Tag Archives: anxiety

Reality Check: Choosing Hope

Posted on January 6, 2019 by RealityCheck

Catastrophizing. It’s a dramatic word, isn’t it? When we look ahead, whether it’s to a new year or just an ordinary new day, we can look with a perspective that’s filled with hope for the promise of things to come. … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing influences, choosing thoughts, encouragement, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: Feelings for the Future

Posted on December 16, 2018 by RealityCheck

Imagine the future. Maybe your daydreams are happy ones—winning the lottery, lazing on sandy beaches surrounded by loving friends and family. It’s a future with happiness, health, and good will. Or perhaps the future that springs to mind is filled … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing thoughts, perception, reality, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: Can you do this?

Posted on September 2, 2018 by RealityCheck

Do you consider yourself highly motivated? Does your motivation come naturally to you, or do you have to work at it? For some of us, motivation seems to require an occasional kick in the pants, so to speak, to keep … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged "should", anxiety, choosing thoughts, persistence | Comments Off

Reality Check: The Stories of our Scars

Posted on July 30, 2018 by RealityCheck

If you’ve spent much time at all on this earth, you probably have a few scars to show for it. Some people view their scars as embarrassing. They agonize over them, and buy not-so-magical potions in efforts to get rid … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing thoughts, perception, self-evaluation | Comments Off

Reality Check: Relaxation and Everyday Anxiety

Posted on July 8, 2018 by RealityCheck

Last time, I mentioned that Dr. Martin Seligman has a couple of suggestions to lower everyday anxiety levels. One is progressive relaxation, also known as progressive muscle relaxation. This technique is hardly new; apparently first described nearly a hundred years … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Behaviour | Tagged anxiety, total behaviour, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: Loose Ends and Everyday Anxiety

Posted on July 1, 2018 by RealityCheck

Curious things can happen if we detach ourselves from technology for a while. I call that time “vacation,” an opportunity to notice things I might not pay attention to otherwise. Knowing I’ll have no electronics, internet, or email to entertain … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing actions, total behaviour | Comments Off

Reality Check: Can your Belief Change your Reality?

Posted on April 22, 2018 by RealityCheck

Many of us feel stressed. Challenges, fears, upsets, and disappointments abound. People, institutions, politicians, employers and many others don’t behave as we want them to. A lot of those stressors are outside of our control. And even though we know … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing thoughts, total behaviour, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: Choosing your Worry Boundaries

Posted on February 11, 2018 by RealityCheck

Can we choose to worry? Can we choose not to worry? If you identify yourself as a worrier, then the idea that you could choose not to worry probably sounds unrealistic. So let’s try this different, but related, question: Can … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, internal & external control, self-evaluation, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: An Anxiety Alternative

Posted on August 27, 2017 by RealityCheck

If we choose to worry, there’s plenty to worry about. Thanks to the mixed blessing of access to information from all over the world, we can worry about things that we have absolutely no control over and that may never … Continue reading →

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged anxiety, choosing actions, choosing thoughts, worry | Comments Off

Reality Check: The Meltdown

Posted on May 14, 2017 by RealityCheck

A thousand miles away, my usually sunny friend—she who chooses the most positive possible interpretation of everything—had a meltdown. It’s understandable. She’s been living with the reality of several family members diagnosed with cancers. Then, her mom took a tumble … Continue reading →

Posted in How it is sometimes | Tagged "should", anxiety, need satisfaction, offering information, responsibility | Comments Off