Anxiety

How do we combat anxiety? Advice from our resident therapists and real-life stories offer you steps to overcome your anxiety while acknowledging that it’s ok to seek help.

Hernan Sanchez 4 Things You Need to Know About Pre-Wedding Jitters

4 Things You Need to Know About Pre-Wedding Jitters

By / Relationships

Getting married is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make because it really is life-changing. As well as you might know the person to whom you’re pledging your love and loyalty—for better or worse—you simply cannot know what your future will hold (try as you might). Of course, you have hopes and dreams and can imagine what your life together might be like… But you cannot be certain. And uncertainty can make the best of us a bit jittery, especially as the big day draws closer and everything becomes more real. Many women wonder if these feelings during their engagement are red flags. Is it normal to feel this way or is there something wrong in the relationship? Should you be […]

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Ask Dr. Zoe – How Do I Handle My Friend’s Anxiety?

By / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Tired Friend’ Asked: How do you deal with a friend with a mental illness? I have a friend with anxiety who really grinds my gears. At this point, I just want to walk away from the friendship. It just takes too much work. Too much biting of my tongue and I’m just not willing to commit to that. Not at this point in my life. Any help would be appreciated. Dr. Zoe Answered: Your feelings about your friend probably say less about her anxiety and more about the health of your relationship. If the relationship were strong, you would probably be asking a different question. The biggest issue is that your relationship isn’t reciprocal. When the emotional burden is tipped more in

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Can Women Do It All? With Christy Wright of Business Boutique – 091

By / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More“A lot of women treat everything in their life as equal, so when push comes to shove and you’re needed in two places, you don’t know what to choose.” That quote from this week’s guest resonated with your co-hosts, Darlene Brock and Julie Graham. It probably does you too! To discuss this struggle and offer possible solutions for most women’s busyness, we brought in an expert on the subject. Meet our new best friend; Author, Business Coach, Ramsay personality and busy wife and mom, Christy Wright. In her casual yet straightforward style, she explains why it’s OK for a woman to want to pursue passions

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Ask Dr. Zoe – Help! My Anxiety Makes Me Angry

By / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Blessed at the Beach’ Asked: I have been in counseling for postpartum depression and anxiety for about 9 months. I see myself making improvements in many areas, but I still struggle with anger when I am feeling especially anxious. I know that addressing the anxiety is the ultimate solution, but do you have any tips on at least preventing anger as a reaction? I hate it when I snap at my husband (who is wonderful) or my sweet kids. Dr. Zoe Answered: A big hand clap for getting treatment. And I’m glad to hear that you are improving! My very first word of advice is to listen to This Grit and Grace Life podcast I recently recorded with Darlene and Julie. We

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

How to Feel Your Emotions in a Healthy Way With Dr. Zoe Shaw – 075

By / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreFeelings. We are all affected by them, even driven by them, whether we want to admit it or not. Our emotions can harm us but they are helpful too, often depending upon how we process them. So, to sort all of these feelings out, we invited our friend, licensed therapist and relationship expert, Dr. Zoe Shaw, back to the show to help women discover the road to healthy emotions. Co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Graham don’t shy away from asking the personal questions as they reflect on how feelings have played a role in their lives; they also unpack how men and women differ in

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Ask Dr. Zoe – Is it Possible to Be Overly Emotional?

By / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Emotionally Charged’ Asked: Is there such thing as being overly emotional? I hear this all the time by family members. I cry when I’m happy, anxious, scared, angry. I don’t have any explanation for why this is the emotion I am most prone to. Can you explain this? Dr. Zoe Answered: Emotionally Charged, We are all born with a temperament that is essentially built into our DNA. Our temperament interacts with our environment to solidify a personality over the first 3-4 years of our life. Some people do seem a little more sensitive than others, and this is sometimes just a temperament thing. I would be less worried about what others say and more concerned about what you feel. Do you feel

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Skillet’s Jen Ledger Shares Her Faith, Her Fear and Her Strength – 044

By / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | MoreWhat happens when an incredible opportunity comes your way? Fear? Anxiety? Belief that you aren’t qualified? Well, you’re not alone; that is precisely where today’s guest found herself. Drummer, Jen Ledger, joined the multi-platinum, world-touring rock band, Skillet, at 18 years of age, all the while struggling with feelings that she didn’t have what it takes. Now a decade later, she’s facing her fears again with the release of her first solo EP “Ledger.” In this episode, Jen shares how her fear can derail her, bringing anxiety and panic along with it. Yet, it is in her faith that she finds strength. Whether you’re facing

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To-the-Mom-Who-Has-Postpartum-Depression

To the Mom Who Has Postpartum Depression

By / Motherhood

When I was young, I had this grand picture of what my life would be as an adult. This vision included a thin, fit woman wearing a professional suit to work on a daily basis, owning every room she walked into. She was happy, confident, powerful, financially comfortable, a great wife and an awesome mom who balanced everything happily and gracefully. Her house was always clean, and laundry was done. Making love with her husband was a priority. She always cooked and had hot meals ready for her family. And her faith was untouchable.  She didn’t understand those other women who couldn’t balance. Why couldn’t they balance – life wasn’t that hard…right!? Then I got married, and real life started. I married

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Why-We-Can-Look-at-the-Dark-Parts-of-Life-With-Hope

Why We Can Look at the Dark Parts of Life With Hope

By / Faith

I have a beautiful tapestry of a cottage garden hanging on my kitchen wall. As I look at the tapestry from afar the picture is beautiful, but as I draw closer I begin to see the intricate details in the cottage garden. The stunning colours that are weaved throughout the flowers, the birds and the winding pathway captures my attention and pulls me in. Each individual thread is vital for the overall vision that the tapestry portrays. The various colours and threads are weaved into the tapestry with great care and precision because every thread is essential to the finished design. Our lives are like a tapestry in action being woven together by the Creator. Every thought, dream, heartbreak, desire, and tear

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2018-A-Year-of-Peace-and-Strength-for-the-Anxious-Woman

A Year of Peace and Strength for the Anxious Woman

By / Life & Culture

The post-holiday season can leave us feeling exhausted and slightly battered. The packed malls, the parties, the big family get-togethers… It would be tiring for anyone, but if you’re like me and you struggle with anxiety then you may be feeling like you’ve just run a marathon. No one wants to start a year anxious and tired, so here are 3 simple ways to make this year one of peace and strength: 1. Relationships We were never created to do life alone, but anxiety has the tendency to isolate us. You don’t need to trust everyone or share every detail of your life, but can I encourage you to find people in your world that can share your burdens and you theirs? Life

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Overcoming the Waves of Anxiety and Panic Attacks

By / Health & Beauty, Purpose

A recent facts and statistics sheet from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America from August 2017 states that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. affecting 40 million adults, which is a little over 18% of the population. They went on to state that with more specific disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Panic Disorder (PD) women are twice as likely to be affected as men.1 I wasn’t exactly surprised to read that, but it was definitely a sobering reality to face. I’ve not ever been diagnosed officially, but I’ve struggled with anxiety a lot over the years. I’m a pretty anxious person, and I have been ever since I was a little girl. I can

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Kids With Anxiety—They Need You on Their Team

By / Motherhood

I was listening to a podcast last week featuring a popular author talking about raising brave children. She gave several examples of when children have fears, i.e. strangers, the dark, speaking up for themselves, and how you can just push them through those fears until they conquer them. Humph, I thought. This lady doesn’t have a kid with anxiety. We were at an amusement park last month, in line (for forever) for a roller coaster in front of a mom and her two kids, one of which was whimpering and even though I never could actually hear him, I gathered he was afraid because his mom kept saying, “Fine. Don’t do it. You won’t get your reward, but fine. Your baby sister

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

Is Your Life Out of Balance? – 011

By / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More From the workplace, to the home front—the friends in our lives, the men in our lives, the children in our lives, the life in our lives how do we balance them all? Whether we are single, married or single again we all have days it seems impossible to meet all of life’s demands. So today, we are exploring that elusive life balance. We are offering a few tips, insights and maybe even a way to carve out a little bit of time just for ourselves as we learn how to balance This Grit and Grace Life. Viewing in an app? Full show notes here

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3-Reasons-You-Should-Share-Your-Story

3 Reasons You Should Share Your Story

By / Purpose, Relationships

We all have stories. We’ve lived our varied lives, and while some details may overlap, our stories are specific to each of us. Our experiences, good and bad, tender moments bursting with joy and light and the heart-wrenching darkness of grief and pain are being woven together to create our unique tale. I have a story. I have stories, even, and I can tell you that the tone of the story changes with each season that I’ve been in. Whether I’d count it as remarkable or not isn’t the point—it belongs to me. It’s mine to share or to keep tucked away, just like your story belongs to you. Some details are light and casual, like the city I was born in and

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Having Faith Over Fear in a Scary World

By / Best Of, Faith

Two days before my husband and I left for a bucket-list Alaskan cruise, North Korean’s mass-murdering dictator Kim Jon-un announced he had a nuclear missile that could reach Alaska. My heart leapt in my chest when I heard that stunning news. We went anyway, and tried not to think about that possibility. While we were on the cruise, we booked another one that begins and ends in Barcelona. And then…Islamic terrorists killed 12 people and injured nearly 100 more who were innocently and joyfully sightseeing along a pedestrian mall in Barcelona that is popular with tourists. A place we might very well be walking. Once again, we went anyway. Going back a few years, I remember that the week before my first

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