• About

ConnieSelleccaBlog

~ Intelligence for Your Life

ConnieSelleccaBlog

Tag Archives: anxiety

Emotional infidelity is WORSE for you than physical infidelity.

12 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, cheat, cheating, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, depression, emotional, emotional infidelity, guilt, infidelity, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, physical infidelity, shame

That doesn’t give you a license to cheat on your spouse, but know this: Besides hurting your partner, cheaters suffer depression, anxiety, shame, and guilt. And according to a study in the journal Personality and Social Psychology, emotional infidelity causes a level of distress one-third greater than physical infidelity. But an emotional AND physical affair was by far the most damaging.

Follow me on Facebook

Flowers can make us happy!

01 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, buy flowers, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, cut flowers, feel-good brain chemicals, flowers, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, reduce anxiety, reduce depression

Next time you go to a grocery store or farmer’s market, buy flowers. Because just seeing cut flowers at home or work produces feel-good brain chemicals, and makes us less anxious and prone to depression. Plus, MRIs show looking at flowers increases blood flow to the brain area linked to feelings of empathy and altruism, and makes us friendlier. So we end up thinking fewer negative thoughts and thinking more about others, instead of ourselves. It’s the power of flowers!

Follow me on Facebook

Feeling anxious, or unable to concentrate?

17 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, anxious, calm, calmer, calming, concentrate, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, focus, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, lemon balm, memory

Grab some lemon balm! The leafy plant from the mint family contains compounds that prevent the breakdown of a brain chemical linked to focus and memory. Lemon balm also contains brain-boosting quercetin and energizing caffeic acid… a combination proven to ease anxiety, and enhance problem-solving, focus, and recall. Your best bet: Place a drop of lemon balm essential oil on each palm, cup your hands over your face, and take 10 slow, deep breaths. And you’ll feel calmer, and more focused in no time!

Follow me on Facebook

Here’s a new way to fight stress, tension and anxiety.

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, cognitive jujitsu, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, fight stress, in control, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, jujitsu, relax, tension

Don’t ignore it – or try to suppress it. Instead, consider how you’re feeling and label it. As in, “I feel overwhelmed.” Or “I feel pressured,” or frustrated, or angry. Psychologist Hans Hagemann calls it cognitive jujitsu. It works because when we label our feelings, it activates our prefrontal cortex – the rational, analytical side of the brain, and switches off the limbic system, the area fueled by stress and emotion. So, during your next meltdown, try cognitive jujitsu. Analyze your feelings, and label them. By the time you’re done, you’ll feel more in control.

Follow me on Facebook

Do you have dark thoughts?

25 Tuesday Aug 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

abduction, accident, anxiety, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, dark thoughts, depression, fear, fears, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, irrational fears, worry, worrying

dark-thoughts-wp

Like, if your teenager doesn’t answer their phone, they must have been abducted? Or if your husband is late coming home from work, he was probably in an accident?

Well, according to clinical psychologist Dr. Martin Seif, pretty much everybody has dark thoughts from time to time. And we humans are bad at assessing risk. So our fears are usually way out of proportion to the chances of actual danger. And worrying is part of human nature. When we have something valuable – like loved ones – it’s natural to worry about something bad happening. It only becomes a problem if those worries start controlling your life, or you try to control the lives of others because of your irrational fears. Also, Dr. Seif explains that scary thoughts you can’t shake can be a symptom of anxiety or depression. If that describes you, consider talking to a therapist.

Follow me on Facebook

Clutter causes stress!

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, clutter, clutter causes stress, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, declutter, decluttering, failure, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, mess, messy, messy home, piles of clothes, stress, stressful

clutter-stress-wp

Because piles of clothes and papers are reminders of things we aren’t getting done and can trigger anxiety, or feelings of failure. So, if your home is a giant, chaotic mess, and you don’t know where to start, try micro-decluttering. And instead of tackling the whole house, or even a whole room, start with a drawer. Or just your t‑shirts. Set your phone timer for 15 minutes and work on that one, small thing. And you’ll feel much calmer and more in-control, one t-shirt stack, or junk drawer, at a time.

Follow me on Facebook

Friends help you sleep better!

31 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, friends, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, relax, sleep, sleep better, sleeping, sleeping pill, stress

sleep-better-friends-wp

People who spend quality time with friends sleep better at night. But those who feel lonely have trouble dozing off, and feel less energetic and less focused the next day. Research at the University of Rochester found that strong friendships reduce stress and anxiety, and make us feel more secure and relaxed. And that reduces activity in the brain area that stays vigilant at night. Basically, if we’re lonely, we feel vulnerable, insecure, and unprotected, even while we sleep, and part of our brain stays on alert for self-protection. So hanging with your friends during the day is your brand new sleeping pill.

Follow me on Facebook

Are your anxieties keeping you awake at night?

07 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

ADHD, anxiety, autism, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, sleep, weighted blanket

anxiety-weighted-blanket-wp

You might sleep better under a blanket with weights sewn inside it. Kind of like a comforter, but with weights and polyfill stuffing in every square. Several studies have shown that weighted blankets feel like you’re being hugged – which helps calm people with ADHD and autism. So, researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst decided to try it on people with garden-variety anxieties. The result: When anxious people slept under weighted blankets, 75% of them fell asleep easily and stayed asleep.

Want to try it? Just Google the phrase “weighted blanket.” You’ll find a variety of fabrics and weights between 10 and 30 pounds. And they start at about $100 dollars.

Follow me on Facebook

Could this be the cure for anxiety?

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, anxious, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, excited, excitement, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, nervous, relax, stress

anxiety-excitement-wp

Alison Wood Brooks is a professor at Harvard Business School who’s researched anxiety. And she says, instead of trying to completely flip the script on anxiety by trying to relax – we’re better off transforming our anxiety into something it’s closer to… Excitement. In a study, Brooks tested participants by having them complete anxiety-inducing tasks: like singing karaoke, doing a math test, and giving a speech.

And when participants said, “I’m excited” before the tasks, they not only felt more positive, they also performed better.

That’s because excitement and anxiety have something in common – they’re both emotions of arousal. They both make our heart beat faster and stimulate a stress response. But the difference is that anxiety is negative, whereas excitement is positive… that’s why it’s easier to get from anxiety to excitement, than from anxiety to calm.

So Dr. Brooks says, the next time you’re anxious – don’t take deep breaths to relax. Try saying, “I’m excited!” instead.

Follow me on Facebook

Are your feet freezing? Try this!

30 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by ConnieSellecca in Intelligence for Your Life

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

anxiety, chilly, Chinese, Chinese food, cold feet, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, feet, freezing, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, sesame oil, sleep, socks

warm-up-cold-feet-wp

Here’s a home remedy for warming your feet on those days when they’re chilled to the bone: A bottle of sesame oil and an old pair of wool socks. But don’t use toasted sesame oil, unless you want to smell like Chinese take-out.

Now, here’s what to do: Pour a quarter-sized amount of oil into your palm and massage it all over each foot – top and bottom – for 5 minutes… or have someone else do it. Then, put on the socks. It’s an Ayurvedic medicine technique – which is one of the oldest forms of holistic medicine. That’ll warm up your chilly feet fast, because sesame oil is instantly warming, and one of the most nutrient-rich and easily absorbed oils around. It’s also known to reduce anxiety and encourage restful sleep.

Follow me on Facebook

← Older posts

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014

Categories

  • Intelligence for Your Life
  • Photos

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×