Spring Cleaning For Your Mind, Body and Spirit

Woo Hoo! It's been a long time coming, but Spring has finally sprung! I love cleaning out the closets and getting rid of stuff I don't use and giving my car and home a good tuneup. It feels amazing to de-clutter and organize doesn't it?  Why just stop there? Imagine the results of doing some cleaning up and tuning up for YOU, for your mind, body and spirit! Here are just a few quick and easy Spring Cleaning Tips that will leave you feeling amazing inside and out: 

MIND: It's time to clean up your stinkin thinkin!

It feels great to de-clutter the junk in the house, and when you clear out the  junky mind clutter, those automatic thoughts that create nothing but cobwebs, you will decrease your stress. We all know the effects stress can have on our health. If you continue to practice the following tip, you will break some bad thought habits and build emotional muscle to support overall good health. Sometimes we don't realize how our negative thinking is affecting us or that we are even thinking negatively at all. We humans have 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day! How many do you think are creating stress or bad moods? 
Here is a fast and simple way to ditch the stinkin thinkin trap: 

1. Catch and Shoot:  I don't know much about basketball, but I do know that when you receive the ball you're not supposed to hold it long. You have to hold for a bit to look for a strategically positioned player, but then you have to shoot. The next time you find yourself feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed or frustrated it's because you have caught a big ball of thoughts and you are holding them. Next time catch your thoughts. Observe your thoughts because this will build awareness and awareness is the first key. CATCH the ball by asking yourself: "What was I thinking just before I started to feel this way?" Just asking this question is good because it interrupts the negative dialogue pattern.  HOLD the ball, but just long enough to determine your next strategic action. Ask yourself:  "Is that thought true, is it possible it could mean something else entirely? What is a different perspective? Now you have a choice. You can HOLD the ball and continue to keep the thoughts that are causing distress OR you can SHOOT the ball! You can shoot that thought right out of the playing field if you can find a new meaning or simply acknowledge that it was a ridiculous thought. I have had a few of those and I bet you have too! See the truth or give it a new meaning and feel the difference. Sometimes simply catching and changing one word is enough. Here is an example I use all the time: Have you ever found yourself stressed out with all your responsibilities? I HAVE to do this, I HAVE to do that. Try this: Change HAVE to GET. Kinda changes everything doesn't it?

BODY: Release toxins and rejuvenate your health! A whole food cleanse will do your body good! It will jump start you to:

•      Reduce inflammation
•      Lose weight naturally
•      Increase your energy
•      Sleep better
•      Boost your metabolism
•      Improve your mood

If you don't want to do a full 7 day program, just adding more whole foods to your day will make a difference. An easy way to do this is by adding just one smoothie to your day. Download my FREE Smoothie Party which includes 7 smoothie recipes for 7 days. If you want to commit to a seriously delicious and results driven Spring Cleaning this year you can purchase and download my DIY Home study Clean Eating Cleansing Program. 
Get your body moving! Movement is so important for overall wellness. Just a short walk with your dog is all you need. Your dog will thank you too! Yes, gardening counts. I love to take my fur kids for walks around the property and exercise at home with DVDs. You need to find something YOU enjoy or you won't do it. Consistency and a set routine will create a new habit and before you know it you will WANT to move every day. I just read that dancing makes you smarter so what a way to improve your body, mind AND spirit! Make it easy, make it fun.

SPIRIT: It's time to shine!

In my holistic practice when I hear someone say that they feel lost or dead inside or without purpose, I help them understand that it's not that they are lost or without purpose, but it certainly can feel that way when they are not feeding their spirit. Ask yourself: "What area(s) of my life need attention, What needs reorganization?Is there anything or anyone in my life that I am allowing to dim my spirit? What needs to go or what am I missing? For example, are you involved in a relationship that you know has been hurting you, but you can't find the courage to leave? Are you choosing to have people in your life that bring you down instead of build you up? Have you forgotten about your dreams and goals, have you been too busy to do what you love or be with who you love. What can you do now that will turn up the light even a little? How can you grow, how can you give to yourself and others? The possibilities are endless and remember it's the seemingly small stuff that often times is really the big stuff. 
 

Allow light, joy and fun in! It's already here. It's already within you, all you need is some good Spring Cleaning.

Shine bright,

Peg

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R 

Holistic Psychotherapist, Anxiety Specialist and Life Strategist  

Questions about me or my services? I would love to hear from you!

Connect with me on FB and Twitter


Visit my website and grab your free Stress and Anxiety Toolkit! 

 

Get Serious About Your Happiness

I think of myself as a happy person.  Now, I don't mean I'm happy all the time.  It's not that I never feel sad, frustrated, angry, hurt, scared, insecure......of course not. We need them all! Emotion is life and the good feeling ones come with the not so good feeling ones. I do believe, however, that we are meant to be happy and that it's necessary. With happiness at our core, we can pursue our true purpose in this life. So it's important and it makes sense to get serious about happiness. I suggest you decide to OWN it and drive that emotion into your core!

But how? How do you make happiness your "go to" emotion despite the dramas and traumas that we have all experienced and will inevitably continue to experience?  One way I have found is to hold happiness as one of my highest values. Most of us don't typically identify happiness as a value. We may identify family, friends, God, a strong work ethic, money, time for ourselves or contribution as values just to name a few. But, how these values show up in our lives, I believe, is directly related first, to the emotional states we value. So, if we don't highly value a great quality state of emotion like happiness or gratitude how can all those other values I mentioned be experienced positively and to their highest potential? I don't believe they can.

"There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion." Carl Jung

Here are come common happiness blockers. Really, they are just stories we tell ourselves don't buy them!
 Do you ever think or believe:

 "If I allow myself to be happy something bad will happen. If something bad happens I'll be devastated, it's better to be prepared."  (And I will prepare by worrying)

 "If I allow myself to feel and show happiness others might take advantage of me, or I might not be respected." (Happiness means weakness)

"I can't feel happy when everywhere I look people are so sad and struggling I would feel terribly guilty.  (Happiness is selfish)  

 We feel what we focus on, our experience of life is determined by the meaning we give things and the emotional states we choose to value.

There is so much we cannot choose in this life; so much we  have no control over. We cannot control what others do or say, we cannot control what they think of us or not think of us. We cannot control the all too real tragedy's that happen to people every day. BUT, we can 100% control the meanings we give all things, people, situations and events. We can choose our perceptions and our thoughts which ultimately create how we feel.  If we choose to value happiness, gratitude, joy, and peace (just to name a few) as our primary emotional values just think how that could impact all the other aspects of our lives, and the other great values we hold. It's a completely different world!  It's Freedom! the greatest value of all right? 

Happiness and gratitude: You need it, you deserve it, without it you won't grow or contribute to your true potential.   

  
It's holiday time again. I am always amazed how fast time flies. I always say that life is too short AND too long to feel stressed and unhappy all the time. Life is too good because it is! Where there is bad there is always good, where there is dark there is always light. What do you have to be happy about right now? What might you be taking for granted? The smallest things are most often the best things. What do you need to remember to feel happy and grateful? Dreading the family gathering? Shift that focus to what you can appreciate about the situation and the people. Don't leave anything out.

Right now, in this moment, see it, hear it, it's Thanksgiving, so smell it and taste it too!  NOW feel it! Got it? Feeling it?
I knew it; nothing bad happened! Now just do THAT feeling over and over and over.......  
You Got This!
Happy Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for YOU!!! 

Shine bright,
 Peg

Questions about me or my services? I would love to hear from you!

Connect with me on FB and Twitter!

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R 

Holistic Psychotherapist, Anxiety Specialist and Life Strategist 

Visit my website and grab your free Stress and Anxiety Toolkit! 

Secure Online Services in the Virtual Office!

 
I am happy to announce that I am now a provider of online therapy/coaching sessions.  Online sessions are becoming more and more popular and accessible. 

Are you a busy professional, parent, or student?
Are you struggling with anxiety that makes it difficult to drive?                         
Do you have a long commute to work or school?
Do you ever get stuck home because of the weather? 

MY Virtual Office May Be a Good Fit For You!

Did you know that online therapy sessions can be just as effective as face-to-face office sessions according to recent research?

I provide HIPAA compliant online therapy/coaching using a Secure Client Portal.  Enjoy the flexibility of scheduling sessions without leaving the comfort of your home. This option is available to my clients in New York State. So, whether you live locally or in Long Island or anywhere upstate or down, I am available to help!

This is a great option for college students living on campus, and for those times when the weather gets rough, and we New Yorkers know how that goes!! 

I love online therapy sessions because it saves you time and money and is super convenient. You save time and gas not having to commute to an office or leave home if you are snowed in or the kids are home from school. 

Questions about me or my services? I would love to hear from you! 

Connect with me on FB and Twitter!

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R 

Holistic Psychotherapist, Anxiety Specialist and Life Strategist 

 

Visit my website and grab your free report and free 6 part audio training Series! 




 

FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM: Awareness Is The First Step

Have you ever felt excited to start a new project, begin a new endeavor or take on a new challenge that you KNOW would be really great for you, but only to somehow get stuck again and again? Have you ever wondered why that happens?  

It’s FEAR! 

Fear can be our friend. Thankfully, we all have an instinctual mechanism that turns on the fight or flight response to real danger, but I'm talking about the kind of fear that is an illusion. The kind that lies to us and convinces us there is real danger. 

Sometimes fear is obvious and sometimes it’s not obvious at all. Let me explain. In my book:  In Pursuit of the Divine Written Stories To Empower A Woman's Soul,  I write about a seemingly meaningless episode I experienced in Kindergarten and how that was a seed that grew to a full blown Panic Disorder in adult hood.  If you have ever experienced excessive and irrational anxiety you will be familiar with the "fear of the fear" the fear of the symptoms and not having control over them.  That’s the obvious fear. Not so obvious, however, were deeper fears. Fears I held deeply in my core belief system; fears of not being enough. We all have this fear to some degree. Even the most confident among us! 

What I have come to understand and what has helped me so much is this quote by Marianne Williamson. It was one of my biggest a-ha moments and I share it with you now, so you can know this truth too:

Don't you love it? It was a life changer for me and I hope it speaks to you too! 

Sometimes fears are not obvious at all. Behaviors such as procrastination, spinning your wheels, feeling like you’re not accomplishing anything, keeping yourself out of relationships or repeatedly getting into relationships that are not good for you. Or when trying to lose weight, you might reach your goal weight, but for some reason can’t keep it off.  Of course, sometimes the reason is hormonal or medical, but you find yourself in situations where you just can't figure out why these patterns keep happening? Or, worse, you don't even question them. You accept that it is your reality.

I have been there too! And sometimes I can find myself visiting there still. But, NOW I understand it and know exactly what to do about it.

You see, once you understand that what is really happening is a specific mind set; a belief system (BS) that you have, stories that are untrue and BS that you have been telling yourself consciously and unconsciously (probably for years and probably not even from you originally). Once you get that, you are on your way to real and lasting freedom from the fears holding you back from the life you deserve. 

Life is meant to be lived in JOY NOT FEAR!  Fear that you are not enough, fear of failure, fear of being seen and heard, fear of getting emotionally hurt (again) is not allowing you to live fully. 

Awareness it the first key to change. Understanding the thought/mood connection is the first step. 

GET STARTED:

Start small with simply noticing and becoming aware of your thoughts and how they make you feel.  What I did many years ago was track my thoughts in a notebook. When I started to see them on paper I quickly became aware that what I was thinking was actually creating how I was feeling.  Oh, and don't get freaked out, we all have negative thoughts throughout the day and since we are focusing on them it's not unusual to feel even more of the emotion. That's normal. I had a lot of anxious thoughts back in the day creating tons of anxiety! You will start to see a clear correlation between your thoughts and your mood. That's good because you will understand that you have some control now. You will understand that your emotions are not just happening out of the blue, there is a thought first!
Once you have written down a thought statement, for example: "She didn't call me back yet, she must not care." Then ask yourself this question from Byron Katie's work: Is it true? Can I be 100% positive that that thought/belief is true? Next, ask yourself, What else could it mean? "Maybe she is just busy." Could that be true? We are starting with "automatic thoughts" (AT) here. When I work with a client, we start with these free flowing automatic thoughts and later we dig a bit deeper to the next two levels of thought, Assumptions and Core Beliefs. AT's are a great place to begin.
Remember, you can't change what you're not aware of! I hope you feel curious and try it out.

I would love to hear from you! 

I invite you to connect with me on FB and Twitter. 

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R, CCT, AADP, CPNLP is a Holistic Psychotherapist specializing in stress and anxiety.

Visit her website and grab your free report and free 6 part audio training Series! 

My New Book That Will Inspire You To LIVE MORE Now!

MY NEW INSPIRATIONAL BOOK ANTHOLOGY BECOMES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON FRIDAY, JUNE 6TH!

Tomorrow the book anthology that I co-authored, In Pursuit of the Divine will be released on Amazon.  I was invited to participate in this incredible collaboration by the book's compiler, Krista Gustavson who asked that each of the book's 30 co-authors share our stories of empowerment and transformation more truthfully, vulnerably and courageously than ever before. The result is a collection of stories that is incredibly real and packed with tools to empower women around the globe.

This is your time to Live More, to be authentically and genuinely YOU!  It's time now to shine your light fully for your sake, for the sake of your loved ones and for the sake of our world. This book will empower you to do just that.  Isn't is about time?


Stay tuned for the Amazon link which will become available tomorrow, Friday June 6th. You can then purchase the book for you and all the women who are important to you!

                                                                        

MEET THE CO-AUTHORS!


I joined forces with 29 other healers, coaches, visionaries and thought leaders from around North America and the U.K.

Each co-author had experienced a life challenge in some form that resulted in her experience of playing small, or remaining hidden from the world. By telling our stories, our purpose is to expand your awareness, acknowledge you and provide a sanctuary to reclaim your own personal power. Women now more than ever are being called upon to come together as a collective entity. With our unique offerings, we have a desire to support you and guide you in activating your own inner wisdom so you can align yourself with the greatest expression of who you are and know your purpose in the world.

WATCH MY VIDEO INTRO FOR MY CHAPTER: "FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM"
Check out my video!

Join me on FB and Twitter!




Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R, CCT, AADP, CPNLP is a certified cognitive therapist, strategic interventionist, NLP Practitioner, and health coach.

Go to her websites and grab your free reports and free 6 part audio training:   

How To Manage Stress From the Inside Out:
PegHaust.com



5 Mistakes You Don't Want to Make (Includes Bonus Recipes!)
LiveMoreCoach.com

WTFifty!

February 2014 already! This is a big year for me because I turn the big 5-0 this month! Yep, 1964. I am the youngest of the boomers. My husband, being younger than me, is the oldest of the Gen Xers. Hmm... which sounds better? 

Seriously, milestone birthdays can bring up scary stuff for some people. It did for me when I turned 40. Do you know what I'm talking about? The dreaded questions start, questions that make us feel anxious and worried. Questions and statements like: “I’m turning...., is it too late for me to....? Or, I'm too old to...."  What did you fill those blanks with? Too late to start a new career? Too old to get in shape? How you think, what you believe, and the meaning you give anything is VITAL because it's going to determine how you FEEL and how you FEEL is going to determine what you DO. What you DO is going to determine the quality of your life. The quality of your life now and for the years to come.

From the Huff Post, I looked up which celebrities are turning 50 this year. I am in some pretty good company!

I wanted to see what THEY were saying:

Michelle Obama: "I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But, I am constantly thinking about my own health and making sure that I’m eating right and getting exercise and watching the aches and pains. I want to be this really fly 80-90-year old." 

Go Michelle! I hope our gracious first lady is thinking of her health in an empowering way and not getting too freaked out about it. The word BUT in her statement makes me wonder that. "But, I am constantly thinking..." Notice the feeling of that statement when you change the BUT to AND. It changes it to an empowering perspective, see? Practice using the word AND instead of BUT and see how that feels for you.

Elle MacPherson: "I don't believe that youth equals beauty or beauty equals youth. How I feel, how well I am is more important to me."

YES! That belief will and does create your reality Elle!

Russell Crow joked about his "creaky old joints" when talking about his role as Superman's father. 

Be careful Russell, we feel what we focus on! ;)

About turning 40 Keanu Reeves said: "I'm feeling my age and I've ordered the Ferrari. I'm going to get the whole midlife crisis package." 

I wonder if his perspective has changed now that he turns 50 this year too. Yes, I too went through a "midlife crisis" at 40 however, I now prefer to look at it as a midlife re-awakening! Choose your words wisely! 

And then we have the beautiful Christie Brinkley and the great Lady O turning 60 this year! 

Christie states what I encourage myself and others to practice everyday; the power of NOW:

"No matter what your age is, you only have now. So it's always about living in the moment and being in the moment...I refuse to let those numbers define me and I just try to face each day positively."

YES! YES! YES! Love her!

And of course, Oprah is forever wise:  

“No matter where you are on your journey, that’s exactly where you need to be. The next road is always ahead.”

— Oprah

As for me? This time, I choose to be excited about 50 (unlike 40). I choose the meaning and the focus because I know that how I feel and what I do will highly impact how I age and how I will continue to age. No, it's NOT about denial, but rather seeing circumstances as they are and knowing what is in my control and what is not.  I can choose youthful thoughts or "old beyond my years" thoughts. Thanks to my mom the phrase: "I am getting old" is foreign language to my brain. The truth is, we can choose to allow those old BS (Belief System/Bull Shizit) stories (and we all got them), of not being young enough, smart enough, or whatever enough to rule our heads OR, we can choose to appreciate our wisdom, appreciate what still works in our body and I for one, can embrace my wrinkles! Okay, of course, that does not mean I'm not shopping for the best skin care right? Let's not get crazy! :) I can choose to fuel my body with food that will keep me alive as opposed to food that is dead in a box. We really are what we think AND eat.  I will also not forget to grow my spirit by nourishing my relationships and to look for ways to give back that present themselves every day.  
The years will go by. 1 year, 5 years, 10, and 50 years are going to come no matter what. That we cannot control. So, how do you want to be living them when they get here? Like Michelle, I want to be a really fly 80-100+ year old!

 I want to hear from you! How will/do you age? Will you embrace it, conquer it, surrender to it or deny it? Which will you choose?

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R, CCT, AADP, CPNLP is a certified cognitive therapist, strategic interventionist, NLP Practitioner, and health coach.

Go to her websites and grab your free reports:   

How To Manage Stress From the Inside Out:
PegHaust.com

AND

5 Mistakes You Don't Want to Make (Includes Bonus Recipes!)
LiveMoreCoach.com

STRESS AND THE F FACTOR

As a cognitive therapist I help my clients understand that our thoughts are directly connected to our emotions; we feel what we think.  But, it's not just our mindset or thoughts that create how we feel,  it's also the F factor: FOOD. Not just the food we feed our bodies, but also the food we feed our spirits. It's how we feed the areas in our lives that matter; areas like our relationships, our family and friends, our careers, our personal growth and contribution to others. All these areas are vitally important when it comes to the state of our emotional well being. When we neglect them we die inside, or we may feel we are just existing wondering if there is more.  But when we nourish these areas of life it feeds our hearts and minds and we thrive!

Food that we eat and food for our soul go hand in hand. Consider times when life was not going well. Did you ever use food for comfort? If you're like most of us you have. And what's "comfort food" anyway? You know, those high carb, sugary and salty goodies that we all crave now and again especially when there's excess stress in our lives. The problem is it's a perpetuating cycle. Because of today's hectic lifestyle, the stress often leads to going for the junk food that doesn't serve us and that typically leads to crashing and burning which makes us go for more junk. The ups and downs in blood sugar creates turmoil for your emotional state. This may commonly show up with intensified feelings of anger, nervous tension, frustration, which in turn creates turmoil in your relationships, your job, your motivation... Round and round we go; our nerves go up and down, and sometimes so does the scale. Sound familiar? So yes, we feel what we eat!

Hey you know what? I am certainly not perfect. Perfect is boring and stupid anyway!  Food IS meant to be enjoyed and celebrated too! But, I know that there is a food and mood connection and understanding the F Factor is vital in becoming truly emotionally fit.

Peg Haust-Arliss, LCSW-R is a certified cognitive therapist, strategic interventionist, relationship educator, board certified health coach and soon to be author. 

Check out her websites and grab your free report:   
5 Mistakes You Don't Want to Make (Includes Bonus Recipes!)
www.PegHaust.com  
www.LiveMoreCoach.com