Oh boy...or girl?!?

 

I had an extremely shocking and surreal day on Monday. I had a suspicion, and it took a couple of tests to come up with conclusive results. Mr. T is out of town all week, so I had to tell him over the phone. I couldn't keep this to myself for so long. I found out that I am pregnant.

If all goes well with this pregnancy, it will be our second child. It was neither planned, nor prevented, and I am thrilled and nervous at the same time. I  feel very blessed to be trusted to raise and care for another little one. So what does being pregnant mean for my anxiety?
I have stopped taking my Sertraline (Zoloft) cold turkey and will definitely not take any more Clonozepam until after I am done nursing. Even though my doctor said Sertraline or Zoloft is okay during pregnancy, he also said it is best to not take any psychiatric medication if you can help it during the first trimester.

With my first pregnancy, I was lucky enough to be mostly anxiety free and medication free the entire time I was pregnant and for about the first 10 months of nursing. My mother was the same way. She always felt better when she was pregnant. I am hoping it will be the same with this one.

I am nervous about any side effects of suddenly stopping my anxiety medications. Usually if I forget to take my Sertraline for more than a day, I get horrible stomach aches and cramps. I don't remember feeling any side effects last time I stopped for my pregnancy, so I am hoping again for the same.  It is not okay to take Clonozepam during pregnancy or nursing. Besides possible birth defects and withdrawl symptoms in the newborn, it can cause your baby to have gray teeth!

When I was deciding to get pregnant the first time, I didn't know if I should wait until I "recovered" from the anxiety before getting pregnant or not. This is partially why I have the feelings I do about being cured from your anxiety. If you feel that way, you can put off these life decisions for who knows how long. Instead, I decided that this may be something I need to learn to live with, and therefore, when I felt I had the social anxiety under control, I felt comfortable getting pregnant.

I consider myself lucky that I do so much better with my anxiety when I am pregnant, but that doesn't mean you will be the same way. Some women find their anxiety symptoms get worse after being pregnant. So if you are contemplating this decision, my advice would be to wait until you feel you have successfully learned and used the tools to manage your anxiety and then go for it.

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My Thoughts on "Recovering" from Social Anxiety

Everyone reading this is probably looking for a way to be cured from anxiety. I have found that when I focus on words such as "cure" and "recovery," it tends to lead to disappointments. If I am doing really well, I may feel that I am close to recovery. Then if I get hit with a setback, I am really upset because I thought I was doing better.

Instead, I focus on finding the hidden lessons within the setback and use it to move forward. My philosophy is to treat anxiety as if you may have it the rest of your life. If you do this, you can learn ways to reduce and manage the anxiety symptoms so that you can still live a happy fulfilling life.

In this anxiety video that I made for The Nitty Gritty of Anxiety, I go into more detail on my philosophy of managing symptoms of social anxiety vs. recovering from anxiety or curing anxiety.



What are your thoughts about setbacks and recovering from anxiety? Do you think you can fully recover from anxiety or do you think it's something to plan on living with as best as possible?

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7 Tips for Reducing Gym Anxiety

I decided I would spend some time implementing important new habits in my life that would help me to be healtheir- which in turn would help my anxiety. Mr. T and I got gym memberships because they have a daycare and that works best for our little busy body toddler.

However, I find myself feeling VERY insecure at the gym. I usually prefer working out at home for this reason, but I didn't realize just how much I cared about it.

The first few times I went I actually put makeup on and did my hair. I bought new workout clothes.

I select my treadmill by finding one in front of a large pillar holding the ceiling up. This way I don't have to be as concerned about people directly behind me watching me. The mirrors on the side portray a dreadful figure staring back at me, and all I can think of is how everyone there is looking at me and laughing.

I made a note to look around for these horrible judgemental people, and not a single person was looking around like I was. Everyone was focused on their workout. Why couldn't I?


I turn on some tunes to try to distract my thoughts, but my eyes are continually looking around. My arm gets caught on my headphones and pulls my ipod out of the container and it falls on the treadmill and conveyors to the floor. So mortifying! I guess it could have been worse. I could have fallen and conveyed to the floor.

"What levels has she set on her treadmill? She is so pretty, I am so embarrassed to be near her! I have no clue what I am doing. Should I have worn this?"

I don't want to give into the insecurities and cancel my membership because I know that will only feed my fears and make it harder to go in the future. So I plan to stick it out until I feel comfortable working out by myself alongside all the beautiful toned women.


So as usual, I decided to do some research. I found these tips to help with gym anxiety (sure enough I am doing it all wrong!):


1. Take a friend with you. I think it is less nerve-wracking to go to the gym with a friend. You won’t be so focused on yourself and what everyone else thinks of you if you have a friend working out alongside you.

2. If you cannot bring a friend with you to the gym, bring some music to listen to while you workout. Bring an MP3, iPod, or Discman with you to the gym to listen to while you exercise. Listening to music while you exercise will energize you and help you keep focused during your workout.

3. Take a tour beforehand. When you sign up for a new gym, they will usually allow you to take a tour of the exercise room before you actually go in there to workout. Some gyms also give you a guide for your visit to show you how to work the machines and weights in the gym. If the gym you chose offers this service, I’d recommend taking advantage of it. It can be really helpful.

4. Wear something comfortable. Be sure to wear something you feel comfortable in to the gym. This will help you feel better about yourself.

5. Don’t look in the mirrors if you can help it. I was reading a study the other day that said people who go to gyms with mirrors in the workout room are less likely to keep going to the gym, so I don’t even know why they still put mirrors in there, but if you can help it, don’t look in the mirrors while you workout. Having some music might help you distract yourself from watching yourself workout in the mirror. Some gyms also have televisions you can watch while you workout.

A couple I have observed on my own:

6. Read a book while on the treadmill. I see lots of people doing that and want to try it out.
7. Hire a personal trainer. I would love this but they are too expensive for my budget. If you can, they will help you stay focused and motivated.

I also need some newer workout songs for my ipod- any good suggestions?

Do you ever feel insecure at the gym? What do you do to reduce the anxiety?

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Last Day of the Giveaway

I have decided that rather than do a new monthly challenge for March, I am going to continue to focus on getting healthy for another month. I want to feel comfortable with my goals before moving onto the next thing and this one is a hard one to implement. I am going to the gym, but it doesn't feel like a normal routine yet. I am trying to eat healthier and drink more water, but I want to keep working at it.


However, tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway. Sign up now for your free online therapy session!

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Just What I Needed to Hear Today

Why Does Heavenly Father Love Us?

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.
God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.
He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.
What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 21–24

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A Couple Healthy Breakfast Ideas

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It should never be skipped. Eating right away when you wake up gets your metabolism going which will help you lose weight, and can regulate blood sugar levels which can relieve morning anxiety.

Here are some yummy but healthy breakfast ideas I have found in The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook:

Banana Split for Breakfast?

On top two banana halves, substitute ice cream with fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt. Add some fresh cut strawberries, a tablespoon of crunchy high fiber, low sugar cereal (such as Grape Nuts) and some fat-free, sugar-free hot fudge.

Your looking at a YUMMY breakfast that's only 195 calories.
 
Smoothies:

Instead of using Fresh fruit and ice cubes to make a smoothie, skip the ice and use frozen fruit. That way you don't have to worry about your fruit going bad or that your smoothie will be too watery. You can use fresh fruit in season and freeze it yourself or you can buy the packaged varieties.


Make your own smoothies instead of going to the smoothie bars. If you look at the nutritional value of their smoothies, they can pack upwards of 600-800 calories and tons of sugar!


Ever heard of green smoothies? I hadn't until I saw this video of Robyn from Green Smoothie Girl. It has me very interested since vegetables are really hard to get down any of my family member's throats. I don't think my blender would work but maybe I could throw in a few baby spinach leaves next time...

 

Do you have any healthy breakfast tips or ideas? Whats your favorite?

Don't forget to sign up for the free online therapy giveaway! First come first serve, so anyone can still win...

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5 Tips for Starting an Anxiety Reducing Exercise Program

There is a poll on the sidebar right now about how often people exercise. I am surprised to see that it varies all over from NEVER exercising (that's the one I chose) to everyday!

Mr. T and I decided to get gym memberships to follow through with our goal of being more healthy and exercising. And more specifically, I am expecting it to help me reduce my anxiety. This is the best option for us because the gym has a child center where Lil' P can play while we work out. It also has a rock climbing area which we love. A little while back I had my first day at the gym.

I got to start out with a personal trainer who assessed my fitness levels. Overall, it appeared on paper as though I was in pretty good shape. However, when I started an actual workout I ran into a problem. After any exercise set my heart rate would skyrocket into the 170's. I had to wait for a few minutes everytime for my heart rate to go back down before I could continue. The trainer explained that my heart is really out of shape and that I need to do more cardio to get it used to working out. He suggested 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.

I am so out of shape that I couldn't move for the next two days. I was soooo sore! I have a lot of work to do.

Here are a few of my favorite tips (from The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook) for starting a new exercise program in order to reduce anxiety:

• Expect some initial discomfort. If you are out of shape, aches and pains are normal. As your strength and endurance grow, the pain will pass.
• Ideally exercise should be aerobic.
• Optimal frequency is 4-5 times a week with 20-30 minute sessions.
• Optimal intensity for aerobic exercise is a heart rate of (220-your age) X .75 for at least 10 minutes.
• Avoid exercising only once a week. Infrequent spurts of exercise is stressful to your body and generally does more harm than good. (walking is an exception).

Don't forget to sign up for the free online therapy giveaway! First come first serve, so anyone can still win...

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