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

BODY SUGARING; ALSO CALLED SUGAR WAX, SUGAR PAST OR HALAWA

Body sugaring is and ancient Egyptian method of hair removal that been used for centuries.  It is very simple and easy to make at home, as it only requires 4 ingredients sugar, water, lemon and salt.  It contains all natural ingredients making it good to use on sensitive skin. and easily cleans up with warm water.

I was first told about sugaring a few yrs back by a friend.  Being curious I turned to the internet to learn more.  After reading and watching some videos on how to make it, I thought to my self it looks easy enough to make.  To be honest it is easy to make once you get the hang of it.  It took me about 4 tries before I got it right.  I was all most ready to give up on it.  I'm sure glade that I didn't.

Recipe:

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar will work too
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water

Items need:

Pot
Wooden spoon or whisk
Measuring cups and spoons
Large bowl
Smaller bowl
Candy thermometer
Ice

Directions:

The first thing before I start I gather all the things I need.  I like to take and put ice and a little water in the larger bowl then place smaller bowl inside.  Then I splash very very little water (this will help keep wax from sticking) around the sides of the smaller bowl. Next I put the sugar, water, salt and lemon into pot and put on med high heat.  Now the most important step is to keep stirring the mixture.  It doesn't take much for it to burn.  You will want to keep stirring for about 5-7 min or until it's a golden color (color of honey).  Some people like to use a candy thermometer to help keep it from getting to hot and burning.  Once it is golden in color, you will want to remove from the heat and pour into the small bowl.  With a spoon you can stir the mixture around to help in the cooling proses. DO NOT TOUCH WHEN HOT.  Once cool enough that you can handle it, scoop it out of bowl and form into a ball.  I like to stretch it a few times until a little firm.  It should be the color of the ball on the right (shown in pic below).   It is very stick and will stick to your hands.  You can use a bit of water on your palms to help it from sticking to much.

WAXING

Using your hands form into a ball.  Then spread in the opposite direction of hair growth and remove in direction of hair growth.  Try and spread it thin enough that it get the hairs.  If needed you can go over the area again.  You can use the same piece of wax until its not sticking enough to remove hair.  When finished use warm water and wash away any sticky spots.

STORING & re-using:

You can store any left over wax in the fridge for up to 3 month.  Just roll into ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  When going to use again take it out and put in microwave for 10sec or until soft enough to work with.

PROS & CONS:

PROS:

• Can be done made at home
• All natural
• Hurts way less then the other waxes out there
• cleans up with just warm water
• lasts up to 3-4 weeks before hair re-growth

CONS:

• Takes some practice to make it right
• Takes a little bit of learning to apply and remove it right

HAPPY WAXING 

Arctic fox hair dye

Arctic fox is a semi-permanent hair dye, Created and founded in 2014 by model and animal lover Kristen Leanne.  Arctic Fox contains no drying alcohols, PPDs, or harsh chemicals.  Arctic fox is 100% vegan.  It comes in many bright vibrant colors.

I have work with the red color called POISON, on a number or occasions.  It has a very pleasant scent to it.  It is a thick texture similar to conditioner, making it less messy to apply then other hair dyes.  The lady I have had the pleasure in working with has thick waist long hair.  I used about a bottle and a half of the 8 once size.  I recommend wearing a pair of rubber gloves when applying and putting Vaseline (or something similar) around your hairline and ears to prevent staining.  After applying the dye I use a cheap shower cap to cover her hair and leave it for 2-3 hrs.  I apply heat from blow dryer about every 30min for 10-15min.  Some people leave it in over night.  But I feel that might just be to messy.  I find that 2-3 hrs is long enough to achieve the bright red color.  When it comes to rinsing its recommended to rinse in cold water.  I do use a little shampoo after rinsing the dye and apply a very small amount of conditioner, but you don't really need to.

The color will fade the more you wash it.  The lady I worked with uses a dry shampoo and only washes it with soap about once every week.  The color stays very vibrant for about 4-5 weeks for her.