Category Archives: Self-doubt

    Diane Vich   →  Self-doubt
    Categories Advice, Anxiety, Emotional pain, Fear, flare up, freedom, Health, motivation, positivity, self-actualization, Self-doubt, Speak your mind, stress relief, Worry

    Rock Bottom to Awareness

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    How do you get up from rock bottom?

    What do you do when you fall on your butt?

    What do you do when it feels like everything is falling apart?

    What do you do when life keeps sending you obstacles that throw you off course?

     

    Life always seems to send obstacles and challenges to throw us of course.  These obstacles can create frustration, stress and anxiety within us.  The journey can be annoying and difficult when you allow the stressful emotions to take over.  But actually each unique challenge is meant to make us stronger as we learn and grow. I have had plenty of rock bottom moments.  So many moments that threw me completely off course because stress got in the way.  And in the heat of the moment getting caught in the overwhelm and frustration creates havoc in our lives.  I have made plenty of these mistakes by getting caught in overwhelm and losing sight of my goals, dreams and purpose.  The amazing thing I have learned is that even after really challenging moments, everything works out in our favor in the long run.  In the midst of chaos it appears that our world is caving in around us but after all the dust settles, we evolve and life is better.

     

    Think about a stressful moment in your past.  Something that felt overwhelming and frustrating in the moment.  Maybe it was a physical injury, a lost job, a break up, a big argument or an illness.  In the heat of the moment you likely got caught up in the stressful feelings making you feel helpless and hopeless.  The effects of this stressful moment can last hours, days, weeks or months.  Trust me I know that some of these obstacles can truly get in our way and make us feel like the world is against us.  I have felt that way plenty of times.  Now think about that same situation after a few months passed.  Things settled and life started to return to normal. Your drive and motivation returned.  And life returned to its typical pace.  And when you reflect on those events, you might notice that everything worked out. But it wasn’t exactly as you planned it. For example, back in November 2019, I had an upset customer throw my life completely off balance.  In the heat of the moment, I was caught in my stressful emotions and felt a deep dread and impending doom.  I was caught in negative emotions and let the stress take over my life for weeks.  During this stressful situation, I felt helpless, hopeless and alone.  And literally in that moment when it all transpired, I was alone.  It all happened when my husband was away with my oldest son.  I was home alone with my youngest.  And I could have been enjoying this fun bonding time with him.  But instead I was dealing with the subconscious self-limiting beliefs that made me spiral into a sense of fear and overwhelm.  I was so stressed and anxious that I completely felt like my world was caving in on me. And I forgot I had 15 years of amazing customer service on my side.  I forgot that everyone has a bad day sometimes.  I forgot that sometimes you can’t please everyone even when you do everything in your power to support them.  I forgot that I am amazing at my job and that my colleagues all new it.  I lost sight of who I am and I lost hope for everything.  And that extreme stress caused sudden emotional shifts and crying fits. And this wasn’t the first or the last intensely stressful situation.

     

    In the heat of the moment, I let stress, anxiety and fear get the best of me. The situation left me feeling drained, exhausted and frustrated on all levels. I was physically drained of energy.  I lost mental focus and productivity.  I was emotionally frustrated and overwhelmed.  The funny thing is that I know better.  I know the power of using your awareness to free your body and mind of negative emotions.  And I teach my clients to use their awareness to take action and get out of these situations.  But everyone makes mistakes, even me. Because the subconscious mind is more powerful than we can imagine.  And I let myself spiral into the old frustrated version of myself.  I lost sight of all the amazing things in my life because I let the stress of that situation get the best of me.  And when stress gets the best of you, it can completely take over your life.  And it did for quite a while, until I began to slowly take charge of my life again.

     

    That challenging moment kept getting in my way as my self-limiting beliefs and negative thoughts took over my mind.  It continued for a few months as I worked through those negative thoughts, feelings and emotions.   And as I dealt with the true root of the problem my awareness and clarity began to unveil itself.  I have always known the root cause of our emotional shifts come from deep in our past experiences.  The emotional turmoil feels like it is the result of the current situation.  But that deep sense of overwhelm and frustration stems from something way in our past that is imbedded in our subconscious mind.  These overwhelming emotions usually stem from our past childhood and adolescent experiences that were never processed or resolved thoroughly.  And I have worked through many but the subconscious mind always needs attention.

     

    I slowly regained my self-confidence, motivation and drive.  But the journey back was dreadful and I know it was my choice to allow that to take place.  I could have responded differently and ended the torment quickly.  Thankfully, my reputation for great customer service, kindness and compassion prevailed.  And that dreadful day slowly disappeared from my mind.  In that moment of intense anxiety, stress and overwhelm; I was stuck in emotions from the past.  I was processing emotions from my childhood as a Special needs child.  Most people don’t realize that I had a Learning Disability.  They can’t believe that a successful Nurse and Educator could possibly have had learning challenges.  But I did and the journey was not easy.  I worked hard to get out of special classes and eventually graduate with honors from High school and college. But my unprocessed emotions from my childhood were hidden far away in my subconscious mind.  I honestly had no memory or recollection of my experiences as a special needs child.  Actually my childhood was all a blur and I know now it is because I was always stuck in the fight or flight response.  I spent most of my life stuck in this dreadful state of overwhelm and my health declined progressively till I took charge in my 30s.  The stress response was always in motion for me creating havoc on my body physically and emotionally. Just to paint a little picture of what stress can do to your body. I had lost half of my hair by my 20s.  I had severe digestive issues that eventually required surgery and multiple prescriptions.  I had chronic pain and numbness that began in High school. And my health was at a point of crisis in my mid 30s.

     

    Now let’s jump back to the experiences with self-limiting beliefs as a special needs child.  I honestly had no recollection of my experiences as a special needs child until the dust settled after the incident in November.  I realized that all those intense emotions had nothing to do with the situation at hand.  But rather my physical and emotional response mirrored my childhood when I was bullied for being different.  I was teased and picked on because it took me longer to take tests.  I was teased because math and reading was harder for me.  I was ridiculed because I was different from everyone else.  I was isolated because I was the girl that had to leave mainstream class to go to several special classes during the day. I was made fun of because I was bigger and more voluptuous than girls my age.  I was under so much stress due to this emotional turmoil and frustration that I had completely blocked most of my childhood memories.  As a means of protection my mind literally shut down and hid most of my childhood memories, even the good ones.

     

    A few weeks after issue in November, the dust settled and life came back to normal. My career was intact and my overwhelming emotions had resolved.  And as families reached out to me for support to help their special needs children with anxiety a huge realization happened within.  And I finally realized bullying was part of my past that I had never recognized or recalled.  And I never would have realized that truth about my past if this challenge wasn’t placed in my path.  That customer through me off course because it was time for me to evolve and grow from that experience.  It was time for me to process the past and let go of those negative feelings that no longer serve me.  And I needed to realize that I had the power to decide if I would let people push my buttons.  I was finally in charge and I didn’t need to allow others to impact my emotional state or drain my energy anymore.  It is ironic because I knew that I needed to set boundaries, I even talk about it in my book, “The Truth about IBS and Anxiety.”  But I didn’t realize I needed to set clear boundaries with everyone including strangers.  It is funny how sometimes you need a slap in the face to wake up and see the clear picture in front of you.  It all worked out in the end and I learned from my mistakes.  But it took a while for the truth of this experience to enter my conscious mind.  And it all happened this week as a much more obvious obstacle came in my way.  And sometimes the challenge is a wakeup call.

     

    This week those pesky negative thoughts were pushing me once again. It all became clear after I literally fell on my butt.  This time it wasn’t an event that made me stumble and fall.  It wasn’t an argument or confrontation.  It was literally an internal fight within my mind that threw me off balance.  Let’s just say it started 20 minutes before the moment I lost my balance and fell on my butt.  And it occurred because I wasn’t practicing what I teach.  I wasn’t transforming the negative voice in my head.  I wasn’t using my awareness to set myself free from the stress.  Instead I was letting the negative voice take over my emotions and creating a sense of hopelessness once again.  Some people might call this negative voice, Chatty Cathy, but I call her Negative Nancy.  Or for the gentlemen I call him Negative Norm.  Let’s just say Negative Nancy was on overdrive in my mind and those thoughts were getting in my way.  And since I wasn’t paying attention, I was about to get a rude awakening. It was time for me to practice what I preach but I wasn’t listening or observing the message. I was falling back into my stress cycle and I needed a wakeup call to see it.  Something had to give for me to see clearly.

     

    And boom the signs were all about to become super clear once everything fell apart.  I stubbed my big toe. My subconscious mind didn’t budge and I kept allowing Negative Nancy to take over.  And as the helplessness grew in my mind, my anxiety began to take over.  My emotions of frustration were building and I was getting grumpy for no apparent reason.  The day had been beautiful, peaceful and relaxing but I was not feeling relaxed at all.  My mind was stuck on negative overdrive for no apparent reason.  The message was going to be very different this time.  And boom I stubbed my pinkie toe with metal.  This bump made me see stars as the sharp pain radiated up my body.  It was so hard there was an instant hematoma.  It hurt so bad I had to breathe deeply to catch my breath.  It took a few minutes to get blood flow back to my head because the pain was overwhelming.   I was seeing black spots as the pain slowly resolved itself.  A few minutes later I realized my toe was bleeding and went to clean it up.  But my negative mind was still at full force and things were about to tumble quickly.

     

    I had no idea that I was going to experience an epiphany as my life flashed before my eyes. I had my right foot on the counter as I tried to clean my pinkie toe. I leaned over to reach for a tissue paper that was just inches away from me. But my body was not stable or balanced.  And suddenly I lost my balance and my life flashed before my eyes.  I tried to grab the toilet and stop the tumble to the floor.  It all happened in super slow motion as I remembered all the other times I had fallen and injured myself over the last 40+ years.  I slowly went down twisting in midair till my butt hit the toilet rim. After the sharp intense thump on my butt and hip I stumbled to the ground.  I laid on the ground for several minutes taking it all in.  I took deep breaths to regain my vision and energy.  It took some deep breathing to relieve the intense sharp pain in my lower back and butt. In this brief moment of breathing and reflecting, I realized that each of these injuries could have been avoided.  All of those events were under my control but I had chosen to let the negative voice take over.  I avoided using my awareness to set me free from the stress and the stress clouded my vision.  It is interesting how life literally needs to throw a curveball for you to see clearly.

     

    I took it all in.  Step by step from the moment I walked out of the car feeling stressed out.  I was worried about something.  And the impending doom made those negative thoughts and emotions go haywire in my brain.  And when your mind goes haywire everything goes off balance.  It literally throws your entire day off balance.  I didn’t realize how powerful the subconscious self-limiting beliefs were until I reflected on the events that had occurred since November.  My anger and negative emotions took over until I felt it in my body.  Yep, that is exactly what happens, when you stub your toe, hit your funny bone, cut your finger, etc.  You are thinking of something that the universe, god or whoever you believe in wants you to stop obsessing over.  To make a point and create a sense of awareness within you something will happen.  And that means an event, accident or confrontation will come into your life to get you to open your eyes and see it.  And hopefully you get the message and stop the negativity and self-loathing.  Hopefully you stop breath and reflect. And wake up and Smell the coffee.  The life events that come into our path are all learning experiences.  And life is great at changing the subject when you are smack in the middle of a stressful situation.

     

    We have all felt extra stress during this quarantine.  As a nurse, I left so many close friends, family and colleagues at the frontline.  It has been devastating to be far away from them when they needed support and love.  Yet, my fear and negative thoughts kept getting in my way.  I let all those negative thoughts stop me from reaching out to them when they needed me most.  And I spent the last few weeks working up my strength and resilience to help those I love most.  And it was my awareness after falling on my butt, that made me realize, this moment is exactly where I am supposed to be.  I was given a gift to share with the world.  And I have been hiding it because of my own insecurities and self-doubt.  I have been hiding because I fear what people will think of my uniqueness.  But the truth is it doesn’t matter.  Because the people I love at the frontline deserve to see the silly side of me.  They deserve to have the funny girl that brings a smile, a joke and inspirational words into their days.  And if that means I get on Camera with a wig and make a funny joke as I teach a relaxation technique then so be it. So after falling on my butt, I realized that my uniqueness can inspire others to use their awareness to set themselves free from the turmoil within.  And I was inspired to create a unique experience for my friends and colleagues at the frontline.  So I created a video teaching some simple relaxation techniques wearing one of my wigs. So the moral of this story is get up and get out of your own way.  The world is sending me challenges and obstacles for you to evolve into the person you dream.  Sitting at the sidelines doesn’t serve anyone. So get up and get moving.  Your awareness and action can set you free from the stress that lies within.

    Categories Anxiety, Chronic Pain, Emotional pain, Empath, Empathy, fatigue, Fear, flare up, Fulfillment, Health, hope, Human Needs, motivation, Physical Pain, positivity, self-actualization, Self-doubt, Speak your mind

    An Empathic Awekening

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    What is empathy?  Empathy is a sense of understanding the feelings and experiences of another person.   Many of us are empathetic towards our friends, coworkers or family members experiences.  And we have some form of empathy this sense of every day in conversations or communication with others.  We may even experience empathy watching a movie, TV show or listening to a song.  There are many unique individuals that choose to live a life of empathy and service to others.  Those special individuals live a life of service in one form or another to better the lives of the world around them.  They often choose their profession because of their high sense of empathy and compassion towards others.  These loving individuals in the health care or service profession experience more empathic situations than others do because of their work environment.  For example, my profession healthcare (nurses, doctors, EMT, Medical Assistants, Fire fighters, etc.) experience much more empathy because their career choice is founded on helping others.  Every day they care for patients facing health challenges and they serve them in their role.  Each of their patients is facing unique experiences that involve some form of physical or emotional pain.  The healthcare workers role is empathic in and of itself, simply by their conscious decision to help others.  Many health care workers may experience added stress or health issues because of their career choice and the way they process these experiences.

    And yet there are still people that experience an extreme sense of empathy.  This highly exclusive gift is almost impossible for others to understand.  They experience empathy at a cellular level throughout their entire body.  You can’t imagine feeling this form of empathy unless you experience it first-hand.  Those enlightened individuals are empath’s and they feel exponentially more than everyone around them.  Empath’s are individuals with a gift of hypersensitivity.  Some may call it a curse but I call it a gift.  Of course to reach this point of awareness and acceptance was quite a journey for me and those around me.   Empath’s are hypersensitive to the feelings, thoughts, pains and emotions of others.  That little fact was even hard for me to understand even-though I had an intuitive feeling lingering in my mind for a long time.  The interesting fact is that many empaths (hypersensitive people) don’t even realize the extent of their empathy or the toll it can take on their own health.  For instance my career paths have always lead me to a trajectory of caring for others in various roles and environments.  My careers gradually transitioned and transformed from one career into the next in the service realm.   Every career choice was a compassionate one: Special Education Teacher, Nursing Assistant, Registered Nurse, Health Coach, Hypnotist and now Transformational Author.  These are all careers based on supporting the community by nurturing, caring, and loving others.  All of these career choices were based on love and a hope to make a difference.  They were each an opportunity to improve the lives of those around me.  I acknowledged my empath gift a few years ago but didn’t understand its true impact.  I had NO idea the significant role it played in my own emotional and physical wellbeing.  I had seen a rollercoaster decline in my health and happiness but had no idea my empathic gift was the culprit.  And truly it wasn’t the culprit at ALL now that I understand my gift.  The cause of my health decline was my lack of understanding and preparation to live with my special gift.  After all we may be born empathic but the cultivation of a deep connection with Your Inner Strength takes time.  It was my lack of knowledge that caused me to fail at meeting my own basic human needs.  It was a lack of self-loving, self-care practices that was my downfall.  It was my lack of knowledge about self-protection that truly opened my eyes.

    Imagine a person that is so open and willing to help others every second of everyday.  They are so willing that they do this subconsciously all day long, 365 days a year, over and over again.  And I mean in the moment and every moment.  It could be a text message, phone call, face to face conversation or care-giver relationship.  You name the situation and my body was ready to tackle it. And I had no idea it was happening for almost 38 years.  I was effortlessly absorbing feelings, thoughts, emotions, pain and experiences of those around me.   I absolutely mean absorb because that is what empaths do.    And that is exactly what I used to do every day.  I was completely oblivious and unaware it was happening.  I did it with patients, complete stranger, friends, family members, co-worker, etc. It didn’t matter who it was if they were in pain I was ready to fix them or give them a little relief.  The true awakening began when I noticed TV shows and movies triggered intense feelings.

    Hypersensitive people are extremely sensitive to the energetic vibrations, emotions, thoughts and feelings of others.  This weird phenomena can actually allow them to absorb the feelings, thoughts and emotions of others into their bodies.  I know it sounds crazy because until I experienced it for myself I thought it was a crazy too.  Then I started to feel intense emotions during movies and TV shows.  The most significant experiences I had were watching Game of Thrones or other violent shows.  And the most traumatic scenes in the first few episodes of Game of Thrones were the hardest for me to handle. I could feel the good, the bad and the ugly.  I could feel everything as if it was happening to me.  I could see the pain in Kalisi’s eyes as her new husband raped her.  I could feel her pain when her brother treated her like garbage.  It wasn’t always negative or bad.  I felt the good ones too.  I could feel her love transform into something new for her husband.  And when I say feel, I mean my heart would race, my blood would boil, the emotions would pop into my head and fill my entire body. I could feel her fear; her shame and it took a lot of work to be able to watch the few episodes that I did.  We tried to watch it years ago but it was too violent and at that point I hadn’t established a self-love routine.  This past year we tried to watch it again and every time those rough and tough emotions came up I practiced my own routine on the couch amidst the chaotic show.  Yep, I changed my breathing pattern, I chanted affirmations in my mind, I practiced my stretching and relaxation techniques to release those emotions that had entered me.  It was an exhausting process and eventually we stopped watching the show.  I truly thought it was an amazing show but it was a lot of work to stay relaxed and calm because I hadn’t learned how to protect myself yet.

    After this phenomena, I was more aware of feelings and emotions in my body.  I started to feel weird sensations in my body during conversations with friends, coworkers and family members.  I began experiencing pain in areas that had been pain free for years.  Random pains would emerge once again.  Sometimes the pain would vanish after some self-love routines and others would last for days or even weeks.  You see I still hadn’t learned a crucial element to prevent or limit this phenomenon.  And truly this little crucial element is beneficial to everyone not only empaths because it promotes your own resiliency by building your own inner strength.

    Have you ever had a conversation and suddenly your head hurts?  Or Your shoulders tense up?  or  You get a sharp pain in your stomach?  Once, I started to put things together and realize this was my reality I began to ask myself questions.  Why does my back hurt?  What is the message my body is sending?  Suddenly, I started to ask myself a lot of questions.  This little practice began several months ago.  I began to see patterns with friends, family and strangers.  I realized that many pains that arouse in my body were not mine: back pain, shoulder pain or headache.  I’m not sure if they experienced any relief but suddenly after the conversation ended, I had their pain too.  Some might say its psychological, you are imagining it but I wasn’t.  They didn’t tell me they were in pain, I wasn’t assessing them as a nurse does, yet boom it came.  Then later on in the day they would mention they had a headache or their right shoulder hurt and it confirmed what my intuition had already told me.  And when I say I had pain I mean it.  My muscles were tight and tender, I was less flexible.  My muscles would making popping and snapping noises and activities became harder to perform.   Let’s just say the things I had worked so hard to relieve started pilling back up again.  My arm pain or back pain would be debilitating once again.

    It would happen suddenly in the middle of a conversation, my neck suddenly tightened and tensed up causing a radiating pain.  Then I would take some time to meditate, breath and relax.  I would ask myself.  Is this my pain mine or someone else’s? Boom, a name would pop into my head.  Then I would think about the conversation and any visual cues I had received.  Maybe the person was rubbing their neck or told me they had a headache.  I usually didn’t know they were in pain during the conversation.  Mysteriously symptoms would arise all the time out of absolutely thin air.  It helped me understand a little more why working bedside in the Pediatric Emergency Room was so difficult for me.  Being such a loving person and trying to heal the pain of those beautiful little children had eventually taken a toll so huge that I had to leave them behind.   But I hadn’t figured this out until now.   And I left bedside nursing more than 9 years ago because I left when my oldest was little.  You see I have been taking care of myself for years already and my chronic pain is pretty much non-existent.  I literally had to give up bedside care because my body couldn’t take it and my doctor was worried I was going to die if it continued.  Fast forward to this year, I am aware that I can feel these intense emotions and am creating a routine to relax and calm but I’m still missing a key element protection.  I get flare ups here and there but the extent of my pain is never close to what it was 6 or 7 years ago.  Then I travel to Hawaii with my family.  People that I love more than anything in the world.  People that I would give my life for and obviously if I absorb the pain of strangers my body was open and ready to take on their pain too.  Traveling in a group is always stressful.  We all know that it’s hard to please everyone and I always try to please everyone.  So I did, I used my ho’oponopono and my self-loving practices blessing everyone in my family.  I blessed them all every single one of them all day long.  If there was a family argument I blessed them.  If the kids were fighting I blessed them.  If we couldn’t agree on a tour, I blessed them.  If we were in a car for a long time and tension was running high, I blessed them.  I thought I was helping myself in the process that the blessings would help me remain peaceful, calm and protected.  They helped me stay peaceful and calm but I definitely wasn’t protected.  Each day I was exhausted and drained.  I would fall asleep early and wake up exhausted.  I didn’t realize I was missing some crucial steps in my process until I returned from Hawaii and read a book that arrived as a gift from my Publisher. Ramses Rodriguez’s book “Stop Pressing Your Own Panic Button” opened my eyes to my gift.  It also brought to light a doctor that has my special gift.  She has dedicated her career to help people understand their gift and protect themselves. Dr. Judith Orloff wrote the “The Empath’s Survival Guide” really opened my eyes.  I began to listen to her book on audible and them progressed to purchasing her program for additional insight.  And suddenly it all made sense, the exhaustion and the desire to rush home early from Paradise.  By the end of my trip to Hawaii, I was exhausted, drained and overwhelmed.  The lack of protection for myself caused me to feel completely overwhelmed and snappy.  I was snapping at people, grumpy and making hasty decisions because I just couldn’t take any more stress.  I had spent the entire trip blessing everyone around me and had lost myself.  I had lost my happy, positive attitude and upbeat personality.  I was at complete exhaustion and the only thing I could think about was getting home.  I still oblivious of my true gifts and the impact it was having on my own health.  I hadn’t developed a protection routine for myself because I didn’t know I needed one.  I was still taking on the emotions, thoughts, pains and energies of everyone around me even though I didn’t want to. And thus my Empath awakening happened. It has been a few weeks since we returned from that spectacular trip that enlightened me to the true powers of my gifts.  It also helped me realize the importance of creating a routine for myself that truly gave me resilience and happiness.  The funny thing I learned along the way is these little routines that I have are not only beneficial to me but everyone around me.  This week a course came into my email at Baptist called “Highly Resilient Nurses” that cemented this little fact in my mind.  The course spoke of some of the practices I have developed for myself over the past few years.  My practice is still significantly different than anything I have encountered out in the world.  But I realize now that I am on the right path and that Hawaii was the trip that brought my true awakening to light.  After all we all need to fall to stand up again.  We all need to crawl to walk.  We all need to hurt to heal.  So now it’s time to write the Transformation book I was born to write.

     

    So Here is a little gift.  I created it for all those empath’s out there.  Those Special people like me that feel more than the rest.  Those people that have a unique gift and were born to help the world around them.  And maybe even live in the health care world like I do.  Take time for yourself to listen and relax before you begin your day.  Create a sense of protection for yourself every morning.  This practice of self-love will make your day Fabulous.  Blessings and Joy to all of you. Click the image below to list to the Meditation.

    Morning Meditation
    Empathic Awakening
    Categories Advice, Anxiety, freedom, Health, hope, positivity, self-actualization, Self-doubt

    Fight the Fear

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Fighting your fears is definitely a life changing experience.  I never thought I would be where I am today.  This past year has been an enlightening and nurturing experience.  We all have fears in our lives.  The biggest problem with fears happens when they overwhelm us and hold us back in life.  If we let the fears win then we don’t get to live the life we deserve.  Letting our fears get the better of us causes us to let our dreams dwindle away.  Thankfully I didn’t let that happen. Fighting my fears has been an uphill battle and the ultimate learning experience.  Learning my triggers and challenges through awareness has been an enlightening experience.  Tackling your fears is a slow process but worth every moment.  We need to start with the fears that impact us in our daily lives and progressively work up to the really difficult ones.  We face fears everyday during our regular life experience.  They can come up during conversations, work, daily life, music, television and even social media.  I started with little fears that were impacting my creativity and voice.  Its hard for many to believe that I had a fear of creating videos, public speaking and writing.  I was able to tackle my fears by reframing the subconscious blocks in my mind that made me believe I wasn’t worthy of achieving my dreams.  I learned to develop strategies to cope with the stressful physical response fears created in my body.  Over time I learned exactly what helped me relax, unwind and connect with my inner sense of calm.  Everyone has their own unique interests and coping mechanisms to deal with stress.  We don’t always know the techniques that work until we begin to invest in ourselves and find strategies that are proven to work to relieve stress.  Over time I developed my proactive approach to stress management which brought me my sense of happiness and joy.  The interesting thing that happens when you begin to unravel your fears is you true path in life emerges.  When you clean away the debris stress leaves behind inside our bodies it uncovers your passions and desires.  The path to emergence creates a proactive approach to overcome obstacles and challenges.  Developing this proactive approach which I now call my happiness framework took me almost a year to solidify and reinforce.  The interesting fact that emerged this week is that everything I have done to tackle the little things actually works for the big fears.  As I thought back to my past experiences with travel and airplanes I realize that fear used to shut me down in life.  I used to need a prescription to deal with the stress of travel and the anxiety that built when I felt confined in an airplane.  I remember my last long flight to Europe wasn’t an easy task and the only reason I was able to deal with it was because I had Celexa and Ativan on hand.  I am so thankful that I found my way out of the prescription patch up and developed a true proactive approach to deal with my stress.  I was a completely different person on the flight to Hawaii.  This was by far the longest flight I have ever taken.   Two separate flights lasting about 11 hours total.  The true test of my happiness framework came during the 8 hour flight to Honolulu.  Not only was I on a huge plane for 8 hours the seating arrangements were less than idea.  I was traveling with my boys but we were separated by strangers.  I was too far away to speak to them but close enough to see them.  It was impossible to get their attention to ask a question or to get something from them.  You see I was stuck in the center seat between two complete strangers.  And they were also stuck in two center seats between two strangers.  The old me would have been overwhelmed and panicked by this situation.  Instead I used everything that I new worked for me to connect with my inner calm and relaxation.  I listened to meditations and hypnosis sessions focused on empowerment, true purpose, wealth and abundance.  I glanced at my boys during the flight and filed with happiness at the peace and calm that they were experiencing.  I calmly closed my eyes and focused on centering myself through breathing and feeling.  Any emotions that came up during that long flight were washed away quickly allowing the sense of calm to grow.  When I was tired of relaxing I played tetris and listened to my dance album.  The old me would have been worried about what others thought of me and what I was doing but I truly didn’t care.  At times a song would come up that made me want to dance and I did.  Granted I was still stuck is a chair between two people but I wiggled and moves my arms in that tiny space jamming to the beat.  Sometimes I was so entranced in the song that I would close my eyes and jam even deeper.  I’m sure people walked by and thought I was a little strange but I didn’t care.  I didn’t care because I’ve learned and weird is a good thing.  I’ve learned that being myself is empowering and that no one can take that from me.  I’ve learned that the only person that needs to feel comfortable with it is me.  In a long day like this one tons of emotions came up but I let them flow easily and effortlessly.  Experiences from your past will pop into your head at any time and any situation but allowing yourself to feel centered and calm releases their hold on you.  When things would pop up I used Ho’oponopono, stretching and self-hypnosis to release them.  This unique proactive approach kept me feeling serene in a less than ideal situation.  I would normally have been pacing up and down the isle or worried about my kids but I felt completely aligned, safe and relaxed.  The flight was long and exhausting but fear didn’t get in my way.  It was truly an empowering experience to see that everything I had put into place for myself over the past year was exactly what I needed.  There was no longer a need for prescriptions to fog my brain or hide my experiences.  I am thankful for the journey to enlightenment because it truly set me FREE to live the life I desired and dreamed.  I am thankful that I can use everything I’ve learned to help others find their peace and calm.  It truly is a beautiful day.  I may be exhausted and unsure of the time but I know that my peace and calm is here to stay.  So if you want to connect with your sense of calm and inner strenght, check out my Facebook Group: Unleash Your Inner Strength today. I will begin posting videos today from Hawaii.  There will be some videos on You-tube as well but the bulk of the content will only be in Facebook.  I invite you to connect with your sense of calm in any situation.  You are powerful and resilient too.  It just takes a little guidance and support to get you feeling centered again.

    Categories Advice, Anxiety, depression, Fear, Health, motivation, Self-doubt

    Thrive in Your Life

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Some days are filled with challenges or obstacles. They can be internal or external. The external ones impact our body in many ways.  Some of us get headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, etc.  There are many physical responses that happen when you are stuck in Fear.  They are all due to our bodies fight or flight response.   It happens in the moment and it is intense.  It could happen for many different reasons and in many different situations.  It could be a confrontation by a superior or elder.  It could be a conversation that made you upset.  It could be a TV show that triggered some emotions.  But the fact is that they all stem from the subconscious beliefs we made in childhood.  It was based on our experiences and lack of coping mechanisms.  We simply were never taught how to deal with our emotions: anger, sadness, fear, worry, shame, guilt, etc.  We had no idea what to do with them.  And the way we dealt with these challenges before impacts the way we react now.  The interesting fact I learned this past year is that you can Thrive in Your life.  The tricky part that most people don’t realize is that it requires an investment in self-improvement and development.  Yes, that’s right, an investment in YOURSELF.  You can make little changes here and there by reading books and taking free courses but you still feel stuck.  The shift just doesn’t happen because your subconscious still doesn’t believe you Really DESIRE the change.  Trust me I’ve felt it and I’ve been there multiple times.  You take two steps forward thinking you are on top of the world, just to fall back on your ass when the next obstacle hits.  Yep, exactly you read a book and started to change the way you react to confrontation.  You are doing well and then suddenly someone you absolutely love and admire, throws you a curveball and boom you are back to square one.  Your body responds once again with a deep sense of Fear and the fight or flight response happens again and again.  Then one day I decided to truly get out of my comfort zone and surround myself with powerful, successful business women and entrepreneurs.  They were women I admired and honor for their courage and accomplishments.  Women that have overcome hardships and turmoil to get to where they are and I realized that was exactly what I needed.  It took time and investments to make the shift in my life but it all focused on Self-Development and Self-Improvement.  And when I speak of an Investment, I mean monetary investment and time.  The truth about psychology of the mind is that if there isn’t a monetary contribution then You won’t make time and truly invest in the transformation.  So I did, I took a leap, I cried and second guessed myself many times but in the end I took a leap.  I took the leap because I deserved better than the life I was living.  My family deserved the best version of me.  I had worked on improving my health for 6 years but the anxiety was still there.  I had to work on that subconscious and I had to actively get out of my comfort zone.  And the investment simply motivates and pushes you to do it.  I attended networking meetings, weekly meetings, coaching courses and online programs.  Each activity brought me a step closer to where I wanted to be.  Nothing worth achieving is Easy.  Nothing worth earning is FREE.  You need to put the time, money and effort into your Transformation.  And I did, just that and it finally stuck.  And I know it stuck because I finally took action for myself regardless of the obstacles that came my way.  I finally didn’t let a confrontation, conversation or challenge stop me in my tracks.  I used everything I learned through my health journey and my personal improvement to transform myself.  That meant actively responding to my self-Awareness and taking Action.  Then suddenly everything fell into place.  Obstacles came and went but I kept moving forward.  Confrontation made me uncomfortable and I took action.  Taking action through awareness means feeling your emotions and sitting with them.  Then the true Action happens, using everything you’ve learned and practiced to regain your composure,  focus, commitment and drive.  That’s right, you get down and dirty to fix the problem in the moment.  That’s when you feel the SHIFT.  You notice that conversation didn’t bother your quite as much as before.  Your notice the self-care and self-love you invested in the moment worked.  You realize that you are actively creating again and that your future is coming.  This only happens when you are ALL into the Change you Desire.  When you desire change and truly want to transform then you will achieve it. But first you need to Invest in yourself and Your personal development. Then everything will fall into place exactly how you desire. You can THRIVE in LIFE when YOU INVEST in YOURSELF.  That’s right, Imagine you are Thriving. FEEL NATURALLY AMAZING with a little self loving and nurturing for YOU.  Sounds to good to be true. Nope it is Powerful and Achievable.

    Some people need a visual of how Awareness and Action works.  Here it is:  A few weeks ago I woke up completely exhausted and unmotivated for anything.  It was time to go to work and get things done, so I needed to suck it up and move Right.  But remember this, I woke up like a zombie. I drove to work like a zombie in autopilot.   I had zero energy, my eyes were droopy and I felt like I hadn’t slept in weeks.  I was completely drained and unmotivated to work or even think. I need to act quickly to shift things. Which meant taking ACTION to switch from a snail pace to a Productive and Powerful day. Then, I took ACTION: I stumbled out of the car to grab some things from the back of the car (yoga mat, Kasina glasses, sound bowls and ear buds).  I Stumbled to the lake like a sleepy kid to Meditate, Breath and Rejuvenate. I set everything up and laid down.  I put in my ear buds and Kasina lenses to stimulate alpha waves.   I used the techniques I have developed over the year to relax, unwind and focus.  I Listened to a meditation (made specifically for me), practiced my relaxation techniques and 20 min later…I was ENERGIZED and feeling FANTASTIC.  One funny thing happened in the middle of this little relaxation session that could have thrown me into Fear and Worry.  An employee at the Hospital actually thought something was wrong with me.  Remember all my senses were involved so I didn’t hear or feel him approaching.  When he said, “Excuse me man, Are you ok?”  I heard him and lifted the glasses up.  LMAO I actually screamed.  I am someone that startles easily so thinking back that poor man must have freaked out.  I told him I was fine and jumped back in for the last few minutes.  My heart slowly slowed its pace, my breath relaxed and my body settled once again.  I finished my routine and I was Vibrant, Motivated and Energized.  The obstacle that happened didn’t stop me from my goal of getting back in my groove.  You can THRIVE IN LIFE with more Self-love, Positivity and Nurturing. You are POWERFUL.

    Categories Anxiety, Developmental Delays, Fear, hope, kids, motivation, positivity, Self-doubt, Speak your mind, Worry, young brain

    School of Stress

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    School stress is a normal part of life, Right? I am not the only person that got anxious for tests or presentations. I am not the only person that developed an upset stomach during Final exams. Have you ever had to rush out of an exam to explode in the bathroom? Yep literally, my stress and anxiety caused severe IBS. It was always an issue since at least 8th grade. I bet if you are reading this now, at some point in your life you remember a time during your education where STRESS was on your mind and evident in your BODY. Maybe it was a teacher that spoke to you in a negative way or put you down. Maybe it was an obstacle you faced early on in your education that caused you to loose a little self-confidence or created a little self-doubt. Maybe, your parents were very strict and expected perfect grades adding extra pressure to an already stressful experience. The cause of the stress response is usually related to a deeply engrained emotional reaction in you subconscious mind. Trust me, I had no idea this was possible until almost a year ago. I thought anxiety was a perfectly normal part of life. I though that it was just my way of dealing with school. It was normal for me to study my butt off, know everything by heart and blank out on a test. It was normal for me to second guess myself and switch the answer on the test. Then I would spend nights worrying some more after the test was over. And then reviewing tests, I began to recognize a pattern over the years. My gut first answer was usually right but I always managed to second guess myself and change it.

    Looking back now, I realize that my insecurities were linked to my learning disabilities and family history of learning disabilities. I developed this fear of school that progressively got worse over time. I developed a sense of self-doubt and worry that impacted me throughout my career. I didn’t let it stop me though, I pushed through and managed to graduate High-School with honors. I pushed through it, over and over again. Two careers and Master’s education didn’t seem to stop me but deep down the insecurities blocked me from finding my true purpose. Some how, I managed to graduate with honors time after time but the impact on my body was pretty catastrophic over the years. The Negative thoughts impacted me during my Master’s degree to a point of absolute panic. I actually remember a day where my research paper completely vanished off my computer. The file vanished. AHHH! Seriously, it completely disappeared a few minutes before the submission deadline. My stress and anxiety hit me hard and fast. It felt like a kick in my chest. Fear overwhelmed me and worry made me feel helpless. I dropped down to the floor in a panic and cried uncontrollably until thankfully my husband found it. I had never experienced such an intense stress response before. It was the peak of my chronic illness, anxiety and stress. It was my worst panic to date and I thought I was doomed but everything worked out. Thankfully, as I mentioned before I was a great student and my paper was amazing. Somehow, I surpassed my own internal fears and worry to graduate with honors, once again. But these embedded childhood challenges continued to arise throughout my life. Self-doubt, fear and worry would impact me in all aspects of life. I finally decided something had to shift. I realized that these negative feelings were not aligned with my path in life. I had succeeded and overcome so much, it was time for my mind to catch up and wake up. It was time to shift this crazy negative mindset and leave the past in the past. It was time to believe in myself and release the past. No one deserves to live a life of self-doubt, worry and fear. Everyone deserves to THRIVE NATURALLY in their own skin. Everything fell into place at the right moment in time. I was READY. I was willing. And I was dedicated to finding my path. INVEST in YOURSELF. You deserve to THRIVE. You deserve to feel Healthy. You deserve to feel Prosperous too.

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