- One of Cloudwalkings achievements
- Exercises to REDUCE Panic & More
- Megs Photography (visit to the zoo)
- Step By Step creativity with Miss Moose
- Gloomys Recipe Of The Month ~something for valentines
- Must Have Therapy aroma dough!
- Pet/Animal Of The Month
- & last but not least - Humour!
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when i was little, i wanted to be a cowboy, because i thought by being one, id get to have my very own horse. id sometimes alternate between being a cowboy, to being a red indian, it didnt matter much tho...as long as i got my horse. funny thing is...i could never ever pronounce "cowboy"...id say..." i wanna be a coy-boy"...instead. my eldest sister still teases me about that.
i love horses. the above tells me i always have done. um...did i mention i love horses? oh yeah..i did...but im gonna say it again
i lovehorses!
This is Bill:
im sad about the ones on the marsh land as they are not being looked after properly. one reason im getting into the voluntary work on the marsh is to take good care of them, and hopefully bump into the owner, or grazier who is sposed to be looking after them. if i fail...i will get in contact with the horse protection league again. (i have already, and ive been given a phone number to contact a woman, but im holding it off for now as im hoping for a positive response once ive expressed my concern to the council)
and moves closer
i know this post might not seem like therapy...but gimme a min..(you guys know what im like for rambling..hehe) and i will get to the therapy part of it in a min - *promises*
mark and me are constantly being told by the paid wardens NOT to feed the horses because it could lead to the "bird watchers" being bitten by them. i say my arse! i study these horses daily..and the horses dont approach anyone! - the only reason they approach us is because weve taken the time to build trust with them. it annoys me that someone who is being paid to look after the marsh and wildlife that live upon it would prefer to protect a bloke with binoculars watching birds, rather than feed horses, horses, whose ribs are like the rung of a ladder (even the pregnant ones) prutruding out so far you could mistake it for a harp. fuck them wardens i say. i mean, if a bloke has a pair of binoculars to look thru, surely if a horse is approaching him he can see if from afar!
ha...can you tell i wont get along with them!
the birds are already preparing their springtime nests. over springtime, the nests are something i will have to look after -sadly, people pinch the eggs and destroy nests for "fun"
horses have a fight or flight response. humans are very similiar but hardly ever admit it: we are flight animals too. we flee from love, we flee from the people around us and we flee from our own emotions.
This is Weepy Girl & Ray Charles (weve given each horse a name..these 2 are known as this coz weepy girl always has matted eyes that i always have to clean, and ray charles, coz she (yes, shes a mare!) does this funny movement with her head that ray charles used to do.
its been clinically proven that just being near horses changes the our brainwave patterns. they have a calming effect which helps people to stop being fixated on the past or negative events.
horse therapy, its been proven to be particulary useful with children with autism...and also other mental health issues such as panic and anxiety, depression, and even those showing severe anti social behaviour. results in horse therapy have been startling.
i have always found being in the presense of a horse calming. even when i was little i would visit fields where horses would roam. the only time id get nervous is when the horses would gather around me...but i soon learned, if i am nervous, the horses will be nervous too. - horses react as a mirror to the person who is with them...this is why being with them is good for us emotionally.
if we are agitated, the horse will beif we are feeling depressed, the horse will pick up on itif we are angry, the horse will be stubbornif we are panicky, the horse will prepare for flight.if we are happy, confident, and fearless...ta-daaaaa! we will have a good thing going on with any horse we come by.
this is why being near horses is great for anyone suffering with mental health issues and emotional problems. - in order to bond with the horse and make the horse respect us, and follow us, we have to sort out our moods and frame of mind. the more we learn how to relax when with them, they will too.
Mark sipping his coffee as he spends time with Shy Girl (shy girl also stars in the video clip!..hehe)
shes so harmless and beautiful
a horse actually has much to teach us about being human. when im with them, i constantly explore my relationship to the horse, i explore my own nature, in order to bond with the majestic beauty of the horse, so therefore i am constantly examining my own body mind and spirit, which is always a great thing - getting to know ourselves more is , i think...one of the most important qualities of living life.
whenever im feeling depressed...and im talking vegetated depressed state where i havent brushed my hair for days on end, or got dressed...one thing that always picks me up, is going to see and feed the horses on the marsh. ha! i will leave here in old clothes, and combine harvvvvester wellington boots...and not give a shit if anyone sees me -*waves goodbye to bdd*all i care about is getting out to those horses so i can check they are ok, and feed them with as much food as we can afford- in return...i get the best, quickest working anti depressant on this planet - the good feeling vibe im struck with as i lay my hand upon their strong head & body is unbelievable. i even rest my body against them and my head upon their backs, to get the full whack of whatever theraputic vibes they can give me.
being around horses or even horse therapy is also known to give off a healing vibe to cancer patients, people who are withdrawing from drugs & alchohol, as well as people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, or indeed, a pet.
they have such power and healing energy. they are big, and sometimes intimidating....but because of this, interacting with a horse challenges issues of fear and confidence in people. they sense and respond to a persons negative emotion and action way before we respond to it ourselves (like bri mentioned on the forum, they have a 6th sense ;-) ) this gift they have helps people to be accountable for their emotions and recognise the effects their emotions can have on others and most importantly themselves.
Clicky -Vid clip of us with horses
um....you might wanna turn ya volume down if you choose to watch it...as its windy..and im kinda in raised voice mode so the horses can hear me.
i so love horses. can you tell?
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TIPS : Exercises on how to REDUCE Panic & More!
10 GOLDEN RULES FOR COPING WITH PANIC
Remember that although your feelings and symptoms are frightening, they are neither dangerous nor harmful. Understand that what you are experiencing is merely an exaggeration of your normal reactions to stress.
Do not fight your feelings or try to wish them away. The more willing you are to face them, the less intense they will become.
Don't add to your panic by thinking about what "might happen." If you find yourself asking, "What if?" tell yourself "So what!"
Stay in the present. Be aware of what is happening to you rather than concern yourself with how much worse it might get.
Label your fear level from zero to 10 and watch it go up and down. Notice that it doesn't stay at a very high level for more than a few seconds.
When you find yourself thinking about fear, change your "what if" thinking.
Focus on and perform some simple, manageable task.
Notice that when you stop thinking frightening thoughts your anxiety fades.
When fear comes, accept it, don't fight it. Wait and give it time to pass. Don't try to escape from it. Be proud of the progress you've made. Think about how good you will feel when the anxiety has passed and you are in total control and at peace.
EXERCISES TO REDUCE PANIC SYMPTOMS
Use abdominal breathing.
See, touch, and feel the objects around you.
Tell yourself the feelings are not harmful.
Tell yourself the feelings will pass.
Visualize a peaceful scene. Let your mind go blank. Passively accept your symptoms. Meditate. Sing or hum a tune. Read a book. Talk to a friend. Pet your dog or cat. Take a walk. Take a warm bath. Splash cold water on your face. Clean the house or wash the car.
WHAT HELPS?
44 tips from people with anxiety-
EXERCISE OF SPECIFIC TYPES.
Yoga, because it incorporates breathing, and it is deeply meditative as well as being centering. Aerobic exercise because it lifts my mood, and allleviates my "sluggishness", and strengthening exercises, such as situps, pushups, squats, because a strong body, a capable body, can translate to a strong mind. I am a very physical person, when I am well, and I use this as health maintenance and insurance against getting sick again. When I am sick, my body often gets lost, becomes just a lump of dead meat I drag around with me. Exercise attacks that feeling.
GARDENING. It is meditative and absorbing. It means I have managed to go outside , but still feel safe. It extends my safe boundaries beyond the inside of my house. It gives me exercise, and a connection to the earth. I have a sense of achievement, which is absent when I am ill. It is a small step which can translate to much bigger steps. SELF HELP, of many varieties. Especially researching, reading lists, understanding my disorder, breaking it down to it's root parts, not concentrating on it's symptoms, which is dangerously self fulfilling for me.
TRANSENDENTAL MEDITATION REGULAR AEROBIC EXERCISE PRACTICING BELLY BREATHING
POSITIVE SELF-TALK A LOT OF SUPPORT from spouses (safe person and confidant) and keeping busy with children.
LIMITING MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE Realizing the fact that I was happier and less PA prone by limiting my professional life and by not trying to reach for the pinnacle of my profession. This was a conscious decision since I think I had the tools to do it.
MY TWO DOGS, I believe therapy through contact with animals is a possibility for some of us, with positive end results. Some cats and dogs have really found a new line of work. Every week, they have to visit humans in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes, etc.
STOPPING, SLOWING DOWN, and examining my feelings because find most times when I have a lot of anxiety it has to do with anger, hurt, or feelings of both which are conflicting.
ALLOWING MYSELF TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS, whether verbally or through tears.
POSITIVE SELF-TALK Positive self-talk, believing in the stronger parts of my survivor self.
ANYTHING THAT KEEPS MY MIND OFF MYSELF and the physical symptoms that go along with anxiety ie. light headedness, palpitations, shortness of breath etc. Examples: puzzles, video games, basically anything that requires you to concentrate on something besides yourself.
ANXIETY INFORMATION It helps to know that I'm not the only person experiencing these terrible symptoms. I'm convinced that if I had been diagnosed properly from day 1, I wouldn't have the phobias that I have now. I went for 6 months not knowing what was wrong with me and it was terrifying.
GIVING UP CAFFEINE PAYING ATTENTION TO MY BODY and resting accordingly.
REMEMBERING THE WORDS of a therapist who taught me to say "To hell with it!" (Strategy for putting things in perspective!)
THE REALIZATION that "Dust is a protective covering for my furniture!"
SIMPLIFYING AND PRIORITIZING my life. Things i have to get done get done, everything else gets its turn when i am feeling up to it.
TAKING A NUMBER OF DEEP BREATHS about every half hour.
SITTING IN SILENCE for a short while.
CHANGING MY THINKING. I am allowed to make mistakes. What I think of myself counts, not what other people think. I don't have to please everybody. It is okay if someone gets mad at me as long as I know I am doing the right thing.
GETTING INFORMED about the problem through research, this list, and good counsel.
GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP FAITH - I believe in God, but probably any spiritual awareness would be good.
MEDICATION - To finally get relief enough to try and challenge myself.
SUPPORT - therapy and sharing with other sufferers, such as the wonderful people here, and my friends on IRC #anx/pan.
WATCH THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF THE FEELINGS. Note how a high state of anxiety will be followed by a low, followed by a high, followed by an eventual low. Watch the sine curve of your emotions.
WRITE IN MY JOURNAL Lie on the bed on my stomach and write in my journal--noting the sinusoidal movement of the stress, describing my feelings. One or two or three pages and then walk around a bit, and go back and write a little more.
REPEATING GENERAL AXIOMS OF ANXIETY ACCEPTANCE to myself: "bear the unbearable", "you are responsible for you feelings", "this is nothing new-you survived the last ones", "suffering is a privilege" etc, etc,
MAJOR ATTITUDE CHANGE. Being happy, feeling good about myself etc.
GETTING ANGRY and fed up with PA's and Anxiety FACING FEARS directly and not caring about the consequences.
TO REMEMBER A PARAGRAPH I read in an anxiety self-help book (wish I could remember the name and the exact words), but, in effect, it said to consider an anxiety attack as caused by a simple nerve impulse. That to consider it as that simple of a phenomenon, you can realize that you are bigger and stronger than that one part of your body, and can therefore handle it.
TRY TO THINK OF ONE THING YOU LOOK FORWARD TO doing, even as simple as going shopping for something you really want, or baking a cake you really like, or renting a movie you've been wanting to see.
REMEMBER THAT PANIC ATTACKS ALWAYS END, and you'll feel ok again when it ends.
COOL, WET CLOTHS stop my attacks.
TRYING TO READ or concentrate on something else.
LAYING DOWN.
MAKE SURE YOU'RE INVOLVED in something that interests you intensely (preferably something done with and/or for others). I feel this helps to distract from anxiety.
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Megs Photograph ~ A day out at the Zoo!
Megs says she isnt a pro at photography, but her members at the nest think otherwise!
Megs has allowed us to share some of the great shots she has taken of the animals at the zoo, as well as see the amazing colours of the flowers she captured with her camera.
(TIP For suffers of panic attacks~ did you know that if you take your camera out with you whilst venturing out it can help distract you from panic - next time you do exposure therapy with the outside world, why not try taking your camera along, and snapping some shots to help keep your mind occupied on something else rather than the "what if i panic" thought process.
I love this picture because it looks like the giraffe is stuck in the tree but he is actually walking between them.
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Card Making made easy
I have used a sea theme for my design, but you can use any embellishments you want to.
I just wanted to show you different effects that can be used in a simple but effective way.
Time taken to make this card 10 minutes
Level Beginner
What will I need? Some card (either a sheet of card or pre-scored card)
Coloured paper (optional)
Embellishments (These are what you will use to decorate your card with)
Stickers (words or pictures, can also be used instead of embellishments)
Scissors (Straight edged or curved edges)
Glue
Where can I buy these things from? You can by your card making supplies from craft shops (which I find is the cheaper option) or from the Internet.
http://www.handyhippo.co.uk/ is the website where I buy my craft supplies, and where you can by the boat embellishments that I used to make this card, I also buy lots of pearlescent paper from here as it’s cheap and really great quality.
Top Tip - Search for pictures that you like on the Internet and print them onto glossy paper and back them onto card, you can use them as your own unique embellishments.
You can also cut up old greetings cards and re-use those.
What will I need to do first? Clear a space on a table and lay out all of your craft making materials, as well as making it easier for you to get to what you need when you need it, it will also help to inspire you and get your creative juices flowing.
How to make my boat card
Step 1 Place some card in front of you, it can be any size but I find A5 works best, if it isn’t already pre-scored then you will need to fold the card in half.
Step 2 If you have plain white card then cover it with coloured paper, dark blue or black if you want a night time scene, sky blue if you want a day time scene.
If you already have a blue card then you can skip to Step 3.
Step 3 The card is your background (sky), to make the sea, take a piece of blue paper (I used pearlescent paper to it that shiny effect). It’s up to you how big you want to cut the paper, I made mine so that you could see half sky and half sea.
You can cut out the sea either using scissors with a curved edge, or you can cut in the waves your self with normal straight edged scissors, or just have a straight sea as if to look at the horizon.
Step 4 Turn your card length way and glue on the “sea” at the bottom
Step 5 Now for the fun bit! Stick on your embellishments in which ever way you want to, this is where you can really let your creative energy go mad.
Step 6 You can now personalise your card if you want to. There are plenty of stickers that you can buy with different texts on them such as, “Happy birthday”, “Happy anniversary”, “Thank you” etc
Alternatively there are alphabet stickers that you can buy with each letter of the alphabet on so you can really personalise your card so that someone special will know you have spent time and effort making a card especially for them.
Useful websites These are the websites that I use, they have lots of project idea’s, though you can’t order anything from the hobbycraft website.
http://www.hobbycraft.com/
http://www.handyhippo.co.uk/
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Something for Valentines?
These Chocolate Heart Ice Cream Boats are perfect to serve to kids for a Valentine dessert.
Estimated Times: Preparation - 20 min Cooking - 2 min Cooling Time - 1 hrs refrigerating Yields - 6
Ingredients:
* 18 NESTLÉ CRUNCH Hearts, unwrapped, divided * NESTLÉ BUTTERFINGER Hearts * 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows * 1 tablespoon butter * 1 tablespoon light corn syrup * 1 1/2 cups corn flake cereal, crushed * 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional) * Vanilla ice cream * NESTLÉ NESQUIK Chocolate Flavor Syrup
Directions: GREASE 6 muffin cups.
MICROWAVE 12 Nestlé Hearts in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 50 seconds; STIR. The Nestlé Hearts may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted.
COMBINE marshmallows, butter and corn syrup in medium bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 15 seconds. Stir until marshmallows are almost melted. Add melted chocolate, cereal and coconut; mix well.
PRESS mixture onto bottoms and up sides of prepared muffin cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove chocolate boats carefully with a small spatula. Let stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
PLACE small scoop of vanilla ice cream inside each boat. Top each with 1 whole Nestlé Heart; drizzle with Nesquik.
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Must Have Of The Month!
Remember "Play Dough" & "Plastasine"
well now theres aromatherapy dough which helps soothe our mind!
Its a great stress buster!
Aroma Dough Stress Squeezer
The perfect gift for anyone who needs a little de-stressing. A formulation of Lavendar, Neroli, Geranium and Basil. Calming, enhances mental clarity. Aroma Dough is delightful therapeutic squishy stuff, beneficial and fun for adults, children, and everyone in between ! A perfect therapuetic alternative to the traditional stress balls, with the added benefit of aromatherapy from the essential oils!
Aroma Dough Motion MagicEver felt a bit queasy on a cross-channel ferry, the Irish Sea, or a bumpy flight ? We understand. Aroma Dough "Motion Magic" is a blancing blend of grapefruit, geranium and peppermint essential oils with moisturising oils, beeswax, and cocoa butter. Take your mind off the swell of the journey by squeezing the dough ... but NOT if you're driving! Aromatherapy dough infused with essential oils selected to settle, ease travel sickness and jetlag, and facilitate travel in comfort
Aroma Dough Sweet DreamsHad a busy day ? Difficulty "switching-off" and drifting off to sleep at the end of the day. Here is a simple non-fattening, non-addictive solution: Aroma Dough "Sweet Dreams" is a peacful blend of sweet orange, mandarin, and neroli essential oils with moisturising oils, beeswax, and cocoa butter. Aromatherapy dough infused with essential oils selected to encourage quiet play and induce sweet dreams. Don't miss-out on beauty sleep, enjoy sweet dreams
Counselling - both adults and children;
Dentists;
Energising;
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Humour!
Gloomy is very well know for her humour upon
Phobic Nest
&
Discovering little gems like these:
Remember, if you would like to view more of what takes place on
Phobic Nest
All you have to do is log in to our Forum which can be found here
