Uncategorized

Positive Thinking in Action

Where you been? Hi everybody - long time no post.  Here's the deal.  My life has been not great.  Last year I settled into a huge deep giant funk so I did what all smart people in a funk should do, and I went to my doctor. I was diagnosed with depression and provided with an antidepressant. Life got a little bit better, but not spectacular. I was plugging along, living my life, but I was not living my best life, and worse, I wasn't doing anything about that. Talk About a Kick in the Pants Amazingly, something happened that kicked me in the proverbial buttocks and got me thinking in a more positive manner, and you will never believe what it was. I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I know, how could that make someone think more positively?  It's a honest question, and as you know, I've never been one to pull my punches, so I'm going to give you an honest answer.  If you want the full breast cancer story, you can read about it in The Breast Cancer Diaries. So I was due for my mammogram in August, 2022, but the building that houses the place were…

Comments Off on Positive Thinking in Action
January 29, 2023
Uncategorized

Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off: What to Do After a Relapse

  You feel like you’ve failed, let everybody—including yourself—down. You were doing so well, attending meetings, staying away from your trigger areas, and exercising and eating well. Then, you suddenly, for whatever reason, take that one drink or drug and everything you’ve worked so hard for has vanished in an instant.   Relapse can happen during recovery. It’s a risk you take for choosing to be sober, but it is not a sign of failure. According to Dr. David Sack in Psychology Today, “Studies suggest that nearly half of all individuals who try to get sober return to heavy use,” with “70 to 90 percent experiencing at least one mild to moderate slip.”   If you’ve had that moderate slip, or if you returned to heavy usage, Think Positive 30 encourages you to do these three things.   Try to Avoid Additional Stressful Situations   As if relapsing from sobriety isn’t stressful enough, additional stressors in your life can trigger you. If you’re returning to work after some time in rehabilitation, or for any other reason, consider how you will handle any sudden increase in stress levels. There is a strong connection between workplace stress and alcohol and drug abuse,…

Comments Off on Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off: What to Do After a Relapse
April 9, 2022
Uncategorized

Once Upon a Time, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Well not Once Upon a Time, but Once Before Covid, and not in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, but in my own personal galaxy, I came up with an idea.  I had been working, kind of sort of, on a young adult novel, when I was struck by an idea.  I wanted to write a companion book to my book Thinking Positive: Take the Journey into Positivity.  Then covid struck and my life was turned upside down.  I foolishly thought, as a teacher who was now working from home, that I would have PLENTY of time to write.  I was wrong, so, so wrong.   I worked more hours than I could ever imagine recreating curriculum, and reaching out to kids trying to help, begging them to do work and just making sure they were okay.  Summer brought more of the same.  Things changed a little bit in the fall.  We were still remote, but it was more structured, and I found that I did have more time, but something had happened.  It was a not good something.  I started listening to the voices in my head.  You know those voices, the ones that tell you your too fat, or stupid,…

Comments Off on Once Upon a Time, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away
June 6, 2021
Uncategorized

How to Make Your Wellness a Priority 

  After a grueling year finding our way through the pandemic, things are slowly but surely returning to some sense of normalcy. But with all the stress that we experienced from COVID-19, you may have found it tough to keep up with your normal healthy habits and routines. If you feel like your wellness has taken a seat on the back burner, you aren’t alone—and it’s never too late to pick up where you left off!   If the thought of returning to your pre-pandemic habits and routines makes you want to crawl into bed and hide, don’t fret. With the help of the right tools and strategies, you can remove the overwhelm and ease your way back into the process. Assess Your Wellbeing Before you can make any concrete goals, it’s important to take some time to assess where you are now and what areas of life you’d most like to focus on. Maybe your sleep hygiene flew out the window, or you stopped taking your daily walks. Wherever you currently stand, what matters is you analyze what parts of your life matter most to you.   You might find that your list of goals is miles long and…

1 Comment
May 27, 2021
Uncategorized

Gratitude Rocks – Help Spread the Message

Have you ever seen the cute, hand painted rocks with inspirational messages outside?  People are encouraged to pick up a rock that speaks to them.  Well those rocks have to come from somewhere, right?  They do, people make them and leave them in places for other people to find. I'm here to ask a favor if you are a crafty individual who paints rocks like this.  On the ones I make, I add the url to Think Positive 30 - www.thinkpositive30.com.  Why?  My goal is to spread positivity wherever I can - to share the message that I deliver here daily.  If you do decorate rocks like this and leave them out and about for others to find, would you consider adding the url to Think Positive 30 every once in a while.  With your help, we can spread the message of positivity and positive thinking farther than ever!

Comments Off on Gratitude Rocks – Help Spread the Message
May 1, 2021
Uncategorized

I Manifested one of my Biggest Dreams

A few years ago, I manifested something.  I am a huge believer in the Law of Attraction, I have vision boards, and I truly believe in the concept of Ask, Believe, Receive.  One of my huge dreams/goals/vision board items was to be a published author.  Now here's the thing, the law of attraction wasn't going to write a book for me, edit it, design a cover and submit it for publication.  And I think that's an important thing to remember.   If you want to manifest a healthy body - you are still the one that is going to have to eat better and exercise.  The Law of Attraction will maybe be bringing you the will power to do it. So as I said, one of my biggest life dreams was to write a book and I did it.  The Law of Attraction helped me to find my muse.  Led me to and editor, helped me find someone to do the kindle formatting and helped me upload it to Amazon Direct Publishing and voila - book on kindle. In the interim, I took a couple of writing classes and that brought me other options.  I learned about an amazing resource called…

Comments Off on I Manifested one of my Biggest Dreams
February 22, 2021
Uncategorized

44 Positive Affirmations for Depression to Inspire Change

Originally posted at ECounsiling.com 44 Positive Affirmations for Depression to Inspire Change By MS Broudy, Ph.D November 12, 2020 Have you ever given yourself a pep talk? You may not have realized it, but you were practicing a form of positive affirmation. Coping with depression can be discouraging and debilitating. Vocalizing certain phrases about yourself can provide a much-needed lift and motivate you toward positive change. Affirmations are a simple and useful tool that can help with depressive symptoms. What Is a Positive Affirmation? A positive affirmation is a self-statement that emphasizes your strengths, values, and favorable qualities. According to cognitive theory, depression is caused by distorted negative beliefs. Positive affirmations can be used to counter negative perceptions and bolster confidence in your abilities. For instance, you can replace the thought, “Nobody will ever love me” with the affirmation “I am worthy of love.” Many people who use affirmations recommend standing in front of a mirror as they repeat specific phrases to themselves, but you can perform them anywhere you feel is comfortable and effective. For increased success, it is suggested you practice your affirmations at least twice daily. Do Affirmations Work? Positive affirmations have been associated with multiple factors…

Comments Off on 44 Positive Affirmations for Depression to Inspire Change
February 13, 2021
Uncategorized

Being Positive in 2020

If there was ever a year that was the antithesis of thinking positive, it would be 2020.  Dealing with covid-19 is hard.  People are dying from this, and that's tragic.  You would think during this horrible time, we'd all come together and support one another, but that isn't happening, and for me, that is why this year is all about negativity. I spend a lot of time on Facebook, probably too much time if we're being totally honest, and what I see posted there breaks my heart.  Here in the states, I've seen an election tear a country apart.  Prior to that, I saw a president that did not reflect any of the values I believe in.  I've seen people belittle one another over their political choices.  I've seen friendships end, and I've even seen families torn apart. I've seen people belittle one another over the wearing of masks, and amazingly, I've seen people complain that some groups of people are working from home.  On a personal front, I've seen parents saying the most horrible things about teachers, blaming the fact that schools are closed on teachers.  News flash...teachers don't have that power. I feel bruised and battered and beaten…

Comments Off on Being Positive in 2020
December 21, 2020
Uncategorized

How Negative Thoughts and Emotions Affect Our Skin (+ 6 Tips To Change That)

Image source   All processes in our body are controlled by the nervous system. At the same time, the strongest bonds connect it with the skin, since they are the real embryological twins. Let us explain what this means. During the development of the embryo, the spinal cord and brain, peripheral nerves and epidermis are created from one material — the ectoderm, the outer germ layer of the embryo. And then these systems exchange a never-ending stream of messages for your whole life.   The relationship between the state of mind and skin   In dermatology, there is a section of psycho dermatology — a discipline at the junction with psychology. It studies the connection between skin conditions and our emotional background. And this is not surprising: the condition of the skin directly depends on the psyche.   The effects of stress   It is known, for example, that stress can worsen the course of such skin diseases like  dermatitis, psoriasis, etc. And, conversely, skin diseases, during which acne, irritation, dryness are observed, can cause severe stress. In addition, stress negatively affects healthy skin.   Some scientific works have proved that on the background of stress, the permeability of the…

Comments Off on How Negative Thoughts and Emotions Affect Our Skin (+ 6 Tips To Change That)
September 27, 2020
Author / Book / Daily Positive Thought

Now is the Time to Think Positive – Free Book

Hi Everyone, I know our world is in a huge kerfluffle right now.  This virus - Covid 19 is serious.  People all over the world are getting sick, and people are dying.  We're social distancing, quarantining as needed, and in some cases going into shelter in place.  It's scary, it's depressing, it's overwhelming and it's very negative.  My school will start remote teaching/learning on Monday and everybody's stress level is through the roof.  I can only imagine that it's like that pretty much everywhere for all sorts of different reasons. During this time, it's so easy to fall into negative, defeatist thinking, but that's the last thing we want to do!  The goal is to remain as upbeat and positive as possible.  I want to do my part to help you.  I'm making the ebook version of Thinking Positive: Take the Journey into Positivity free on Amazon.  It's free, starting tomorrow, for the next 5 days, so if you don't have a copy yet, now is your chance to download it for free.  I'm hoping to get the companion Book The Thinking Positive Toolbox ready for publication in the next week to help people remain positive in this very trying…

Comments Off on Now is the Time to Think Positive – Free Book
March 20, 2020