Hey there! In the latest podcast episode, I dove into the world of anxiety, especially for all the missionary moms out there. I know how tough it can be worrying about your kids' safety and well-being while they're on missions. We chatted about what anxiety is, how it shows up, and why it's vital not to let it define us. I shared some personal stories and tips on easing those anxious feelings, like jotting down worries and finding healthy ways to cope. Remember, it's okay to feel big emotions, and it's essential to be kind to yourself. Plus, I mentioned my upcoming class and how you can join me to learn more. It's all about supporting each other through these challenges!
Share your missionary stories where you agree to allow me to share them: michellesevans.coach@gmail.com
Hey there! In the latest podcast episode, I dove into the world of anxiety, especially for all the missionary moms out there. I know how tough it can be worrying about your kids' safety and well-being while they're on missions. We chatted about what anxiety is, how it shows up, and why it's vital not to let it define us. I shared some personal stories and tips on easing those anxious feelings, like jotting down worries and finding healthy ways to cope. Remember, it's okay to feel big emotions, and it's essential to be kind to yourself. Plus, I mentioned my upcoming class and how you can join me to learn more. It's all about supporting each other through these challenges!
Share your missionary stories where you agree to allow me to share them: michellesevans.coach@gmail.com
Welcome to the podcast today. I wanted to talk about anxiety. That's a very common word that we hear in the society today. And so we can start having quite a bit more anxiety around. Missions and what our kids are. Going through as they prepare as they come home. And also while they're serving. So starting off, I went to Google. And just. Googled anxiety definition and, this is what it said. Anxiety is a feeling of fear dread or uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat feel restless and tense. And have a rapid heartbeat. It can be normal reaction to stress. For example, you might feel anxious when faced with difficult problems at work. Before taking a test or before Maheen important decision. It also can help you cope. And it may give you a boost of energy or help you focus. So if you consider some of the things that happened like if you're at work and you have a deadline some of that anxiety can really be harnessed to help you get things done. But it's a completely normal emotion. And it's only a problem. When it becomes excessive or interferes with our daily life. In a paralyzing kind of way. There's I hear a common theme when people talk to about anxiety. They say I have anxiety. Like they own it. Like, it's just a reality. That's part of them. As, as opposed to I'm feeling anxiety or I'm feeling anxious. Which is a vibration of emotion that's within our body. That passes. And so it's a very important distinction because the words that we use matter. And what we're saying. Out loud creates helps create neuro pathways in our brain. And so we want to be very conscientious. Of how we're referring to. Emotions. So that we don't claim them. And make them. Bigger than they are. So there's some unique challenges that as missionary moms that we can face so we could worry about our son or daughter's safety their wellbeing. There's going to be unknown obstacles that we cannot possibly predict. Possible rejection from like knocking on doors and people, you know, closing the door on their face. Difficult situations with companions, homesickness. All of that. Creates some stress. And can start to generate some of those feelings of anxiety. There's also feeling isolated or alone. Or as a mother, we're observing them. And we feel like they're isolated or alone. The other thing is dealing with. Changes in our family dynamic. I know that is something that's coming up for me because my youngest son is getting ready to graduate and leave on a mission in September. And so. So I've been Being a mother for 28 years and all of a sudden. All of my kids are gone. And so it's. It's a huge shift. Which is creating, a lot of. Thoughts. And emotions for me. And then. So one of the first steps. Oops to desolving some of the discomfort of anxiety. Which we can't. Totally. Avoid, there's no way. Around that. Is just having some awareness. About what's happening. And when I'm talking about awareness, we're definitely not getting into judgment. We just want to be able to have some awareness about what's happening. So I want to give you an example of that, and then I'm going to get into some tips. So recently I attended a bridal shower. That was for one of my friend's daughters and. She was hosting the bridal shower at the church. And she has a lot of family that live. Very closer with in proximity. So I noticed when I first pulled up. I started to feel some of these familiar feelings of anxiety. So I went in and I stood in the hall. And I was trying to find somebody to talk to. And. As soon as I found a couple of familiar faces, I went and sat down. But what was interesting was in my body, what was happening was my shoulders went rounded forward, kind of like I was trying to hide within myself. And not be seen. My heart rate definitely was slightly elevated. My eyes I saw were kind of darting around, looking for someplace safe to sit. So that I didn't intrude on. You know, all this other family. I noticed as I sat down. There was a lot of different treats that were available on the table. So I had this tremendous urge. Two. Start eating all of these treats. Which is a very good indicator for me that I'm having some feelings of anxiety. And. I started to notice that this was happening and it was like, you do this little mental step to the side. And you're almost Looking at yourself. And observing what's happening inside your body. And then. That creates the awareness of the story. That's going on. And that my brain was starting to spin at the time. And it prevented me from stepping into that story. Which would have increased my anxiety. And instead I became aware of it and I was able to sit with it instead of bailing from the discomfort. Another example is one of my clients was feeling a ton of anxiety. While there her missionary was flying to the country that he would be serving. And she talked about not having a phone to contact him. He missed a connecting flight. And then she also didn't get a picture from the mission president when he arrived. So she was unsure of his safety. So these types of situations are common when we're used to having instant contact, we have our kids. Location. We know where they're at. And when they're on a mission, we don't have that anymore. And so it's this ability to be able to. Kind of live with some of that low level anxiety that may come up and trust that our missionary knows how to make good decisions and that somehow they're going to arrive and they're going to be okay. So after you have some awareness of the discomfort and anxiety, the second step is to process through what's happening. And when we process through it's without judgment, we're not trying to, club ourselves that we're doing anything wrong or that this should be easier. We should be more excited. And so let me just preface before I get into the tips. Have you ever walked into a room where people have been having a heated conversation or maybe there's been a fight? And even though you weren't there, you can tell that there was something that was happening in the room before you walked in. And so when you have anxiety and you're not looking at it and you're not considering what's happening when you're not trying to process it, you can start to just project it out onto. Other people, your missionary. Your spouse. Your kids, your friends. And that's all very much unmanaged anxiety. And so these tips are going to help you so that you can have some awareness. And then also just some processing techniques. So one of the things that I'm a huge fan of this, and I've talked about it multiple times is just writing things down. That your brain is thinking. And basically you're trying to get it out of your head and onto some paper. So have you ever woken up. In the middle of the night and Your brain does these amazing things where it's trying to solve all the world's problems at 2:00 AM. And so one way to deal with some of that is just writing it all down. And that is a way of telling your brain. That you're paying attention. And so. It has a calming effect so that you can go back to sleep. It also is helpful just in day to day situations. It's helpful with your. Missionary like whatever's happening with them. Just write down all of the things that your brain is thinking. And then ask yourself. What is this anxiety trying to teach me in the moment? And just answering that question. It helps you get a different perspective. Also another question I like to answer is. When I'm writing is what is the truth in this situation? And what is. the lie? Because our brains are epically good at spinning tales. And if we have some things that are uncertain or we don't know, our brain tries to fill in those gaps. And when our brain does that. It can also create some anxiety depending on what kind of story we come up with. Another tip would be talking to a trusted friend or family men member. And this allows you to organize and really articulate what's happening inside your head. And in turn that helps calm some of that down. Sometimes, if you feel like it's. You know, more than you can handle, then you want to seek professional help. That's where coaches therapists come in. My program comes in. I coach on this all the time. And then. Practicing some relaxation techniques. And sometimes these take time to develop. Because when you're feeling anxious, like to sit down and meditate. And you feel like you're climbing out of your own skin. It might not be practical, but it doesn't mean you can't try it. And attempt to see if it. would work. And then the other thing is making healthy lifestyle choices. Especially taking a walk. And that helps get some basic rhythm. And that helps calm your nervous system. And so that you can actually have your. Cognitive CEO come back online. And you can work through some of these other things. And these are not, none of these tips are a one size fits all. These are things that you can try and see what works for you. So in conclusion, I want you to remember I've done a podcast in the past about big emotions. And. In it. I talked about how emotions are a part of 50 50 we have 50. like feeling good. Happy joy. Peace. Amazing. Those emotions and then 50% of the time we're feeling not amazing. And some of that is anxiety, nervous, worry, depression. And that's part of our existence in this life. And I think it's actually one of the most difficult things is dealing with some of these big, bigger emotions that feel. Very heavy. And so if you're feeling some of these emotions, nothing's gone wrong. And there's nothing wrong. with you. It's all part of what we're. Here to process. But if you can see it and it's just happening to you and you can do this. Work on your own. I can tell you that it, it, I tend to text my results when I started working with a coach. And I. Currently work with a coach. I will probably always have a coach. because it helps me have an objective view of some of the things that I'm doing. And creating and some of the questions that I referred to. Earlier are questions that coaches have asked me that have really helped me be able to dissolve some of the anxiety. And not have it control so much of my life. And this has been such a work in progress. And so just because it doesn't happen instantly doesn't mean it's not working. So make sure that you have. Lots of patients. And grace with yourself as you're trying to figure out how to navigate it. Um, especially with a mission. And the new challenges that are going to come up. All right. If you want to work with me. And you want to 10 X your results. There's a link in the show notes to book a free call with me. It, or there's also a link for my class in may that starting on the 16th. About things. I teach my missionary. And there are still some spots available. So if that's something that you're interested in, make sure you get signed up. All right, everybody have a great week and I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
