8 anxiety symptoms & 8 ways to reduce anxiety

Anxiety is like a big green monster, just waiting to sneak up on you when you least expect it.  Anxiety has been something I have been dealing with personally for many many years.  Over the years I have learned to recognize the symptoms (for me) and different ways that help deal with them.

Anxiety symptoms

1. Dizziness
2. Weakness
3. Shortness of breath
4. Nausea
5. Diarrhea
6. Rapid heart beat/palpitations
7. Insomnia
8. Loss of appetite

Ways to reduce anxiety

1. Exercise
2. Reduce caffeine intake
3. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing
4. Practice cognitive behavior therapy
5. Recognize the things that trigger the anxiety
6. Medication
7. Talk to a health care provider
8. Meditation

Ways to be frugal at home and save money

10 Ways to be frugal at home and save money

Make a monthly budget.  One way to save money is to plan and make a monthly budget.  Use a spread sheet or even just a piece of paper.  This way you are able to see exactly where your money is going and you can cut out the things you don't really need.  Most importantly stick to your budget.

Use coupons.  Always look for and use coupons on the things you buy.  Even if the savings isn't big, remember it's still a savings.

Plan out all meals.  Meal planning is a great way to save money and time.  You will never have to worry about what to make for dinner after a busy day at work.  Making it less likely to order food out.

Make a grocery list.  Wright grocery list based on the ingredients that you need for your planned out meals.  This way you have everything on hand when you go to cook.  Stick to only the items on your list.

Buy in bulk.  Buy items in bulk when you can.  It is usually a little cheaper to buy large quantities then it is to buy 2 or 3 individually.  You can always store the extra items.

 Make coffee at home.  Making coffee at home and taking it with you to work.  This can save you a good chunk of money especially if you buy coffee out every day.

Pack lunch.  Make lunches the night before so you can just grab and go.  It will save you money and it's probably a lot more healthier then restaurant food.

Walk instead of driving.  You will save money and get some exercise at the same time.

Turn down heat at night.  When you are sleeping and all covered up, you wont notice it's a little cooler in the house.

Hang clothing to dry.  Hang washing up to dry instead of using the dryer.

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Anxiety disorder and my story

This is my story/journey with generalized anxiety disorder.  

I was medically diagnosed by my doctor as having generalized anxiety.  Now some of you might be wondering what generalized anxiety really means.  Generalized anxiety is excessive worry over daily life events and activities, of which there is no obvious reason for worry.

When I first started having the physical symptoms that go along with anxiety, I was in my late teens.  At that time I didn't know about anxiety or that it was even a thing.  I was always feeling nauseated so I thought I was having stomach issues.  After a couple months of feeling the way I did, I made an appointment with the doctor.  I was sent for a number of tests and exams on my stomach.  Each test and exam came back fine.  The doctor was telling me there is nothing wrong with me.  To cope I started to self medicate myself.

Fast forward to my early 20's and things started getting worse and fast.  I started to find it hard to go to work as I worked in the public.  I couldn't or wouldn't even go away from home for the night because of fear of getting sick and not being able to get home.  I basically didn't want to be away from home (my comfort zone).  I never told my family or friends why I wouldn't do things.  I just made excuses not to leave home.  Then the day came where I couldn't even get out the door to go to work.  That's when I knew I had a problem.  Went back to the dr's and described how I was feeling.  That's when I first learned about generalized anxiety disorder.  My dr prescribed me an antidepressant.

 Since my 20's until now, I have been on about 4 different antidepressants.  I haven't really stayed on the same one for much over a year at a time.  All either had Side effects I can't stand or don't like example, made me very depressed and suicide (something I never had before), made my hair fall out in clumps, weight gain of 80lbs, lack of energy and just down right horrible feeling.  The current antidepressant I'm on at this time is sort of a happy medium for me.  I'v lost weight on it (bonus), it makes me not able to sleep at night (on sleeping meds to help), I'm not depressed (bonus) and it helps with the anxiety about 75% of the time.  It's not perfect but the benefits out weigh the side effects for me.

I did try doing therapy for a while, although I didn't stick with it.  I found it wasn't something that worked for me.

The one thing I find is my biggest trigger is when I'm under stress.  Stress seems to make my anxiety get out of hand even on the antidepressants.  I try not to let things stress me out and tell myself I'm not able to control everything.  Most days are good but there are still those days when the anxiety creeps up on me and gets the best of me.

Coconut oil uses

There are many uses for coconut oil, from skin treatments, hair treatment's all the way to cooking.  The one thing to remember is that when purchasing coconut oil be sure to only get unrefined 100% virgin coconut oil. That means that it isn't processed with chemicals, making it all natural.

The one thing that I like about coconut oil is that it is all natural and smells great.  Coconut oil absorbs quickly and is non-greasy.  When at room temperature it is solid, but will quickly melt when it comes in contact with your hands.  I'm going to talk about some ways that you can use coconut oil in your day to day life.

 THINGS TO USE COCONUT OIL FOR

• Makeup brush cleaner.  Believe it or not makeup brushes should be cleaned once a month. You can do that by mixing a little oil with antibacterial soap to clean.
• Deep conditioning hair treatment.  Use warm oil, massage it through hair, cover with shower cap and leave for 2hrs.  Wash hair as normal.  This is great to do if you have very dry hair.
• Moisturizer.  Can be used as a body moisturizer to keep skin soft.
• Makeup remove.  Take some oil and rub it on the makeup then wash it away.  Works great on waterproof mascara.
• Massage oil.  Warm a little oil in microwave and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Gel nail polish at home

Do you like to be pampered at nail spa's?  I love having my nails done. It's a great feeling walking out of the spa with bright shinny nails. 

It can get very expensive to have gel polish done at a spa and then having to go back and pay to get it off.  But why pay when you can do it at home for a fraction.  Are you wondering how?  Well I'm going to tell you.....

Things you need:

1. A UV light
2. Nail chippers & file
3. gel polish (I prefer CND brand)
4. Base coat (CND)
5. Top coat (CND)
6. isopropyl alcohol (I use 75%)
7. cotton ball

Directions:

1. First you will want to trim and shape your nails.
2. wash and dry hands, to remove any debris.
3. Apply a thin layer of the base coat to each nail on one hand first
4. Place hand under UV light for about 3min
5. Apply a thin layer of gel polish (your choice of color) to each nail on one hand first
6. Place hand under UV light for about 3min
7. Apply a thin layer of top coat to each nail on one hand first
8. Place under UV light for about 3min
9. Take a cotton ball and soak it with isopropyl alcohol and rub each nail until it's not sticky
10. Repeat steps for next hand

Gel polish lasts about 3 weeks and doesn't crack or chip.  It is great for those ladies that use their hands a lot and find that regular nail polish just chips so fast.

5 THRIFT STORE FINDS YOU CAN FLIP TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY

My husband and I have a love for thrift stores.  When ever we travel out of our area, we always do a quick search online for thrift stores near where we are going.  One of the things about thrift store shopping is you never know what you are going to find.

THINGS TO FLIP

• Antiques can be found a thrift store for relatively cheap price.
• Art work and lots of it. There always seems to be an abundance of it at every thrift store.
• Vintage furniture.  Especially chairs that you can re upholster and fix up.
• Vintage dishes like corning ware, Pyrex and corelle.
• Designer clothing

If you have a little creativity and are handy, you can easily make money off of thrift store finds.

HAPPY HUNTING