Unemployed? Here's A 4-Step Self-Esteem Boost

I was laid off earlier this year and have been unemployed now for almost six months. In addition to the financial stress, my self-esteem is plummeting. What can I do right away to feel better about myself?

Often when things happen TO us we believe it happens BECAUSE of us. Then we may begin to doubt ourselves or tear ourselves apart. Don’t take a job layoff personally—you have a lot of company out there right now--and recognize that you CAN create your own solution.

Here are some reminders that may help you. Let yourself dip in and out of them; be fluid in your actions and feel a flow that is right for you.

*Feel your Feelings: Embrace all of them. How can you do that? Just get curious, then see what happens. And remember, it is OK to be angry, mad, sad and even a little bit bad. This is part of our humanity and part of our learning process. There’s a saying, “When that hot wind blows, lean into it.” We can resist and sweat and complain about what we are feeling or we can really experience it. If we do, our viewpoint will often shift and we will live from a freer, more positive perspective.

*Face your Fear. Often we spend time and energy running from something that we can’t even name. It is usually the monsters we can’t see that have the scariest faces. So turn on the light and have a look-see. You may be delighted to discover that some of the faces are friendlier than you thought and others simply melt away. A great mystic has said, “The mind has no power of its own. We have given power to the mind; we have to take it back.” As another great philosopher said, “If not now, when?”

*Welcome the Peanut Gallery: In other words, that chorus of internal voices that expresses all the old, limiting beliefs. Give them space. Give them a name and a face. Let them snicker and shout, whine and moan. Hear them out. Then challenge them with the light of your own strength and integrity, common sense and compassion. Watch them fade away. If they have a valid point celebrate it, use it, then MOVE ON.

*Be Who You Are: Now is the critical time to stand up for who you are; to resist the temptation to sell yourself short. Work with what you’ve got--with your talents, your intuition, your energy, and your strengths. Now more than ever is the time to go to YOUR core and see what you are made of. Then share it. Be Who You Are. Give What You’ve Got. Then see how you'll Get What You Want.

-- Linda Zitelli, CPC, MBA

To contact Linda or "Ask the Life Coach", write to lmz630@yahoo.com.

GayHealthBlog.com

5 Causes of Summer Depression

Ah, the joys of summer. The withering heat. School vacations, when your kids give you minute-to-minute updates on their boredom levels. Isn’t summer supposed to be fun and relaxing? If you’ve got summer depression, it isn’t.

For some people, summer depression has a biological cause, says Ian A. Cook, MD, the director of the Depression Research Program at UCLA. For others, the particular stresses of summer can pile up and make them feel miserable.

What makes depression in summer especially hard is that you feel like you’re supposed to be having a great time. Everyone else seems so happy splashing in the water and sweating in their lawn chairs. So why can’t you? And more importantly, what can you do to make this summer easier? Here’s what you need to know about summer depression.

 

Tips for Summer Depression

DON’T Act Your Age!

Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer [conducted] a study . . . with a group of elderly men some years ago, retrofitting an isolated old New England hotel so that every visible sign said it was 20 years earlier. The men—in their late 70s and early 80s—were told not to reminisce about the past, but to actually act as if they had traveled back in time. The idea was to see if changing the men’s mindset about their own age might lead to actual changes in health and fitness.

Langer’s findings were stunning: After just one week, the men in the experimental group (compared with controls of the same age) had more joint flexibility, increased dexterity and less arthritis in their hands. Their mental acuity had risen measurably, and they had improved gait and posture. Outsiders who were shown the men’s photographs judged them to be significantly younger than the controls. In other words, the aging process had in some measure been reversed.

The Situationist

Yoga For Jocks

 

This is for all you jocks out there—you need yoga, too, just as much as the rest of us! If you're an athlete you probably already know that yoga can improve performance by enhancing your focus, breathing, and endurance. Not to mention alleviating soreness and reducing recovery time.

iYogaLife.com

Ewan McGregor Speaks of His Demons

 

38-year-old Ewan McGregor was, until not long ago, the spitting image of a charming rock star, as he himself admits it in the June issue of Men’s Health (via People magazine). His addictions were his demons and, until he realized that they could as well kill him one day, leaving all his loved ones alone, he did not know what he was living for, the actor says.

McGregor was, as per his own admission, never the man to know when to stop, whether it was about smoking or about drinking. Moreover, he too fell prey to the images glamorizing smoking and alcohol use, until he realized he could be just one step away from losing it all – including his dear wife and children. Now that he has mustered the will and the strength to be able to make his own choice, that of not smoking and not drinking, Ewan is happy to discover that it’s control over one’s actions that makes life such a wonderful experience.

Softpedia

Men Reluctant to Seek Mental Health Help

Mental illness is still often one of society’s big nasty secrets. If we don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen, it’s not happening and it won’t happen. The sad thing is, it has happened, it does happen, and it will happen.

Although both men and women live with mental illness, women are more likely to seek help than men. While it may be almost ok for women to admit they aren’t mentally healthy, it’s still not for men. As a result, many men don’t only go untreated, they themselves may not recognize their needs.

Blisstree - Family, Health, Home and Lifestyles