How Having a Vision Can Reduce Stress in Your Life

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives. Whether it's caused by work, family, or personal issues. Stress can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health. Consistent stress over a long period of time not only affects our health but it begins to build barriers around the things we want to do and accomplish in life. However, there are ways to manage stress and minimize its effects. One of the most effective ways to do this is to have a vision.

When we have a clear vision for our lives, it gives us direction and purpose. It helps us to focus on what's important and lets us let go of the things that are causing us stress. Having a vision doesn't mean that we won't experience stress, but it can help us to better deal with those feelings when they do arise.

Why is Setting Goals to Achieve Your Vision Important?

When you set goals, you take control of your life’s direction. A vision provides you with a focal point in your life instead of living life as it comes or perhaps living a fear-based life when inaction is a common theme. When a vision is created, a list of actionable steps or smaller, bite-size goals can be identified to help make an easier roadmap to achieve this vision. Sometimes looking at the larger vision from afar can be overwhelming. Making smaller manageable steps can make the action needed more digestible.

Setting goals for your vision keeps you moving, increases your happiness, and significantly benefits your overall wellness. When you set goals, you create a vision of what your life could look like. Then it becomes a normal practice to push yourself to get the best results possible.

So how do you create a vision for your life? You can start with these three steps:

1. Determine what's important to you.

This is your vision - now think about the things that matter most to you in life. Be very personal, and take the time to reflect on the things that are important. What do you want to achieve? What kind of impact do you want to make? Once you know what's important to you, you can start setting goals that will help you achieve those things.

Some common areas of vision include:

• Education

• Career

• Financial

• Spirituality

• Family

• Mental Health

• Fitness

2. Set realistic goals.

It's important to set realistic goals that are achievable. If your goals are too lofty, you're likely to get discouraged when you don't reach them. However, if your goals are realistic and achievable, they'll give you a sense of accomplishment and help keep you motivated. Take a look at your current schedule and see where there is room for you to dedicate time to your vision. Remember, visions do not happen overnight. They are grand for a reason - they take time to accomplish. Baby steps count too!

3. Write down your vision.

Once you know what's important to you, it's time to write it down. This will help you to clarify your thoughts and ensure that your vision is specific and actionable. Not sure where to start? A good idea is to purchase a journal specific to your vision. It could be a dedicated space where you can write out your goals in life, the overall vision you are trying to reach, and even outline a weekly or monthly plan to ensure you stay committed to this vision. Take a few minutes a day to open your journal and review your vision. Remind yourself of the steps you need to get where you want to go. Keep your vision fresh in your mind!

Final Thoughts

Before you know it you will be checking action items off your list. Remember to give yourself credit for those small wins. The anxiety of being lost or stagnant in life is now replaced with the clear path in front of you by the vision you have created. The small things lead up to accomplishing your biggest vision. Stay on track, make adjustments when necessary, and persevere. No matter how large your goals are, you will achieve small wins along the way and those will prove that you’re capable of much more than you originally thought. Just a heads up, there might be hiccups along the way. Remember that setbacks don’t mean failure ⁠— they’re opportunities to learn and adapt. Once you identify the right root causes, you can clear the path to achieving your vision!

Breathwork Techniques to Reduce Your Anxiety

Contrary to popular beliefs, anxiety isn’t something that positive thinking can cure. When dealing with anxiety, it may originate with a thought, but you can experience it throughout the body in very physical ways.

When you feel stressed, where do you feel it in your body?

Perhaps you start to get a headache. Maybe your stomach starts to feel butterflies. Your heart beats faster, and you notice that you don’t feel like you can slow your breathing.

Breathwork can help to target your respiratory system and those physical sensations associated with stress and anxiety, such as:

• Tightness in your chest.

• Shortness of breath.

• Hyperventilation.

• And feeling like you’re suffocating.

Here are three of our favorite breathwork techniques to help soothe the physical reaction to stress and reduce your anxiety.

Slow down when you exhale.

Did you know that inhaling works with the part of your body that contains your sympathetic nervous system? It’s where your body controls fight or flight responses.

Exhalation works with your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us relax and calm down.

So, instead of calming down by gulping in big, slow breaths and possibly contributing to hyperventilation, try exhaling longer than you inhale.

You can try this technique in any way that feels comfortable - sitting, standing, or lying down. The idea is to focus on your breath as it leaves your body rather than entering it. Imagine taking a breath and then deliberately emptying your lungs of every bit of oxygen.

You can start by counting to three as you inhale, then count to five on the exhale. Try it for two minutes, then work on this technique for up to five minutes at a time.

Be mindful of your breathing.

Because you’re constantly breathing every day, it’s easy not to think about it as a process. Try becoming present with the sensations involved with breathing to slow down your anxiety symptoms.

Choose a quiet space without distractions to try this technique.

You can breathe in a seated position or lie down.

Please take a few normal breaths and notice what it feels like. Feel the air moving in through your nostrils. Put both hands on your stomach, feel it rise with your inhalation, and fall with your exhalation.

As you exhale, choose a word or sound to vocalize. A sound like “om” or phrases like “loved” or “safe” can help. Imagine taking in those words with each inhale and exhaling the anxious feelings.

When you notice other thoughts popping up, be gentle with yourself and refocus on your breath and your sound or word of the day. Practice for up to 20 minutes a day.

Try equal or 4-4-4 breathing.

Working on equal breathing means inhaling and exhaling for the same amount of time.

Again, start by putting yourself in a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down.

Notice your normal breathing for a few breaths. Then close your eyes.

Breathe in for a count of four, and then exhale for the exact count as you feel your lungs expand and retract. Your number can change as you count, but the key is to keep your breathing equal.

Ask for help when you need it.

Try any or all of these techniques when you start to feel the effects of anxiety to help slow your breathing and give you something in the present moment to focus on.

If you notice that daily stress triggers more anxiety and panic attacks, we’re here to help! Book a call with us, and we can work together to get you on the path to healing.

4 Coping Methods to Help Sexual Abuse Survivors

As a survivor of sexual abuse, you need to know that what happened to you isn’t your entire identity. You are the ultimate author of your life. And although sexual abuse is a part of your story, many more chapters will be written about who you are and the life you can live as you move forward.

According to the CDC, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual abuse in their lifetime. Survivors must understand that they aren’t alone on their journey to healing. There is no perfect timeline to healing that survivors should follow because every individual is different.

Below are four suggestions for survivors of sexual abuse to explore on their way to a healthy and happy life after abuse.

Start a meditation practice.

Sitting in silence can feel awkward at first. But with the help of many different apps, you can find guided meditations that can help.

You can find meditations for different mental health categories, such as anxiety and depression.

Guided meditation is a great way to begin your own practice because you can focus your attention on the words of the person leading the meditation rather than struggling to quiet your thoughts without a specific focus point.

Learning to slow down and focus on your breath and the voice in a guided meditation can strengthen your self-awareness.

And when you feel anxious feelings rising, you can take what you learned and begin to guide yourself back to slow, deep breaths and settle back into the present moment without spiraling into a complete panic attack.

Find an outlet for self-expression.

A racing mind continuously scanning the environment for possible threats is a challenging way to live. You can work on finding ways to slow down and be present by creating an expressive outlet.

Begin to notice what you’re feeling and keep those emotions separate from who you are. Feelings of confusion, anger, guilt, and shame are common in survivors. All feelings are valid, and you need to take the time to work through those feelings.

Rather than saying, “I am angry,” and taking on the identity of anger, reframe it by saying, “I feel angry.” The subtle difference will help you recognize the feeling and then release it rather than letting it occupy space as part of your personality indefinitely.

Purchasing a new notebook or a sketchbook to express your feelings as they arise during the day can help with the healing process. Journaling is a great way to release emotions you may have suppressed over time.

Whether painting, singing, acting, or playing an instrument, involvement in the arts can positively impact your wellbeing. It can move you in a direction that feels like an authentic way to begin the healing process.

Manage trauma triggers.

Survivors of sexual abuse have experienced a highly traumatic event. And as such, they can experience the symptoms of PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. The amygdala, located at the brain’s base, becomes overactive to keep the survivor safe and out of harm’s way. Although it sounds like this is helpful, symptoms can cause people to enter the fight, flight, faint, or freeze reactions, making daily life more anxiety-ridden.

One way to help keep these instinctual reactions from appearing frequently is to understand possible triggers and manage the frequency of interacting with triggering events. Although every individual has different triggers, here are a few ways to help:

• Take a break from the news or social media.

• Avoid using drugs and alcohol to cope.

• Don’t be afraid to seek help from professionals.

Consider working with a therapist.

Sometimes the best way to heal is to talk to a trained professional. Sharing your thoughts and feelings in a safe space without judgment, guilt, or shame can be just the environment you need to understand how the trauma of sexual abuse is affecting you.

A therapist can guide you through the process and give you the tools to become more aware of:

• Triggers that most affect you

• Beneficial expressive outlets and homework to practice with them

• Behaviors that are trauma responses and how to remove them from your life

When you’re ready, we’re here for you!