Let Go and Be Free

Day 13: How You Feel About Change If you Grew Up in an Alcoholic/Dysfunctional Family

Day 13: How You Feel About Change If you Grew Up in an Alcoholic/Dysfunctional Family

By the time I entered 8th grade, I had attended a total of four schools. As a kid, I’d make friends but had to leave them behind to go to a new school. Add on top of that my insecurities of being skinny and someone who liked books, I found it really difficult to deal with change in growing up.

Day 12: How to Deal with Irrational Fear

Day 12: How to Deal with Irrational Fear

I grew up in a dysfunctional household and what I experienced as a kid is now part of my DNA as an adult. If you grew up in a similar environment (alcohol, drugs, abuse, divorce, dysfunction, etc.), does this experience ring a bell with you?

Day 7: Make Time for Fun

Day 7: Make Time for Fun

I’m a hard worker. I take on lots of responsibility. I get up early to write novels (or this blog), I’ve trained for marathons, and you know what? All work and no play is detrimental to my well-being. Always being on the go and never stopping to have fun not only isn’t healthy, but it makes me a party pooper! Here are some ways to overcome that.

Day 4: Achieving Happiness

Day 4: Achieving Happiness

What does it take to be happy? Is happiness directly tied to having lots of possessions, money, and fame?

Everyone’s definition of what it means to be happy will be subjective, but I would like to put some thoughts out there. Depression, anxiety, stress can make finding happiness unattainable. We might even feel that we don’t deserve to be happy, or are so overwhelmed, that we cannot imagine a way to allow ourselves to feel joy.

Day 3: The Power of Stillness and Relaxation

Day 3: The Power of Stillness and Relaxation

I am a type A person. A co-worker once joked, “You’ve cured cancer by the time I even got out of bed in the morning.”

There’s a flip side to that of course: I push myself hard. A few years back I set a schedule for myself and I’m either writing or exercising before work. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are writing days while Tuesday, Thursday and Sundays are run days.

Day 2: How to Deal with the Stress and Anxiety from Ruminative Thoughts

Day 2: How to Deal with the Stress and Anxiety from Ruminative Thoughts

When I was 23 years old, my fiancée broke up with me for good. I sat at my desk and struggled to finish my graduate school work while the diamond engagement ring sat in a drawer right next to my desk. My anxiety level had gone through the roof. I had a really difficult time focusing on my work because I kept having a tape play in my head: “She’s broken up with you. She doesn’t love you any more. You suck. It’s all over for you.”