This past weekend, I attended a 2 day photography workshop. I picked this particular workshop because it wasn't too far away from where I lived.  I paid for it over a month in advance and I was really looking forward to it. I knew when I paid, I would cross my fingers that my hubby would be in town to watch the little one, but that he could possibly be gone as well. Sure enough, the day before the workshop, he had to fly out of town at the last minute for the entire weekend.  It made things complicated; which was what I wanted to avoid.

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It should never be skipped, even if you are feeling nauseous from morning anxiety (Morning Anxiety 101: 5 Useful Tips). Eating right away when you wake up gets your metabolism going which will help you lose weight, and can regulate blood sugar levels which can relieve morning anxiety.

Have you ever been in a stressful situation and made it out alright, but then had a panic attack afterward when everything calmed down? I had a family vacation I was stressing about once. I was worried before we left, but I didn't have any anxiety on the trip itself, until the drive home when the worst was over. I suddenly and unexpectedly got hit with a panic attack I couldn't manage. What's up with that?

Today is one of those days where if I am asked to do one more thing for someone, I am going to lose it. I am a people-pleaser, which means I have a really hard time saying no. So when I am asked to help out, I am almost always going to reply with a big grin and a "sure thing," even if I don't want to. Today I feel stretched so thin. I feel like I am just not capable to do all of it. But I stress that if I break commitments, then I will make someone mad at me. So, either way, I lose. Stress is there no matter what. What happened to good old laid back Fridays?

If you confide in people about your social anxiety, sometimes they don't know how to act around you in an anxiety triggering situation (Social Anxiety triggers). The last thing I, or I am guessing anyone, would want is for the loved ones in our lives to feel like they have to walk on eggshells around us. I can sense when people do that and it makes me feel handicapped. I came up with a few tips for our friends and families so they can have a better idea of what helps in an anxious situation and what just makes things worse.

Social anxiety is so deeply intertwined with our self-esteem and how much we value ourselves. An interesting concept I found in The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, by Edmund Bourne, Ph.D., is called your "Personal Bill of Rights". The idea is that we all have rights as human beings. Sometimes, we either forget or we don't realize that we have them because we weren't taught them as children growing up. If we can realize these rights plus also learn to exercise them, then we can build a more assertive attitude. The result is we respect ourselves enough to be conscious of our basic human rights. Here is the list:

I came across a really cool quote a few weeks back, "I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit." -Dawna Markova

I saw an article on CNN today about how Walmart's sales at U.S. stores fell 1.4% from the same period last year. When customers are living paycheck to paycheck more than ever before, the sales aren't there because "customers can't afford the gas to get to the stores and that they're increasingly using food stamps when they get there." It's no secret we are living in difficult times. It's a no brainer that anxiety levels in the country must be rising. It made me wonder how much.

Well, after two days of crazy stress levels figuring out details of our potential move, the deal fell through. The company decided to try a local instead of moving someone overseas. I was a little sad at the lost opportunity,  but mainly I felt extremely relieved. I was relieved that the difficult decision was made for me. I don't have to worry about regrets of taking it or turning it down. It feels like we somehow cheated.

Yesterday, we were shocked when a job opportunity fell on our lap. This job would require some major life adjustments. Adjustments that are nerve wracking, even if you don't suffer from chronic anxiety. It has many advantages that make it very appealing, such as living by the beach, having our housing and car paid for, having a nanny or maid, etc. However, this job would require uprooting our family and putting us not in another state, but another country. We would reside for two years in Abu Dhabi, which is close to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.