Managing Anxiety and Stress

You're not alone.

Remember, you are not alone.

With the current state of things, anxiety and and panic strikes are happening more frequently.

Make no mistake, your concerns won’t magically go away with any method or technique, but there are ways to help you cope and manage anxiety and stress.

Yes, we are all aware of the power of crystals, smudging and meditation, they are very effective ways to deal with anxiety, but there other things you can do as well.

We may sound like a broken record but we strongly encourage everyone to get in touch with nature.

When we reconnect with nature we reconnect with ourselves, that's where our strength comes from.

The strength to deal with anxiety doesn’t come from social media, political or religious agendas, it comes from within you.

It’s already there. 

As you reconnect with nature, you reconnect with those inner powers to cope with stress, negatively and anxiety.

From Power of Positivity we read:

From Even though we live in a concrete world, we can all find a patch of greenery nearby to clear our minds and refresh our souls. We lead busier lives than ever, but that doesn’t mean we should neglect our basic needs, one of which is breathing fresh air and connecting with the Earth.

According to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, people today spend 25% less time outdoors than they did 20 years ago. It comes as no surprise that rates of anxiety and depression continue to rise as we move farther and farther away from the way nature intended for us to live.

Walking in nature doesn’t just give us a break from the hectic city life; it can actually change our brain chemistry, too. 

HERE’S HOW SPENDING TIME IN NATURE EVERY DAY CAN REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY:

Related article: 10 Surprising Health Benefits of Walking Barefoot

It’s no surprise that living farther away from nature surrounded by buildings and city noise can increase your risk of anxiety and depression, but spending time in even the smallest patch of land can do wonders for the brain.

New research out of Stanford University found that spending time in nature can actually alter the chemistry in your brain, leading to mental clarity and peace of mind, and alleviating anxiety and stress. As Gretchen Reynolds explains in the New York Times, graduate student Gregory Bratman, who attends Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford, analyzed the brains of 38 adult city slickers who went on a 90-minute nature hike. Bratman found that these individuals had lower brain activity in their subgenual prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that focuses on “morbid rumination,” than the participants who trekked along the side of a nearby highway.Those who spent time in nature at least once a day didn’t dwell on the negative happenings in their lives as much, Reynolds reported. These results suggest what many of us probably knew all along – that everyone can benefit from spending more time in nature, and less time in the concrete jungle.

Nature can do wonders for your mental health, so if you have neglected your time with Earth lately, here are a few more reasons to hit the trails again that we didn’t mention before.

1. NATURE CAN BOOST YOUR ENERGY LEVELS.

After spending time outside, have you ever noticed that you feel more lively, cheerful, and refreshed? Well, there’s actually a scientific reason behind that. Several studies have confirmed that spending time in nature increases vitality, and the research finds that just 20 minutes a day out in nature can significantly boost energy levels. Richard Ryan, lead author of the scientific studies mentioned above and a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, says, “We have a natural connection with living things. Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.”

2. NATURE CAN MAKE YOU MORE CREATIVE.

A study published in the journal PLOSone indicated that immersion in nature can boost creativity by as much as 50%! Participants in the study had to spend four to six days in nature, completely disconnected from all technology. Psychologists explained that because of the gentle, more relaxing stimuli in nature, people’s attentional system becomes rejuvenated and able to function correctly, whereas in modern society, we constantly have to switch between tasks and become bombarded with loud, sudden noises.

If you have been struggling to bring out your creative energy, try spending more time in nature!

3. NATURE ELIMINATES STRESS.

Numerous studies have found that time spent outside can greatly reduce stress. For example, a study published in 2012 in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning revealed that out of 25 healthy adults living in Scotland, those who lived in areas with the most greenery had lower levels of cortisol.

Stress can increase your risk of mental and physical illnesses, but among all remedies, nature is one of the easiest ways to heal the mind and recharge the soul.

4. NATURE CAN IMPROVE DEMENTIA SYMPTOMS.

Along with all the other benefits of nature, a bit of greenery can go a long way in helping those who suffer from dementia. Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School discovered that when gardens were placed in nursing homes, the patients showed less agitation, more relaxation, and appeared to be more stimulated mentally.

Grounding or Earthing is when you have direct contact with the earth — like walking barefoot. 

There might be those who just can't believe that walking barefoot could actually help, but there are real scientific reasons grounding works. 

Because the earth emits negative electrons, they penetrate our bodies when we walk barefoot and these electrons have remarkable benefits.

They reduce free radicals and inflammation in your body.

Free radicals are necessary for metabolic processes, but too many free radicals can hurt our bodies and cause chronic diseases.  

It may be impossible to avoid bombatment of free radicals but there is plenty of evidence indicating that antioxidants neutralize free radicals that contribute to our body’s inflammatory responses. 

Because grounding has antioxidant effects, it can disarm these free radicals, thus reducing inflammation.

Grounding will improve your mood.

According to a study by Gaétan Chevalier, participants who were grounded for only one hour reported improvements in their moods, as opposed to those who were not grounded. 

The study notes that additional studies will be conducted, but if the positive effects are confirmed, grounding could be an easy way to decrease depression, anxiety, and stress.

It will improve your sleep because grounding might help you get the sleep you need by reducing cortisol levels. In a study published by The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, subjects that grounded during sleep by using a conductive mattress pad had reduced nighttime levels of cortisol and their 24-hour circadian cortisol profiles became closer to normal. Cortisol has been called the “stress hormone” that can lower our quality of sleep.

It will accelerate tissue repair and wound healing

It has been reported that Tour De France racers have successfully used Earthing Recovery Bags for tissue repair and recovery with amazing results. The Earthing Recovery Bag, which resembles a sleeping bag, cocoons the athletes in energy to provide healing properties. With this being said, if you want to speed up tissue repair, try exercising, meditating, or practicing yoga outdoors while barefoot. 

It’s an inexpensive way to incorporate grounding into your daily life and reap the benefits that these elite athletes have experienced.

These are just a few examples how grounding can improve your life.

Give it a try, see what it can do for you.

The Summer Solstice

 

The word “Solstice” comes from the Latin words, sol sistere – “sun stand still”. 

The sun does seem to stand still as it reaches it’s furthest point from the equator. 

Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, when warmth shines upon the land.

There was a time pagans didn’t celebrate “midsummer” as the first day of summer—after this longest day the daylight gets shorter! 

So our ancestors honored Summer Solstice as the beginning of the END of summer.

But regardless as the night of the Summer Solstice approaches, the pagan fires will burn brightly in honor of the sun. 

This is a time to strengthen the bonds between the participants as they offer thanks to Sol’s continued service to the earth and it’s creatures. 

As the summer solstice approaches, the days get longer and the urge to make the most of all that extra sunlight rises. 

In fact, even this month's full moon celebrations revolve around our daylight hours: Whether you perform a full moon ritual or simply hang out with friends on the patio, you're encouraged to spend the whole day of the Strong Sun Moon in nature, embracing the sun and its fiery energy.

Here's a great loaf cake, perfect for the celebration...

 

FLORAL ADVENTURES: LAVENDER LEMON LOAF CAKE

PREP TIME

20 mins

COOK TIME

45 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 5 mins

Lavender Lemon Loaf Cake

Author: Spice In The City

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 & ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ⅛ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ½ cup Butter, softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• ¾ cup 2% Greek Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 1 tablespoon dried Lavender

For the Drizzle:

• ¼ cup Icing Sugar
• Juice of ½ Lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 160 C / 325 F. Grease one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each until fully incorporated.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients, alternating with the Greek yogurt, to the creamed butter and sugar and mix just until incorporated.
6. Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest and beat on low just until blended.
7. Gently stir in the lavender.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake for about 45 minutes until the edges begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
9. Cool in the loaf pans for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
10. For the drizzle, take the icing sugar in a bowl and add lemon juice little by little till a pouring consistency is reached. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Summer Solstice Floral Crown

If you want to celebrate the Summer Solstice with natures beauty, there's no better way than a "do it yourself" floral crown, here's how: 

What you need:

A variety of fresh flowers, trimmed them down to 3-inch stems

2 pieces of 16-gauge floral cloth wire

Green floral tape

Floral sheers would be great, but you can use good scissors.

Now bend the two pieces of floral wire together and make a circle that will fit the intended head.

Then use tape to wrap the overlapping sections to create a base for the crown. 

Design 15 small clusters of 4-5 flowers and wrap the stems together tight with floral tape. 

Position flower clusters to the wire base  and wrap tape around the stems so they hold on.

Continue layering each cluster around the wire base until it’s filled.

As The Wheel Turns - The Summer Solstice

The Summer Soltice is on the way.

The gardens are beautiful, and summer is almost here.

There are picnics, the hiking, walking in the park, swimming, the barbeques, the joys of Midsummer.

Litha, the summer solstice Sabbat honors the longest day of the year. 

There are many different ways you can celebrate Litha, but whatever celebration we choose, the focus all about the sun. 

Because of the sun, the crops are growing and we can watch nature bask in the long sunny days as we enjoying the outdoors, spending more time with nature.

Midsummer marks the beginning of the Sun's dying strength before beginning its slide into darkness and we experience the longest day and shortest night of the year.