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NOTES
Our topic this week is worrying. Are you anxious? Do you worry a lot? We all worry sometimes, and we can all recognize the uselessness of doing it, but it can feel very hard to stop. We will take a look at a few different strategies for removing anxiety from our daily lives:
1) Pay attention to your caffeine intake.
I know. I love coffee, tea, and Diet Coke. But do you ever find yourself feeling nervous or anxious and you aren’t even sure why? Consider caffeine. It’s been shown to cause nervousness, and if you develop a habit of drinking lots of it daily, you might be developing an anxiety habit right along with it. Take a brek and see if you notice a difference.
2) Time your worrying.
With this strategy, you let yourself worry — a little bit. If you find yourself worrying repeatedly about something, set a timer for 5 minutes. Then, for those 5 minutes, go ahead and worry all about it. Think about all that could go wrong and let yourself worry. When the timer goes off, you have to stop, though, recognizing how nothing was accomplished with your worrying.
3) Focus on gratitude.
So your whole world is falling apart, or you are pretty sure it is going to any minute. Deal with that anxiety by shifting your focus away from negative thoughts and focusing instead on what you are most grateful for. Look for big things and small things to be grateful for. Verbalize your gratitude. You will find your energy for worry dwindles this way.
4) Exercise!
Sometimes anxiety and nervous energy needs a physical release. Go outside for walk, rake some leaves, ride a bike, or run up some hills. Breaking a sweat can be a great way to relieve stress and release anxiety and worry from your body in a physical way.
5) Pray!
Duh! I saved this one for last, but it really needs to come first. How many times does Jesus tell us he knows us, loves, and is caring for us? How many times does Jesus remind not to fear, not to worry, and to trust him? Are we listening? Worry is what happens when we think everything depends on us or that no one i staking care of us. Say a Divine Mercy chaplet or simply repeat the prayer “Jesus, I trust in you” as often as you need to to banish worry from your day.
INTERVIEW
This week I share a fun interview I had with Sr. Anne Flanagan, FSP, who is an author and musician, but also a social media early adopter. She shares about her order’s beginnings and how social media has become an integral part of evangelization for her.
Sr. Anne on Twitter
Sr. Anne’s music on iTunes
Sr. Anne’s blog
Sr. Anne on Facebook
Thank you SO MUCH to Jessica (who recommends Pray As You Go for daily prayer), Tracy, and Sarah for sharing their feedback this week. Thank you so much for your encouragement and support of the Girlfriends podcast. I love hearing from you!
SUPPORT
Girlfriends is on Patreon! Find out how you can pledge your support for Girlfriends at Patreon.com/Girlfriends
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You’re Worth It! Change How You Feel About Yourself By Discovering How Jesus Feels About You
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