Struggles and Solutions

Sunday, March 31, 2013 - 10:30 AM - Day 8 of new blog

I'm into my second week of writing this daily blog on how to stay "stress free" amidst many challenges.

You know where I got the idea to start this new blog?

The movie "Julia and Julie"!

I'm glad it inspired me because this is an enjoyable way to share my struggles as well as my solutions.

I work in a field in which people share their struggles exclusively. And that's not just the patients - the staff too! Balance is needed. That's why I share what I share.

Huff Post had some beautiful Easter quotes for today that I wanted to share. Easter has a universal message of rebirth, renewal, rejuvenation. I love the boost of positivity it brings. Here are a few quotes:

I also shared "Three Suggestions to Rejuvenate Your Life" in my weekly subscriber list email.

Here's the link: How to Rejuvenate your Life

If you would like to sign up for my free weekly tips in Living Stress Free, Here's the Sign Up Link

See you tomorrow,
Marilyn

What it's Like to Be On Call

Saturday, March 30, 2013 - 8:30 PM - Day 7 of new blog

Let me tell you about being on-call.

The mental health clinic I work for has therapists responsible for on-call four weeks each year.

This is my week to be on-call for the spring.

Unlike many professions who are on-call, our job is to triage each call. We are responsible for any emergency situations for the 1600 patients enrolled at our clinic. If it was just talking to the patient, offering support and guidance and hanging up, it wouldn't be so bad.

But ... we must connect with the psychiatrist for medication questions, the hospital emergency department for lethality risk and/or collateral information, the residential counselors for housing protocol, family members for reassurance, etc. etc. etc.

Just this morning I had a situation that took from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM to resolve with 6 phone calls involved. It takes a lot of time!

So, my stress level always rises the week I'm on-call.

What to do ... what to do ...

• I keep my sense of humor in the forefront
• I let go of my desires
• I see myself as a servant
• I eat good food;)
• I take my time
• I spend time on different aspects of my life to balance the extra work output
• I make whoever I am talking to on the phone laugh

Thanks for checking in with my blogs:)))

May you be stress free each day.

Marilyn

The Joys of Mentorship

Friday, March 29, 2013 - 8:30 PM - Day 6 of new blog

I love being a mentor to students. It helps me feel satisfied, helpful and accomplished.

I had a VERY full week with my usual therapy appointments throughout each day, groups three days this week and additional phone calls for guidance/support.

However, I also did a presentation at a local college on Music Therapy in Mental Health.
I had a graduate music student sit in on one of my groups and another graduate student interview me for a full hour on my journey as a Music Therapist.
I have a Music Therapy Intern I'm supervising since last July until this summer.

What I have found is that the extra time taken to help students learn from my experience is well worth it!  It does not drain energy, it enhances it.
To know you can help a educate someone new to the field not by "book knowledge", but through 25 years of personal experience, insight and learning-from-mistakes is a gift.
It's exhilarating.

Helping others learn by your experience helps everyone live stress free:)

See you tomorrow,
Marilyn

Spontaneous Dinner Out

Thursday, March 28, 2013 - 9:45 PM - Day 5 of new blog

I felt more fried than usual today. I had a non-stop day at work, pretty intense at times. No lunch break either.
I got home and had some issues to resolve with our shopping cart on the website. Could not resolve them today. It was one of those days where finding ease and effortlessness was quite difficult and nothing got completed.

But guess what?
Instead of spending the night on my subscriber emails and tidying up the website,
Lou and I decided to go out to eat at Red Lobster!!!

Now THAT is Living Stress Free:))))

So, next time any of you have worked non-stop for many days in a row, consider the impromptu dinner out. It's more fun than a planned night out. And well worth balancing your energy by being served and taken care of.

Tomorrow's Friday!

Marilyn

The Stress of Social Media

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 8:30 PM - Day 4 of new blog

I want to talk about social media, honestly and openly.

Anybody looking to launch a business wants to use social media for connecting with others, networking and advertising.
Makes sense!
It's there, it's free, it's easy.
Wait a minute ... "it's easy"?????

I have had a love/hate relationship with social media since the beginning.
I have met some really wonderful people, have enjoyed the support and have increased business from social media.
However, it is also time consuming, confusing, frustrating and stagnant at times.

The inherent dilemma is working my job 40-50 hours per week, spending time with my husband, taking care of my pets, household, personal responsibilities, and deciding which aspect of the business to work on in my free time. Social media is a full time job itself!

Let's break it down:

Twitter:
I love it. I started on Twitter before we launched Living Stress Free®. It's friendly, supportive, and really quite easy to use. I've enjoyed success with Twitter and highly recommend it to everyone. The automated tweets really help with time constraints (we use TweetAdder).

Facebook:
I hate it. I was on it for a while but struggled with how to use it properly. I did not like the lack of "boundaries" with family, friends, work colleagues all having access to my stream. The ways to screen out sub-categories of people was not clearly explained. I felt pressure to accept people as friends. Everytime we posted something pertaining to our business it was not responded to, but personal "goofy" comments were loved. It took a lot of time with little benefit. Since time is a rare commodity, Facebook had to go.

LinkedIn:
I'm on the fence with this one. I'm not sure how to use it fully. I do not find it to be user-friendly. I can't wrap my mind around how to use it beneficially so it sits in waiting. Meanwhile I feel guilty I'm letting down my LinkedIn network by my silence. Not healthy .... !

YouTube:
It's great. It's easy. I have no complaints at all. Great way to organize our videos too:)))

Google +
So far so good. It's much simpler to figure out. I like the interface. I like how it connects to Blogger. I'm using it to advertise my blogs!

Pintrest:
I have an account but have not done anything with it yet. Time ... time ... time...

Here are only six social media sites and I'm already having a panic attack! How can I keep up with it all and still have time for new articles on our website, daily subscriber list emails, new videos, working on a new book ... HELP!

Enter Living Stress Free®

• Just do the next thing.
• Where my energy is naturally directed is where it should be focused.
• Meditate.
• Use the different social media sites for different aspects of the business instead of rehashing the same stuff everywhere.
• When in doubt, do nothing.
• Be authentically me.
• Meditate.
• Slow down.
• Don't take it so seriously.
• Manage the stress, not the situation.

Here's a great time management article we posted on our site a while ago: The Relentless Mosquito

Till tomorrow,
Marilyn

Let Go of the Routine

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 8:30 PM - Day 3 of new blog

My third day of sharing what it's like to navigate my life while remaining true to living stress free.

This was a day of exhaustion. Something about this time of year ... not quite spring yet but winter definitely feels over. The tightness held in the body from feeling cold throughout the winter starts to release. This release = exhaustion.

I get to bed on time but I'm still struggling to get up in the morning, hitting the snooze alarm and rationalizing how I can stay in bed longer.

My morning routine is very full. 

After I get myself out of bed and freshened up, I walk the dogs in the pre-dawn darkness. 

After they're done, which can take a while ...  I make coffee and start on breakfast. I try to skim the morning newspaper while the coffee brews. 

While breakfast is cooking I feed the dogs and start feeding all the birds. 

I wake Lou and we have coffee and breakfast. Then I get lunch prepared and packed and finish feeding the birds. 

Then I meditate for 20 minutes.

Now its time to start getting ready for work. I need 45 minutes to prepare myself for the work day.

And, once again, the dogs need to be walked before I leave for work.

I'm used to my morning routine and I like it for the most part.

Luckily, I can get to work "around" 9:00 and stay later at the end of the day.

The way I use Living Stress Free® with my routine is I don't always stick to the routine. 

I listen to my inner wisdom. 

Maybe we don't have breakfast so I can take more time to read in the morning. Maybe I skip lunch packing and go out for lunch instead. Maybe I take a long walk with the dogs and let other things go. Sometimes I take the scenic route to work so I can see beautiful images to start the day.

Flowing with nature is the key. Nature = intuition/inner wisdom.

Here's an article we posted on our site with more on this idea: Living Your Life as a Music Composition

See you tomorrow.

Marilyn

I Have Someone Else's Body

Monday, March 25, 2013 6:30 PM - Day 2 of new blog

I have somebody else's body.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I do not look like myself.

I was one of those women everyone got annoyed with. I could eat ANYTHING I wanted and never gain a pound. I was always thin. Lou used to call me a "jaguar":)))

I remember when I turned 30 I started to notice some weight gain from food but nothing too serious. In fact it was kinda nice. I didn't seem so lanky. It gave me a little cushion. But I still looked like myself.

Throughout my 30's I was happy with my looks. I did some modeling, I wore sexy clothes, all was well. And, I could still enjoy eating what I wanted. And since I LOVE food, all was well.

Then my 40's came. OMG, what a realization. I cannot eat whatever I want and I cannot fit in my clothes. Granted, some of these clothes were from high school, but it's the principle here that I'm highlighting! What's with this belly???

For the past 5 years I've been trying to lose the same 15 pounds with no luck. I eat really healthy food. I cut out sugar and desserts. I started juicing. I take vitamins, supplements and weight loss herbs. I've done liquid diet days. I've fasted. I've gone low carb as well as strict vegetarian. No weight loss.

Last year I exercised 5-7 days per week for 1 hour a day with a walk/run. I did this from June-October. No weight loss.

Now, I know many people would say I don't have to worry about my weight, I look great. There are friends of mine who have 10x the amount of weight to lose than I do. But for some reason, it's that 15 pounds of mine that won't budge, and that's my endless frustration.

Last weekend I finally surrendered to my weight and started buying clothes the next size up. This was a bittersweet decision. Having new clothes is NICE! Having extra "padding" is NOT.

So I decided to practice my Living Stress Free® advice and honor myself exactly the way I am. This is me at 47. Acceptance and love. Acceptance and love.

This quote sums it up for me today:

Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before, but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God.
Ram Dass

Here's an article I wrote last year about my 7-Day juice fast - My Experience of a Seven Day Juice Fast
(the photo is not a current one .. lol)

I'll be back tomorrow. If you can relate to my frustrations write me!

Marilyn

Nobody Told Me it Would Be This Hard

Sunday, March 24, 2013 4:30 PM - Day 1 of new blog

Nobody told me it would be this hard to navigate life at 47 years old.

Well, actually they did, but I didn't believe them;)

I have a full time job as a mental health clinician working with adults who have psychiatric disorders. 

I enjoy the clients I treat, but I don't enjoy the work politics, endless paperwork and lack of support from the "higher ups". But, what can you do ... 

Lou, my husband, wrote an ebook to help cope with work stress. It's my Bible, and helps me get through the muddy waters of work. Here's a copy if you'd like: Coping with Work Stress

You know what is really difficult sometimes? 

The fact that I have never had a break from work for more than two weeks for a vacation. 

From the moment I completed my internship, I have been working non-stop. 

I never was laid-off, never had maternity leave, never went on short term disability, never had a sabbatical. 

OK, I am grateful for the lack of adversity in my life, but I find myself envious of people who have weeks and months to take care of things in their house or reinvent themselves. 

I am learning to cope with this by making sure I meditate every morning. 

"How can that help?"  you may wonder.

Meditation helps everything settle back into perspective. 

I sit with my breath, my thoughts, my body and my environment, exactly the way it is, and calmly observe it all. This awareness helps me live in the present moment instead of thinking about what I don't have or what I wish was different. As they say - it is what it is.

Meditation = acceptance.

Here's a great article about this: Making Your Mind Your Best Friend

I'll be back tomorrow with more ...

Marilyn