One step in front of the other...

The photo below is probably one of the ugliest pictures I will ever share on my blog (in my opinion anyway).

I snapped the photo this morning as testimony to what I drive through each morning on my way to work.

Pitch black, darkness.....(back, country roads).

The only thing that would have made it worse was if it had been snowing....

That, of course, will be here soon.

I can hear anyone reading this asking, why? Why take such a picture??

The reason is that it really fit my mood this morning. On most mornings, I can't say it really bothers me, but when I'm having a difficult morning-- the darkness feels almost sinister..

As I mentioned in a previous post, I suffer from a moderate form of anxiety. The details and triggers involved are too personal for me to discuss on the internet (and I wouldn't really care to talk about them anyway as that would be counterproductive in my particular situation).

With that said, I decided to write this post about what it is that I do when I find myself in a black rut and need to move forward (My struggles with this usually begin in the morning when I first get out of bed).

The first thing I do is mentally break my impending day up into little, tiny chunks. I prioritize items that NEED to be accomplished and put those that don't in a seperate "folder" in my mind. Mental Imagery is a powerful tool once you've learned how to master it (and to trust it).

Next, I reset my focus on each of my "task chunks," and get them done one at a time. Again, using my well practiced, Mental Imagery,  I block out each task that I have yet to accomplish. I physically push worry aside in my brain..

Putting one step in front of the other, I chip away at each chunk on my list. Regardless of how slow things go, I keep the focus on moving forward.

While this may seem simple to someone who is merely overwhelmed,  I can assure you that it's a different story when you are dealing with a hefty dose of anxiety and worry on top of it.

When I've manage to propel myself through a day that started out on "the wrong side of the bed," I take a few moments to allow myself to feel a sense of accomplishment (...and this is more important than it might sound).

My last step after a difficult day, is to spend some time in meditation (...and, no I don't hum, sit in strange poses, or make weird noises). Meditation,  done properly,  is all about training your body to relax and quiet your mind.  Everyone has a slight variation of different techniques that work for them as an individual.  No matter how it is approached, it WORKS WONDERS for reducing stress and anxiety.

So after a day that started out very unsteadily this morning, I am now finding myself calm and ready to face a new day tomorrow.

The BEST part is that I am planning to spend time with both of my horses AND I get to see my niece, little Fiona.

Due to the craziness of my week, I haven't had horse time since Tuesday (and that was pretty brief). Missing time with the horses does NOT help my anxiety....!

The Moral of the story??

It takes time and patience to work on anti-anxiety/stress strategies and put them into practice...but it's certainly worth it no matter how ridiculous some things might seem in the beginning (or at what level each person feels stress. Coping and calming techniques can help everyone).

Keep on "Keeping on," it DOES get better!!