What I learned from dealing with extreme stress

I haven’t posted for awhile.   I have been dealing with a very stressful situation that caused disruption to my life.   I was dealing with job stress.   Jobs do have a measure of stress, this was a different situation that caused me unusual mental, emotional and physical distress that began to in all areas of my life.  I had extreme anxiety which was causing me to have heart palpitations and I was not sleeping well.  That resulted in me having no time to work on my blog.  Instead of working on my blog after work, I would come home and go straight to bed!  Which also left me with no time or energy for regular physical exercise.  No time or energy to cook for myself or eat healthy.   So I have really gotten off track.   I’ve decided I need to get back on track with both my blogging and my healthy lifestyle.

The job stress wasn’t easy to deal with but I did learn a lot while going through that situation.   It reminded me of what’s really important in life.   It taught me to look for the positives, the beauty in life.   While a job is important, you need a job to pay bills and make a living.   There was a lot more to me and a lot more to life than just my job.

What helped me to get through that tough situation was having strong faith and focusing on my spirituality.   I was getting a lot of negativity at work, criticism and overall making me feel like I was an awful person.  What I needed to remember is that  what is most important in my life is my relationship with my creator and how he feels about me and that my job does not define me or my worth as a person.   My creator loves me and values me and that’s what is more important than anything.

When I was going through that,  I looked for ways to deal with my stress.   A great stress reliever for me was gardening and doing yard work ( I guess that was my exercise lol )   I found gardening and planting flowers and designing my flower beds to be extremely relaxing and rewarding.   Seeing the beauty of my garden brought me peace and happiness and helped me to relax and get my mind off of my stress.  My yard was very beautiful this summer, that’s how stressed I was.  LOL

Another way I dealt with stress and anxiety was by going for walks in the local metro parks and enjoying the wildlife and nature.   It was also good exercise for me.   It was refreshing and relaxing to go to the parks and look for and enjoy the beauty in life.   It reminded me of all the good things in life and despite the awful and toxic situation I was going through, life is truly beautiful and I need to appreciate life and all its beauty.

And of course a priority in life is my relationship with others, family , friends, children and grandchildren.   Having those positive and close relationship with others truly adds meaning and beauty to life.   I had to learn to surround myself with positive role models and people who are good for me and that toxic people don’t define who I am as a person.  I had to learn to separate myself from that toxic environment and that I am not that person they are trying to tell me that I am.

I remember when I was going through that tough time in my life, I got a very sweet text message from my granddaughter.  Her dad had just taught her how to use siri to send text messages.   She told Siri, “send text message to Momma Angie ( that’s what she calls me )   She tells Siri, “tell her( meaning me)  I love her.”  Aww, my heart just melted.  I thought to myself, that’s what life is all about.   It’s those little things that are so precious and add so much meaning and beauty to life.   Also spending time with my two grandsons and seeing them grow and learn new things and becoming who they are is another precious part of life that I am truly enjoying.

I’m happy to report that the stressful situation I was dealing with has now ended and I am happy again.  smile    I’m thankful that I got through it, thankful for the family and friends who helped me get through that tough situation.  Thankful to my creator for giving me the strength to get through it.  Throughout that process I learned a lot about myself, most importantly, I learned to stay positive and despite that toxic situation or life’s problems; life is truly beautiful.   I’m learning to appreciate how beautiful and great life is and to focus on the positives and focus on me and my mental health well being.

Below are some of my favorite moments from the last few months that made my life truly blessed and beautiful