Everyday Stress

I have ongoing triggers that most people can shrug off as a normal life, but I know I'm not alone! Financially stressed is the big one right now. With that, I also have in-law drama, kids screaming, dog whining, work, being down to one car, and so much more. I have my little girl's birthday party tomorrow, band stuff next weekend, and some other things as well. Each of these are little to most, but you toss it in with anxiety and depression and it's like a hurriquakenado just went through my brain and messed it all up. I take my meds and do breathing exercises, but man...I tell ya...it doesn't help sometimes. And unfortunately my wife catches the brunt of my frustration at the end of the day. She's stubborn and can lash back out because of her own anxiety problems, but for the most part she's understanding and helps steer me through the destruction in my head. As you can tell, my mind is going a million miles per hour...because I just covered a ton of different things at once. I just needed to vent really. I love you guys and hope your night is going great. Another full day of excitement is ahead for me tomorrow. So, I will talk to you guys soon. Goodnight!

[Agora1]

Whew....as I was reading your post I could actually feeling your mind going

100mph. Lots going on in your life. But you must prioritize. When we don't

we get overwhelmed and burn out quickly because of the mental health issues.

Venting is good but I find that if you give yourself some "me time" every day...

I know you may say where would you find the time. But 10 minutes in mid day

or evening can make quite a difference in calming both your mind and your body.

The more you practice doing that every single day, the easier it is to fit that

deep breathing in whenever you are stressed. A negative thought pops in your

mind...breathe deeply, exhale slowly. Watching tv and not feeling anxious, breathe

deeply, exhale slowly. Incorporating it in your daily life will be life changing and

will come automatically when you need it most. Breathe my friend, everything will

fall into place in it's own time. Hope your daughter has a great birthday tomorrow. x

[Ketzel]

I get it. I am now working on learning how to relax. Working on relaxing? Yeah. Money does make a difference. When you are your own boss, you have to make sure you don't over schedule each day. You feel like the more you do, the more money you'll have. Take it from me, try to focus on one thing at a time. I look back on my life (I'm 50), and wish I had taken more time to just live and love. You have a family that loves you - that is huge. I am divorced no children. I live with my 90 year-old mom. we love each other of course, but I hope you can fully take in the gratitude for what you DO have. Young families trying to make it in the world - not easy but together you can hug each other through. Maybe each night do a family hug before you all go to sleep. No matter what. That's time well spent

[Hidden in reply to Ketzel]

Yeah, just hard to prioritize what to focus on when my thoughts are racing so quickly that I can't pick one out. I cherish and love the time spent with my kids and wife. I know all too well that anything can happen and it might be the last time I see them, hold them, and tell them I love them. At night, we all brush teeth together, then we all go into the son's room, tell the kids to kiss and hug each other (cutest thing ever) and then we both kiss our son and put him down to bed. Then we go to our daughter's room and get her in bed, read a book, and kiss her goodnight and the same as our son. We make sure not to change routine with that, but if I'm out of town playing a show with my band...it's the only times that we don't get to do that. I honestly have a great family life, so I can't complain there. Just the normal stresses with that.