DESTRESS FOR THE EMS

HAVE FAITH IN YOUR DREAMS!

2012-01-24T07:18:00.001-08:00

Hello there!

It is a great year already, I can feel it in my bones, and in my soul.

So far, I am doing really good on my New Year Resolutions. How bout you?

My resolutions are...

To be healthier and to serve more people in more ways. That's it!

Although, there is a huge list of things I have to do, and want to do, that goes under each of those goals. My goals are very specific, and so I have a lot of work to do.

One thing I know for sure is, I may have a set back or I may mess up a little but you know what? That is totally okay in my head. That sounds funny. Anyway, what I mean is, I will not give up if I have a set back or if I mess up a little, or a lot.

My mantras for my goals are, "I can do this! I have faith that I can do these things. I will not give up."

I am so focused, it is magnificent, in my head. ;0)

Do you have your goals? How are you doing? Do you have faith that you can accomplish your goals? Do you have the mindset that you WILL NOT give up?

In Hebrews 11:1, it says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Now is the time, more than ever, to have faith in yourself, and your goals. Now is the time, more than ever, to hope for the things that you want that have not yet come to pass. Now is the time, more than ever, especially if you want a better you and a better year, to be focused more than ever.

You can do it my friend.

You can do this!

Have faith!

Never give up!

Say it with me now, "I can do this! I have faith I can do these things! I will not give up!"

Have a great week. Have fun and be playful too ;0)

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

WHY I AM NOT A THERAPIST!

2012-01-18T04:05:00.000-08:00

Hello there. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Am gonna keep saying that for the whole month.

As we embark on our New Year and become New again, I would like to talk a lil about myself. How vein! I know. ~giggle

I love to serve, I love to help, and I love to show people their greatest potential especially when they have never seen it. I love to bring people from crisis to calm, I love to help people overcome burnout and create happiness, energy, and vitality, and I love to assist people in discovering how to eliminate their stress with permanent stress relief.

I do not love therapists and I do not have a whole lotta confidence in the therapy process.

There are several reasons why I am not a therapist and why I am not a lover of the therapy. It all began back when I was getting my Masters in Counseling at the Uni. As I was completing my Masters Program, I was lucky enough to participate in an internship at the Counseling Center at the Uni, and this is what I discovered...

Most people who go to counseling, in my experience, do not want to help themselves. There are about one in ten that will not take the victim stance and really focus on improving their situation. That is only 10%. In addition, I believe with all my heart and soul, that people who go to Counseling are having a hard time with life because they just never learned how to handle the stress of life. No one taught them how to relieve their stress, and so they get in a place of trouble.

About the victim stance. What I mean by this is, when someone is having a hard time with life but won't look at themselves and their personal challenges. They tend to blame others and life for their misfortune. They sometimes get so caught up in their anger, anxiety, and/or depression they cannot, and will not believe they can do anything about it because they believe it is the fault of others, and the faulty world they live in.

Another reason for my reasons is most students who want to become Therapists are really unsound themselves. It is my humble opinion, and experience, that the students that I knew in school had their own issues to deal with, were still quite adolescent, and usually didn't like themselves or their clients. How can you help your clients if you are troubled and you don't even like your clients?

Another reason for my reasons is, most teachers that are teaching people to be Therapists are dubious and perplexed. Now this again is only my opinion. The sad part about all of this is I use to look up to Professors and thought they were brilliant until I really got to know some of mine during my Masters. OUCH! Harsh, I know.

Another reason, most Therapists are unbalanced. Again, my opinion. As a student in the Counseling Program, I had to participate in my own counseling for 30 hours. Lord have mercy, it was not an easy task to find one that didn't have issues. The really good ones, that were referred, were all booked up, and weren't available for the entire year.

Searching for my own therapist took about thirteen tries. When I would call the Therapist to make an appointment, I had certain questions that I would ask to make sure they would meet my criteria. The majority of them got offended or became arrogant like, "How dare you ask me that." Crazy, huh?

To me, arrogance is ignorance, and getting offended when someone asks you a question is quite adolescent. It is totally appropriate and professional to ask questions, it is called communicating.

One last thing. The Uni neglected to tell me, and I failed to find out, that a Therapist makes thousands of dollars less than I was already making. All though this is a disappointment, totally my fault, money is not the factor in my decision on helping people, it is a good side note though.

Now, I am not a Therapist just because of the lack of money, I am not a Therapist mostly because I really want to serve and I really want to help people. If people who come to therapy need ways to relieve stress but don't really want help, I don't see how I can accomplish my mission. When I am financially strapped, I don't necessarily see how I can progress and help others either.

This is all my choice, and my opinion. No offense to the good Therapists out there. You know who you are.

MY DISCLAIMER... I do believe that there are good therapists out there, and I do believe that therapy can help, it's just not for me, and the above statement is just me utilizing my freedom of expression of my opinion.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I want you to know a lot about me and because what I do is not therapy, it is education.

Moreover, maybe you need help with your situation and I want you to see, if you are having a hard time with life, it may just be that you haven't mastered the art of stress relief. When you are in the Emergency Field, you can see things that are so abnormally out of the ordinary, your mind may have a very difficult time dealing with, and enduring it.

Additionally, many people who come to me for help take the victim stance, in that they believe that they cannot do anything about their situation because of others' behaviors, and how horrible life is. If that is true for you, you must know, there are thousands of people that I know of, and probably millions out there, who are doing business with some serious stress and are learning to destress themselves by looking at their own thoughts, feelings, and actions and trading them for more successful ones.

Their are a couple of people that call or text me, now and again, who take the victim stance, and for the life of me, I want to help them but, like addicted individuals, you can't help someone if they won't let you. They want their external circumstances to change, and will not change themselves within. They want to call me and wallow in their misery, instead of doing something about it. They know everything, they are unwilling to listen to anyone else and their point of view, and they don't want to do anything for their self-improvement.

Sounds like I am complaining. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but, what I say is all true, in my opinion ;0) Being the victim is not bad, it is quite normal, because we all do it, just some do it more than others. We all do the victim dance in certain circumstances. I am like that on certain things, and I was one of the worst victims in my past. Some how, some way, I saw the light, and I am a lot less victimy than I use to be. ~giggle

Those who are willing to help themselves can make a better life.

If you are having a hard time with life, your career, your relationship, or any other aspect of being, and you want it to get better, I invite you to email me, and see what we can do. I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

If you would like to discover stressful habits that you may have that are holding you back in life, and if you want to create successful practices in your life that will help you develop happiness, energy, and vitality you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

To destress yourself, take the class

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

TAKE THE STRESS TEST

2012-01-10T04:31:00.000-08:00

Hello my friend. Thought you might enjoy a little stress test.

Destress Yourself Audio

This stress survey is designed to help raise awareness to some stressful habits you may have.

This is not a diagnosis tool or a psychology test, it is a survey I developed about nine years ago to help identify stressful behavior.

Because this survey was not developed via hard research, the stressful habits presented are not in any particular order. These are THE STRESSFUL HABITS that have been brought to my attention via questionnaire.

This is for adventure, education, and enjoyment.

So, enjoy...

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BY CHOOSING A NUMBER BETWEEN 1 AND 5. (1)NEVER (2) ALMOST NEVER (3) OCCASIONALLY (4) FREQUENTLY (5) ALL THE TIME

1. Do you feel like you are in a constant state of going nowhere?

2. Do you notice that it is important to you or you spend a lot of energy proving that you are right or things should be done the "right way," your way?

3. Do you set simple goals or continuously tell yourself you are going to do something and don't do it?

4. Do you experience a racing mind?

5. Do you loose your temper or become impatient easily?

6. Are you angry, moody, or irritable?

7. Do you complain about other people, places, or things?

8. Do you worry?

9. Do you get offended easily and/or talk about other people?

10. Do you find yourself walking, talking, or eating fast because you are in a hurry?

11. Do you binge on or are you addicted to a certain activity, food, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, or any form of pharmaceutical, over the counter, or illegal drug?

12. Do you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting essential hours of sleep because you can't stop thinking of things you have to do or because you have too much going on in your life?

13. Are you unable to enjoy yourself even when you are doing something you enjoy?

Add up your results...

If you would like to utilize a truth scale, ask someone, who knows you really well, to take this test on your behalf, and then compare answers.

Okay...

1-13 a very destressed person

14-25 almost always destressed

26-38 more often destressed than stressed

39-52 you need to destress yourself

53- 65 you seriously need to destress yourself

If you chose 5 for any of the questions above, you may want to destress that particular habit.

For example, if you answered a 5 on number 6, you may want to overcome and eliminate the very stressful habits of anger, moodiness, and/or irritability.

Have any questions? Comment below ;)

Hope this is helpful, until next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there, Happy New Year my fellow Emergency Worker! It is my hope that you had an easy New Years Eve transition into the New Year. The reason I say that is when I worked out in the field, I had some seriously busy shifts on the Holidays, especially when I worked around Pasadena because of the Rose Parade. I remember one year, there were not enough resources, and my partner and I were running calls by ourselves without the Fire Department or PD. It was exciting and fun, but taxing.

Let's talk about the New Year.

It is my opinion that a good way to start the year for Emergency Personnel, is to evaluate our own stress. This is a practice I have been implementing for many, many years, for myself, and with others.

One approach to this practice is to notice negative emotions that may be dominant in your life. For example, if you are frequently angry, bitter, or irritable then you are right smack dab in the middle of stress.

There are three kinds of stress and they are general, cumulative (also known as burnout), and critical. Any one of these can be acute or chronic.

General stress is every day stress when you have to deal with a busy, tight schedule, and you are trying to get everything done so that you can make every body happy. This type of stress may include responsibilities that could drain your energy.

Cumulative stress, also known as Burnout, is when you are exhausted, cynical, and often times very ineffective because of the burn out.

Critical stress is when you have a crisis or a critical incident that affects your ability to function productively within your typical responsibilities.

All of these types of stress are very common amongst Emergency Responders.

These types of stress' are not necessarily caused by our circumstances, the causes are more from our reactions.

Examples...

General stress; let's say you are strapped financially. The finances are not the stress, the reaction of fear of the outcome to the finances cause the stress.

Cumulative stress; let's say you have been exhausted emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually for weeks now. The exhaustion is not the stress, it is our beliefs, and behaviors, that are causing the exhaustion. Therefore, the beliefs, and behaviors, are our reactions to our circumstances that are creating the stress.

Critical stress; let's say you had a very gruesome fatality call, and the patient/victim was the same age as someone in your family that is really close to you. For weeks, the call plays out in your mind, over and over, you have nightmares about it, and you start to have anger, anxiety, depression, or serious apprehension. The stress is not the call, it is created by the reaction in the mind, and thus the negative emotions.

The best way to explain it is, when we have circumstances that are less than desirable in our life, if we tend to worry, and then think about the worst possible outcome, we cause ourselves stress. If we tend to focus on the solution, and have faith that there won't be any problems, we cause ourselves comfort. See the difference?

Many of you already know this, and it may be just a reminder, but what I am trying to say is, if you have negative emotions, it is coming from your thoughts of doubt, fear, or worry. If you can figure out what you are afraid of, you can change your thoughts into faith. It's just a thought, and we can choose any thoughts we want.

So, in order to evaluate your stress, notice any negative emotions, figure out what your afraid of in your circumstances, stop thinking about the worst possible outcome, focus on a solution, have faith that you can do the things you need to do, and wallah, you destress yourself.

It is a great way to start the year. If you need help, overcoming your stress, and creating confidence, certainty, and faith, take my How To Destress Yourself Class, it will help you overcome stressful habits that are causing negative emotions.

Start your New Year out right!

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

DESTRESS YOUR DIFFICULT TIMES

2011-12-31T06:43:00.001-08:00

BREAKING POINT

Hey there. How are you? Am having a great week, how bout you? Hope so ;0)

Have you ever felt like you were at a breaking point? If you have, you know what it is, and you will know exactly what I am talking about.

A breaking point is an emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual place where you feel like you are going to break. It is a place that you are so overwhelmed that you feel like you cannot take it anymore. I have seen this place, I have seen it in my own life, and in many other lives. Do you know what I am talking about?

When we are at a breaking point, this place, will 'make us' or 'break us'. This is a place that I have been with hundreds of individuals. They say that they can't take anymore, and they feel like they are going to break.

The breaking point is usually when you are overwhelmed and everything is in your face. You think like, oh shizzz, what am I going to do? You feel like, AAAHHH! I can't take it anymore. And then you have to make a decision on what to do.

Usually, when we are at this point we are thinking of all the things that are wrong, and then we think about the worst possible outcome that can happen for us. This is major fear, and this is major worry that can cause anxiety.

This can be a very critical point in our life. This can be a moment, or 6 months, of crisis.

Through the years, I have worked with many individuals who were at this point. A couple of the people I have worked with are teenagers, who are in a situation at home that is causing severe anxiety, and/or depression. Some others, I have worked with, are having severe financial difficulties, who have lost everything, and I mean everything tangible. Additionally, I have worked with people who are emotionally spent due to loneliness, despair, or frustration.

So, if you are at a breaking point, what can you do?

I am so very excited that you asked ;0)

When you are at a breaking point, the first thing you have to do is ask yourself what the heck it is? What is going on for you right now? I guarantee it is fear of what might happen and the thought that you will not know how to, or if you can, handle it. What are you afraid of? Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of?"

At this point, the best thing to do is pour your heart out to God. Talk to Him, and tell him what you are afraid of, and what your biggest fears are. Why do you want to do this? You want to do this because you are Heavenly Father's child, and He loves you. You are so very special to Him, and you will feel comfort from this because He wants you to turn to Him so that He can give you comfort.

After you do this, you will feel comfort.

With all my heart, I believe that when we have troubles, I mean really big troubles, it is an opportunity to get closer to God. Part of the reason He gives us trials is so we can learn to lean on Him more frequently.

In Romans 12:12 it says, " Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;"

Rejoicing in hope means to be happy for your ambitions, aspirations, and dreams. Patient in tribulation means willing to endure the thing, or things, that is causing your pain and unhappiness. Continuing instant in prayer means to persist and carry on immediately and urgently in your conversations with God.

Basically, focus on your dreams, be willing to endure the trial that you have been given, and persist, right now, in your conversations with God.

When we are at a breaking point, I truly believe we do the opposite. We focus on what we don't want, we are impatient, and we want to quit and give up.

My friend, dream big, focus on what you want, be willing to endure your trials, and be constantly in the conversation with God.

You can do this. You got the power. You are so very special and you must remind yourself of this in the moment of a breaking point, and the entire time you have the struggle that you are going through.

Get your journal, write down all the things you dream of in your life, and write down all of the evidence, your successes and accomplishments, that remind you that you can have them.

And know this... You can handle anything you are going through, you can handle anything that comes your way, and you will manage this because you always have overcome your trials in the past.

You are so very capable, you are so very smart, you are so very strong, and you are so very divine. The thing is, if you are at a breaking point, you may have just forgot all of your divinity. You are a child of God, and that makes you divine.

You can be, do, and have anything your heart desires, believe in this, and believe in yourself. Have faith my friend! God has faith in you! I have faith in you as well!

If you need help, take the destress yourself class and it will take you through a step by step series of actions to help you explore, discover, and obtain what you want, and show you how you can get it.

That's all I got.

Have fun this weekend. Be playful!

Big Hugs... AND MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY!!!

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

Untitled

2011-12-30T19:12:00.001-08:00

MY JOURNEY

Hey there. How the heck are you? I am very well, thank you very much.

I wanted to show you my journal. That is a picture of it right there ->

Pretty cool aye?

I just wanted you to know how serious I am about setting and obtaining goals. It's not just about goals though, it is about being happy, and making things better and better, no matter what you are going through.

Last Tuesday, I wrote about Never Ending Goal Setting, because I believe, with all my heart and soul, that the only way to diligently progress and produce in this life is by constantly setting and obtaining goals, and by an enduring determination to evaluate our development so that we can continue to improve.

People are always complaining and speaking about how hard life is when in actuality, it really isn't that bad or hard. I hear woman talk about how horrible a commercial is or how devastating someone's behavior is but it is all an illusion. You know what is devastating? Loosing your legs, and not being able to walk, or loosing a lung so that you are unable to function actively, not a commercial or someone's behavior.

What I think about these individuals who complain and cry woe is me, all the time, is that they are not learning or moving forward. When you learn and move forward, you discover that life is not really hard (well sometimes it is ;)), and there isn't anything that you can't handle because you have become stronger and stronger from your challenges.

Trust me on this one ;)

One of the biggest things that has helped me move forward and discover that I can handle anything is my writing. My writing began in my journals, then I did a lot in college, and now I blog. My writing is not the best but, you should have read it before I went to college. I was raised by a Mother who's second language is English, and it really shows in my journals. It really shows on my blog, as well, but it is a lot better than it was.

Tangent! LOL

What I am trying to say is, I have come a long way because of my writing, especially in my journals. I have set and obtained some serious goals, and I have overcome some serious challenges. What is so cool is, I can look back at where I was in life, my anxiety, my depression, my alcoholism, or my PTSD, I know how far I have come, and know that I can handle anything. It is because of this constant goal setting and evaluating of myself that has gotten me where I am now.

No! I am not a millionaire, yet! But I am stronger spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. The only reason I say that is because most people attribute moneys to success when I look at the ability to be happy and still move forward in life, under any circumstance, as being successful. In order to be happy and still move forward, under any circumstance, one must be strong spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. The way you get there is learning more from your challenges, having faith in yourself, and having a very strong spiritual relationship with God.

There have been many times in my life when I have been angry, anxious, depressed, and overwhelmed. Those were my challenges, and I have learned from them primarily through the documentation of my thoughts, feelings, actions, attitudes, and goals.

When I was a young single Mother, I use to have severe anxiety over money. As I look back, and read my journal entries, I can remember the thoughts and feelings, and I can know, without a doubt, that if I made it through that, I can make it through anything. This, my friend, is an unbelievable gift that I have taught to hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

In my last post, I wrote that I too would get my journal and start my never ending goal setting process, and I have. I wrote my goals for 2012, right after I wrote that post.

So, get your journal, take responsibility for your life, get ready to destress yourself for 2012, get back to the basics, start to overcome some amazing challenges, and do it with faith, RIGHT NOW!

Let's do this together. If you journal, I promise you, you will see some amazing things happen in your life and it won't be just setting and obtaining goals, it is much bigger than that.

You can do this!

You got the power!

You can be, do, and have anything your heart desires in 2012!

Don't you wanna? I know you do!

Good luck my friend. Speak soon...

Don't forget! Have fun! Be playful!

If you need help through this process of never ending goal setting, the destress yourself class will take you through a step by step series of actions to help you explore, discover, and obtain what you want.

Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

GOT GOALS?

2011-12-30T06:57:00.001-08:00

NEVER ENDING GOAL SETTING

Hello!

NEVER ENDING GOAL SETTING!

Did you know that if you don't have goals you are in the constant state of going nowhere?

Did you know that if you are in the constant state of going nowhere, you can cause yourself some stress?

As spiritual, and human, beings, we must move forward to feel good about ourselves. If we do not feel good about ourselves, our self-confidence and self-esteem is very low. If we feel low, we have a void, and we tend to fill that void with very stressful habits like eating, smoking, drinking, inappropriate relationships, or drama.

Do you get up everyday, get ready for work or school, go to work/school, get home, watch TV, eat dinner, watch more TV, go to bed, and do it all over again? If you do, you are in the constant state of going nowhere.

Life is a learning experience and one of the things we can learn is never ending goal setting.

Whether we have small or large goals we will move forward in life. When we move forward in life we feel good about ourselves.

When we don't have any goals we stay in the constant state of going nowhere and we feel displeased with ourselves. When we feel unfulfilled we feel unhappy. Unhappiness can stress us out. We have a choice, we can stay in the constant state of going nowhere or we can choose never ending goal setting.

Some goals that you may consider are financial, relationship, health, or career. They can be big or small.

If you would like to make more money you can make that a goal.

If you would like to get along better with your spouse or family members you could make that a goal.

If you would like to feel better physically you could make that a goal.

If you are unhappy in your career you could make a goal out of looking for another job.

The best way to set a goal is to think about what you want. Ask yourself, "What do I really want?"

The answer may be to weigh less, or be happier, or to overcome anger, or make more money, or find an eternal companion, or to increase self-awareness, or to serve, or to find passion or purpose. These are simple wants and yet still goals.

Once you have an idea of what you want you can take steps to obtaining your goal(s).

First, think about the best for yourself. Dream and imagine what a perfect life would look like.

Second, write your goals down.

Third, prioritize your goals.

Fourth, write down all the things 'to do' to obtain the goal(s).

Fifth, start 'to do!'

Sixth, believe you will obtain them.

Seventh, and final, never give up!

You can do this!

Staying stagnant in our lives can cause stress because our lives may lack excitement or pleasure. Take time to explore what you really want out of life and move on it. If you move forward only one step at a time you will be that much closer to your goal, by that one step.

Setting goals and obtaining them creates excitement and enthusiasm for life. If we are excited and enthusiastic about life we feel successful and that is what destressing yourself is all about, moving from stress to success.

So, get your journal my friend, and start the never ending goal setting process. I'm gonna! Right now! You can too!

You got the power! You can do this!

If you need help through this process, the destress yourself class will take you through a step by step series of actions to help you explore, discover, and obtain what you want.

Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

DESTRESS YOURSELF WITH PRAYER

2011-12-29T18:54:00.001-08:00

PRAYER ;)

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ~Isaiah 41:10

Hello my friend. How was your week? Mine was magnifico, as usual ;)

I have a friend who says that I am in denial about my stress. Isn't that cute? He thinks that because there are certain aspects in my life that are not perfect, that I pretend to be happy. I do not pretend to be happy. I am happy about 95% of the time and maybe, sometimes, 99% of the time, and I will tell you why.

No matter what is going on in my life, I am happy because I know without a doubt that my Heavenly Father loves me, that I am very precious to Him, and that He is watching out for me every minute, of every hour, and every hour of every day.

The first thing I do every morning is I pray unto Him. The last thing I do, every night, is I pray unto Him. When I feel sad, He is the first person I have a conversation with. When I am sad, when I feel anxious, and when ever I feel like I don't want to feel, I pour my heart out to Him.

Every time I pour my heart out to Heavenly Father, I feel comfort almost immediately.

If you are having a hard time I would like to persuade you to pour your heart out unto Him. You are a child of God, and He loves you, you are so very special to Him. You are a gift from the Divine.

As I was trying to decide what to blog about for our New Year Resolutions, I thought that I should discuss the most important things that pertain to permanent stress relief, in other words, how to destress yourself.

To me, one of the most important things that we can do is cry unto Heavenly Father when we are stressed, not only will you build a very close relationship with Him, you will find and develop this way of destressing immediately.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ~ Jeremiah 29:12

What I am trying to do is persuade you to journal and evaluate your frequency of prayer and your relationship with God. Contemplate this because if you would like to improve upon it, you can make it a New Year Resolution.

If you do, you will certainly destress yourself.

Have a wonderful weekend. Have fun and don't forget to be playful, I really mean that.

Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

DESTRESS YOUR LIFE, RIGHT NOW

2011-12-29T06:49:00.001-08:00

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY!

Good Mornin...

My friend's daughter asked me if I love Christmas or if I didn't love Christmas. Cute huh? I told her that I love Christmas. She said, me too. Then she asked me what I loved about Christmas, and I said everything except the gifts. HA HA HA!

I really do love everything except the gifts. If it were up to me I would just hang out with family and friends, and no gifts. Could you imagine if Christmas was about Christ? Just kidding, I know it is. But what if we didn't give gifts and we just enjoyed good food and good company? How destressed we would be!

Any who, recently I talked about getting ready for 2012 and New Year Resolutions.

Did you read about it? Did you get your journal? Did you start your journey with your journal by reading and writing about back to the basics post? If you did, YOU ARE AWESOME!

If you did, YOU ARE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR FUTURE. So cool!

But, if you didn't, then I would like to persuade you to take responsibility for your future.

Recently, I have been helping more teens than I ever have. A couple of years ago, I started to work with college age students, lots of 18 and 19 year olds. Last month, I worked with more teenagers (under 18), than I have in my whole career of teaching permanent stress relief.

They have spoken of molestation, abuse, parental divorce, illness, and misery at home. The number one issue I have dealt with is beliefs of ugliness and why am I not good enough. The latter is not so typical as the former never the less, it is all very stressful, wouldn't you agree?

When I talk to the youth about lack of self-confidence due to feeling ugly, or feeling not good enough I tell them stuff like, you are the boss of you, you are the only thinker of your thoughts, and so you gotta be the boss of your thoughts and you gotta think better thoughts. I tell them to stop thinking that they are not good enough and I teach them affirmations, and how to use them. An affirmation like, I am good enough!

We search for evidence that they are good enough, and we search for evidence that their beliefs are unreasonable. For example, I tell them to notice everyone around them for a day, or even a week, and notice how unique everyone is. Some people are fatter, some people are skinnier, some people are uglier, and some people are prettier.

This is amazing because the majority of them get it. The majority of them get that they can take responsibility for their thoughts, and that God has made everyone as unique as their thumb print therefore, we can appreciate our uniqueness and focus on our assets and strengths.

Isn't that amazing?

What does this all have to do with destressing yourself?

Destressing yourself is all about awareness, and awareness has a lot to do with knowing that you can take responsibility for your thoughts, knowing that you can take responsibility for your life, knowing that you can take responsibility for your future.

It amazed me how many teens got this. It even seemed, to me, that teens were getting more than adults do.

What I am trying to say is, you can learn to destress yourself by taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and actions, as a result you will take responsibility for your life and for your future.

So, get that journal, and start your journey to destress yourself in 2012.

That's all I got!

Speak soon...

Have fun this week...

Be playful!

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

DESTRESS YOURSELF 2012

2011-12-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

YOU WANNA GET READY TO DESTRESS FOR 2012???

Hello my friend! How's your week? I really wanna know how your week is going! Is it going well? Is it not going so well? Let a gril know how your doing ;)

Are you ready for and do you wanna alleviate your stress in 2012?

Do you have stress at work?

Do you have stress at home?

Do you have anger, anxiety, depression, or loneliness?

Whatever it is, let's prep for destressing ourselves for 2012. Are you with me? Let's do it!

LOL! I sound like a dang cheerleader.

Okay, so we know that the New Year is almost here and every year I encourage everyone to destress by setting goals. That's right, New Year Resolutions.

If you say that you don't make New Year Resolutions, let me try to change your mind. PLEASE!!!

New Year Resolutions are the greatest way to turn your life around because you are setting goals and you can start a new. You can start fresh!

Most people do not live by goals, which is a crime, in my mind. If you are not setting and obtaining goals, you are in the constant state of going nowhere, and that, my friend, is stressful.

We are spiritual and human beings who need to progress to feel good about ourselves. When we set and obtain goals we lift our self-confidence and self-esteem. When we have great confidence, we don't carry doubt, fear, or worry.

Trust me! I know that this is so. I know that this is so because most people who are stressed have horrible habits of thinking thoughts full of doubt, fear, and worry and the best way to get away from this way of thinking is to set a goal.

You wanna do it? You wanna prep yourself to destress in 2012? If you are with me...

This is your first assignment for prepping yourself to destress in 2012...

Get a journal. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, it could be a blank pad of paper. The reason you need a journal is because I am going to give you exercises to explore your way of living that may be causing you stress so that you, and I (because we are going to do this together), can make some serious goals slash New Year Resolutions to destress in 2012.

Just a side note. If you do not journal, you are doing yourself and your future relatives a disservice. I have been journaling since I was in elementary school. There are so many benefits to journaling. The number one benefit, in my eyes, is you can see how far you have come over the years and how much you have grown as an individual. Another benefit is, when you go through hard times, if you journal, when you look back at those times, you can see how strong you were and how well you handled yourself. This is so important because when we succeed through hard times it strengthens us to know that we truly can handle anything.

Okay, enough of that.

Start your journey, with your journal, by reading and evaluating the basics I wrote about in my last post.

So get a journal, read and evaluate the basics from my last post, and write about what you have discovered in your new journal. That's it!

Speak soon...

Have fun and be playful, in the mean time.

Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

HOW TO DESTRESS YOUR KID

2011-12-21T04:11:00.001-08:00

Hey there. How's things? It's been over two weeks since my last post and I miss you ;) I was away from the puter because my Daddy had surgery and I was hangin' with him and Mommy ;) They live about 100 miles from me.

Any who, as I spend time with them my mind goes back to growing up and of course, I think about all the stress that was there, only because I am lil Miss Destress Yourself. Their behavior is still the same but I receive it differently now, and so, NO STRESS.

When I initially went to college, my goal was to be a child Psychologist but that dream was killed by my crazy idea that when a kid is messed up, it's ALWAYS the parent's fault. I still kind of believe it.

Why do I believe that if the kid is messed up, it's the parent's fault? Well, as parents, we are suppose to be smarter than our kids but we do this stupid thing that is totally insane. We try to change unwanted behavior with the same method when it doesn't work. Please allow me to esplain... When a kid is getting bad grades, we punish by grounding him or her, and then the grounding doesn't work, the child still get's bad grades over and over again. And then we use the same method, grounding, over and over again. Don't you think that is insane?

"Hey you are not doing what I think you should so I will take privileges from you." What is wrong with this? The result is that the child thinks, "I am not good enough, so I get things taken away." And every time we do this, the child increases their belief that they are not good enough, hence the low self-confidence in our society.

Disagree? Good, comment below ;)

For some crazy reason, parent's tend to focus on what kids don't do right, all the time. "Hey, don't do that." "Hey, you should do it this way."

I know a man who loves, loves, loves my son as his own (not my significant other, just a friend of my son) and he wishes that my son were his son and/or that his son was like my son. The only thing I see here is that this man looks at all the things his son does wrong and what he doesn't do right. That is what he is focusing on.

Does he have some deep seeded belief that he ought to focus on what's wrong with his son or what his son is not doing right (right, meaning what's right according to him)? YES! It is pretty common in our society.

If, this man, were to focus only on the things his son does right, and love him, the way he loves my son, he would have the son that he thinks he should have, like my son.

I know, I know, I am rambling. But the point is, your son, or daughter, does not have to be like someone else, WE, as parents need to just love them, no matter what, and focus on all the things they do right, all the time, everyday.

ALL DAY LONG FOCUS ON WHAT YOUR KID DOES RIGHT!!!

Try this, for one day, and do not see anything they do wrong. Matter of fact, just ignore, and giggle inside over, all the things YOU THINK, they do wrong. And then just see all the things they do right. See everything they do as right. Can you do it? For just one day?

If you can do it, everyday, you will destress your kid, and yourself. Trust me, I know!!! Better yet! Don't trust me, and try it for yourself.

If we do this as parents, everyday, our kids would be perfect! The only imperfection they have is in our mind anyway.

NEWS FLASH!!! EVERYONE IS IMPERFECT! Enjoy that imperfection and just know that it is all a part of life. Life is imperfect until you see it as perfect.

That's all I got ;)

Have a magnificent week!

And don't forget to have fun!!!

Be playful!!!

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

HOW TO DESTRESS YOUR DEEPEST MOMENTS OF DESPAIR, PART II

2011-12-19T04:09:00.001-08:00

Hello there. The other day I gotta not so nice email, well I shouldn't say not so nice, I should say an email from someone who disagreed with me about my last post. Someone who was really defending their despair and that is okay because that is what people do.

CLICK THE PIC ;) LEARN TO MEDITATE

It is totally normal to defend your despair and totally normal to grieve and feel horrible but, when you want to feel better, and when you want to lighten the load on yourself you can tell another story, that is all I am saying.

No thoughts are neutral. Your thoughts either help you or hurt you.

So, if you are saying things like, "I can't, I won't, I couldn't, I shouldn't, I could never, or I wouldn't." Then, you may be hurting yourself. Actually, scratch the 'may be' because you are hurting yourself.

If you are saying things like, "I can, I will, I believe, I have hope, I can handle it, or this is a lesson learned." Then, you are helping yourself.

When people are angry, anxious, or depressed, they often think that they were not having thoughts that make them angry, anxious, or depressed because that is how unaware of our thoughts we really are.

I know this is true because after I speak to someone, and we explore the mood of the mind, while anger, anxiety, or depression is being experienced we discover what is really going on in their life. The conclusion always points to thoughts creating feelings.

An example of this is anxiety attacks. When someone has an anxiety attack, and I am speaking to them, calming them down, they often believe that they are not having an anxiety attack. They will say, "But I am not anxious about anything." After a little exploration, we always discover their doubt, fear, and worry.

The reason I talk about meditation and quieting the mind is because we can relax and be more in tune with our thoughts. When we quiet our mind, we can really be aware of what we are thinking.

When we right down what we want, like I talked about last post, we can remind ourselves what we should be thinking, or focusing on rather.

So, your story, is it hurting you or helping you? That is the question.

The email I got talked about the horrible things this person is experiencing and I know that there is help in the story that we tell.

You know?!? We all have horrible things that happen to us and it all depends how we handle what is given to us. I have heard the famous story of, "Oh, you don't know what I have been through, and others haven't been through as much as I have." Well, maybe, maybe not. Or, maybe people just tell a different story of what they have been through.

This is not a competition, it is creativity on how to change your thoughts, or your story, so that you can change your despair to comfort.

Many people tell the story of, "There is a purpose for everything," and I don't really know about that but I do know, "There is a lesson in EVERYTHING we experience."

Any who, I got another email telling me that writing something down on a card, an idea from my last post, won't help, and I say, try it and then tell me if it doesn't help. Try it for at least 30 days and if you are brave enough 90 days, or even a year.

That's all the rambling of my mouth that I got ;)

Love you guys ;)

Have the best day ever, and don't forget...

Have fun!!!

Be playful ;)

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

HOW TO DESTRESS YOUR DEEPEST MOMENTS OF DESPAIR

2011-12-12T06:42:00.001-08:00

Hey there!!!

This weekend was incredible! How did you do? Did you enjoy it? I really hope that you did, and I really hope, with all my heart, that you are enjoying your weekends, your weeks, and every moment that you are living.

It is beyond my belief, sometimes, the deepest darkest moments of despair that we go through as humans.

In my earlier years, as an EMT, I witnessed Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Sons, Daughters, Friends, Lovers, Spouses, and Significant others screaming in desperation over traumatic deaths or destruction for their loved ones.

As I speak with people in crisis and help defuse despair, I see and hear Paramedics, Firefighters, Police Officers, Captains, Sergeants, Dispatchers, Military Personnel, and EMT's struggle with moving from catastrophe to calm.

When we are in crisis, or in a place that is critical, there is a story that we tell. The story may be, "This is the worst thing that ever happened to me." Or, "There is no way I can handle this." Or we ask questions like, "Why me?" Or, "How am I going to handle this?"

This is a very normal way of looking at the things we go through that are not so easy to handle.

There is another story though. The nother story is this...

CLICK THE PIC; TAKE THE CLASS ;)

The nother story is bringing ourselves to look at the bigger picture and minimizing our current situation.

To some people this will sound very cruel because they are very good at defending their despair and the horrible thing that has happened to them.

The bigger picture is that we are here, on this earth, for a purpose. We are all here for some grander purpose, and all though I don't really know exactly what it is I do know that we all must go through hard times. We must go through desperation and despair so that we can learn from what we go through.

is some sort of school that we are in so that we can get better and better as we get older. Better and better at our stress, better and better at overcoming our trials, and better and better at enjoying life.

Loosing a Father, Mother, Son, or Daughter is not new. It has been happening for years and years, since the beginning of time. Loosing our job or home is not new nor has it only happened to you because it happens to millions. Some people don't even have homes.

The story here is, this is life. Life is as easy as you think it is or as hard as you think it is.

You can think that you can handle it or you can think that you can't.

What story are you telling???

Are you defending your despair? Are you wallowing in your misery and just wondering why life is so cruel to you?

Are you creating faith in yourself, encouraging yourself, and looking for a better way? Are you telling the story that this is some phase in your life that you are going through, or have to go through, and that you will be fine because you have been through more difficult things than this?

What story are you telling yourself?

Please forgive me if I seem insensitive, that is not my intention, my goal is to provoke you to tell a better story. If, and when, we tell ourselves a better story, we can move from depression to happiness, from anxiety to calm, from worry to confidence, or from despair to peacefulness.

How do we tell ourselves a better story?

Write down what you want. Get a little card, maybe a 3X5 card, and just list the things you want.

Do you want to feel love? Then write, I AM LOVE.

Do you want to feel success? Then write, I AM SUCCESS.

Do you want to feel happiness? Then write, I AM HAPPINESS.

Do you want to feel calm? The write, I AM CALM.

If you do this, you are creating reminders of what you want.

This sounds so simple and maybe too easy but try it and I promise you can change your story immediately.

The goal is to find out what you want and move towards it! And believe it or not, we have to know what we want first, then we have to remind ourselves to think it, and then we can begin our new story.

Please, begin to destress yourself by taking this first step at creating and telling the story that you want.

YOU GOT THE POWER!

That's all I got...

Check out my post, DEEPEST MOMENTS OF DESPAIR PART II ;)

Have the best week ever, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

BIG HUGS!!!

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

YOU ARE LOVABLE!

2011-12-07T04:06:00.001-08:00

Hello my friend.

How's things? How's life?

Did you ponder? Did you ponder that YOU ARE LOVE?

I did, all day yesterday. It's hard to believe that we are love but it's true.

When I was pondering that I AM LOVE, I was looking for evidence and I decided that... I AM LOVABLE!

How in the heck did I come up with that conclusion? LOL!!! Well, I know how to love, unconditionally, and I feel love, most of the time ;) And people really love me. I mean, really love me ;)

Do you believe that YOU ARE LOVABLE???

I DO!!!

Think about that one for a day or two ;)

How do I know you are lovable??? Because you are love!

I know, I know, I am rambling about love again. The thing is our thoughts of doubt, fear, and worry that run on and on automatically, morning, noon, and night is what causes our stress. These thoughts cause anger, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Oh and meaness!

Ewwwwwwwwww, people are mean when they are stressed, even the nicest of people.

So, back to the rambling about love. What I am trying to do is provoke some pondering. Pondering about yourself and pondering about love.

You my friend are love, you come from love, and you give love to the one's you love and therefore, you are lovable!

If we were to ponder on our BEING LOVE or BEING LOVABLE, some how we would decrease and eventually eliminate our stressful thoughts that are causing our unhappiness and discomfort in life.

One of the greatest things that we can do is take responsibility for our thoughts. People actually believe that we do not have control of our own thoughts and that's only because it has not been a habit for them.

People I work with, whether in person or via email, are the most loving people I know and sometimes they can be the meanest people as well. That is not a statement to be unkind, they know they can be mean and that is part of the reason they work with me ;)

The point is, people have the capability to be love all the time. Decrease the stress, and the meaness, and increase the love.

So, spend a day, or two, pondering and contemplating your lovableness and watch the evidence appear and watch you just increase the love and decrease the stress, better known as destressing yourself.

Be brave my friend ;) Spend your time thinking of better things in life :) It's so easy, it's just thoughts ;)

YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS, ENERGY, AND VITALITY! YOU GOT THE POWER! I HAVE FAITH IN YOU!

Let me know how it goes.

Have a great weekend!

And don't forget...

Have fun and be playful.

BUG HUGS!!!

Elizabeth

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

YOU ARE LOVE!!!

2011-11-30T18:47:00.001-08:00

Do you believe it???

Do you believe you are love???

I believe it!!!

Think about it, when you were born, you were this cuddly little baby full of love, from God, and then, our parents, teachers, and society, showed us how to be 'not love'.

What I mean is, when we were born, we were all love, all of the time. What we are now is love when we believe we are and not love when we believe we are not.

Love is the highest energy level anyone could ever have. For example, when you fall in love, do you not feel energy and happiness?

I love love! And I feel love all of the time, well most of the time. I feel love as frequently as possible because I know how good it makes me feel, and I believe that I am love.

What if you were to believe that you were love and that you could feel love any time you wanted to?

Wouldn't you feel really good all the time? Wouldn't you have lots of energy?

My son is 25 years old and I recently renamed him Agape. Agape is a Greek word for LOVE but not just LOVE, but the highest LOVE, the LOVE from GOD. This might sound crazy to you but it is fun and I love it. I don't call him by his old name, the name he was given at birth, funny huh? It's funny and it's playful, and it's full of love.

The reason I did this is because he, my son, loves unconditionally. He does not put conditions on how and when he loves me. He just loves me all of the time.

Do you put conditions on how and when you love someone?

Do you put conditions on how and when you love YOU?

YOU ARE LOVE!!! Ponder that for a day or two, really!

I know, I know, I am rambling about love but I think you should do it. I think you should ponder, for a day or two, how you are love and how you can be love.

Have an open mind, and just try it. If you are stressed, you can spend a day or two pondering how you are love and I promise you that you will destress yourself.

Let me know how it goes, email me. I love hearing from you.

That's all the rambling I have today ;)

I LOVE YOU!!!

Have a great day and don't forget...

Have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING WHEN DETRESSING YOURSELF!

2011-11-29T04:35:00.001-08:00

Hello my peoples ;)

Hope your week is starting off perfectly. Mine is, we got some snow over the weekend and if you know me, you know, I LOVE THE SNOW :)

The last couple of weeks I have gotten several emails about quieting the mind. Sheee Hooo!!! Lots of resistance there ;) It's okay though, actually it's perfect. No one should attempt to or learn to quiet their mind until they are ready. It's all in the attitude.

Attitude is the construct of our likes and dislikes.

Attitude is the perspective one has towards a person, place, or thing.

Those are just definitions that I Googled, he he he...

The way I define attitude is your thoughts, feelings, and actions towards anything. Any thing you think, feel, or do is not neutral, it is positive or negative.

What I am trying to say is, if you think you can meditate, you can. If you feel good about meditation, you will meditate. If you just meditate, it will get easier.

The reason I am saying all of this is because stress is doubt, fear, and worry and if you meditate you can calm your thoughts of doubt, fear, and worry. At first, when you quiet your mind, you will really notice your unhealthy thoughts.

Many of my clients tell me, after they learn to meditate and quiet their mind, that they didn't realize how negative their thought process is. When you discover this, you can turn it around.

Did you know that we have at least 60,000 thoughts a day?

People really believe that they know what they are thinking. If we knew what we were thinking, we would make ourselves think thoughts like, "I can be, do, have anything my heart desires," and believe it! And then pursue what we want to be, do, and have.

When you meditate, and quiet your mind, you can notice those limiting beliefs like, "I am not pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, or energetic enough to do this or that."

When you destress yourself, you discover your stressful habits, which are usually your thought processes, and then you eliminate them by replacing them with healthier and more powerful thoughts.

So I am trying to create some persuasion for meditation here. Quiet your mind, calm yourself and your body, discover your unhealthy thoughts, question those thoughts, and turn them around.

Attitude is everything when you wanna destress yourself.

You gotta believe you can meditate and see the benefits of meditation. You gotta feel good about meditation, and you will do it. You gotta just do it, and it will get easier.

YOU GOT THE POWER!!! JOO CAN DO IT!!!

That's all I got...

Have a super duper alli ooper week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.
If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.
elizabethstanfill@gmail.com
Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself
If you really need to destress yourself, take the class
:D

HOW TO DESTRESS ;)

2011-08-18T19:20:00.001-07:00

Hello...
One of the most popular search phrases for my web site is 'how to destress' and so, I thought I would write just a little bit about how to destress ;)

CLICK THE PIC; TAKE THE CLASS

Got several questions for you ;)
Do you believe in God?
I mean, really, deep down in your heart, believe in God?
Do you believe that He is there for you and answers your prayers?
Do you have faith? Faith that He is in control and will take care of you?
Man oh man, I wish I was a Scriptorian because I know there are plenty of scriptures that tell us to believe, that He will answer our prayers, to have faith, that He is in control, and He will take care of you.
When I was a young, single mother, I use to struggle, I mean really struggle with money. When my son was around 8 years old, I had barely any money to survive, and I happen to be struggling with a lil PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
I was literally having anxiety attacks and crying with depression, all the time. My stress level was so high my blood sugar was dropping as low as 35 (80 to 120 is normal).
It was a long, long time ago but a very desperate time for me.
The reason I am telling you this is because, in the most desperate of times we need to know how to destress.
What got me through all of that, and much much more, is my faith in God and that He would, and will, always take care of me.
What I use to do, and still do sometimes, is every night I would get down on my knees, put my forehead on my folded arms on my bed, and I would imagine that I had my arms and forehead on His lap, like He was right there, listening, and supporting me. It may sound crazy, but it totally worked.
One thing I know about my faith in God is that it is REAL!!! It is not the superficial FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY, only when I am at church, or when I can serve conveniently. It is REAL!!!
My greatest teacher is God, and my next greatest teacher is stress. Believe you/me, I have had some serious stress in my life and I know that I live a destressed life because of it, no matter what is happening. Sure, I get stressed, but it is a fraction of what it has ever been because I learned how to deal with it through my faith and relationship with God.
So, how so you destress yourself? If you REALLY, TRULY believe, then turn to Him! Try the prayer with your arms and head on His lap. He is listening, He answers your prayers, He is close, He loves you, and He is there for you.
If you are really having a hard time and you REALLY BELIEVE, then try this. Spend one day with Him, sitting, walking, and talking to Him like He is by your side. Just use your imagination, this once, and you will see what happens to your faith in Him, in life, and in yourself.
But please, please, please don't believe me, try it for yourself.
That's all I got...
Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.
Elizabeth

PRIVACY POLICY

2011-08-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Privacy Policy for destressfortheems.blogspot.com

The privacy of our visitors to destressfortheems.blogspot.com is very important to us.

At destressfortheems.blogspot.com, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit destressfortheems.blogspot.com, and how we safeguard your information.

We never sell your personal information to third parties.

Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on destressfortheems.blogspot.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).

You can choose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

AdSense Privacy Policy Provided by jensense.com

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO QUIET YOUR MIND?

2011-07-13T04:30:00.001-07:00

Got a good email yesterday asking me...

Why would you want to quiet your mind?

What a great question!

It has been about 12 years since I first started to meditate. I have no idea what made me start to meditate, it was probably some book I was reading but I do remember hearing people say they meditated and I was super duper curious about it.

I remember the beginning so well. When I first started to quiet my mind, it was very difficult. It took a good month for me to be able to just sit and be still in my mind. When I first started, it took like 10 to 15 minutes to get my thoughts to stop and when you are meditating for 20 or 30 minutes, that is a long time.

To answer the question, this is what I got...

When you learn to quiet your mind, you really notice your thoughts in your head. What I mean is, you practice meditating and then when you are not meditating you become so aware of your mind you hear your thoughts. You hear the thoughts that are going on and on without you even knowing it because you are busy with other activities.

When you hear your thoughts more clearly, you start to become astonished at the mood of your mind. Maybe your mood is to constantly defend yourself, which can mean low self-esteem. Maybe your mood is to criticize others, which could mean you are critical of yourself. Maybe your mood is to worry about the future, which is a culprit of anxiety. Maybe your mood is to focus on what you don't have or how lousy your life is, which is depression.

When you hear these thoughts more clearly, you can, and will discover your stressful thought patterns.

WAIT! There is something else too. When you begin to quiet your mind, you become more focused, more patient, and able to enjoy life more.

When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are thinking about the things you need to do, you become more focused on your to do tasks. Not the to do tasks you have written down but the tasks in your head.

When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are standing in line, or waiting for something, because your mind is quiet, you are more patient.

When your mind is still, it becomes a habit and when you are just sitting there you can notice, JUST NOTICE, the beauty around you, the beauty in your surroundings, the beauty in your life, and the beauty in the person you are with. Kind of like smelling the roses.

WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Ever since I started to meditate, things I wished for, or dreamed about began to show up. Be careful for what you wish for comes to mind. I don't know what makes this happen but it does. It's like magic, I swear.

Money for a trip I wanted to take showed up when I didn't have the money. The car of my dreams showed up at an affordable price when it was usually much more expensive. I wanted to live in a small town and within a year I ended up where I am now. I no longer wanted to work for a corporation because I wanted to focus on my business and then I was laid-off with a 7 month severance package.

And, finally, I have always wanted to be close to Heavenly Father and I have been getting closer and closer every year and I know that my soul is truly expanding, and evolving, and developing, and progressing. I know that this is so because I am reacting totally different than I use to in a much kinder, more patient, and loving way.

Much more has happened and continues to happen and I think, no I know, it is because I quiet my mind, and it really really creates happiness, energy, focus, organization, productivity, and vitality.

Now, those are just some reasons, my friend, why you want to quiet your mind.

But please, please, please, do not believe me, try it for yourself.

That's all I got.

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

DO YOU QUIET YOUR MIND?

2011-07-04T06:00:00.001-07:00

Hello there, Happy Monday!!!

How are you doing today, this lovely Monday?

I hope you are doing GRRREAT! Life is GRRREAT! Isn't it?

Got a question! Do you quiet your mind?

What I am asking is do you meditate or do you practice deep relaxation?

What does it mean to quiet your mind? It means to stop the obsessive thinking of thoughts of worry about the future or regrets about the past. It means to stop thinking and take your focused mind out of your thoughts and into this moment.

Why would you quiet your mind? The reason I quiet my mind is so that I can be still and know God. I have always known that God is in the stillness of my thoughts. That is a Big statement and it is really hard to explain. It is something that you would know and understand if you quieted your mind.

Let me try to explain, just a little better. When you worry about your bills, or your weight, or your relationships, or your future, that is not God speaking to you. God is not worry, God is in your faith. "Be still and know that I am God." "Have faith." Are the things that I am trying to explain.

When you are obsessing about your relationship with your significant other, or your crazy boss, or the person at work that is mean to you, or the person at school who had the nerve to say certain things to you, or about your kids and their behavior, that is not God speaking to you.

When you are quiet, in the stillness, you can and will hear that still small voice that God speaks from.

When I meditate, better known as quieting my mind, I know that is where God is, in my mind, I mean. I am not saying that is the only place God is because He is everywhere. What I am saying is you can see, hear, smell, and just notice the beauty in things, and in yourself, when you quiet your mind often.

That beauty is where you can see God. The beauty of His creations.

If you have doubt, fear, worry, or you have obsessive thoughts that you think over and over again, hour after hour, day, after day, you will benefit from quieting your mind. These obsessive thoughts that you are having stem from a stressful habit of a racing mind or an obsessive thought pattern.

If you quiet your mind you can replace that stressful habit of obsessive thinking with a successful practice.

It's all about destressing yourself! Quiet your mind, make it a practice, and then wallah! You will replace your stressful habit.

Easy? Maybe, maybe not. It's all in your beliefs. I have seen people change slowly, over time, and I have seen people change in an hour.

Try my audio, Deep Relaxation. Listen to it every evening, before you go to bed, and then just notice your ability to relax. Notice your ability to relax any time and any where. Make it a conscious change and you will see the beauty in the moment without your over active mind.

But please, don't believe me. Try it for yourself.

That's all I got friend!

Have a great week and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

BIG HUGS...

Elizabeth

SPEAKING THE WORDS OF DESTRESSING YOURSELF!!!

2011-06-30T07:00:00.001-07:00

Hello my friend ;)

How's life? Great I hope ;)

So, I am at this cafe I frequent and I am talking to the gal that works the register and I ask her, "How's life?"

She says she is stressed. Can you believe that? LOL!!!

She goes on and on about how she is overwhelmed, she is taking 17 units in school, and she has to pay bills.

It takes every ounce of my energy to NOT speak the words of destressing yourself and I didn't :(

Why don't I? Well, I use to all the time, to everybody, because I want to tell everyone that stress is just a thought but most people don't wanna listen. That is totally fine!

There are so many people who are anxious, angry, depressed, fatigued, moody, and unhappy and no matter what I say they want to defend their unnecessary emotion.

Oh sure, sometimes I tell people what I do and tell'em if they want help, for free, to check out my blog. I give them a business card and often they become my clients but I can't save those who do not want help.

What I want to say is...

Your stress, my friend, is just a thought. You are probably thinking of all the bad things that will happen to you because you believe you are so overwhelmed and those thoughts create fear and anxiety.

I want to ask...

Have you ever went through a really tough time or had an experience that had you thinking that this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me?

What happened? Did you survive? Of course you did because you are still here and you are still standing.

What if you were to think, no matter what happens, I can handle it?

What would be the best thing that could happen to you, right now?

What if you were to think thoughts of faith, in yourself, and thoughts that the best thing that you think can happen will?

Do you believe in God?

Do you, deep down in your heart believe in God and that He will do what He says He will, in the bible?

Do you believe His words when He says 'have faith'?

What I want to say is...

Have faith my friend.

Have faith in God and that He will take care of you.

Have faith in yourself and that you can handle it.

Take your thoughts of doubt and turn them into faith.

No matter what happens, you will be fine.

Quiet your mind and think and feel this truth.

There is a lot more of that where that came from ;) TRUST ME

I hope you have a great weekend and feel the truth of faith in God and yourself.

If you truly believe 'WITH GOD ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE' you must contemplate and feel this truth so that it will fill your entire being.

When you do, you will feel your way into destressing yourself.

Speak soon...

Don't forget! Please have fun and be playful!

Big ole hugs to ya...

Elizabeth

I WORK FOR FREE!!!

2011-06-09T21:02:00.001-07:00

Hello my friend. How's your week? Good? Great? or Perfect? Mine is perrrrfect!!!

Okay, okay, okay, okay...

So, recently, within the last month, I have received a few emails (well maybe more than a few) indicating that my blog posts are sales posts and I just wanted to say a thing or two about that.

With kindness and politeness in my reaction I would just like to say that I WORK FOR FREE! Heh heh.

Yes, I have been posting things that you can buy and I only post them because I know that they will help people destress yourself. When someone buys, I do obtain a minimal fee, because I am an affiliate, and when I sell my products, the web site that hosts them gets an affiliate fee. What I am saying is that I do make money off these resources but I wouldn't share them unless I know, with all my heart, that they will help.

I KNOW WITH ALL MY HEART THAT THEY HELP!!!

Okay, okay, okay, okay...back to the I WORK FOR FREE!

Many people email me, from all over the WORLD, and even call me, with their stressful situations and I love love love to respond to these emails and phone calls, and provide FREE stress relief.

So, if you have a question about your situation, I would gladly help you for FREE.

Disclaimer: I also work for a fee, when people elect to continue working with me ;)

In addition, whenever I see stress in someone's life, I convert it into a post knowing that it will help someone, FOR FREE!!!

The most important thing to me, my passion, and what permeates my entire being (including my soul) is helping people discover happiness.

To help people change their entire being from despair to excitement, about their life, is the most rewarding thing I know of.

To help people go from crisis to confidence and conviction that life will be more than fine, is the most important thing for me to see while I am alive.

Why do I do it?

Because I have seen some serious anger, anxiety, and depression. Because I have seen people get so upset and act like life is about to end. Because, I know, without a doubt, that anyone can live without anger, anxiety, depression, or unhappiness.

How do I know?

I know because I see people, every day, turn their life around. I know because I have experienced a lot of stress in my life, and stress is my greatest teacher.

When I was 10, I witnessed something very violent, and carried it with me for years in the way of emotional symptoms.

When I was 21, I gave birth to my son, and was a single parent.

Through my twenties and thirties, I raised my son (quite successfully if I do say so myself because he has permanent stress relief behavior, he is very fun, and he is happy) by myself.

In addition, I went to school for my bachelors and masters.

When I was in my twenties and thirties, I worked as an Emergency Medical Technician on an ambulance running 911 calls responding to very gruesome situations.

When I was in my thirties, and now my forties (I am forty six), I have been doing, and do, Critical Incident Stress Management, which is responding to meet with people who have experienced and/or witnessed something extraordinary like traumatic death, dying, and/or very very gruesome imagery.

If that doesn't say possible stress all over it, I don't know what does.

Stress is my greatest teacher and I want to help others find solace and peace so that they may enjoy their lives.

I WANT TO SHOUT FROM THE ROOF TOPS!!! PERMANENT STRESS RELIEF IS POSSIBLE NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING!!!

I WANT TO SHOUT FROM THE ROOF TOPS!!! DESTRESS YOURSELF SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT LIFE HAS IN STORE FOR YOU!!! HAPPINESS!!! ENERGY!!! VITALITY!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!

Sorry, I love this shizzz, I get so carried away!

Anywho...

Here is another resource for you FOR FREE!!!

Go to this web site, watch the videos, FOR FREE, and learn to question your beliefs and just watch your life turn around.

Or you can buy my product, lol...

But please, please, please don't believe me, find out for yourself.

The woman in this website, Byron Katie, is the author of the next book in the BIBLIOTHERAPY SERIES.

Have a great day!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

A GREAT DESTRESS YOURSELF EXERCISE

2011-06-04T17:44:00.001-07:00

Good Mornin!!!

Are you ready for your weekend? Are you a little stressed? I got an email the other day asking for a good destress exercise from work or the office.

The ultimate exercise to destress yourself is to learn how to meditate which means to quiet your mind. Once you learn to quiet your mind, you can listen to your thoughts, and when you listen to your thoughts, you can learn what kind of conversation is in your head that is causing your stress. As soon as you listen and learn the stressful conversation, you can release your worry.

This is very simple, but not an easy process without dedication. An easier process is to learn DEEP RELAXATION. When you learn and practice DEEP RELAXATION, with just a deep breath, you can learn to relax anytime and anywhere. This means at work, in the office, at home, or at school.

Think about it! If you need to destress yourself you have some stress which is very similar to anxiety. What would be the opposite of stress, or anxiety? It would be to relax.

When you learn DEEP RELAXATION you know what it is to relax your mind and body.

Learning deep relaxation is brilliant because it teaches you to relax and you can bring yourself to the relaxation point even in the middle of a crisis.

Nearly every day I speak to someone in the Emergency Field who is dealing with some form of reaction to a Critical Incident. These individuals witness death, dying, and destruction very frequently. The average person does not see the things they do in a life time.

One of the greatest things Emergency Workers do for themselves is learn to practice meditation and deep relaxation. These practices bring them out of serious stressful situations that their minds impress upon them.

If you want to learn a good destress exercise, try deep relaxation.

But please, don't believe me, try it yourself and just watch the process of destressing yourself, any time and anywhere. Give yourself a chance, check out my DEEP RELAXATION audio, you will experience the destress exercise you will need.

Have the best week!!!

And don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

LEARNING TO DESTRESS!!!

2011-05-09T16:38:00.001-07:00

Hey! Hi! Happy Monday! I love Mondays! Actually, I love every days!

I am so happy you are here. You are here because you are learning to destress yourself, or just because you like me ;)

So, did you notice if you are or when you are in a hurry? Did you notice if it is a habit of yours? Did you slow down? Dang, I was totally in a hurry the next day after I wrote the post, CAN YOU PLEASE SLOW DOWN? I was thinking to myself, if my blog readers could see me now they would definitely remind me of my own words. I did catch myself and I did slow down, he he he.

Sooo, let's talk!

What in the heck does it mean to destress yourself?

Many of you have heard me explain this before, over and over again, and here we go again, lol.

When you destress yourself you evolve your mind, your thoughts, your behavior, your attitude, and your actions so that you live with confidence, faith, and security.

Confidence in yourself, life, and others.

Faith that all things are working for you and that your life is perfect as it is.

Security knowing that anything you go through, no matter what, you can handle it.

If we listed the opposite of all these points it would look like this

Doubt in yourself, life, and others.

Fear that all things are working against you and that your life is the worst.

Worry that whatever you go through, no matter what, you cannot handle it.

All of this creates stress. This thought process is what stress is.

You have a choice really! You can think thoughts of stress or you can destress yourself.

The thing is, this stressful way of thinking has been ingrained in you for however long you have been living.

Learn how to destress yourself by choosing the way of confidence, faith, and security. You don't have to have doubt, fear, or worry. They are just thoughts you know?

Learning to destress yourself is so important because it will create happiness, energy, and vitality for you.

Learning to destress yourself is so important because it will eliminate unhealthy emotional, mental, and physical conditions.

Try my audio, How To Destress Yourself, so that you can live with happiness, energy, and vitality.

But PLEASE, don't believe me, find out for yourself.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

CAN YOU PLEASE SLOW DOWN???

2011-03-19T09:15:00.001-07:00

Hey hey! How are you? I am absolutely fantabulous.

Just wanted to talk a little about the stressful habit of always being in a hurry. When I am in the city (because I live in the boonies) I notice that quite a few people are in a hurry and they act like someone is gonna die if they don't get a move on. YIKES!

Being in a hurry is very very dangerous because horrible things happen when we are in a rush (or drunk... I don't know where that came from, lol) and so we can prevent a lot of mishaps by slowing down a little bit.

I remember a few years back we were going to have a bar-b-q and my friend got a call from the hospital that his Dad was in an accident. It was a bit scary, so I was trying to hurry and I dropped a big bag of ice on my toe and broke my toe. I looked up into the sky and said, "thank you Lord." I did this because at age 39, I knew, and know, that when something like that happens the Lord is telling me to slow down.

Please please please, don't wait for something to happen to you because you are in a hurry when you can create tons of prevention just by slowing down.

Just notice if you have a state of being in a hurry. Maybe in the morning you are always in a hurry, or when you have to pick your kids up, or on the way to work. Just notice it, and if it is so, slow your bootay down.

I know that it is not necessary to be in a hurry, it is just a habit really, especially for city folks. It's called impatience.

Can you please slow down? Just wondering...

Have a great day and don't forget...

Have fun and be playful.

HUGS

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

A NEW EARTH

2011-03-08T04:00:00.001-08:00

NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLIOTHERAPY! A NEW EARTH

The Power Of Now was a strong influence on my thought process so I thought I would read A NEW EARTH. I have read this one before but I thought that it would be a good read after reading THE POWER OF NOW by the same author Eckhart Tolle.

I just started to read it. The last time I read it, when Oprah was doing a special on it, I marked the book all up with my pink high lighter. This time around I am finding that I am interested in different points the book is making. This is very interesting to me because it indicates that I have made a shift, a cognitive shift, since I read it last.

Let me know what you think!!!

Have a super duper day!

Elizabeth

DESTRESS YOUR ANGER ;)

2011-02-24T05:00:00.001-08:00

Hello there! How are you this beautiful Monday? Dang! I feel so lucky to live in Cali. We have beautiful blue skies and the temp is a lovely 62 deez greez. A lil cool for us Californians.

Okay, enough of the bragging, huh?

Today, I wanna talk about destressing your anger.

Anger is a very stressful habit. Yuppers, it's a habit. I would even go as far as to say that it is an addiction, a very contagious addiction. What I mean by addiction is that it is something that is a negative influence and you cannot quit it. What I mean by contagious addiction is that an angry environment, like a work place, can create and increase other peoples anger. For example, a fire house, or an emergency room, or just being in an ambulance with an angry person. Also, a corporate or office environment can generate anger in individuals.

There are a whole lotta people out there who are very angry. Sometimes they don't even know they are angry. Other times they think anger is okay. But the worst of them all is they think anger is necessary.

ANGER IS UNNECESSARY! AND GOING OFF IS NOT OKAY!

Just in case you didn't know, it is not okay to go off on someone when you loose your temper. Actually, it's not okay to go off on anyone. It's quite ridiculous actually. Have you ever seen someone loose it over something as if their life was threatened? That is an illusion of anger.

Not only is anger unnecessary, it is bad for you.

Any negative emotion creates unhealthy shifts in your body and releases bad hormones. That is why people get sick.

BUT! Anger just doesn't hurt you, it hurts the people around you and guess what? If you are an angry one, people probably don't want to be around you.

So, what do you do if you are an angry one? How do you destress yourself from anger?

I have no idea! Just kidding.

Counting to ten is a good one, just kidding.

But seriously!

Like any addiction, you have to know that it is a problem, know that you can quit it, and then replace it with a successful practice.

Sounds pretty simple, but not easy.

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I worked on an ambulance with a very very angry person. He was so angry that it radiated to me and I started to get angry. This is way before I started researching and writing about stress relief.

Thank goodness I didn't work with this guy for long. Any who, looking back I recognized that I was angry, a lot, and for no reason. After I started to notice this, I remember when I would get angry, I would ask myself, "why am I so angry?" Right in the middle of the anger and then I would talk myself out of the anger. I would say, "you are getting angry for no reason, Elizabeth." After doing that for a while, every time I got angry, the anger went away. Sure, I still got angry, sometimes, but not the kind that was ridiculous, lol.

If you have an anger problem know two things, know that it is not okay and know that you can eliminate it.

Say to yourself, "Anger is not okay and I don't get angry." I know, it sounds silly, but it will work.

It's just a reminder, to remind you, that it's not okay and you don't get angry anymore.

There's more!

When you are angry, see if you can just observe the anger, right when you are in the middle of it. Just observe it, be the observer, and don't judge it or label it or beat yourself up for it.

Then you can do what I did and talk yourself out of it, or you can do something even funnier. You can start to sing a song, a funny song, like a rap or something. This will work, I promise, it will make you laugh and you will eliminate the stressful habit of anger and replace it with the successful practice of laughter.

You gotta love it! You gotta love the playfulness in that, don't you?

Well, have a great week and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Love ya...

Elizabeth

EMAIL RESPONSES TO, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

2011-02-15T17:11:00.001-08:00

Holey Moley Guacamole Avocado Sauce.

I have received a ton of emails in response to the last post, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

I have received emails regarding job loss, unable to get a job, loosing a home, loosing a loved one, having a hard time with the boss, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, anger towards a spouse, anger towards an ex-spouse, problems with a child, having a hard time with weight control, and...even...sexual frustration.

As I read these emails, I was going to answer them each individually but, the main theme was that these individuals disagreed with me. They either disagreed with me on that they cannot control their thoughts, they do not have a choice in their thinking, they do not think their stress comes from their thoughts, or that they don't need to change their thoughts.

So, basically, I have been disagreed with on each one of the points I made last post.

What it all boils down to is this, if you do not or cannot believe or wrap your mind around the concept that you are the boss of you, that you are the only thinker of your thoughts, or that you have a choice to choose the way you think, then you will have to live in the state that you are living until you do.

I don't know what else to say. The thing is, the reason I am not a therapist, or a counselor anymore is because I cannot help people who do not want to be helped, which is the majority of people who are in therapy.

I am not knocking therapy, it has helped so many people. What I am saying is, that I help people who want help. I help people who are willing to open their mind and let new ideas in.

This is education, not therapy, and so if you want to learn more about stress, you can learn it here.

Stress is NOT caused by your situation or the people you are upset with. Stress is caused by your thought process about what is happening to you.

Yes, stress is a part of life and I don't know anyone who lives stress free, not even me lol, but you can reduce any stress you have by changing habitual stressful reactions, which begins with your thought process.

It is not my intention to be unkind, I am trying to be a loving confronter. If you know me now, you know that I have nothing but love for you or anyone I meet. I love you! I love people! I have nothing but love in my heart.

Please, if you want help, it has to start with you. With you choosing to open your mind to a new way of thinking. Listen to your destress yourself specialist, and I say that with a wink and a smile. I have helped and help thousands of people, all over the world, and I know I can help you.

Give yourself a chance, check out my audio on HOW TO DESTRESS YOURSELF, it will change your life.

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

ps thanks for the emails, I LOVE IT!!!

HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?

2011-02-11T03:38:00.001-08:00

Hey there! How you doin? Hope you are having a great week so far.

You know, the number one question that is asked of me is, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

What a fully loaded question. The answer?!?

The number one way to destress yourself, no matter what you are going through, is to change your way of thinking. Better yet, change your way of knowing.

First, you have to know that you are the only thinker of your thoughts and therefore, you, and only you, are in charge of your thoughts.

Second, you have to know that you have a choice, you can think thoughts of faith, or you can think thoughts of doubt, fear, and worry.

Third, you have to know you can rid yourself of addictive, stressful, behavior.

Fourth, you have to know you can replace addictive, stressful behavior with successful practices.

This is so simple to see and know but it is not necessarily easy.

Did you know that many people allow their minds to float on auto pilot, with doubt, fear, and worry about the future and anger, frustration, and guilt about the past?

What if you chose to learn to be here, right here, right now. Like in the book, The Power of Now, it teaches you how to be fully present, to enjoy your present moment and not live in the past or future. What problem do you have right now? This very moment? You don't really, do you? Maybe you have problems you think about and anticipate in the future, but you don't really have anything but this moment, what you are doing now, or the person you are with.

You are the thinker of your thoughts. Choose to enjoy this very moment.

Did you know people worry about the worst thing that could happen rather than anticipating the best thing that could happen? That is the addictive, stressful behavior I am talking about. What is an addiction? My definition of an addiction is something that you cannot stop that is affecting you negatively. Like, drama in a relationship, getting offended easily and all the time, not liking others "just because", worrying about the future, blaming others for your failures, letting your thoughts and emotions run on auto pilot, focusing on what is wrong with your life, focusing on what you don't have, and being way too serious. Need I go on?

Sound familiar?

And stressful behavior is the thoughts and behavior we inflict upon ourselves that cause stress. Stress is not getting in a car crash, it is caused by what we think about after we crash. Stress is not loosing your job or home, it is caused by what we think and do about it during and after we loose it.

So, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

KNOW THAT YOU, AND ONLY YOU, ARE IN CHARGE OF AND CAN CHOOSE YOUR THOUGHTS.

KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A CHOICE, YOU CAN CHOOSE FAITH IN OTHERS AND YOURSELF OVER DOUBT, FEAR, AND WORRY.

KNOW THAT YOU CAN RECOGNIZE AND RID YOURSELF OF ADDICTIVE AND STRESSFUL BEHAVIOR.

AND FINALLY, KNOW THAT YOU CAN REPLACE THAT ADDICTIVE AND STRESSFUL BEHAVIOR WITH SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES WHICH IS JUST THE OPPOSITE OF THAT BEHAVIOR.

YOU CAN DO IT!!! YOU GOT THE POWER!!! YOU CAN BE, DO, HAVE ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR HEART ON!

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? But it is not necessarily easy.

If you need help to destress yourself try my audio, you will be glad you did. It will change your life, I promise you.

Have a great week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

EMS STRESS AND THE POWER OF NOW!!!

2011-02-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hey there. How's it going? How's life? Is it good? Or is it great? I truly hope that it is absolutely, positively great for you!!!

Unfortunately, chances are, if you are reading this blog, life may not be great for you.

EMS Stress is very powerful and can cause a lot of emotional distress as well as physical fatigue and illnesses.

I know this because there isn't a day that goes by that I do not talk to someone in the Emergency field who has some kind of emotional distress or illness.

The most common emotional distress I see is anger, anxiety, depression, guilt, irritability (one of the biggest), and, believe it or not, insecurity.

The most common physical illnesses I see are back aches, dizziness, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems (one of the biggest), headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, irregular heart rate, and neck aches.

If you are experiencing stress, which you probably are if you are reading this blog, one of the greatest things you can do is learn how to quiet your mind and enjoy your moments.

Recently, I read the book THE POWER OF NOW, and it truly helped me enhance my ability to quiet my mind and increase the joy in my moments.

People who are in the Emergency Field experience things that make us question what life is all about. We experience things that are not normal to the average person. Death, dying, destruction, and being responsible for other people's lives, literally, can truly eff with your mind.

The mind is so cunning that when we experience things that are out of the ordinary, it attempts to protect us, when actually it can hurt us. When the mind is under a lot of stress it races, and although we don't notice the thoughts because they are fleeting, they can be flashbacks or fear created by a past event or anticipated ones.

One of the best ways to notice these fleeting thoughts that are racing through your mind is through meditation, which will quiet the mind.

THE POWER OF NOW, is a great book that can also help you with the process of quieting your mind. This may sound silly or may not make sense to you, but I know that this does help. I have seen it happen with individuals, who are often in a crisis, make complete changes in their lives, for the better of course, after learning to quiet their mind.

Many people are very resistant to meditation, which is the greatest skill a person can have, so books are a healthy alternative.

Click on the picture of the book above and purchase it from Amazon, they have excellent prices.

There are so many people in the Emergency Field that speak their stress in their conversations and they don't even know it. They talk about a call they had, over and over again, or they talk about how things don't affect them and yet their life is in complete disarray. Believe me, if you are repeating a call you had, over and over again, or your life is in complete disarray, emotionally, mentally, or physically, you have enormous amounts of stress which is usually caused by or causing a racing mind.

But please, don't believe me, try it for yourself. Try learning to quiet your mind and be in the now, which means to NOT be in the future or the past with your mind and just watch how you become more focused with extreme joy in your life and watch how you make explosive jumps in your personal and professional life.

Try it, and see, I dare you.

Have a fantabulous week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

THE POWER OF NOW!

2011-02-04T06:42:00.001-08:00

Hey everybody!!! How's life? Life is very very SCHWEET!!!

I really meant to write another post before I put another book up for the Bibliotherapy Series but I found a book I absolutely love, love, love.

Keep up with me now! I can't help it! I wish there was a job that I could get paid for reading. I love to read.

Anywho...

My latest and greatest pick is 'THE POWER OF NOW' by Eckhart Tolle.

I have only read two chapters but this book has me hooked. I can't put it down, but I gotta, because I have other things I gotta do, you know what I mean?

So far, this book is talking about the power of being in the space of non thinking. If you meditate, you know what I mean. Mr. Tolle has explained where he has been, deep in depression and anxiety, and where he is now, in the Now.

He has explained how the NOW gives you joy and peace. This is what Destressing Yourself is all about. I believe this with all my heart.

In chapter two, he is talking about fear and anger. Ewww, ewww, ewww, this is good.

You gotta read this one with me. Click on the image to get the book or go to your local book store.

If you have read it, comment below, and share your feelings.

Have a great day, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

HOW ARE YOU DOING ON YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

2011-01-31T06:06:00.001-08:00

Hey there, how are you? Happy Monday!

How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions?

Well, it is the end of January, and many people give up on there New Year's Resolution by now. But, I am here to tell you to NEVER GIVE UP! CONTINUE THE GOAL!

Obviously, if you made the New Year's Resolution, whatever it is, it is important for you to accomplish.

So... When you fall back a lil just start a new. Like, if you are dieting, and you eat something that is not on your plan, start all over again. That's what we gotta do you know?

Never ending goal setting is never giving up. I know people who are struggling with smoking, drinking, eating, anxiety, depression, anger, and all sorts of stressful habits and we all fall back but we just have to be our own cheerleader and pep talk ourselves back into the game.

When we mess up, we may have the tendency to beat ourselves up and say, "I will never be able to stop smoking, stop drinking, loose weight, control my anxiety, overcome my depression, or manage my anger."

When we beat ourselves up, we feel bad, and we diminish our faith in our ability to do it.

A couple things that we can do to increase our chances to obtain our goals are one, we can NOT beat ourselves up and be more encouraging. It's a choice you know? We can choose to beat ourselves up or we can choose to cheer ourselves on. Choose to cheer yourself on, tell yourself, "you can do this!" "I have faith that I can do this."

Even if you don't believe it, say it until you do, and you will be glad you did. You will create a habit of faith because you will see the results.

Okay, the second thing you can do to help is to create a reminder, an affirmation. For example, if you want to loose weight, you can create a statement, an affirmation, like, "I am loosing weight." Or, "I am getting lighter as I eat healthier."

Read my post on Creating Affirmations, so that you can have a statement to remind yourself on what you are working towards.

To a lot of people, creating affirmations will sound silly because it is silly. It's silly but it works, and you will laugh at yourself on several occasions when you say it. Life is suppose to be fun anyway, so why not make this process of change fun?

By the way, when we make the statements like, "I can't do this." Or, "I'll never be able to do this." You are telling yourself you can't so, why not tell yourself you can with an affirmation.

Your affirmation can simply be, I can stop smoking, or I can stop drinking, or I can loose weight, or I can control my anxiety, or I can overcome my depression, or I can manage my anger.

YOU CAN DO IT, I KNOW YOU CAN, YOU GOT THE POWER!!!

Any who... Have a great week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

THE POWER OF PATIENCE

2011-01-21T06:31:00.001-08:00

The Power of Patience, is the first book in my Bibliotherapy Series. This book is a must!!! For several reasons...

#1 It is a feel good book, and I love a good feel good book. If you are depressed or anxious and you read a good feel good book you will be in a better place emotionally, for a while anyway. That is probably why I read so many good books, to just be in a good place emotionally.

#2 "Only by cultivating the patience within can you find the ultimate antidote to stress." This is a quote from the book, which I absolutely love and totally agree with. And after reading this book you will be destressed.

#3 It has several stories that you, and I, can relate to as far as our impatience like when we are in a line waiting, or with our children, or with other people. These stories help us remember what patience can do for us emotionally. Meaning, eliminating the unnecessary anger and irritability.

#4 You will love this Author. M.J. Ryan shares her personal stories with her personal struggles with impatience, and the lessons she learns.

#5 Just reading this book will remind you how beneficial it is to be patient. It is my belief that we all know that we will benefit by being patience and yet we forget so easily in the midst of our hurry up disease, lol.

#6 The Author discusses how patience creates excellence, helps us make better decisions, helps us waste less time, energy, and money, and how it eliminates anger.

#7 And... the best reason of all, the book provides exercises and techniques for practicing patience.

I love this book... It was worth every penny, and it will find a place in my library.

Have a great weekend, you all!!!

Try to be patient, he he he, because it will help you destress yourself.

And... don't forget to have fun and be playful.

BIG HUGS!!!

Elizabeth

BIBLIOTHERAPY

2011-01-19T15:27:00.001-08:00

Hey hey everyone!!!

My nother New Year's Resolution is sharing my Bibliotherapy on my blog. I read a book, or two, a week, and I read psychology books, self-help books, and feel good books. These books I read are my therapy, bibliotherapy, and they lift my soul, make me feel good, and increase my ever happiness.

Reading is a healing experience and I want to share this experience with you, and help you heal.

With that said, my first book, that I will be sharing is 'THE POWER OF PATIENTS' by M. J. RYAN.

If you would like to read it with me here it is

&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=destressyours-20" alt="" /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

DID YOU PICK YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011?

2011-01-17T06:50:00.001-08:00

Hey Kiddies, lol.

So, did you pick your New Year's Resolutions?

I did! I do, every year. But before I tell you what one of them is, I would like to ESPLAIN SOMSING first.

The other night, when my son and I were saying family prayer... (Yes, we pray together. Haven't you heard, the family that prays together, stays together?) Any who... I was thanking Heavenly Father for my trials, and for my set backs. I told Heavenly Father that I was grateful for my problems and for my flat tire and my son laughed, at me, in the middle of our prayer.

It was funny! It is funny! And if you know me, you know, I like to be funny! But I was serious, kinda, well, as serious as I can be. I was seriously thanking Heavenly Father for my problems and telling him I love my problems. And that my friend, is one of my New Year's Resolution.

My New Year's Resolution is to love my problems. I have a choice, really. I can get upset and cry, which I do, or I can love my problems and laugh like my son did, because it is really kind of funny.

You have to understand, it wasn't just an ordinary flat tire. It was a flat tire on my 4X4 that would get me out of the snow, and into town. You see, the snow was about 3 feet deep, and you cannot go anywhere if you don't have a 4X4.

So, when I loved my problem, laughed about it, and then saw the blessing in it, which was to stay home and hang out with my son, it was nothing.

I would say that my New Year's Resolution is destressing, wouldn't you?

So... What is your New Year's Resolution? What are you going to do to destress yourself? Hurry up and pick one because together, you and I, are going to change that stressful habit into a successful practice.

I will save my other New Year's Resolutions for next post!

Have a great week and don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS 2011!!!

2011-01-10T16:05:00.001-08:00

Hey there!
Did you make your New Year's Resolutions yet?
Did you read my post, 'DESTRESS YOURSELF 2011' from yesterday?
Well, I was basically pleading with you to make NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.
You gotta do it, you gotta set goals to move forward.
Now if you have already made some resolutions, please disregard the continued pleading, because here I go.
Whatever is going on in your life, you can make it better. If your life is perfect, you can still set some goals.

But!!! If your life is not perfect, now is the time to make it so. Now is always a good time to make things perfect.
Okay, so, if you don't know what you can do for a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION, then let me spark some creativity for you.
Why not go for something BIG!!! Bigger than more money, or a better job, or a better body, or a better relationship. Let's go BIG by changing YOU! Change your stressful habit. Just pick one stressful habit that you may have, and change it.
Let me list some stressful habits...
Always being serious
Unhappy, not enjoying life
Never having fun
Thinking life is hard
Dwelling on what you don't have
Worrying morning, noon, and night
Getting offended and letting the offense race in your mind
Always in a hurry
Low self-confidence
Low self-esteem
Low self-image
Being very critical of self
Being very critical of others
Being Angry
Being Irritable
Being Moody
Being Depressed
Being Anxious
Living life in the constant state of going nowhere
Physical exhaustion
Lacking Spirituality
Any of these sound familiar?
Do you have any of these behaviors?
Behaviors are just habits, you know?
If you have any of these habits, you are contributing to your own unhappiness, your own stress!
So let's destress, shall we?
Take the habit you have and make it into a goal. For example, if you are always serious, it is time to be playful. Make your NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION to be MORE PLAYFUL. If you are always unhappy, it is time to be HAPPY. In other words, your goal is to be happier.
This may sound silly, or it even may not make sense, but this is what destressing yourself is all about. It is about finding your stressful habits, eliminating them, and replacing them with successful practices.
All those other unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, eating too much, or creating drama could all stem from the dissatisfaction in life that may be caused by one or two of the stressful habits mentioned above.
If you have one (or more) of the stressful habits mentioned above, or a stressful habit you know is causing your unhappiness, then turn it into a goal, a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION, so that you can destress yourself in 2011.
Okay, I am done pleading, FOR TODAY!!!
Have a great day, week, month, and year...
Don't forget to have fun and be playful...
Speak soon...
Elizabeth

DESTRESS YOURSELF 2011

2011-01-07T16:52:00.001-08:00

Are you ready for permanent stress relief in 2011?

Do you have stress at work or at home?

Maybe you have anxiety or depression and you need a little help to relieve stress and relax.

Maybe you are burned out and need to regenerate.

Whatever it is that is stressing you out, it is time to make a new life of destressing yourself.

Do you create New Year's Resolutions? I do, every year. I believe in never ending goal setting.

If you are not moving forward, you are stagnant, and if you are stagnant things usually do not improve.

So...

If you haven't made any New Year's Resolutions, let's do that now.

Take a piece of paper and write down all the things you want.

Do you want to get healthier?

Do you want to create more energy?

Do you want a better relationship, job, or home?

Whatever it is, write it down because that is the first step to destressing yourself.

The first step is knowing what you want that will improve your life.

Improvement will help you feel better about your life and better about yourself.

So, make a list, NOW!!!

Do it now!!!

Just thinking about a better life will make you feel good, I promise you.

Until next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful...

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

A SIMPLE STRESS TEST BY MY FRIEND KUMARA

2011-01-04T14:39:00.001-08:00

My friend Kumar has received his PhD in Psychology and I wanted to congratulate him.

CONGRATULATIONS KUMAR!!!

Here is a Simple Stress Test from his website

Simple stress test

See the four squares yellow, green, red, and blue. Whether you are using or loosing our life energy?. You can check it now.

Passive – waiting for something to happen (chance)

Active – make something to happen (choice)

Confused – obstacle or lack of clear plan or goal (confuse)

Withdraw – give up, avoidance (cut down)

And characteristics which one you belong.

Confusion – red
Chance – yellow
Choice - green

The colour yellow, green, and red represent the traffic signal

You can stay temporarily if you are in yellow,
You can go if you are in green because you have learn to use your stress
You must stop if you are in red. You have to check your goal, value, believes, attitude… it is necessary to correct yourself before you proceed.
If you are in blue you may need assistance, help, advice from others

STRESSFUL EMOTIONAL HABITS

2011-01-03T14:52:00.001-08:00

When we think of habits we think of food, cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. We can also add caffeine, shopping, and sex to that list. These are obvious habits that we are well aware of and know the consequences if we continue.

Another habit that may be evaluated is our emotions. When we are presented with a stressful situation it may be a habit to feel fear or worry.

Some people may even react to stressful situations with anger, frustration, or irritability. These emotions are the cause of our stress. For example, when we are working on the car or working on the house and the job gets difficult we may get angry, frustrated, or irritable. Sound familiar? This is a habit that we have of reacting to certain situations and it is the source of our stress.

Another example may be, when we have something big that breaks down like a car, washer or dryer, air conditioner, or a water heater and we don't have the money to pay for it we may feel fear or worry. This is another habit that we may have of reacting to circumstances that is the culprit of our stress.

When we become aware of our habitual reactions of our emotions we can take responsibility and change these habits for the better. If we get angry or irritable often, we may have created habits of anger and irritability, which can be changed through education.

Awareness is the number one key. If we are aware of these negative emotional reactions we can take responsibility and change these emotions to the opposite.

We can change anger, frustration, or irritability to patience and tolerance.

We can change doubt, fear, and worry to confidence, security, and hope.

It is not necessary to get angry, frustrated, or irritable. It is not necessary to have doubt, fear, or worry. We can take control of our reactions.

Sounds simple but is not necessarily easy. The hard part is the 20, 30, 40, or more years of the tendency to react this way.

What can we do to destress our negative habits of reacting?

The first key is awareness. Like an addict we cannot get help unless we think we need help.

The next step is to talk to a professional or read a book on anger or stress, bibliotherapy is one of the best ways to change.

Another great way of being aware of our emotions is being aware of our thoughts because it is the thought that we are having that causes our feelings.

And finally, never ending goal setting of changing our habits. If we want to change behavior that we have had for years it may take some time and hard work. Never ending goal setting is the way to move forward. If we don't move forward we are stagnant, if we are stagnant our problems get bigger, if our problems get bigger that causes an increase in our stress.

If you get angry, frustrated, or irritable frequently, or even once in a while, you are creating great stress on yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Make it a goal to stop your negative emotions and replace them with positive one's like calmness, happiness, satisfaction, and even temperedness (I think I just made a word).

You can discover your stressful habits by destressing yourself. When you destress yourself you learn to change your stressful thoughts, feelings, actions, and attitudes to more successful thoughts, feelings, actions, and attitudes, which means changing stressful habits into successful practices.

Any questions??? Comment below, or email me, elizabethstanfill@gmail.com.

Have a super duper week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

MOST STRESSFUL HABIT

2010-12-29T17:42:00.001-08:00

Hello there...

Gotta question for you! What do you think is the most stressful habit? When we say the word habit, often times we think of drinking, smoking, doing drugs, or eating too much. Although these are stressful habits, not one of them is the most stressful habit.

So, what do you think the most stressful habit is? Before I answer, I just would like to say that this is stress according to her Majesty Elizabeth, heh heh...

The most stressful habit is thoughts of doubt, fear, and worry. Yuppers, that's it!

There are many different stressful situations like death, dying, divorce, or dismemberment, and yet the situation is not the stress but how we think about the situation that creates the stress.

So why do I say that thoughts of doubt, fear, and worry is the most stressful habit? I say it because the way we think is habitual. If we habitually think sad thoughts, we have depression. If we habitually worry about anything, we have anxiety. If we habitually focus on what we don't have and how horrible our life is instead of focusing on what is great in our lives, we have despair.

Do you have the most stressful habit? If you do, you can turn it around, it's just a thought you know!

I know, I know, habits are hard to break and they are hard to even know that we are doing the habit. So, what do you do?

You take that habit, of doubt, fear, and worry, and you change it into confidence, faith, and hope.

How do you do that? The best way is to just recognize that you do it. Recognize that you are worrying. There is no reason to worry. If you have a situation that is less than the 'D'S' (death, dying, divorce, or dismemberment) life is pretty good, wouldn't you say?

Start there and look at how good life is for you and then remind yourself, when you do have doubt, fear, and worry, that it's just a thought, and then change the thought into confidence, faith, and hope.

No matter what is going on for you, you either have control over what is happening or you don't. There is no reason to worry if you have control over a situation and there is no reason to worry if you don't have control. Just accept and allow. Accept that life is not, and never will be, without 'situations'. That's all life is, 'situations'. And the more you accept that the better your life will be.

So, what do you think? Do you think I am right or wrong about the most stressful habit? Let me know, and comment below, I'm a poet and I know it. LOL!!!

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS STRESS???

2010-12-20T18:53:00.001-08:00

Hello there my friend. How are you this wonderful winter day? I must say, I am very happy and grateful!!!

Last night, I attended a Christmas Program, which was MAGNIFIQUE!!! Any who, I was talking to a lady who, you guessed it, is really stressed out. She is currently going through her second wedding (for her second daughter) this year.

Sooo, I told her that there was no such thing as stress, only stressful thoughts. She didn't get it. Do you get it? Do you get that there is no such thing as stress, only stressful thoughts?

When we feel stressed it is from our thoughts of thinking that we can't handle it. Stress is from our thohttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6613359141845270284ughts of worry. What is this woman's stress? She is overwhelmed by a busy schedule, as well as work, and her other children. So, she is worried. She is worried that she can't handle it, and that everything won't be perfect unless she get's everything done that she needs to get done. Hence, her stressful thoughts.

Whenever I talk to someone who is stressed, I know that they are worried about something. There is no reason to worry. Worry is just a habit, a habitual way of thinking. People worry about what they don't have, they worry about how to get what they want or don't have, they worry about what others' think, and/or they worry about if they can handle IT, whatever IT is. IT can be finances, relationships, health, weight, an overwhelming schedule, a child that is not good enough, and/or work.

What are you worried about? "Oh Elizabeth, I'm not worried about anything." Oh reeeeeeally??? I know that I can have a conversation with you and within 5 minutes or so, you will say what you are worried about. Are you worried about the future? Are you worried about the past, or yesterday? Are you worried about money? Are you worried that you will never find Mr/Mrs Right? Are you worried that your boss doesn't treat you well? Are you worried about Christmas?

Well, whatever it is you are worried about, this is what I want you to know.

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, YOU CAN HANDLE IT!
Everyone, including me, has had some serious shizzz happen and we made it through whatever rough time there was and you will make it through this.

RELEASE YOUR WORRY!
This is a lot easier said than done but, stay in this moment, stay right here, right now, with whoever you are with, or where ever you are at, and enjoy yourself. If you are unable to enjoy yourself, then you have a habit to learn. Enjoying yourself is just a habit, a habitual way of thinking, just like worrying. One of the best things anyone can do is replace the habit of worry with the habit of enjoying yourself.

If you know me, you know it is possible!!!

Destress Yourself with an affirmation. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, or stressed, say to yourself, "I can handle this, I can handle anything, and I can be, do, have anything I set my heart and mind to."

YOU GOT THE POWER!!!

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

I LOVE YOU!!! I REALLY DO!!!

Elizabeth

OF COURSE IT'S STRESS!!!

2010-12-12T07:20:00.001-08:00

If something is wrong with your physical body, there is a high probability that you are stressed. Stress is the number one cause of EVERY illness. Stress lowers the immune system.

What causes stress? Most people think that stressful events cause our stress but actually, what causes stress is how we react to and think about the event.

For example, death is a very stressful event, wouldn't you say? What causes the level of stress, in this situation, really depends on how a person reacts to and thinks about death. If one person thinks that there is no life, NOTHING, after death and he or she will never see their deceased loved one again, their stress level will be significantly high. If another person thinks that there is life after death and they will see their deceased loved one again, after their own death, their stress level will be significantly lower than the first individual. We must also take into account how well the person deals with stress.

I have recently seen this particular reaction. Recently, two friends of mine have experienced the death of a close loved one. The first person, we will call him Fort (I don't know anyone named Fort, he he he), lost his spouse, and the second person, we will call him Hub (I don't know anyone named Hub either, ha ha ha), lost his long-time significant other (never married in other words). Fort has a strong faith in the plan of salvation, believes in eternal marriage, and handles stress very well. Hub, on the other hand, has faith in God, but not a very strong faith, and is horrible at handling stress.

Immediately during and after each funeral service Fort was strong and happy, celebrating his deceased spouse's life and Hub was very miserable, and displaying illnesses like headaches and abdominal problems. There is a lot more to these stories than what I have shared but the foundation of it all is this; Fort has faith and handles stress well therefore, his stress was very low. Hub has not so strong faith and handles stress not so good therefore, his stress level is high and he sustained illnesses.

The purpose of this post is to show you that 1) your level of stress is not caused by your situation 2) your level of stress is caused by how you think about your situation (FAITH) and how you react to your situation and 3) stress does, and will, cause severe illnesses if you do not learn how to destress yourself.

If you are dealing with a physical illness, I know that if you learn how to destress yourself (which just means to think and react differently than you do to stressful situations) you can overcome your illness, I know this because I have seen it happen time and time again. Many people have come to me with headaches, stomach problems, muscle aches, anxiousness, sadness, neck pain, back pain, and many many other problems, and once they learned to destress they overcame! On the same note, many people never learn to overcome their stressful habits of doubt, fear, and worry and they continue to sustain their illnesses and they get worse.

YOU GOT THE POWER! YOU CAN LEARN TO DESTRESS YOURSELF AND CREATE GREAT HEALTH, HAPPINESS, ENERGY, AND VITALITY! I AM A WITNESS TO THAT!

If you need help, and would like to work with me, email me at elizabethstanfill@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!

DESTRESSING YOUR ANXIETY!!!

2010-12-06T19:53:00.001-08:00

Hello my friend! How are you? I hope you are very happy!

Yesterday, I shopped all day during Black Friday. Boy did I have fun. The first line I stood in, in front of a store at 6 a.m., I chatted with a handsome young man. Another line I stood in, inside a store at around 2 p.m., I chatted with a young girl, who happened to be standing in line for her Mother. I told her that she should charge her Mother a fee, he he he. It turned out to be a really great day, I got a lot of deals, and a lot of Christmas shopping done.

Although yesterday was great fun for me, there seemed to be a lot of angry and anxious people. In my younger years, I gotta admit, there were times that I was really angry, and really anxious but somewhere along my life, I decided to not be either anymore. Oh sure, I have my moments, briefly every once in a while. ;-)

What I was noticing yesterday, was people were radiating anxiety. Some people just live there life with anxiety and do not even know it. Some people live there life with anxiety and don't even know that they don't have to. We really do have a choice whether we are happy or sad, calm or anxious, easy-going or angry.

No one ever told me that I had a choice, I just figured it out one day. I don't remember the exact day but I do know that I have always had the attitude that if I wanted to be happy it was no one's responsibility but mine. Maybe that is why I am not married. Oh well, he he he.

Sometimes when I see an anxious person, I want to just go up and hug them and tell them everything will be okay, don't worry, and be happy.

If you have anxiety, or are always anxious, you are living with a very stressful habit. Stress is the number one cause of ALL illnesses.

Emotional signs and symptoms of anxiety may include anger, anxiousness, fear, frustration, the inability to feel calm, irritability, feeling overwhelmed, the inability to relax, restlessness, and unhappiness.

Mental signs and symptoms of anxiety may include the inability to concentrate, the inability to focus, indecisiveness, a racing mind, and thinking the worst is going to happen.

Physical signs and symptoms of anxiety include abdominal problems, backaches, chest pain, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, nausea, neck aches, racing heart, shortness of breath, sweating, and twitches.

The list of signs and symptoms of anxiety goes on and on and as you can see, it is very unhealthy.

Anxiety manifests it's ugly little self through signs and symptoms, especially illnesses.

So what do you do if you are anxious? First, you must educate yourself. When you learn your signs and symptoms of anxiety then you can overcome them. Then you can learn to relax when you notice these signs and symptoms of yours, and get so good at relaxing that you can do it anytime and anywhere.

I truly believe that if you are an anxious person it is part of your personality therefore, probably a habit. When you Destress Yourself, you discover your stressful habits and replace them with successful ones. With the stressful habit of anxiety, it can be replaced with the successful habit of being calm and relaxing.

It is not necessary to live life without happiness, energy, and vitality, I believe that with all my heart and soul, and if you have anxiety, chances are you are not happy, you don't have energy, or vitality for life.

You can change your life! You got the power! I believe in you! And if you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you.

Have a great day, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

GIVING THANKS

2010-11-27T05:54:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! How are you this Holiday Season? I hope you are doing FANTABULOUS!

Did you miss me? I missed you! It's been nearly four weeks since I've posted. This is a very busy time of year for me but I love it!

In the Spirit of Thanks Giving, I wanted to say a little about giving thanks. Many people gather around a table of food, on the fourth Thursday of November, and reflect on what they are thankful for. It is my belief that we should do that everyday, all day long, and not just on Thanksgiving.

Many years ago, when I was a young Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I responded on a 911 call to a 6 year-old pedestrian who was hit by a car while he was riding his bike to school. This was just about the time my son, who was 8, started riding his bike to school. For those of you who are in the Emergency or Medical field, you understand the significance of the association of a traumatic incident with similarities to your own life.

Any who... This young boy did not survive. Closely after this incident, I had a dream that my son fell down the stairs and died. This particular incident and dream helped me realize how lucky I am to have my son in my life and therefore, from that time on, I rarely spoke, or speak, to him with anger, or with a tone of voice as if I don't like him, because I love him and I am grateful for him.

That particular incident and dream helped me to realize what life is all about. Life is about happiness, joy, having fun, and being playful.

What I am trying to say is, we shouldn't wait for Thanksgiving, or a traumatic incident, to come around for us to be grateful for what we have.

Be grateful everyday and show it by the way you think and act. Think about all the things that you are grateful for and project gratitude towards others.

There are many people I work with who are anxious or sad and one of the biggest reasons is because they have not learned the attitude of gratitude, and that is exactly what I help them with. The attitude of gratitude is nothing but a successful habit of focusing on what is right and good in your life, and can replace the unhealthy, and stressful habit, of focusing on what you don't have or how life could be better.

For all of you who focus on thinking life should be better than it is just think of what would happen, or how you would really feel, if you lost your ability to see, or hear, or walk, or speak. Even yet, if you lost your home, or your spouse, or your child, or your job.

I don't mean to be unkind, and I know of many people who have lost at least one of the things I just mentioned, but I am trying to motivate you, YES YOU! to give thanks everyday, all day long, so that you may live with happiness, energy, and vitality, no matter what your circumstances are.

It is not our circumstances that stress us out, it is how we think about them that does.

If you can cultivate the habit of seeing all that is great in your life, meaning having the attitude of gratitude, all day, every day, you could and would be the happiest person no matter what your circumstances are.

And that's all I gotta say bout that!

I am grateful for you...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Elizabeth

EMT STRESS

2010-07-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hey there! How are you this BeaUtiFul Friday? I hope you are enjoying your day!

I got a couple questions for you. What is stress? What does the word 'stress' mean to you? Does it mean that you are going through something difficult? Does it mean you are going through something you are unable to handle? Is stress your situation? Is it your job? Your boss? Your spouse? Your kids?

What does stress mean to you?

The reason I ask these questions is because many people have the illusion that stress is a person or a situation and if they aren't experiencing something they believe they are not stressed.

Often times when I ask a person if they are stressed out, they say yes, and blame it on a person or a situation, or they tell me they have no stress at all.

Recently, I was working with this medic who was having anxiety attacks. I asked her what she was stressing over and she said she has no stress.

YOO HOO! HAVING ANXEITY ATTACKS IS STRESS!!!

After exploring a little more, we discovered she had tons of stress.

She was sleeping very little, she was eating unhealthy, processed, fast foods on a regular basis and she was suffering from very low self esteem.

These are all very stressful habits because stress is strain. Stress is not a person or circumstances we are going through, it is caused by the strain we put on ourselves emotionally, mentally, and physically.

This medic had stress because she was putting strain on herself physically through lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits and she was putting emotional and mental strain on herself through all of the unhealthy thoughts she was creating through her low self-esteem.

Lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits weigh on you because it takes energy to sustain yourself through out your day. Your body needs rest and nourishment to maintain it's healthy immune system. When we do not take care of our bodies we cause physical stress.

Emotional strain comes from our mental process. If we think that we aren't good enough we start to worry about that and we begin to feel anxiety or depression. Worry is mental strain (or stress), and anxiety and depression are emotional strain (or stress).

When we have emotional, mental, or physical stress we are unhappy. Learn to destress yourself by eliminating your strain so that you may experience happiness, energy, and vitality which truly is HAPPINESS!!!

One of the best ways to discover your stress is to look at how well you are taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally, or physically. Discover one thing that you can change in any of these areas, make it a goal to change it, and watch yourself make a shift in destressing yourself.

That's all I got.

Have a great weekend!

Until next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

A GOOD EMT NEVER MAKES THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN.

2010-07-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hey there! How are you? I hope that you are having the best day ever!!!

About thirteen years ago, I was running 911 calls in a new area, many times with the same engine company. On this particular engine company there was a fire fighter who was always panicky on scene. He would be shaking when he tried to set up an IV and sometimes he would kick the medicine box on scene, all because he was nervous.

After a while, after I got to know him, I asked him how long he has been on the department and he said 15 years. I was a bit shocked because he was still nervous on scene and I think that it was because no one ever told him. Sometimes we are never told about the mistakes we make but other times when we are told, we may not listen.

A good EMT never makes the same mistake again.

I can remember some serious mistakes that I made when I was a new EMT. One was with the HARE traction splint and the other was stepping over a patient and kicking the IV (that took a medic about 15 minutes to establish) out of the patient. OUCH!!!

On both occasions the medics took me aside, after the call, and told me that I was new, and that I was going to make mistakes. They also told me that a good EMT never makes the same mistake twice. I remember these guys and I am very grateful to them. And guess what? I have not made those same mistakes ever again.

Recently, this past week, I have seen three new EMT's make mistakes. They made the mistake out of pure lack of knowledge and experience. I am pretty confident that two of these three will learn from their mistakes.

A good EMT never makes the same mistake twice and a great EMT learns from the mistake, gets over it, and then moves on.

We can stress ourselves out if we wallow in our mistake. Destress yourself by learning from your mistakes and getting over them.

That's all I got!!!

Have a great day!!!

Until next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

THE BEST CE FOR EMT'S ONLINE

2010-05-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have done some research for the best CE's for EMT's online. Because I live in the boonies, I don't really have time to travel to get my CEU's anymore and so, I had to search for a place online.

The best CE for EMT's is EmCert.com.

What makes them the best?

First, they offer packages, including an one year unlimited CE program for only $65, which is SWEET! In California, we only need 24 EMT CEU's every two years and this program makes it less than $3 per Continuing Education Unit.

Second, you get to view all the courses and decide which one you want, and then, when you are ready, you take the test.

Third, there customer service is SUPERIOR to most places I have experienced. I had a question, and they got back to me the very same day. PROPS!!! The people there are really nice, and I love the Texas accent. My son is a Texan, he he he.

Fourth, you can print your CEU's out as soon as you want or up to one year, unless you pay for the two year unlimited.

Fifth, your EMT CEU certificates are available, online, for you whenever you need them.

Finally, the EMT CEU's are California approved, which is very important to me, lol!

Check out EmCert.com and try their free CE online, now!!!

This is not a commercial, and they are not paying me. I just wanted to share with you this service and save you some stress, LOL, and the time to research.

I hope this is helpful.

Until next post...

Have a great day, week, year, life!!!

Elizabeth

EMT Stress From Your Partner

2010-04-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest stressors in the Emergency Field is having a partner that drives you nuts. There has been so many times I have wanted to kill my partner that was driving me nuts (did I say that out loud? LOL!). Don't get me wrong, I have had some sweet partners who are, to this day, like brothers (and sisters) to me but there are some partners that will really get to you.

I remember some pretty psycho partners and I have heard some seriously disturbing stories. Let me just give a few examples.

My very first partner was super duper psycho. Here I was, in my twenties, the only girl amongst over 200 men and I had a partner who would taunt me, all day, and would threaten to kick my ars. Can you believe that? I put up with that for like three months because I asked this one guy (who I thought was pretty cool but turned out to be psycho himself) what I should do. He told me to suck it up and work it out with him and to never snitch on my partner. So, I did! I sucked it up and didn't snitch, not yet anyway.

This partner would tell me some shizzz you would probably kick his ars for but I was young and I wanted to do well. One day, I couldn't take it anymore because the night before my partner got real close to physically abusing me. He almost punched me in the face but he missed.

Another partner I had was a compulsive liar. He would do some crazy shizzz and get caught. When he got caught, he would lie like I never heard no other lie before. I was amazed by his ability to tell stories. The supervisors would come to me and ask me what happened and as I was telling the story, he would walk in the room and say, "No Elizabeth, that is not how it happened, REMEMBER? It happened this way..." And then he would just lie. What a knuckle head!

Another partner I had was this psycho beotch who would go off on family members on scene.

Although these stories are extreme, and yours may be too, there are just some partners that will drive you nuts over very minor things. They will drive you crazy by the way they smell, the music they listen to, the way they treat you and others, the way they eat, text, and drive all at the same time, the way they are slow, the way they move too fast, the food they eat, the way they talk on the phone nonstop, they way they complain nonstop, and many, many other ways that I am sure any one of us could list.

So, what does one do if they have a partner that is driving them loco?

There are some unwritten laws in the EMS that are codes we follow and this is the one for having problems with your partner.

If It Is Minor

1. Just suck it up and get over it, LOL!!! I laugh because it is a person's lack of ability to accept and tolerate others that causes their stress. What I mean is, we have control over allowing others to drive us crazy (another post I guess).

2. If it really bothers you then talk to your partner about it with respect and try to come to some sort of an agreement over the issues.

3. If you are unwilling to talk to your partner (usually because you lack the guts), or you did talk to your partner and nothing has changed, and whatever it is still drives you nuts, then you can always get a transfer or shift bid your booty out of there. You may be saying, "But Elizabeth, I have seniority, this is my shift, and I am not going anywhere." If this is the case, please proceed to number four.

4. Do something drastic (but not psycho) to get your partner to change her or himself or change shifts (I will let you use your imagination on this one and I will save it for another post, he he he).

If It Is Something Major

1. Skip sucking it up! Never suck up anything if it is major.

2. Talk to your partner about it and come to some sort of an agreement.

3. Again, if you are unwilling to talk to your partner, or you did talk to your partner and nothing has changed, and whatever it is, is causing you stress, then you can always get a transfer or shift bid your booty out of there. If you are saying, "But Elizabeth, I have seniority, this is my shift, and I am not going anywhere." If this is the case, please proceed to number four.

4. If the behavior is something that is making your life miserable, is unethical and/or immoral, and will cost you your job your only choices are 1-loose your job, 2-tell your partner to stop or you will inform those individuals who can make him or her stop (for example supervision or superiors) or 3-tell the appropriate individuals without any warning at all. It is all up to you.

Many of us don't want to mess with someone's lively hood yet we don't want to loose our job either. Many of us don't want to hurt others but we don't want to be miserable either. No one's behavior is worth loosing your job or license over, or being miserable.

One thing I know is that we just have to be grown ups about it and communicate. Things tend to turn out for the better when we communicate. It may not be pleasant at first, and that is okay, but this is the most appropriate and professional option.

Sometimes, when it is minor, it may just be our mood or our stress level at the time. It could be that spending 12 to 24 hours with someone, we don't choose to spend this time with, can cause us stress. If this is the case, one of the best things you can do is to turn it into a challenge and learn to tolerate that person's differences. You might need to learn to get along with people better and/or learn to be more easy going. When you learn to enhance your abilities to tolerate others' behaviors, get along with people better, and to be easy going, you are truly discovering how to destress yourself.

With the first psycho partner I mentioned above, his behavior was inappropriate and unacceptable. I didn't even discuss it with him because he should know better therefore, I wrote him up, the supervisors did an investigation, and he was terminated. The investigation showed that several of his other partners had difficulties with his psychosis (LOL) and no one said anything. I guess everyone was sucking it up.

The second partner I mentioned, the compulsive liar, got himself fired. Although, I did talk to him several times nothing ever changed and yet he dug his own grave.

Finally, the third partner, the one who would go off on scene, I talked to and she fixed it. It was like she was totally unaware and once she became aware, she apologized and never did it again. I suspect she was just really stressed out and unaware.

If your partner is doing things that are causing you stress you may want to take the steps in creating your stress free environment. Only you can make your life a better one.

Until next post, have a great day, and don't forget to have fun and be playful!!!

Elizabeth

EMT Stress From Working Your Ars Off Without A Break

2010-04-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

The every day stress of being an EMT includes working your ars off without a break. Emergency work does not have a 9 to 5 schedule with two ten-minute breaks and a 45 minute lunch, LOL!

Sometimes EMT's will work 48 to 72 hour shifts and get very little rest if they are in a busy area. Although, this is an extreme example, it is not unusual. The more common scenario is working a 12 or 24 hour shift, nonstop. Believe me, when it gets busy, EMT's get slammed!

What causes stress, in this situation, is exhaustion and fatigue, also known as physical stress. Exhaustion and fatigue can cause unhappiness, anger, irritability, lower immunity, and health problems, just to name a few thingies. So, getting your booty worked not only causes physical stress, it also causes emotional and medical problems.

The best way to handle this EMT stress is to take care of yourself physically and create an attitude of acceptance.

The most important aspects of managing physical stress are eating for energy, exercising vigorously, getting plenty of rest (when you can), and eliminating energy depleting habits like smoking, drinking, and self-medicating. The reason these habits are so important is because it takes energy to handle stress, especially physical stress. I do not believe explaining each one of these is necessary because we do not lack the information but we may lack the motivation.

The other solution to handling the EMT stress of getting your rear handed to you is creating an attitude of acceptance. The reason our attitude is so important is because anyone can get very negative about working hard. When a person becomes negative they not only create an unhealthy environment emotionally for others and themselves, they also create unhappiness, anger, and irritability, which drains energy. Remember, it takes energy to handle physical stress.

An attitude of acceptance is so important because it is the opposite of getting upset. Getting upset is creating stress and you have a choice, you can be accepting and create destress or you can get distraught and create stress. It is up to you! Whether you are accepting or flustered does not change 'getting worked' but it does change your level of stress.

You may be asking, "How the heck do I change my attitude if 'getting worked' ticks me off so much?" This is a very common question and the answer is very simple, but not necessarily easy. The simple part is just knowing that you are the only thinker of your thoughts and you are the only feeler of your feelings. You can think, "We are busy today, oh well, that's the nature of the biz," or, "We are busy today, I hate it when we are busy, this makes me so mad." It is all up to you. The not so easy part is actually doing it, especially if you are a negative person. If this is the case, you may need help to overcome the negativity habits. Negativity is just a habit, and you have a choice, you can be positive and accepting or you can be negative and displeased.

Being in charge of your thoughts and emotions is absolutely possible. Unfortunately, some people do not believe this is so because they were never trained how to do it. If parents and teachers could teach children this, the world would be a stress free place. Because parents and teachers are unaware themselves, they often teach habits of doubt, fear, and worry instead, which causes stress.

If you are experiencing stress from getting over worked then make a commitment to take care of yourself physically, create energy, have an attitude of acceptance, and make it a lifestyle. When you create energy and a better attitude you will handle your stress a thousand percent better, I promise!

Knowledge is the information that we receive, intelligence is our ability to obtain the information, but wisdom is the influence we have, over ourselves, to put this information into practice. Sure we all have knowledge and intelligence but the question is, do we have the wisdom?

I believe you do!

Until next post...

Have a great life! And don't forget to have fun and be playful!!!

Elizabeth

EMT Stress From Disrespect

2010-03-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that EMT's deal with that cause severe stress. Although the occasional Critical Incident can be the longest lasting and most severe stress, because of what it does to who we are without us knowing, the everyday stress as an EMT can really getcha!

The everyday stress of being an EMT includes being at the bottom of the totem pole, working your ars off without a break, having a partner you want to kill, and having to deal with A-whole supervisors (please forgive my harsh letters).

Being at the bottom of the totem pole means you are the lowest medical authority on scene and/or at the hospital. This causes stress because sometimes there is lack of respect from other medical professionals.

If you work in the private industry, on an ambulance, you probably run an occasional 911 call and frequently transport patients from facility to facility (Slinging Gomes, as we say). Once in a while, and I don't believe very often, there is that one rude fire fighter, nurse, or doctor that ruins your day. That particular not nice person, gives the other peers (fire fighters, nurses, or doctors) a bad name.

What causes the stress in this situation is the EMT allows it get to him or her and then they tell the story over and over again in their mind, and to others. This causes a very negative attitude (And ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING) and a very negative environment.

So, how do you handle this type of EMT stress? The best way to handle this type of EMT stress is to get over it. I know, that sounds mean but, you can have an attitude of getting over it just as easily as you can have an attitude of obsessing over it. The secret is in the awareness of your habitual reactions to certain situations.

If you have a habitual attitude of getting offended and obsessing over something then you are going to get offended and obsess. If you have a habitual attitude of brushing your shoulders off (getting over it) then you will get over it and not stress.

This is so important and I wish they taught this in the EMT courses because it would eliminate a lot of stress in the EMS.

If you are having a hard time with anger, irritability, moodiness, or just stress the best thing you can do is look at YOU, and YOUR reactions because they are probably habitual.

Just that alone, looking at YOU, can really help your stress with explosive jumps into destressing yourself.

So, if you experience disrespect, do what you gotta do to make you feel better but most importantly, brush your shoulders off. There is so much more important things that can occupy your mind than someone, who is probably very miserable anyway, offending you.

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful...

Elizabeth

Destress Yourself; Meditation Tele Class Reminder

2010-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hello there and Happy Happy Friday!

If you would like to learn about meditation and how to meditate, check out our FREE Tele Class on Meditation, this Saturday.

This is the first class, of three, that will teach you habits that will help you quiet and focus your mind, change your stressful habits, and accomplish the life you REALLY want.

There are only 150 lines available and so it is a first come, first serve basis. However, the audio will be available in our store soon after.

Free Meditation Tele Class 9:30 a.m. (12:30 Eastern), Saturday, February 13, 2010.

Dial in number 1-213-289-0500

Access Code 205256#

MEET YOU THERE!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Please email me if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

If you have not, please add me as a friend on facebook, Elizabeth M. Stanfill.

Elizabeth Stanfill
destressyourself.com
destressyourself.blogspot.com
661-877-7800
elizabeth@destressyourself.com

Destress Yourself By Eliminating Doubt And Creating Faith

2010-02-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask you if you believe you can? What I mean is, do you believe that you have the ability to accomplish any goal you set your mind to, with ease and comfort?

Ask yourself, "Do I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort?

I BELIEVE!!! I believe you do and I believe I do.

In order to accomplish any goal that we set, we must believe that we can. So many people set goals and never accomplish them because deep down inside their self-confidence and self-esteem are so low that they do not believe it is possible.

It may sound simple and it may sound silly but it is true.

When you say to yourself, "I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort." Do you think and feel like you do? Do you think and feel that this is true?

A big part of Destressing Yourself is eliminating doubt and creating faith in yourself, others, and in life.

So, when you make the statement above you should believe it, believe that you can. If you don't believe that you can, say to yourself, "I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort."

Now, write it down, memorize it, say it to yourself often, and say it until you believe it.

Do this my friend, and I guarantee, if you don't believe it, you will. You gotta have faith!

If you would like to learn more about having faith in yourself, others, and in life, please join me for our FREE Teleclass this month on meditations, affirmations, and visualization. These three habits will help you accomplish any goal you set your mind to. In addition, these habits will assist you in increasing your self-confidence.

Meet you there!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Please email me if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

If you have not, please add me as a friend on facebook, Elizabeth M. Stanfill.

Elizabeth Stanfill
destressyourself.com
destressyourself.blogspot.com
661-877-7800
elizabeth@destressyourself.com

FREE Learning To Relax Audio

2010-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I just posted my last Teleclass, Learning To Relax, for FREE at destressyourself.com.

Check it out, you can listen now or right click to download it to your computer.

I hope you enjoy....

Elizabeth

HOW TO DESTRESS YOURSELF

2010-01-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

I have five major web sites, Destress Yourself, Destress Yourself Blog, Destress for the EMS, Elizabeth Stanfill (which is our newsletter archive), and Frazier Park, CA. I also have some research tools to each of these web sites, that show me what people type into the search engine to get to my web sites. Really cool huh? I love that stuff!

The number one phrase that is used, everyday, to get to my websites is, "How to Destress Yourself."

Everyday, I am helping people to 'destress yourself'.

If I only had a few minutes to talk with you and you really needed help to Destress Yourself, this is what I would tell you.

There is a stress response, better known as the 'fight or flight' response, that is activated when we face stressful situations. When the stress response is activated it increases our heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, blood circulation, and causes our blood-flows and many other body functions to shift.

Now, not everyone reacts to each situation the same way because we all think differently. Our reactions (thoughts about a situation) are what causes this stress response. So, a situation happens (it could be anything), we see it as stressful (we think doubt, fear, and worry), and then our stress response kicks in.

Negative emotions like anger, frustration, disgust, sadness, anxiety, irritation, aggravation, hatred, misery, depression, grief, and nervousness, imitate the stress response. So every time you have a negative emotion (for some, this could be all day long) you are creating wear and tear on your body.

SIDE NOTE: these negative emotions are standard and repetitive for many (the stressed) and that is why I call them habitual ways of reacting. These habitual ways of reacting can be decreased and eliminated.

So, in order to Destress Yourself, you must discover how, when, and why you are activating this stress response, and then learn how to decrease and ultimately eliminate it. Or, you could just change your negative reactions. This may be very easy or this may be very difficult, it just depends on your willingness and commitment.

Let me give you and example of activating the stress response. A very stressed out person has a habit of worrying about everything because of the way they look at the world and a very relaxed person has a habit of having faith about most things because of the way they look at the world.

So, if I were to ask a question like, "I wonder what is going to happen to our economy?" A stressed out person would think and talk about all the things that could go wrong, all the while experiencing the negative emotions mentioned above. A relaxed person would think and talk about all of the positive things that are in store for us and experience more positive emotions.

When the stressed out person starts to think and talk about all the things that could go wrong, guess what? That's right, the stress response kicks in. The stress response may kick in all day long for this person because of the way they think. Their thought process is full of doubt, fear, and worry (stressful). Not only does this person have a very habitual and stressful way of thinking, they also have a very stressful habit of kicking in the stress response.

This stress response is causing emotional illnesses like depression and anxiety, mental illnesses like a racing mind, the inability to concentrate, and indecisiveness, and physical illnesses like gastrointestinal problems, head aches, neck aches, and shoulder aches from the tension.

This stress response is causing individuals to do things, that they think make them feel better, like binge eating, drinking, smoking, numbing through drugs and medication, as well as immoral behavior like addiction to pornography or inappropriate sexual behavior.

This stress response is wearing out the mind and body and therefore, causes exhaustion and fatigue. This causes mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion, also known as Burnout.

STRESS IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF EVERY ILLNESS! I believe this with all my heart and if you knew what I know, and see the things I see, and have seen, you would believe it too.

The best way to Destress Yourself is with education and action. Last week we discussed that "IT IS TIME' to take responsibility for your life.

Take responsibility for your life by learning how, when, and why you are activating the stress response. The best way to do this is by learning to relax. I mean really learn how to relax, which is the opposite of the stress response. We can call it the relaxation response.

Once you learn to relax, or activate the relaxation response, you will be very skilled at noticing when you are activating the stress response because of your awareness. When you learn to relax you become more aware of your mind and body because of your ability to implement the relaxation response at anytime and anywhere.

You have a choice, you can activate the stress response, which is unintentional, or you can activate the relaxation response, which is intentional. That is the difference between a stressed out person, who lives their life unintentionally, and a relaxed person, who lives their life full of intention.

With that said, I would like you to join me for our FREE Tele Class on, you guessed it, Learning to Relax.

This Wednesday, January 27, 2010, at 7 am Pacific Time (10 am Eastern).

Dial in number 1-213-289-0500

Access Code 205356#

Meet You There!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Please email me if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

elizabeth@destressyourself.com

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD PART II

2010-01-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

DSM-IV-TR FOR PTSD Cont.

CRITERION D: HYPER-AROUSAL

Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal (not present before the trauma), indicated by at least two of the following:

1. Difficulty falling or staying asleep

2. Irritability or outbursts of anger

3. Difficulty concentrating

4. Hyper-vigilance

5. Exaggerated startle response

CRITERION E: DURATION

Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in B, C, and D) is more than one month.

CRITERION F: FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of function.

Specify if:

Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than three months

Chronic: If duration of symptoms is three months or more

Specify if:

With or without delay onset: Onset of symptoms at least six months after stressor.

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (200). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Fourth ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD PART I

2010-01-20T16:00:00.000-08:00

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD

In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of it's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The diagnostic criteria (Criteria A-F) are specified below.

Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include history of exposure to a traumatic event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptoms clusters: intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms. A fifth criterion concerns duration of symptoms and a sixth assesses functioning.

CRITERION A: STRESSOR

The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:

1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.

2. The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

CRITERION B: INTRUSIVE RECOLLECTIONS

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of the following ways:

1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.

2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content.

3. Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashbacks episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated). Note: in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.

4. Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolizes or resemble an aspect of traumatic event.

5. Physiological reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

CRITERION C: AVOIDANT/NUMBING

Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by at least three of the following:

1. Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma.

2. Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.

3. Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma.

4. Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities.

5. Feeling detachment or estrangement from others.

6. Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings).

7. Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span).

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association, (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Fourth ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

Dear Cocky FNG EMT

2010-01-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

I said "cocky"...lol

I got an email about this and a text so I decided I would do a little post about YOU, Mr. Cocky EMT, better known as FNG, Newb, and Greenie. I like FNG myself. There was a time, way back in my twenty's, if you said FNG to anyone, you would get fired. But guess what, we say it to your face anyway.

If you don't know what an FNG is, Mr. Newb, ask someone who has been in the field longer than you, that would probably be anyone who has been in the field for at least 2 months.

Dear Cocky FNG EMT,

You do not know shizzz! I know this is shocking to you but, if your only experience is working with a private ambulance company (for probably less than 6 months, judging by your skills and behavior), then we know the only thing that you do is IFT's (Inter Facility Transfers, also known as Hospital to Con. Home), and running a rare 911 call with L A County Fire, which means you stand around until they want you to carry the patient to your gurney.

You, Mr. FNG, do not even do a patient assessment. So, do not go to a skills class and be a nuisance to anyone during their exam.

Dear FNG,

Rule number one, do not give anyone a hard time during a skills exam, period, especially when you don't know what you are talking about.

Rule number two, do not mess with an old school gal because she will put you on blast, call you a pussy in front of all of your peers, and make you look really stupid, all the while, your peers are saying, "Ha, he deserved that because he shouldn't of opened his mouth." Except your little FNG pussy friend, who was the only one who stuck up for you because your face was beat red when miss old school called you a pussy, about half a dozen times. LMAO!!! This story is a gut buster.

Rule number three, if you have to make fun of the only female to make yourself feel better, you are a pussy!

Rule number four, when you talk crud to the only woman, while she is testing, and don't say anything to the guys (because you know you will get your ars kicked) you are a pussy!

Rule number five, when you don't do so hot on your skills exams, which you didn't, and when you act like you know so much, which you don't, and you are barely out of diapers, which you are, that means you are an FNG!

Rule number six, when you are new in the field, think you know everything, and then verbalize how hot you think you are by making fun of someone who has been in the field longer than you, let's say 18 years, you are a FNG.

Rule number seven, if rules one through six apply to you, you are a PUSSY FNG (PFNG)

Just to give you a hint, Mr. PFNG Newb EMT, in your case, all of these rules apply to you. Therefore, you are a PFNG!!!

This post is not for you Mr. PFNG, it is for all the old school EMT's and Medic's. We are sick and tired of you PFNG's, who think you know everything, because you recently got your EMT license, and waste all of your energy and our time trying to prove you do. The only thing your idiotic behavior does is make us old school peeps call you PFNG!

This post was truly a destress yourself post. I feel 100% destressed.

EMT STRESS

2010-01-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

When I worked as an EMT, the majority of my shifts were 24 hours long. It was very difficult to fall asleep on duty, knowing that we could be woken up for a call.

In addition, it was very difficult to fall asleep, at home, due to the habit of not being able to fall asleep on duty.

The inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get essential hours of sleep is among EMT Stress.

Other EMT Stress includes behavioral stress, cognitive stress, emotional stress, and physical stress.

When I say EMT Stress, what I am talking about is habits that we have as we react to our experiences in the emergency field. The reason I want to talk about these habits is because these habits are often increasing our stress and making things worse.

What causes our stress is our reactions. What may be a stressful call or situation for me may not be for you because of the way we react, and because of the way we think about what has happened. This also occurs with our habits.

Let me give some examples of habitual reactions.

Behavioral reactions that may increase stress are over eating, not eating at all, lack of sleep, withdrawal from others, procrastination, using alcohol, using drugs (over the counter or illegal), smoking, lack of impulse control, severe mood swings, and nervousness.

Cognitive reactions that may increase stress are focusing on the negative (cynicism), racing mind, difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering, worrying, and fear.

Emotional reactions that may increase stress are anger, irritability, feeling alone, feeling despair, feeling sad, feeling unhappy, feeling hopeless, feeling helpless, and feeling grief.

Physical reactions that come from and increase stress are body aches, body pain, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, drop in immune system, frequently ill, gastrointestinal problems, heart palpitations, increase in heart rate, increase in respirations, and lack of libido.

If you are experiencing any of these reactions to stress, you can get help. I would encourage you to get help!

Stress is a part of our lives but it does not have to ruin our lives.

If you need help, email me and we will find you intervention or direction. Many people in the Emergency Field do not actively pursue help and that alone can make things unbearable.

You can live the life you dream of with happiness and vitality. If you are not living the life you dream of with happiness and vitality then get help. There are so many things you can do. You can read a book about stress, you can learn to relax, you can learn to destress yourself, you can use your resources from work, you can find and talk to a professional, or you can do nothing and hope that things get better.

I hope that you get help if you have stress because it will just make life better or even bearable.

I hope this is helpful...

Elizabeth

Acute Stress, Critical Incident Stress, or Post Traumatic Stress

2010-01-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

When I was in 5th grade I experienced a trauma that caused my PTSD. Although I did not know that I had PTSD, I did discover that years later.

When in my 20's, when I was an Emergency Medical Technician, my PTSD just got worse. I experienced several traumas, through the calls I ran, and my signs and symptoms really made it hard to handle life. I was literally hanging on my a thread most of the time.

My behavior was very bizarre to me and I had little control and so I started to see therapists. I had met several therapists, who seemed crazy themselves, and finally settled on one female who had not been in her field that long.

After some therapy sessions she diagnosed me as having acute stress disorder because of this little girl who died in my arms, at the hospital, as I was moving her over onto the hospital gurney.

This little girl had a disease that if you touched her or handled her too hard her bones would break. She was about 9 or 10, I think, which was the same age as my son at the time.

There were so many circumstances that made this event so traumatic, and critical, because it was a Critical Incident.

First, I knew the patient and her Father, who happened to be there, because I had transported her several times before.

Second, she was the same age as my son.

Third, we could not perform CPR because she was a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and therefore, we felt helpless.

Fourth, when we were going Code 3 while transporting her, it was rush hour traffic in the morning in Los Angeles and that created a severe delay in getting her to the hospital. More helplessness.

Finally, her father was crying, the kind of painful crying like someone suffering like you never heard them suffer before. He was also tugging on me and begging me to do something and I could not.

Even as I write this now, I feel the pain and I cry.

I am grateful for the therapist who helped me recognize my reactions to this event even though, knowing what I know now and looking back, this was not the incident that caused my PTSD. This incident was just one that made my signs and symptoms worse.

In my thirties, after I received my Bachelors in Behavior Science and my Masters in Counseling, I became a Critical Incident Stress Management Counselor and I trained other Peer Counselors. This experience, with my education, helped me see how so many Emergency Workers and hear about incidents that may, or may not of caused, their PTSD.

You see, when we are in the Emergency Field, we see so many traumas that it is difficult to tell what caused our signs and symptoms of stress whether it be Acute, Critical, or Post Traumatic. Another factor is, we also lived life before being in the Emergency Field, and from that life we had stress before we experienced our new found stress.

What I am trying to say is, sometimes we have to look at our past, beyond our life in the Emergency Field, before we can truly discover all of the answers.

Caution!!! If you work with a Counselor or Therapist who does not have a lot experience with Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) or PTSD they can truly make things worse by mixing your past with your present. Make sure that if you see someone that they have extensive experience working with Emergency Personnel or the Military, with trauma. The best resource is to get a referral from someone who has had success with a therapist concerning this type of stress.

If you are having a hard time living life and/or people are having a hard time being around you, get some help.

I you need help, please email me at elizabeth@destressyourself.com, and we can create some intervention and direction for you.

I hope this is helpful!

Until next post...

Elizabeth

ANGER AND IRRITABILITY IN THE EMERGENCY FIELD

2009-07-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Anger and Irritability in the Emergency Field

When I was in my twenties, I worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for a very prestigious private ambulance company. This company was very hard to get into, compared to the other companies. It was so hard to get into that no one else in my graduating class of EMT's made it in, I was the only one, and I was very lucky.

The only unfortunate thing about this company was that I was the only female. Back in those days, many men did not like females in the Emergency Field. Needless to say, there were many very cranky individuals. Looking back, and knowing what I know about stress now, I realize that many of those cranky individuals were not cranky because of me. Those individuals were cranky because they were miserable people.

Now that I am in my forties, as I look back through my years in the Emergency Field, as an EMT and as a Counselor, I realize that misery is a habit, a very stressful habit.

As I look back there were EMT's, Paramedics, Emergency Room Nurses, Emergency Room Doctors, Police Officers, and Fire fighters that were very angry and irritable. Matter of fact, I remember thinking to myself, when I first started in the field, that there were more angry and irritable people in the Emergency Field than in the general population.

I use to ask myself, "why are there so many angry emergency personnel?"

That is an excellent question, don't you think? This is not to demean or criticize Emergency Personnel, it is to discuss possibilities so that we can create solutions for those who are having a hard time with anger and irritability.

There are one of two reasons why people in the Emergency Field are angry or irritable. The first reason is that they were that way before they became a first responder. The second reason is, something happened to cause them to change who they were. What I mean by that is, something happened, whether it was a traumatic call, a critical incident, or a habit they picked up from another worker or partner, that made them angry and irritable when they were a happier person previously.

If you are in the Emergency Field and you are angry, moody, or irritable, I know from personal experience that it can be fixed. If it really matters to you why you are angry or irritable then you should definately find out. It is not necessary to know the cause to overcome it.

Although, if you have Acute Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it may help to know the source of your emotional state so that the process of healing may move forward.

Never the less, if you want to overcome your negative emotional state, it is totally possible. The way we react emotionally is a habit and much like an addiction. A habit is something that we do, that is hard to stop, or we don't want to stop. An addiction, in my mind, is something that we do, that we do not believe we need to quit, or we do not believe we can quit.

The best way to change a habit or overcome an addiction is through information and education. In my store, on my website, there are many different audios that you can download that will help you learn to overcome anger or irritability.

We have free podcasts about Basic Stress Management, Critical Incident Stress Management, and Stress Relief for the Emergency Personnel.

Learning Deep Relaxation is very helpful because with practice you can learn to relax anywhere at anytime. Deep Relaxation is a very successful practice.

We have audios that help with creating positive emotions like feeling gratitude and feeling love, that will assist in overcoming the negative emotions of anger.

We also have an audio on learning to destress yourself in a minute, another exercise, when pracitced often, that will create a successful practice in order to overcome stressful habits.

And finally, our most popular audio, How to Destress Yourself. This audio is a four part class. It is designed for economic, as well as time convenience. This audio will help with basic and advanced stress management so that happiness, energy, and vitality may be created. This class helps individuals understand and overcome many negative emotions.

Well, I hope that is helpful...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please email me elizabeth@destressyourself.com

comment below...

Have a great day! Have a great week! Have a great month! Have a great year! And most of all, have a great life. You got the power.

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it's in your nature.

Elizabeth

MY CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS AS AN EMT

2009-05-07T05:30:00.000-07:00

My Critical Incident Stress began before I even had my EMT license. You can read about it here in MY FIRST TRAUMA AS AN EMT.

Another Critical Incident that truly affected me was when I responded to a 6 year old male, who was hit by a car, as he was riding his bike, on his way to school. As we got on scene, he was still breathing but, he was really messed up. We provided spinal immobilization and loaded him. As we were loading him into the ambulance, his mother arrived on scene. The police officer guided her to the front, passenger seat of the ambulance, and I was driving.

As the Mother was yelling out her son's name, yelling for him to talk to her, she was pulling on my right shoulder to help her turn towards the back of the ambulance. Sheee whooo, this was a dramatic scene because she was crying and desperate and then, I did the unspeakable, I started to tear up. Some how, I knew, I knew that her son was dying in the back of the ambulance.

As we arrived at the Emergency Room, my partner and the fire fighters were performing CPR.

OH MY GOSH! This visual still affects me. This hit sooo close to home because my son was eight years old and just began riding his bike to school. He insisted, he insisted that he was old enough.

After this incident I was very irritable and anxious. At the time, I had no idea that this call was related to my behavior. I was so emotional at this time of my life that I was crying in my supervisors office because I was literally exhausted, due to lack of sleep, and I asked him if I could have two weeks off.

After the two weeks, I recovered.

Because of my education and specialization in Critical Incident Stress Management, I can look back at this time and deduce that my behavior was due to this Critical Incident.

We cannot always recognize that specific incidents affect us. The number one sign of stress, especially critical stress, is denial. We most frequently say that everything is fine because we have this illusion that we have everything under control. We are heros, for goodness sake, we help people and save lives therefore, we don't need help or need to be saved.

It is my belief that deep down inside, we know when things are off. When we lack control over our behavior and emotions then we can probably use assistance.

When we can't eat or sleep, when we eat or sleep too much, when we are angry, irritable, and moody, chances are we could use some help to discover what is going on with us. When we are physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually exhausted, chances are we could use some help. When we are cynical, inneffective, depressed, anxious, withrawn, chances are we could use some help.

When we have medical problems like headaches, gastrointestinal problems, neck aches, back aches, or a weak immune system, chances are we could use some help.

If this sounds like you the best thing that you can do for yourself, your family, and your friends, is seek help. Make sure when you do seek help, see someone who specializes in the EMS, trauma, CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management), Acute Stress Disorder, or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The reason for this is if you get someone without this type of experience, they can make things worse.

I am glad I can share my story with you. It isn't easy but I know it is helpful for me and may be helpful for you.

Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

MY FIRST TRAUMA AS AN EMT

2009-05-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

My first trauma as an EMT was my first trauma, ever...

My first trauma was a critical incident. I was in my twenties doing my clinical at the hospital and we had a lady that was ran over by a large SUV three times. This poor lady, obviously murdered, had half of her body gone, bones sticking out, and her brain had popped out the top of her head.

Sorry about the gory details but, if you are in the Emergency Service, this probably doesn't phase you.

The reason I am writing this post is because there are several First Responders out there who have had their first trauma and it may have effected them enormously.

My first trauma shocked me sooo much that I could not sleep good for one week. Matter of fact, the first three nights, I didn't sleep at all. In addition, I could not get the image out of my head.

The saving grace, for me, is I knew that this reaction was totally normal. I also knew that this was only the beginning of the gory traumas.

Here I was, in my twenties, never having seen a trauma in my life, not even in the movies much, and I was exposed to something that was right there, in front of my face.

Although, I knew that this would be a part of the job, I did not know the connection of unhappiness and trauma.

After I finished my training and was hired by an ambulance company, the best that ever was, I met several people who were angry, irritable, moody, and unhappy. As I began my education in Behavioral Science, I discovered the connection. The connection of anger, irritability, moodiness, and unhappiness, with trauma.

I met doctors and nurses in the emergency room that were unhappy. I met firefighters and police officers that were miserable. And, I worked with EMTs and Paramedics who were the meanest people I ever met.

As I worked in the emergency field and studied behavioral science, I discovered and met many people, in the emergency field, that were very emotionally stable people who became angry, cynical, and ineffective.

This is what I have discovered. When we experience a severe trauma, we can become affected in a way that will change the way we cope with life, and not for the better.

We must seek help to deal with critical incidents so that we do not develop Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and then Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The most effective intervention, I have experienced, is Critical Incident Stress Defusing. This type of intervention, when done correctly, can help individuals return to life without disturbance.

I know this, I know this because I have met hundreds of emergency personnel who have had the intervention and hundreds who have not. There is a difference between the two.

If you are unhappy, something must be done, something can be done.

The most important thing that we can do is realize our reactions are normal to the abnormal experience. These experiences are abnormal because people are not normally exposed to these kinds of situations unless you are in the emergency field.

If you are unhappy, seek help. Seeking help can change your life.

Thanks for reading my story.

Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

DESTRESS FOR THE EMS TELECLASS INFORMATION FOR APRIL

2009-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Please join us this Wednesday morning, at 6 am Pacific time/9 am Eastern, April 29, 2009, for our Destress for the EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Teleclass. We will talk about how we can Destress by discussing our stressful habits that we have and turning them into successful practices.

Dial in Number 1-309-946-5100

Access code 205356#

Please be on time for class because there are limited number of lines. Although this class is free, long distance charges apply. If you miss this class, it will be available in our store within a few days for a small fee.

I am very excited about this class because stress in the EMS is very common and there is no reason anyone should not live with happiness, energy, and vitality. This is gonna be fun! I can't wait!

Just a reminder, the majority of Destress Yourself Products, in our store, will be 50 to 75% off for limited time. Enjoy!

Elizabeth

PTSD HEALING RESOURCES FROM PARASITESOFTHEMIND.BLOGSPOT.COM

2009-04-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

I took this blog post, with permission of course, from one of my favorite blogs parasites of the mind.

This is a list of PTSD RESOURCES

The following list of organizations & informational sites is designed to give an overview of basic PTSD symptoms, causes, effects, treatments, healing options, and online support groups. Whether you're an adult or child, a civilian or vet, a post-partum mother or a friend/family member of someone strugging with PTSD, you'll find something on this page to advance healing. (For PTSD-related blogs, please see the blogroll at the bottom of the homepage.)
The list below is ever-growing and expanding. If you have favorite sites you'd like to see added here, please send them to me at parasitesof.themind @ yahoo.com.

PTSD Self-Test: Take This Quiz to Evaluate Your Symptoms

Trauma & Mental Health Organizations
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists
Sidran Institute
The Trauma Center

PTSD Information Resources
Award Winning David Baldwin's Trauma Pages
Carrot of Hope
Gateway to PTSD Information
Loopholing: Simple PTSD information
Helpguide.org: PTSD Symptoms, Treatment and Self-Help
PTSD Information Center
PTSD Resources
PTSD Treatment Information
Effects of Traumatic Experiences
Facts: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Coping Links
Organized Wisdom
Coping Techniques for PTSD
Coping with PTSD
PTSD & Chronic Pain Management
Stress Management Tips: Destress Yourself with Elizabeth Stanfill
Stress Relief Information

Healing Links
Healing Guided Visualization
The Soul Salon
Survivor Radio Cafe
Laura King: The Hypnotherapist Who Helped Cure My PTSD

Combat PTSD
Healing Combat Trauma
Bob Woodruff's Combat TBI & PTSD org
eMail our Military
PTSD Anonymous for Vets
Dr. Ray Scurfield: Resource for Combat & Disaster PTSD
Vet Voice
When Our Troops Come Home

Resources for Family & Friends
Family Trauma Survivors
Family of a Vet
Facebook Support Group for Friends and Family

PTSD & Children
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
PTSD in Children & Adolescents
Children of Veterans and Adults with PTSD
Child Trauma Academy
PTSD in Children: National Center Fact Sheet
Children & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Resources for Children

PTSD Support Organizations
For Women With PTSD: Gift from Within
Top 10 PTSD Support Groups & Forums

Online Groups

Daily Strength
PTSD Online Forum

Post-Partum PTSD

PTSD After Childbirth

Hope that helps. Big Hugs...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts. Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

HAVING LUNCH WITH OFFICERS

2009-03-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

I was having lunch with three public safety officers today and something came to my mind. When there is a Critical Incident and the emergency personnel seek out help I see four things.

1) The department is the organizer of the intervention.

2) The personnel, almost always, say that they are fine and they don't know why they need to participate, at the beginning of the meeting.

3) Once we get started, and everyone is involved, the personnel are okay with, and perfectly willing to participate.

4) After the intervention, the camaraderie with the officers is very close and jovial.

There is, nearly always, resistance to this sort of intervention and I will share my theory with you as to why.

When emergency responders have a critical incident, they are sometimes unwilling to participate in the intervention because it is seen as a weakness to indicate needing help. These personnel are heroes, they help people for a living, and needing help is not seen as part of the role.

I have met thousands of emergency workers, and many of them are truly emotionally stable individuals but, sometimes, when they experience an extraordinary event, that may be deemed as critical, they may experience mild, moderate, or severe signs and symptoms of stress.

Everyday there are police officers, paramedics, fire fighters, and emergency personnel, including doctors and nurses, that experience critical incidents, and then they have signs and symptoms that affect their ability to cope with everyday life.

They experience lack of sleep, too much sleep, anger, irritability, moodiness, increase in unhealthy habits, anxiety, depression, and/or an increase in physical injuries or illnesses.

Sometimes, the most happy, emotionally stable person can experience disruption due to a critical incident, which is totally normal. We are human, we have emotions, and therefore, experience stress.

If you are having a hard time with signs and symptoms of stress, chances are you need assistance. With that assistance you can become you again. What I mean by that is, when we experience this stress, we do not feel like ourselves because our life seems disrupted.

For a free audio on stress management, please visit our store. And for help with your happiness, energy, and vitality, please visit our website and sign up for our free newsletter, and free teleclasses.

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

FIRST RESPONDER STRESS MANAGEMENT

2009-03-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

What do first responders do for stress management?

I have found that first responders, paramedics, firefighters, emt's, police officers, and even life guards are not often willing to ask for help when they have high levels of stress.

How do I know this? For about 15 years I have been helping emergency personnel deal with their stress. I am a Critical Incident Stress Management Specialist, and I responded to incidents that were deemed irregularly gruesome or stressful. Although I no longer respond I get up to 3 calls a week from emergency personnel who would like help, in private, without their fellow employees' knowledge.

In addition, I help emergency responders, as well as, the general population, with general stress and overcoming burnout.

Back to the question, what do first responders do for stress management? It is my belief, that unless they have someone they can go to in confidence, without the knowledge of anyone else, they do not seek out help.

How do you know when you need help?

Excellent question!

If you are unhappy, if you are angry, irritable, or moody, if you have a medical condition or physical pain due to stress, chances are you need help.

How do you seek help. Well, you can give me a call or you can access free newsletters, free teleclasses, or free audios.

If you are unhappy, something must be done.

If you are having a hard time, seek help so that you may enjoy life.

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; TREATMENT

2009-02-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the treatment that has met with the most success in combating ASD. It has two main components: First, it aims to change cognitions, patterns of thought surrounding the traumatic incident. Second, it tries to alter behaviors in anxiety-provoking situations.

Cognitive behavioral therapy not only ameliorates the symptoms of ASD, but also it seems to prevent people from developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The chance that a person diagnosed with acute stress disorder will develop PSTD is about 80 percent; the chance that they will develop PTSD after cognitive-behavioral therapy is only about 20 percent.

Psychological debriefing and anxiety management groups are two other types of therapy that have been examined for the treatment of ASD. Psychological debriefing involves an intense therapeutic invention immediately after the trauma, so that traumatized individuals can "talk it all out." In anxiety management groups, people share coping strategies and learn to combat stress together. However, both types of therapy have proven to be largely ineffectual for the treatment of ASD.

Sources:

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
Anxiety and Its Disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (Guilford Press)
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
American Journal of Psychiatry
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
War Psychiatry: Textbook of Military Medicine
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
National Institute of Mental Health
National Center for PTSD
Department of Health & Human Services

ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; CAUSES

2009-02-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

When a fearful or threatening event is perceived, humans react innately to survive: They either are ready for battle or run away (hence the term "fight-or-flight response").

The nature of the acute stress response is all too familiar. Its hallmarks are an almost instantaneous surge in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, breathing and metabolism, and a tensing of muscles. Enhanced cardiac output and accelerated metabolism are essential to mobilizing for fast action.

This explanation is thought to be in part a cause for anxiety disorders. Yet over the past decade, the limitations of the acute stress response as a model for understanding anxiety have become more apparent.

The first and most obvious limitation is that the acute stress response relates to arousal rather than anxiety.

Anxiety differs from arousal in several ways: First, with anxiety, the concern about the stressor is out of proportion to the realistic threat. Second, anxiety is often associated with elaborate mental and behavioral activities designed to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of a full-blown anxiety or panic attack. Third, anxiety is usually longer lived than arousal. Fourth, anxiety can occur without exposure to an external stressor.

Cognitive factors, especially the way people interpret or think about stressful events, play a critical role in the etiology of anxiety. A decisive factor is the individual's perception, which can intensify or dampen the response.

One of the most salient negative cognitions in anxiety is the sense of uncontrollability. It is typified by a state of helplessness due to a perceived inability to predict, control or obtain desired results. These are among the factors considered as causes of anxiety disorders such as acute stress disorder.

Sources:

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
Anxiety and Its Disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (Guilford Press)
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
American Journal of Psychiatry
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
War Psychiatry: Textbook of Military Medicine
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
National Institute of Mental Health
National Center for PTSD
Department of Health & Human Services

ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; SYMPTOMS

2009-02-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

For a diagnosis of acute stress disorder, symptoms must persist for a minimum of two days to up to four weeks within a month of the trauma.

A person may be described as having acute stress disorder if other mental disorders or medical conditions do not provide a better explanation for the person's symptoms. If symptoms persist after a month, the diagnosis becomes post-traumatic stress disorder.

Symptoms include:

Lack of emotional responsiveness, a sense of numbing or detachment
A reduced sense of surroundings
A sense of not being real
Depersonalization or a sense of being dissociated from self
An inability to remember parts of the trauma, "dissociative amnesia"
Increased state of anxiety and arousal such as a difficulty staying awake or falling asleep
Trouble experiencing pleasure
Repeatedly re-experiencing the event through recurring images and/or thoughts, dreams, illusions, flashbacks
Purposeful avoidance of exposure to thoughts, emotions, conversations, places or people that remind them of the trauma
Feelings of stress interfering with functioning; social and occupational skills are impaired affecting the patient's ability to function, pursue required tasks and seek treatment

ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; DEFINITION

2009-02-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

Acute stress disorder develops within one month after an individual experiences or sees an event involving a threat or actual death, serious injury, or physical violation to the individual or others, and responded to this event with strong feelings of fear, helplessness or horror. The diagnosis was established to identify those individuals who would eventually develop post-traumatic stress disorder. As far back as World War I this condition was referred to as "shell shock," in which there are similarities between reactions of soldiers who suffered concussions caused by exploding bombs or shells and those who suffered blows to their central nervous systems. Civilians may also suffer from it. More recently, ASD was brought to light as it became clear that for a short period, people might exhibit PTSD-like symptoms immediately after a trauma.

Trauma has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, trauma refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. Psychiatrically, trauma has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.

Psychiatric trauma, or emotional harm, is essentially a normal response to an extreme event. It involves the creation of emotional memories about the distressful event that are stored deep within the brain. In general, it is believed that the more direct the exposure to the traumatic event, the higher the risk for emotional harm. Thus in a school shooting, for example, the student who is injured probably will be most severely affected emotionally; and the student who sees a classmate shot or killed is likely to be more emotionally affected than the student who was in another part of the school when the violence occurred. But even secondhand exposure to violence can be traumatic. For this reason, all children and adolescents exposed to violence or a disaster, even if only through graphic media reports, should be watched for signs of emotional distress.

Sources:

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
Anxiety and Its Disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (Guilford Press)
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
American Journal of Psychiatry
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
War Psychiatry: Textbook of Military Medicine
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
National Institute of Mental Health
National Center for PTSD
Department of Health & Human Services

January Destress for the EMS Teleclass

2009-01-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

This week I will be teaching the DESTRESS FOR THE EMS teleclass this Wednesday, January 28, 2009, at 7 a.m. Pacific time. All teleclasses are free, for now, and can be accessed by signing up for our free weekly newsletter.

This is one of my favorite classes to teach. I was an emergency responder for many years, I taught Critical Incident Stress Management, I responded to Critical Incidents for first responders as a peer counselor, I trained hundreds of emergency personnel to become peer counselors, and therefore I know how important stress management is for the emergency services.

It is not an easy thing to get Emergency Services Personnel to deal with there stress because they are the hero's and they are not suppose to have weaknesses. Many come to me privately. The only reason I say this is because I would want someone to come to me privately and confidentially because it is better than not getting any help at all.

I love what I do and I am excited for this week. I have taught so many of these classes that I cannot count and yet I still love doing it because I know it makes a difference.

By the way, all of our teleclasses will be one hour earlier next month due to multiple requests from the east coast as well as the west coast.

Have a great week and don't forget to have fun and be playful because it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD Part II

2009-01-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

Criterion D: hyper-arousal

Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal (not present before the trauma), indicated by at least two of the following:

1. Difficulty falling or staying asleep

2. Irritability or outbursts of anger

3. Difficulty concentrating

4. Hyper-vigilance

5. Exaggerated startle response

Criterion E: duration

Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in B, C, and D) is more than one month.

Criterion F: functional significance

The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Specify if:

Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than three months

Chronic: if duration of symptoms is three months or more

Specify if:

With or Without delay onset: Onset of symptoms at least six months after the stressor

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV-TR ( Fourth ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD Part I

2009-01-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD

In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The diagnostic criteria (Criterion A-F) are specified below.

Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include a history of exposure to a traumatic event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptom clusters: intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms. A fifth criterion concerns duration of symptoms and a sixth assesses functioning.

Criterion A: stressor

The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:

1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.

2. The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: in children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

Criterion B: intrusive recollection

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of the following ways:

1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.

2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content

3. Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated). Note: in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.

4. Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

5. Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event

Criterion C: avoidant/numbing

Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by at least three of the following:

1. Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma

2. Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma

3. Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma

4. Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

5. Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others

6. Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)

7. Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV-TR ( Fourth ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Association

Acute Stress Disorder & PTSD

2009-01-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

For those of us in the EMS, existence may be easy or it may be hard, depending on where we are in life. Life tends to go in phases, easy sometimes and hard other times. Let us take responsibility for our lives and move towards a life we truly desire no matter where we are. We have the power.

If you are having a hard time with moving forward in life you may have Acute Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are many signs and symptoms for both disorders but you may want to ask yourself if you are happy. Or you may ask yourself, "when was the last time I was happy?"

When we have Acute or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder we may be very unhappy. If this sounds like you then you may want to seek professional help. These are very serious disorders and can disrupt our ability to function in life.

We have been talking about moving forward and setting goals. If we are unable to do this, chances are we may have Acute or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I have met many individuals who have overcome these disorders, including myself.

In the next couple of posts I will share the information from the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) on both disorders.

This is information that is very helpful.

Stay tuned...

If you would like support in learning to destress yourself then follow this blog and sign up for our free monthly telelclass through our free weekly news letter.

If you have any comments or questions please use the comment function on this blog and I will comment in return:)

Have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

DREAMS

2009-01-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

In the last post we talked about dreaming big and making it specific. Well, did you do it? Did you have any trouble? If you had trouble let us fix that right now. Get a pen and paper. Ready?

Let us begin the process of Destressing Yourself.

If I were a Magical Warrior Queen (I love the sound of that, sorry I tend to fantasize), I waved my magical wand over your head, you woke up the next morning, and your life was perfect, what would it look like?

Let me help a little more.
Where would you live?
Who would you live with?
What would you do for a living?
What would you do all day, every day?
What would you look like?
What kind of habits would you have?
What kind of habits would you eliminate?

Write the answers down! Let us create a miracle.

Don't just write general things like you would buy a house, be specific and write what the house looks like and where it is.

For each question above be specific.

Whether you want to dream big or small, whether you want to get rid of your anger or create happiness, whether you want to quit smoking or loose weight, whether you want to make money or be famous, you have it within you. You have the power to create your miracles. Decide what you want, today and let us begin the journey of destressing ourselves and making miracles.

We are setting goals so that we may move forward in life because if we are not moving forward we are moving backwards and that will cause stress. Let us set goals so that we have something to look forward to in life and so that we have something positive to focus on.

Your in the EMS and life may be easy or it may be hard, depending on where you are in life. Life tends to go in phases, easy sometimes and hard other times. Let us take responsibility for our lives and move towards a life we truly desire no matter where we are. We have the power.

Just a reminder, sign up for our free teleclass by signing up for our free weekly newsletter.

Have fun with this and keep it handy for the next post.

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

Setting a Specific Goal; The First Step

2009-01-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

Well, have you set a specific goal yet? Have you made a New Years Resolution? This goal can be big or small but in order to move forward you must set a goal.

A small goal would be to quit smoking, loose weight, manage your anger, or make more money. It could be to manage your stress, learn to relax, feel more gratitude, feel more love, create more organization, or just to release worry.

Other goals you may consider are to exercise more, eat right, get healthier, sleep better, improve your relationships, or get another job or career.

Maybe you would like a bigger goal. When I think of big goals I think of creating your dream life. When we create our dream life I like to say we are making our own miracles. The reason I call them miracles is because when we think about our dream life we always wish and think, “some day.” But if you dream and then evolve your thoughts, feelings, and actions, towards creating and then living your dream life it is a miracle.

The reason it is a miracle is because when we just dream, we don’t believe it is possible, and when it comes true, it is a miracle. A miracle because we didn’t believe it would ever happen and it is happening.

This is my hope for you. My hope is that you will dream, dream big, make it specific, and then I will help you evolve your thoughts, feelings, and actions so that you may create your miracle. Evolve your thoughts into believing that it is possible, evolve your feelings into faith in yourself, and then evolve your actions to move towards your miracle while increasing your speed because of your enthusiasm.

I know the power you have within you. I know because I have seen it over and over, time and time again. I have seen extremely stressed out people become destressed and create their own miracles.

Now, dream big, make it specific, and let us embark on a journey of making miracles. You can do it! Right now! Write it down and make it specific. This is going to be awesome!

Remember, if we do not set goals to improve our life then we are in the constant state of going nowhere. When we are in the constant state of going nowhere we remain in the same ole life and then life just gets more difficult. Let us look towards the life we dream of by setting goals.

Don't forget the free monthly teleclasses you can access when you sign up for our free newsletter.

Don’t forget to have fun and be playful because it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

Destress for the EMS 2009: Take Responsibility for Your Life

2009-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to obtain the life you dream of?

The theme for this month is, "Taking Responsibility for Your Life." What does that mean? It means taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Therefore, taking responsibility for you life.

Whether you want to quit smoking, loose weight, manage your anger, make more money, or just obtain small or large goals, you are totally capable and we, at Destress Yourself, are here to help you.

From January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 we will support you! For Free!

The first step is to set a specific goal, big or small. Pick what you want, the date that you want it by, and make it specific. For example, maybe you would like to make $50,000 extra income by December 31, 2009 or maybe you would like to find your soul mate by September 30, 2009.

The second step is to pick a blog, from our homepage, that pertains to your goal, and follow that blog. If there is not a blog that pertains to your goal then follow the destress yourself blog and that will pertain to obtaining the life you dream of.

The third step is to participate in the free teleclass that is offered monthly, which you can find on our calendar page and access through our free newsletter.

Finally, set some rules and tasks for yourself on obtaining your goal(s). Make a list of all the rules that you will follow, things that will work for you and help you. Also, make a list of all the things that you will have to do to obtain your goals.

Make this simple, and don't stress over it, because all of this will work out perfect as we move along week by week through our year together.

If you do not know what you want, may I suggest that you visit our store and look for the four part Destress Yourself class. This class will assist in finding what is holding you back in life and assist you in discovering your goals and dreams in life.

Let us embark on our journey of changing the stressful habit of being in the constant state of going nowhere to creating a successful practice of taking responsibility for our life. I am so excited!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.

Elizabeth

Destress for the EMS 2009

2008-12-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to manage your stress in 2009? Do you have stress at work or at home? Maybe you have anxiety or depression and you need a little help to relieve stress and relax. Well, I am so excited to share with you what we have going for 2009.

This is sooooo cool! We, at destress yourself, will be providing free monthly teleclasses on managing stress, managing work stress, reducing stress, stress management techniques, stress relief, relaxation, meditation, and any other kind of education about stress you can think of.

We, at destress yourself, will also provide free monthly teleclasses in order to aid individuals on quiting unhealthy habits like smoking, getting angry, and overeating. In addition, we have a free monthly teleclass for Emergency Personnel which includes first responders like EMT's, Paramedics, Peace Officers, Fire Fighters, and Emergency Room Personnel.

Please join us for change in 2009. Set your New Year Resolutions and join us in accomplishing and keeping them.

Stay tuned and keep your eyes open for our free teleclasses and our blog posts so that you may enhance your life in 2009.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND DON'T FORGET TO HAVE FUN AND BE PLAYFUL.

Elizabeth

Destress for the EMS-Lesson Two

2008-12-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

Last post we discussed evaluating our habits of taking care of ourselves. I hope you were able to do that. In my opinion, we do it all the time. We say things like, "I need to loose weight," or "I need to quit smoking," or "I need to control my anger more."

Well, whatever it is we need to do we can make it a goal. When we set goals and obtain them we feel better about ourselves. When we feel better about ourselves, we are less stressed, or rather, we are destressed.

Lesson one was about evaluating habits and setting a goal. This lesson is about desire for our goals. If we are not setting and obtaining goals, we are not moving forward in life and that is what life is all about. In other words, if we are not moving forward we are in the constant state of going nowhere, and that causes stress.

The desire to be and to do what you want is the starting point of any undertaking. Imagine, if you will, already obtaining your goal. Imagine how you will feel. May sound silly but, that is where the desire begins. Once we have desire we must feed it with our imagination of what will come to pass.

When we desire a thing and take time to visualize we will create great faith in ourselves.

Set the goal, write it down, keep it with you always to remind you, and then imagine yourself already obtaining the goal. This, my friend, will feed your desire and then create faith.

Until next post, have fun and be playful because it is in your nature.

Elizabeth