How I Am Finding Peace in the Middle of Chaos

I am in the midst of complete chaos.

I’ve been practicing some deep breathing exercising to prevent me from wandering over to the ice cream isle in the supermarket and drown any feelings of stress in a bucket of ice cream.

Ben and Jerry’s of course.

With the turn of the economy over the last couple of years, my business has done a downward spiral. I have had to close 3/4 of my business.  Making this kind of a decision it is a difficult thing, I only wish the decision was the end of what needs to be done.

Consequently it is only the beginning.

I take comfort in the fact the the entire country is experiencing very similar events in their lives. I guess misery loves company.

This stress can really mess with my dream of eating only when I am hungry, eating foods which give me energy and loving myself when I look into the mirror.  I had to find a way to get through this without turning to my old comfort foods: cookies, ice cream and candy.

I began to work with some deep breathing exercises.  It seems to be working.  I slow everything down, feel my feelings of stress and breathe my way through it all.

MHA has some great suggestions on Managing Life’s Pressures on their website Mental Health America.  One of their de-stressing suggestions is a deep breathing exercise.  I stumbled upon it by accident and have been using it all week.  This is their advice:

De-Stress Through Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a great way to de-stress. It actually changes your brain’s chemical balance to calm you down.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Lie down or sit on the floor or in a chair.
2. Rest your hands on your stomach.
3. Slowly count to four and inhale through your nose. Feel your stomach rise. Hold it for a second.
4. Slowly count to four while you exhale through your mouth. To control how fast you exhale, purse your lips like you’re going to whistle. Your stomach will slowly fall.
5. Do this a few times.

It looks like I will be doing a lot of deep breathing while I ride this wave of my life.   How are you handling your life stresses?

Just remember to keep on swimming – and breathing!

Veronica

Veronica’s dream is body satisfaction.  This includes losing weight, making her body strong, accepting her body image while eliminating a double chin, making cellulite go bye-bye, and improving the floppy arms.  She wants to train for the San Francisco Bay To Breakers on May 16, 2010.  Veronica Twitters at http://twitter.com/veronica1955)

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