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15 Reasons You Must Be Your Own Best Friend Making New Friends

July 11, 2022 by Chris Butler

There’s an old saying that if you want to love others, you must first learn to love yourself. It doesn’t have anything to do with selfishness or narcissism. You know to extend the same kindness and compassion to yourself as you would a best friend. Not only will you boost your self-esteem, but you’ll also improve other relationships.

Fifteen Ways Being Your Own Best Friend Helps Your Relationships

Countless books, poems, songs, and works of art have been dedicated to friendship. You can never have enough true friends in your life. Here are fifteen reasons you should befriend yourself before you do another person.

1. You’ll Learn Unconditional Love When You Become Your Own Best Friend

Watch your beloved pets if you want to learn about love with no strings attached. Animals don’t have hidden agendas and don’t demand a list of conditions for them to love you. Your fur babies accept you no matter what, and their love is pure and constant.

Offering yourself the gift of unconditional self-love teaches you the same principles for healthy relationships.

2. You’ll Gain Self-Awareness

It’s possible to go through your entire life and not be fully aware of yourself. You may know all the relevant facts about your life and preferences, but you’re so much more than times, dates, and daily events.

When you go below the surface and examine your mind and soul, you have a more profound sense of self-awareness. Meditation and other mindful practices are practical tools for gaining insights into yourself and understanding others better.

3. It Forces You to Treat Yourself Better–and Helps Other Relationship

Most religious traditions have a form of the Golden Rule of treating others how you want to be treated. However, what would happen if you treated your best friend the same as you treat yourself? Would the relationship be happy, or would it be quickly circling the drain?

Do you beat yourself up every time you make a mistake or have a shortcoming? Treating yourself gently doesn’t mean you make excuses or blame others. You benefit as well as your relationships when you forgive yourself with compassion.

4. It Makes You More Honest

Trust and honesty are the foundation of any healthy relationship. Your person trusts that you’ll always be honest with them. Unfortunately, sometimes being upfront with somebody doesn’t always feel good.

Consequently, how can you ever be honest with others if you’re not honest with yourself? You’ll always have internal challenges that need your attention. It’s your first step toward change when you can keep things accurate and recognize your faults.

5. It Allows You to Feel Less Lonely

It’s possible to be alone but not be lonely. Conversely, you can feel profoundly lonely in a crowded room. As you become more self-aware and comfortable in your own skin, loneliness isn’t as much an issue.

Robin Williams once said being alone wasn’t as bad as being with people who make you feel alone. Solitude and loneliness depend on your perspective. When you’re comfortable solo, then it makes time with your best friend more meaningful.

6. You Make Wiser Choices

Choosing the right paths isn’t as tricky once you’ve identified and visualized your goals. You know your destination and the route that’ll lead you to it. You learn to make better choices like you would advise your best friend.

It’s not that you’ll never make an occasional wrong turn. It’s only human, and you’ll do it countless times in your life. Using your goals as a GPS will help you turn around and get back on track.

7. It Boosts Your Self-Respect

Do you treat yourself as a person worthy of respect, dignity, and love, or do you tend to have a lot of self-loathing? If you don’t respect yourself, you may not gain the respect of others.

Your personal and professional relationships may tend to be more one-sided. An article published by the American Psychological Association explores the link between self-esteem and positive relationships.

Each aspect can affect the other one, either positively or negatively. One thing boosting your self-respect will do is not allow you to overpower people or allow them to control you.

8. Being Your Own Best Friend Helps You Learn How to Assert Yourself More

Some people have the misconception that assertion is synonymous with aggression. You needn’t even raise your voice or act threateningly to assert your rights. When you’re in a healthy relationship, you respect their boundaries and expect them to honor yours.

If not, you firmly assert your rights and teach others how you want to be treated. Assertion keeps the two-lane highway from being bottlenecked in one direction. Nobody can step on you unless you allow them to do so.

9. It Frees You to Follow Your Passions

Maybe one of the reasons you’re not enjoying a fulfilling life is that you don’t know your passions. What are your dreams, and what makes you feel you have a purpose? Mindful exercises and meditation can bring you greater clarity, and you can focus on your dreams.

Your inner voice will guide you intuitively to the things that bring you joy. A true best friend won’t stand in your way and will encourage you. You may even be the one standing in the way of success, and you must make changes.

Let’s say you have a successful career that you like, and it’s kept you reasonably comfortable. Yet, you feel like something is missing. Maybe you’ve built up the courage to change careers or fulfill a dream you’ve always had in your life.

10. It Help in Maintaining Your Identity in Other Relationships

Being in a relationship doesn’t mean discarding who you were in the past. While you may feel in tune with your partner, you still have separate personalities. You’re complimentary and aren’t replacements for each other.

It’s healthy to have a few hobbies and interests on your own. If you’re so much alike that there are no differences, neither of you will be happy. Remember that one plus one still equals two, and your individuality won’t be compromised.

11. It Helps to Create Stronger Relationships

As you work on being your own best friend, you develop skills that make you a better friend, relative, and coworker. You’ll also notice a more profound satisfaction with your significant other.

One of the reasons is that you’re more self-reliant and don’t depend on others for your happiness. You have more emotional independence, as well as more to offer. Plus, you don’t get hung up on egos and jealousy issues.

12. You’ll Be More Encouraging to Yourself

Everyone has an occasional bad day, and you want to drown your sorrows in a hot bubble bath. Sadly, when the bubbles are gone, and you’re wrapped in your favorite fluffy robe, you know nothing lasts forever. Even bad days and melancholy will pass.

You’re your own best cheerleader, and you encourage yourself. Maybe you failed this time, but you’ll try again. If someone doesn’t want to be your friend, you’re ok, and it’s their loss.

As you work on being a best friend to yourself, you’re more supportive of others. They can count on you to encourage them when things look bleak. In words and deeds, please do what you can to help them succeed.

13. You’ll Be More Positive When You Treat Yourself as a Best Friend

As you become more self-aware, you better recognize your potential. Your increased self-confidence gives you a better positive attitude. Pessimists and their negative vibes won’t hinder you.

14. You Use the Law of Attraction

Since you already know that like attracts like, the law of attraction makes sense. The Universe is your best friend and has your interests at heart. It will agree with any affirmation you send into it.

You’ll attract the same, whether it’s positive or negative. For example, most people don’t realize that their words have profound power. The Universe agrees when you speak affirmations of love and light and receive love and light in return.

However, affirmations of negativity, self-loathing, and darkness will keep you bound in that situation.

15. You’re Not as Easily Offended if You’re a Best Friend to Yourself

Plenty of mean people in this world have nothing to do but hate others. These negative individuals boost their low self-esteem by belittling others and making cruel remarks.

When you’ve learned to love yourself and be your own best friend, you see through them. Their mean-spirited comments and hateful conversation usually roll off your back. You’re human, and insults can hurt, but you realize they’re the ones with the problem, not you.

Likewise, you have enough healthy self-love that you don’t need to make others look bad. You value the importance of loyalty, and you’ll not engage in slander and gossip. You have your friends back just as they have yours.

Final Thoughts on Being Your Own Best Friend

Friendship is a basic human need that takes a lifetime of loving cultivation. The best way to learn how to be a friend is to treat yourself like one. When you practice self-love, compassion, encouragement, and esteem building, you’re better able to offer it to others in return.

13 Behaviors of a Megalomaniac

July 11, 2022 by Sarah Barkley

A megalomaniac has a delusional sense of self-awareness, believing they’re better than those around them. They boast about what they’ve done or will do and brag about what they have. These people have a personality disorder, causing an exaggerated sense of self-worth.

Everyone evaluates their abilities, but megalomaniacs go overboard. They’re often unsympathetic and tend to be dishonest. A megalomaniac overestimates their abilities, importance, popularity, power, and influence.

It’s okay to be proud of yourself and your accomplishments. Having a positive self-image and maintaining confidence is essential to your well-being. However, it can cross a line into something sinister and detrimental.

You’ll notice that a megalomaniac has a huge ego, but there are other ways to identify them. Figuring out if you have someone like this in your life can help you limit your time with them. It’ll also help you identify the people who might make you feel bad about yourself.

What is Megalomania?

The DSM-V includes megalomania as a psychological condition or narcissistic personality disorder symptom. It is associated with delusional ideas and fantasies of power or relevance. They believe they’re the only person capable of doing things and won’t believe in anyone else.

People with megalomania are obsessed with power and will do anything to gain it. They have delusions of grandeur and can’t see their faults or shortcomings. Additionally, they don’t always realize that their view doesn’t correspond to reality.

These people often use insults and narcissism to cover their subconscious fears. Deep down, they are self-conscious and want people to like them. Their fear of inferiority makes them want to hurt others with ridicule and threats because it makes them feel good about themselves.

Causes of the Megalomania Personality Disorder

Sometimes progressive paralysis or craniocerebral injury can contribute to megalomania. This condition also often occurs with the following conditions:

Manic-depressive psychosis
Inferiority complex
Paranoid disorders
Schizophrenia
Neuroses

There are a few other things that can cause the condition. Some of the risk factors include:

Hereditary predisposition
Alcohol or drug dependency
Having syphilis at any point in your life
Childhood moral trauma

Historical Megalomaniacs

Some historical figures were megalomaniacs, making them think they could rule the world. They wanted to make rules for everyone else to promote their ideas. These figures include:

Napoleon Bonaparte
Hitler
Stalin
Mao Zedong
Benito Mussolini

These leaders all believed they were the only people capable of making decisions. They used this mindset to control people and conquer the lands. Their false belief that they could conquer the world led them to seek infinite power through dangerous means.

Thirteen Behaviors of a Megalomaniac

A megalomanic is sometimes hard to identify. These people hide their true intentions to manipulate people. Their megalomanic behaviors don’t always surface until they’ve gained control.

1. A Megalomaniac Forces Their Truths on Others

This person will force their truths on others, even when it’s not initially accepted. They will reword their explanations or ideas until their target agrees.

If you try to give them facts that disprove their truth, they’ll do what they can to make you look incorrect. They try to manipulate your reality so that you question what you know. If all else fails, they sometimes turn to violence to make you see things their way.

2. Fixation with Fantasy

A megalomaniac becomes obsessed with fantasies of overwhelming success, control, beauty, or love. They think they are essential and feel the world can’t go on without their ideas. Their fixation goes so far as to assume everything will work out the way they have in mind.

When things don’t go their way, they might get angry and try to manipulate those around them. They’ll do whatever they can to make it look like their fantasy is playing out in real life.

3. A Megalomaniac Might Experience Sleep Disturbances

These people experience high levels of nervous excitement, resulting in sleep disturbances. Their increased activity causes them to feel mentally and physically depleted, even if they don’t mention it. They also experience mental health issues, further hindering their sleep health.

If they feel like losing their sense of being the best, they can experience severe depression. These people need to feel like their fantasies are playing out, or they’ll struggle to take care of their needs. When they can’t sleep, it only worsens the condition.

4. They Isolate Themselves from Many People

Someone with this condition might isolate themselves from people they consider inferior. They’ll also avoid people they think will call them out or show them up.

Their arrogance can make them feel lonely because they won’t spend time with specific people. It creates an emotional void that disrupts their well-being, but they won’t admit it.

5. Episodes of Increased Activity

When megalomania stems from bipolar disorder, you will notice increased activity. Episodes of mania cause them to experience confidence in their false ideals. They’ll be overly energetic, doing more than usual, and seeming full of strength without feeling tired.

These episodes of increased activity won’t last. Eventually, they’ll revert to a depressive state, not getting much done or socializing with others.

6. Emotional Instability

A person with this condition experiences emotional instability ranging from violent activity to passivity. They can quickly switch from joyful to depressed or overly anxious. This person can’t control their mood swings, even when trying to hide them.

7. Those Who Have This Personality Disorder Often Lack Empathy

These toxic people don’t care about others or consider other opinions or feelings. They’ll pretend to care so that they can manipulate a situation, but the false appearance won’t last long.

If you don’t do what this person wants you to, they’ll quickly discard you and move on. When you must be around them, they’ll mistreat you and make you feel bad.

8. Acting as Nothing Can Phase Them

Megalomaniacs feel indestructible, even when the situation is out of their control. They believe they can solve any problem and force things to work out. Of course, this doesn’t always go as planned, but they still act like it doesn’t phase them.

9. Favoring People with a Lower Intellectual Level

This type of person prefers spending time with people of a lower intellectual level. Narcissists think they can manipulate these people because they are more likely to accept any request or statement.

A megalomaniac can easily impose their ideas on those with lower intellectual levels. Plus, they can take a leadership role with these people because they need more help. They think they’re less likely to be rejected by others in this situation, making them feel superior.

10. The Megalomaniac Experiences Hyperawareness

These toxic people are hyperaware of how other people react to them. They notice how people take their actions or statements and become obsessed with what other people think.

If someone rejects them, they believe the other person is the problem. Even when the things they do and say entice negativity, the narcissist doesn’t accept responsibility. They see the reaction and choose to justify that the other person is wrong.

11. They’re Judgmental

Someone with this disorder judges others based on intellectual knowledge, situations, and events. Even if they have no grounds for judging, they’ll have a negative opinion and aren’t afraid to voice it. They assume they know more and can do better, even when there’s no evidence of that idea.

12. The Megalomaniac Experiences Intense Envy of Others

Toxic people experience intense envy of others. They’ll deny feeling jealous if you ask them about it, but you can usually tell. They’ll also assume other people are equally envious of them because they view themselves highly.

13. They Don’t Admit Their Mistakes

These people often blame others for their mistakes and convince themselves it’s not their fault. They won’t admit when they did something wrong. This situation means they never learn from their mistakes because they don’t take a chance to reflect.

How to Handle a Megalomaniac

If you know someone with this condition, you must learn how to deal with it. The megalomaniac’s behavior will negatively impact your life if you don’t know how to handle it.

Remember that you don’t owe them anything and deserve to surround yourself with positive people. Some of the ways to handle a megalomaniac include:

Avoiding them whenever possible
Remembering that fighting makes it worse
Knowing that they won’t play fair
Not buying into their promises
Telling them that their behavior will make them look bad to others
Interacting with them only in the presence of other people
Documenting your agreements and conversations
Setting and enforcing boundaries
Protecting yourself by being ready for their manipulation
Not telling them personal information

Final Thoughts on Behaviors of a Megalomaniac, a Personality Disorder

The behaviors of a megalomaniac can help you understand the person you’re dealing with. Once you know what to expect, it’s easier to determine your next course of action. You can’t let this type of person control your life, so you must plan how to deal with it.

You’ll get caught in their games if you don’t protect yourself from a megalomaniac. They’ll continue controlling you and using you to their advantage.

No matter who the toxic person is, you deserve to be treated well. Limit your time with people with this personality disorder to maintain your well-being.

12 Habits That Stop Overthinking Immediately

July 11, 2022 by Sarah Barkley

Everyone overthinks situations sometimes, but they can usually push it away or move on. Other times, overthinking is all-consuming, plaguing you with constant negative thoughts. You might repeat past conversations in your mind or second-guess every decision you make.

Overthinking can cause you to envision disastrous outcomes. You might think of negative words or picture catastrophic images, such as driving your car off the road or experiencing other distressing events. A problem continually enters your mind, and you can stop dwelling on it.

You spend your time and energy trying to find meaning to your negative thoughts. Plus, you’ll continually look for solutions to your issues, even when there’s no real threat. This thinking can cause mental health issues and interfere with your well-being.

Overthinkers know it’s a struggle, but there seems to be nothing they can do to stop the thoughts. You can use some methods to help you get past the issue, allowing you to focus on positivity again. When you can push away negative thoughts, it’ll empower you and alleviate stress.

How to Know If You’re Overthinking

Acknowledging that you’re overthinking is the first step to making yourself stop. You must determine if you’re overanalyzing or if your thoughts are healthy. Some signs that you’re overthinking include:

Constantly looking for threats when you’re in a safe place
Seeking reassurance as strategies to calm down
Planning excessively
Dwelling on the past
Replaying conversations in your mind
Obsessing over things you can’t control or change
Second-guessing all of your decisions
Rehashing past mistakes
Struggling to make decisions or take action
Thinking of the worst-case scenario

How Overthinking Affects You

Overanalyzing might seem harmless, but it has many detrimental effects on you and your life. It can interfere with how you engage with the world around you. Plus, it can skew your view of your experiences.

It can prevent you from making necessary decisions or working toward your goals. Overanalyzing also interferes with your happiness and ability to enjoy the present moment. It drains your energy and affects your mental and physical health.

Some of the issues that overthinking can cause include:

Anxiety
Depression
Inability to cope with everyday stressors
Sadness
Loneliness
Feelings of emptiness
Fatigue
Nausea
Difficulty sleeping
Changes in appetite
Trouble concentrating
Headaches
High blood pressure
Poor cardiovascular health

How to Make Yourself Stop Overthinking Immediately

Try these techniques to help ease your worried mind.

1. Practice Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness helps you live in the present and stay aware of what’s happening. It’s hard to overanalyze the past if you only think of your current situation. The more you practice mindfulness, the better you’ll be able to push away negative thoughts.

2. Identify Your Triggers

If you know your trigger thoughts, you can work to avoid them. Studies show that your brain produces thousands of ideas daily, involving associations and memories. With all these things entering your mind, it’s easy to let them consume you.

Most thoughts you experience don’t hold significance and come and go without a second thought. However, overthinkers don’t have it so easy because some of the thoughts stick with them. These thoughts are trigger thoughts as they entice overanalyzing situations that don’t matter right now.

These trigger thoughts can develop into rumination or worry involving hypothetical situations. You’ll ask yourself “what if,” “why,” and “how,” followed by negative thoughts that are unhelpful or untrue.

Identifying the thoughts, you can’t dismiss can help you stop overthinking immediately. When you know what will happen, you won’t use as much energy or time letting your thoughts run wild. Your goal should be to release the trigger thoughts and return to your current task.

3. Take a Step Back and Assess

If you notice that you’re starting to overanalyze, take a step back and assess the situation. Your response to an experience can keep you in an endless cycle of repetitive thinking. When you reassess the situation, think about how it affects your mood, whether it makes you feel irritated, nervous, or guilty.

Sometimes it helps to consider how the situation will affect you five or ten years from now. Most of the things you overanalyze won’t affect your life later on. If you can think about it this way, you won’t let things bother you as much.

4. Do Something About It

Taking action is the best thing you can do when you’re overthinking. Don’t let the thoughts run wild without thinking of a plan. Let your negative thoughts lead you to make better life choices.

It might help if you write down ideas for how you can accomplish your goals. When the negative thoughts kick in, refocus your thoughts by taking notes. It can make all the difference and change your life for the better.

5. Recognize When You’re in a Negative Thought Loop

When you overthink, it’s sometimes hard to even realize you’re doing it. If you recognize the thought patterns, you can snap out of them before it spirals too far. Remind yourself that the negative thought loop isn’t productive and won’t help you.

6. Consider What You Can and Can’t Control

Many times, overthinking occurs over things you can’t control. It leads to spiraling thoughts when you feel like you have no options and can’t make a positive change. While you can’t control the thoughts that come to mind, you can control how you respond to them. You can choose to let it go or to engage in negative thinking.

If you choose to ignore the thoughts and return to what you’re doing, the negativity will eventually go away. It might bug you for a while, but you can decide to continue ignoring them until they don’t bother you anymore. You might not be able to control every situation or thought, but you can control what you will engage with.

7. Do an Act of Kindness to Stop Overthinking

Doing something kind for others can make you feel like a new person. You’ll distract yourself from the negative thinking for a while as you focus on helping someone else. Doing something kind boosts your confidence and happiness, so it helps in multiple ways. Helping others also allows you to feel empowered, helping keep the negativity at bay.

8. Challenge Your Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts can fester and turn into exaggerated assumptions. When this happens, challenge them. You don’t have to give in to every thought that crosses your mind.

If you don’t challenge your thoughts, it’ll interfere with your ability to move forward. Challenge them by considering what proof you have that your thoughts are accurate. Then consider what evidence you have to prove that it isn’t true. Chances are, you’ll have more evidence showing that it’s untrue.

9. Distract Yourself

Anytime you start overanalyzing something you can’t control, try to find a distraction. Do something that you enjoy and will keep your mind busy. You can also take the time to learn a new skill or find a new hobby.

While it’s not always easy to start something new when overthinking, you’ll be glad you did it. Once you find that it eases your negative thoughts, it’ll be an exciting activity for you to look forward to each day.

10. Focus on Problem-Solving

Overthinking isn’t helpful, but finding solutions to your problems are. Create a plan if your thoughts relate to something you can prevent or fix. Even better, come up with a few plans just in case one doesn’t work out.

Focusing on problem-solving allows you to put your energy into something helpful instead of letting your thoughts spiral. If you can’t do anything about the problem you’re thinking of, come up with a plan for how you’ll handle your feelings. You can always control your attitude, and sometimes that’s all the plan you need.

11. Practice Deep Breathing to Minimize Overthinking

Deep breathing can help refocus your thoughts and bring you to the present. If you can’t eliminate your negative thinking, take a few moments to breathe. Find a comfortable place to sit and relax while breathing through your nose.

Pay attention to the way your chest and stomach move as you breathe. Do this a few times daily for at least five minutes, and you’ll feel much better. It’ll help if you do it anytime your thoughts start racing.

12. Remember Your Successes

When overthinking, it’s easy to obsess over what went wrong in your life. Instead of giving in to those thoughts, remember all you have achieved.

Get out a notebook and write down a few things you have accomplished. Write one list of things that happened throughout your life and one for the past week or two.

These accomplishments don’t have to be prominent. They can include things like sticking to your budget or cleaning our bedroom. The goal is to help you see that things are going well, even when your thoughts threaten to convince you otherwise.

Final Thoughts on Ways to Make Yourself Stop Overthinking Immediately

You don’t have to let overthinking interfere with or ruin your life. Take a step back and consider how the overanalyzing affects you now and long term. It hinders your progress and disrupts your well-being.

If you’re prone to overthinking and are ready to make a change, these ways can help you. Implement one or two methods at first, and then add more as you become comfortable. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how well they improve your life.

10 Ways to Be Grateful, Even During Adversity

July 10, 2022 by Kristen Butler

If you didn’t have trials in your life, you wouldn’t be human. Even in the best of circumstances, adversity can almost break you. In the darkest hours of your soul, you must be grateful. It can be the spark of light you need.

How Can You be Grateful When You’re Hurting?

No, you’re not a martyr, nor do you want your life to be destroyed for the greater good. It even may seem ridiculous to think that you can be thankful for your trials. However, your perspective may change once you see the relationship between gratitude and adversity.

Your Attitude Makes a Difference

Have you ever been around someone so pessimistic they bring you down? Whether the weather has been sunny for six days, this negative person is griping about the one rainy day out of the week. They whine for hours with their tragic stories of pain and misery.

Consider another person you know who’s also experiencing loss or significant difficulties. They may not be cheering or throwing confetti, but their conversation isn’t stuck in their situation. Even in their tears, they have an attitude of gratitude that inspires you and everyone around them.

Let’s face it. There will always be events and circumstances beyond your control. The more you fight them, the more they come crashing into your life. You only have true peace when you accept that you can’t manage negative people.

Although you can’t control these things, you can manage your attitude. You can learn how to develop a spirit of gratitude that transcends temporary trials and tribulations. It may be the thing that brings you over to the other side.

Ways to Stand in Life’s Storms

Are you going through a time of loss and other difficulties? You may feel lost, abandoned, and have nowhere else to turn. The good news is that you have a Higher Power that will anchor you in the roughest storm.

Those waves of pain and gales of hopelessness are natural. However, looking back at your past victories makes you grateful and builds your faith in the present. These are ten ways that gratitude can help amid trials.

1. Practice the Language of Gratitude

Words carry immense power, and they can promote healing or destruction. Have you ever noticed how you feel when you use grateful words? They can strengthen your spirit, even during adverse times, when they come from your heart.

Most of these are some of the first words that youngsters learn. Unfortunately, many adults forget them at times. Appreciative words like please, thank you, and the oft-forgotten “you’re welcome.” When you’re in the habit of using the language of gratitude, the spirit of the words comes naturally.

2. Change Your Perspective

When your life is overwhelmed with problems, it can be too easy to focus on negativity. This phenomenon is called negativity bias, explained in an article published by the National Library of Medicine. The human tendency to focus on a bit of negativity regardless of the positivity outweighs it.

That’s not to say you should minimize your pain. However, changing the perspective of your situation may offer you more clarity. You’re grateful when you see blessings in the rain that you didn’t realize were there when the sun was shining in your life.

3. Keep a Written Testimony

Revelation 12:11 states that you can overcome by the word of your testimony. A testimony is a verbal or written account of expertise or something you’ve witnessed. In this case, you are counting your blessings and the victories over problems you’ve experienced.

It builds your confidence when you share these uplifting stories with others. Plus, keeping a gratitude journal preserves them for later. Consider writing a continuing list of things for which you’re grateful.

Feeling defeated, you can reflect on some of your journal’s previous entries. They are a written testimony of your resilience and your Higher Power. If you overcame adversity in the past, you could do it again.

4. Practice Empathy

When you can feel empathetic to another person, it can enhance your ability to be grateful. These virtues benefit you just as much as they help others in your life.

Often, adversity locks you in your mind, and your thinking stays internal. However, when you shift your focus, you’re more aware of how other people may be feeling. When you consider other folk’s hardships, yours may seem less harmful, and you can be grateful for your life.

5. Put It to Music

Perhaps author Joan Walsh Anglund said it best when she said caged birds sing because they have a song, not an answer. Likewise, you don’t understand why you experience adversity. However, gratitude is the song in your heart regardless of circumstances.

There’s something magical about music that calms your heart and soothes your spirit. When you’ve had a bad day or rough times, listening to your favorite tunes may help. It may not give you any answers, but music can cultivate gratitude and a sense of well-being.

6. Reach Out to Others

Volunteering and giving back is love put into action, benefiting both giver and recipient. Your body, mind, and spirit are good when you help those in need. You can put your troubles behind you and be grateful for those singular moments where you experience the joy of giving.

There are countless ways that you can help your community and beyond. Consider volunteering in your local soup kitchen or being an afterschool tutor. Help with charitable programs in your community and your place of worship.

The gratitude blesses you from those whom you serve. However, you don’t do it for the thanks but because it’s the right thing to do. Whatever you can do to bring joy and make someone’s life a little better is worth it.

7. Be Grateful for the Challenge

Of course, you don’t wish for adversity, but these trials can strengthen you. How else would you realize your capabilities unless they were tested? Try to think of these difficult times as lessons to learn for the future.

It’s usually easier said than done, and you often don’t have gratitude until after. For example, you may feel extreme pressure from a project on the job. However, your hard work gives you more experience and skills to help you with larger projects.

8. Practice Meditation

Practicing mindfulness can make you more open to possible solutions to your adversity. All you need is a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, and you can learn to appreciate and be grateful for your blessings. It can be in a room or a small space in your home or office. Just 15 minutes a day of mindful breathing and collecting your thoughts can make a big difference.

9. Learn to Forgive

While not all of your problems are your fault, some of them may be. Could a current battle stem from past grudges and bitterness? If so, you’ll continue to struggle until you release these negative feelings.

Most people say they “can’t” forgive when they mean they “won’t” ignore. Until you learn to forgive, the person or situation that hurt you still has power over you. The process of forgiving breaks that authority, and you’re free to go forward.

Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself and has nothing to do with excusing or forgetting. You choose to release the bitterness and all the problems it causes you physically, mentally, and spiritually. You’re grateful that old grudges no longer block your path to well-being, joy, and abundance.

10. Be Responsible for Your Joy

People and material things can bring you temporary happiness, but only you can give yourself joy. Unlike the fleeting emotion of happiness, joy is a choice that’s not dependent on your circumstances.

It’s not that you’re oblivious and sees everything through rose-tinted glasses. You realize evil in the world and goodness doesn’t always triumph. Also, you’re mature enough to know that you’re not going to be happy all the time, nor should you be.

When you take responsibility for your joy, you can see beyond the problems and pain. You allow yourself to feel each emotion with compassion. Your happiness keeps you moving even when you’re devastated and don’t know how you can go on.

Final Thoughts on Gratitude and Difficult Situations

There’s no going around that you’ll have sorrow and pain in this life, but you must still be grateful. However, you can have peace in knowing that your blessings can be your saving grace. When you understand that everything that comes to your life will eventually pass, your gratitude will give you strength and encourage you to keep going.

10 Differences Between Anxiety and Worrying

July 10, 2022 by Sarah Barkley

Many people confuse anxiety and worry, although there are differences between the two. You might think that worrying means you’re anxious, but that’s not the case. Anxiety is more intense and interferes in your life in ways that worrying doesn’t.

Statistics from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America show that almost 40 million people in the United States have an anxiety disorder. With this being the case, it’s a common occurrence, and understanding can help you handle it.

Knowing the differences between a disorder and worry can help you identify the issue. You’ll know if you’re experiencing normal feelings or if it’s become something more.

What is Worrying?

Worry is what occurs when you dwell on negative thinking. You might focus on uncertain outcomes or think about what could go wrong in a situation. Sometimes your worrisome thoughts can become repetitive and obsessive.

Worrying is a good thing, even if it makes you uncomfortable. It helps calm your mind by allowing you to problem-solve or take action.

What is Anxiety?

This disorder occurs in the mind and body and is often the product of too much worry and stress. It responds to a threat that hasn’t occurred and may not happen at all. You tell yourself something is off, or something bad will happen, even when you have no evidence.

When you have anxious thoughts, your adrenaline starts pumping, and your blood pressure increases. Your body enters a state of fight or flight, although there isn’t a threat. It’s a debilitating condition that can consume days, weeks, or months of your life.

The disorder causes a sinking or gnawing feeling, and sometimes the person doesn’t know why. They feel something is wrong and must do something, but they don’t know what. In these situations, the person doesn’t know what’s wrong to start fixing it.

Other issues that those with anxiety disorder experience include:

Obsessing over details of the past
Fretting over things that haven’t happened yet, and might not happen at all
Feeling overwhelmed when your texts and phone calls go unanswered
Apologizing even when you didn’t do anything wrong
Not being able to sleep because you replay negative thoughts in your mind
Feeling like you can’t get out of bed
Needing certainty
Overthinking and caring too much

Symptoms of Anxiety

Unexplained agitation
Feelings of panic, fear, or doom
Dizziness
Heart palpitations
Racing thoughts
Muscle tension
Nausea
Numbness and tingling
Shortness of breath
Tightness in the chest
Dry mouth

Differences Between Anxiety and Worrying

Many people use the terms interchangeably, but it’s not accurate. They are different psychological states and affect your emotional and psychological health differently.

Anxiety involves worry, but they’re not the same. Here are some of the differences:

1. Worry is Based on Reality

When you worry, there’s a logical component to it. You experience a real danger and take steps to alleviate the situation. However, if you’re anxious, you overestimate the risk and struggle to cope or find a solution.

Anxious thoughts involve catastrophic thinking. You imagine the worst-case scenario rather than the realistic chances of something happening. Your mind might even create situations that bring on anxious feelings.

2. Worrying Leads to Problem Solving

When you worry, it triggers problem-solving for real issues. You begin to think about solutions and strategies rather than fixating on the negativity.

When you’re anxious, your thoughts and feelings don’t encourage problem-solving. Instead, you continually give in to your negative thoughts and can’t find a solution.

3. Worry Only Affects Your Mind

When you worry, it only takes place in your mind. However, anxiety affects your mind and body.

When you’re anxious, you might feel lightheaded or have trouble breathing. You can also experience nausea or digestive issues.

4. Worrying Doesn’t Impact Function

Anxiety makes it hard to focus and accomplish tasks, but worrying doesn’t affect your functioning. Anxious feelings impact your personal and professional life because it causes restlessness, discomfort, and distress. It can prevent you from handling responsibilities and interferes with relationships.

5. Worry Doesn’t Require Professional Treatment

When you’re worried, it doesn’t require treatment. Worry is part of your daily life, and you can control it without help. On the other hand, managing the disorder often requires professional help.

6. Worry is Specific

Being worried usually involves a specific situation. You’ll worry about how you can accomplish everything, trying to create a plan. Throughout the process, your worry is distinctive, and you can identify it.

Having a disorder is different because it’s more generalized. You can’t pinpoint the problem, making it impossible to come up with a solution. The vague feelings of discomfort will leave you feeling unsettled with no positive course of action.

7. Worry Comes and Goes

As a natural part of life, worry comes and goes as you encounter and resolve issues. It doesn’t affect your daily life and doesn’t usually linger for long. Anxious thoughts and feelings don’t go away, affecting your overall quality of life.

8. Worrying Causes Mild Physical Tension

Being worried can cause you to feel mild physical tension that eases once you find a solution. Anxiety leads to intense physical reactions that don’t go away as quickly. The physical reactions you experience include:

Headaches
Generalized tension throughout your body
Trembling
Tightness in your chest

9. Worry Doesn’t Involve Negative Mental Imagery

When you worry, it’s verbally focused and doesn’t involve mental imagery. Anxious thoughts lead to negative mental images and can cause cardiovascular response. Not only does the imagery cause physical symptoms throughout the body, but they also cause repetitive and unhelpful thoughts.

10. You Can Control Worrying

Worry is controllable, while anxiety isn’t as easy to control. When you worry, you can problem solve and come up with solutions to get through it. With anxious thoughts, you can’t control them or talk yourself out of them.

You can also distract yourself from worrying by focusing on other tasks. However, you can’t always distract yourself when anxious because the thoughts and feelings consume you.

What to do if You Think You’re Worrying Too Much or Experiencing Anxiety

If you think that you worry excessively, there are some things you can do to make it better. Some of these things include:

Turning Off the News

If you consume too many news stores, the negativity can impact your mental health. Limit your intake by setting a timer for how long you’ll read or watch the news. You can learn what’s happening in the world in just a few minutes without overwhelming yourself.

Practicing Mindfulness

Mindfulness exercises are quick and can shift your mindset each day. Spend five to 10 minutes connecting with yourself to reduce the feelings.

Challenging Negative Thinking

If you experience frequent negative thoughts, you can learn to challenge them. Ask yourself if your thoughts are true or helpful. If you answer no to either of these things, you can reset your mind and focus on positivity instead.

Finding Ways to Decompress from Anxiety

Relaxing and doing things you enjoy can help you alleviate negative feelings. It can help you cope with uncomfortable or confusing emotions, allowing you to recharge and refocus.

Practicing Deep Breathing

Take slow deep breaths with longer exhalations to ease distracting thoughts. Focus on your breathing as you inhale and exhale, allowing you to shift your mindset.

Grounding to Manage Anxiety

You can practice grounding no matter where you are. Look around for the following:

Five things you can see
Four things you can touch
Three things you can hear
Two things you can smell
One thing you can taste

As you touch the four items, think about the textures. If you can’t smell anything, think about things you like to smell instead. Likewise, if there’s nothing to taste, think of a flavor that brings comfort.

Repeating Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations can help shift your mindset and focus on the essential things in your life. You can write positive mantras that are unique to your life, or you can use pre-created ones. Repeat the affirmations each morning or at night, depending on when your anxiety tends to take over.

Write Down Your Worries and Come Up with a Plan

When your worries start to spiral, write down your thoughts. Write anything that comes to mind, and focus on your obsessive thoughts. Once you write them down, brainstorm some steps you can take to overcome the issues.

Limit Stimulants to Ease Anxiety

Stimulants can worsen anxiety, so try to avoid it or limit your intake. Be mindful of how much sugar, alcohol, and caffeine you consume to ease the impact.

Listen to Music While You Clean Your Home

Distracting yourself doesn’t always work, but if you do it soon enough, you can prevent your worries from becoming anxious. Turn your music on and find something to clean or organize. It can help shift your mindset and overcome your spiraling thoughts.

Final Thoughts on Differences Between Anxiety and Worry

While anxiety involves worry, there are many differences between the two. When you take the time to figure out if you’re experiencing an anxiety disorder, you can make positive changes in your life. Treating it can help you live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Everyone experiences these feelings sometimes, but they shouldn’t consume your life. It all comes down to how you handle the feelings and if you find solutions to your problems.

5 Signs of Sciatica Never to Overlook

July 10, 2022 by Chris Butler

Sciatica is a painful experience that causes a decrease in the quality of life for those impacted. Sciatica causes pain that travels from your buttocks down your leg. It causes numbness, weakness, and a tingling sensation. Sciatica could indicate an underlying condition that starts in your lower back. Here are some signs that you shouldn’t overlook if you think you have sciatica.

Where is the sciatic nerve?

Your sciatic nerve goes from your lower back through your hips and buttocks, going down each leg. The name sciatica describes inflammation of this nerve, causing pain that radiates down the nerve into your hips and buttocks. This condition usually only affects one side of your body.

5 Signs of Sciatica Never to Overlook

At first, you may not know that you’re dealing with sciatica pain. Over time, your symptoms may get worse. If you don’t try to treat it, it can get worse. Here are some signs of sciatica that you should look for.

1 – Lower Back Pain (one of the most commonly reported signs of sciatica)

Low back pain may be the first sign that you’re developing sciatica. The pain begins in your lower back and moves down your buttocks and leg. This pain is usually only on one side of your legs, but sometimes both sides hurt simultaneously. Bending, sitting, or standing makes it worse. The only relief is usually lying down, but for some individuals, even lying down hurts.

2 – Burning or Tingling Sensation

If you’re having strange burning or tingling sensations down one of your legs, this may be an early sign of sciatica. Many people describe this pain as a dull ache or sharp shooting pain. Either way, it’s challenging to maintain your everyday activities when dealing with it.

3 – Painful to Walk or Stand

It could be a sign of sciatica if you notice discomfort when you’re sitting or standing at work. Moving might relieve the pain, but it may not go away. Some people say that lying down is the only way they find relief from their pain, but this isn’t always the case.

4 – Weakness or Numbness of the Foot or Leg

Besides experiencing pain, other signs of sciatica are weakness or numbness in your leg or foot. You may notice your feet feeling numb or tingling. This could signify you have a pinched nerve, which could cause your sciatica. These are severe signs. Go see your chiropractor right away for diagnosis and treatment.

5 – Leg Gives Out

There may also be circumstances when your leg gives out while walking or standing up. This sign of sciatica makes you prone to injury, especially if you lose your balance. Don’t overlook these signs, but seek medical care right away. Your chiropractor can give you exercises to do to help your sciatic nerve be restored. Fortunately, in most cases, sciatica can be treated at home or with minimal intervention. But once in a while, surgery is required.

Warnings About Paying Attention to the Signs of Sciatica

If sciatica is left untreated, it can lead to long-term neurological conditions. Here are some complications that untreated sciatica causes.

Incontinence: Untreated sciatica can lead to incontinence, or the inability to control your bladder or bowels. This is a severe medical condition called cauda equina syndrome.
Weakness in both legs: Cauda equina syndrome can also cause sudden pain and weakness or numbness in both legs. If this happens, it usually requires immediate surgery. This condition causes difficulty walking if you don’t seek treatment.
Sexual dysfunction: Some people have experienced numbness in their genitals.
Drop foot: Sciatica can cause numbness in your foot. You may develop foot drop. This is where you can’t raise your foot correctly when you walk.
You may walk differently: If you suffer from back pain like sciatica, you may compensate by favoring the painful leg. This changes your gait. You may limp or swing your leg wider than usual. You may not know that you’re doing this until someone mentions it. The awkward stride throws out your back, so it’s not in alignment. This causes even more neck pain and back pain.
Surgery: Surgery can repair extreme neck and back pain from sciatica.

Know You Know the Signs of Sciatica, But How Can Your Lifestyle Increase Your Risk of This Back Pain?

What makes you more susceptible to getting sciatica?

Some circumstances or lifestyle choices make you at a higher risk for developing sciatica.

Being male and middle-aged: It turns out that men develop sciatica more often than women. Young people can suffer from sciatica pain, but it’s more common in adults in their 40s and 50s.
Diabetes: If you have diabetes, you may have nerve pain similar to sciatica. If you haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes but are experiencing nerve pain in your legs, it may be good to see your doctor. They can determine if you have sciatica or if this is any indication that you have diabetes.
Pregnancy: Pregnant women often suffer from sciatica, especially in the last few months of pregnancy, because of the extra weight and how you’re carrying the baby.
Being overweight: If you’re overweight. You’re more susceptible to sciatica nerve pain.
Smoking: Studies show that smokers have a moderately higher risk of sciatica. It appears that when a person stops smoking, it reduces but won’t eliminate the occurrence of sciatica. Researchers aren’t sure why this is true. Maybe other lifestyle choices which go along with smoking exacerbate this condition.
Career: Certain jobs put you at risk for sciatica pain, such as carrying heavy loads, sitting for long periods, or twisting that causes neck pain or back pain.

What Causes Sciatica?

Here are some common causes of sciatica.

Herniated disk: Most of the time, a herniated disk will repair independently. But if this happens, you may suffer from chronic sciatica pain.
Car accidents: Injuries can cause sciatica, especially a car accident or injury where you hurt your neck or back.
Inflammation: If you have an inflammatory condition, you’re at a higher risk of sciatica pain.
Infection: An infection around your spine that causes swelling will often become sciatica.
Spinal cancer or mass: A mass or cancerous tumor can lead to sciatica pain.
Overuse: As you get older, normal wear and tear hurts your spine and may lead to signs of sciatica.
Tuberculosis: This isn’t as common today, but doctors say there is a type of tuberculosis that causes an abscess in the lungs and presses the spine, causing sciatica. This may be more common in third-world countries where TB vaccines are not typical.
Misalignment of your spine: If your spine is out of alignment, you may develop sciatica. Your poor alignment leads to inflammation and pain of the sciatic nerve.

What Can Alleviate the Signs of Sciatica?

The good news is that most of the time, you can treat this back pain at home. In rare cases, you’ll need surgery. Try these suggestions to help your sciatica pain.

Walking: Surprisingly, walking is a great way to relieve your sciatica pain. When you walk regularly, it causes your brain to release pain-alleviating endorphins. This reduces your inflammation and helps you relax, so the pain subsides. Just be sure to maintain your posture while you walk. It may hurt at first, but after a few minutes, the pain should improve, and you can enjoy your walk.
Gentle exercises and stretches: Daily gentle exercises and stretches can help relieve your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Be sure to rest in between the exercises and don’t overdo it. Too much exercise will make the sciatica pain worse.
Apply Ice packs: If the pain is terrible, apply ice packs to the affected areas that hurt the most. This provides some relief and helps your sciatica nerve to relax. Pain makes this nerve tighten up, which makes it especially painful.
Taking a warm bath: Warm baths are relaxing and pain-relieving. Soak in a tub of Epsom salts to help relieve the pain and relax your muscles.
Maintain good posture: When you’re in pain, it’s hard not to favor one side or restrict your movements. This affects your posture. Try to keep good posture with your shoulders back, and your stomach tucked. Relax as you walk or stand, don’t stand in a rigid stance. This puts stress on your back and sciatic nerve.

Final Thoughts on Understanding the Signs of Sciatica to Decrease Your Back Pain

If you’ve had sciatica pain, you know the debilitating agony. The burning sensation prevents you from doing your everyday activities. The symptoms are aching pain that runs from your hips to your buttocks and down your leg. You may have tingling or shooting pains down your legs. It hurts to move. Other signs of sciatica that people experience include numbness, causing their leg to weaken, so it gives out when they walk. Hopefully, this article gives you some practical tips on determining if you have sciatica, what could cause your discomfort, and how to deal with it so you can find relief.

Editorial Note 08/22/2023: Updated information on study.

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