiest forms of exercise that almost anybody is capable of doing. You don’t have to go for a power walk for it to count. Just get outdoors and walk for a full twenty minutes or longer. Breathing the fresh air and getting natural sunlight is conducive to a better frame of mind.
• Jump rope – A quick morning routine of jumping rope will get your blood stirring fast.
• Aerobics – Aerobics have long been a fun way to get exercise. The more different the routine, the more fun the exercise will be. Look for fun exercise videos that are a little different from the same old boring routines.
• Kickbox Aerobics – Kickbox aerobics is a vigorous, but very fun type of aerobics. You’ll get fit and learn some great self-defense moves in the process.

Get out and get busy exercising today. Try it for three weeks and track your progress and mental status throughout the weeks. Discover how exercise makes you feel.

One of the main issues regarding anxiety is the fact that it so easily consumes a person’s life. In very little time, anxiety attacks can cause a person to feel out of control, crazy even. With symptoms like sweating, nervousness, nausea and tension, breathlessness, and anxiety can make you feel as though you might even die.

Many people who suffer from anxiety are ashamed of how they feel. They think that something really terrible must be wrong with them, for them to experience such horrible things. They are often afraid to tell their doctor, for fear they may be hospitalized in a mental institution.

Those suffering from severe anxiety may feel like it will never end. Many become hermits, as they stay indoors to hide from the public because they are afraid their secret will come out if they are around others. In fact, some may even experience feelings of paranoia as well.

If any of these symptoms discussed within this article sound like something that you have been experiencing, there is hope for you. Don’t allow anxiety to take control of your life. If you have been feeling like you can’t be around other people, or that you can’t leave the house, your anxiety could be more severe. Make an appointment to see your physician as soon as possible, to discuss potential medication to help your situation.