Do you deal with change without so much as a bad word or thought? Or do you let your thoughts and intentions known? Are you someone who likes to make their intentions clear? Or do you hide them behind a bad attitude or negative reactions? How do you deal with change?

Are you someone who struggles with change? Does it make you irritable or uncomfortable? Is change something you avoid or do you just go with the flow? Or are you someone who embraces or enjoys change?

Personally, I am someone who generally embraces change but there are times when I find change extremely uncomfortable and confronting. So, how do I deal with this?

What happens? Does your heart rate increase? Do you find yourself starting to sweat? Does you rate of breathing increase? If you answered YES to any or all of these scenario’s, you are not alone.

I have suffered from stress and anxiety for most of my adult life… damn, let’s be honest, I suffered throughout childhood as well! And I’m sure we have all suffered from stress or anxiety attacks in some form at some stage of our lives.

Everyone is different. We all suffer in different ways and with different intensities.

The secret is to find a stress reliever that works for you! If I was caught on the spot I would introduce the following:

✔️ Deep breathing (don’t underestimate this). Concentrate on your breathing and nothing else. If you able to take time out and count up to ten deep breaths, concentrating on nothing but your breathing, then go with it. Deep breathing releases stress.

✔️ Visualise yourself being super confident. Stand tall, shoulders back, chin up, eyes forward. Plant a small smile (or smirk) on your face if need be 🙂

✔️ Imagine yourself as a super-hero! Yeah, I know, sounds stupid right? But you know what? Just try it. Imagine yourself as Wonder Woman. Standing tall, shoulders back, hands on hips, feet at hip width apart, eyes forward (add that little smirk if you feel like it). Take a couple of deep breaths once in this position. How do you feel now?

Anyone who tries to judge you now is going to see nothing but a super confident woman. Believe me. And yes, this is a caricature of me 🙂 I once had long hair!

I am terribly shy and introverted. It takes me a LONG time to let anyone into my inner circle. I can count my closest friends on one hand. And these people are mainly friends I have had since I was in school. I am not the most sociable person in the world (to be honest, I find it so completely draining to be around people I don’t know, cue migraine and exhaustion). But to get past those obstacles, I have personally used the above tips, and believe me when I tell you, they TOTALLY work!