10 Affirmations To Conquer Anxiety Like A Badass
Calling myself anxious would be an understatement. This year, I have experienced more restlessness, panic, and weariness than ever before. The compounded stress of our current pandemic, racial tension, and woes of being a working mom (from home) is enough to make anyone mad. Maybe I'm stir-crazy or feeling the weight of years of carrying the baggage of others and pursuing my pilgrimage of success. Like Drake said, "This shit got me in my feelings." I am over letting it run my life.
So what is anxiety? According to Anxiety.org, anxiety is intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Sometimes you experience a fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and feeling tired. Everyone has different triggers that cause bouts of anxiety—it's the never-ending laundry list of things to do for me. Identifying your triggers—or what I like to call "what's eating you"—will help you navigate these emotions. It takes time to determine what they are, but once you do, the power lies within your hands.
I understand that my feelings are fleeting, and the anxiety I feel may last more than a moment, but it won't stay for very long. So, I honor them because they matter, and then I make a conscious decision to move forward.
I'm a firm believer in affirmations—positive statements that can help you overcome self-sabotaging, negative thoughts. They can improve your mood, boost self-esteem, increase motivation, help you solve problems, and boost optimism. They work! I've used affirmations to tackle stress, increase my self-love and respect, and even find a man.
Here are 10 affirmations to tackle anxiety and be the badass you were meant to be:
1. I have everything I need within me.
Girl, there is no one coming to save you. Unless you have the blue pill or the red pill from The Matrix, there is no special pill to change things. The strength of our ancestors is embedded within you, waiting for use.
2. I breathe in relaxation and breathe out tension.
Ain't nothing to it but to do it. Breathing is free; inhale the good stuff.
3. I love and approve of myself.
Say it with your chest and say it often. Reaffirming self-love is necessary for growth. It's something we need to work at, and daily tune-ups won't hurt.
4. Every thought is creating my future.
Yes, thinking is a type of action. Taking ownership of our actions is a power move. Anytime you allow yourself to become overwhelmed by negative thoughts, it can erode your quality of life.
5. At this moment, I choose to feel calm and peaceful. Everything is unfolding as it should.
Have you ever stepped away from the crowd and into a bathroom to do some deep breathing? No? Just me? Find a place to close your eyes and remember all the times you felt victorious. With that, visualize another moment of success. Discomfort is normal. If you didn't feel anything, you would be without a pulse.
6. I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me. (Philippians 4:13)
For my saved and sanctified, this is the perfect time to remember you are capable of doing all things through Christ who strengthens you.
7. I am grateful for what I have.
Sometimes our thoughts about others can get the best of us. Focusing on what we lack in comparison to others—like thinking, "Why did they get the promotion, and I didn't?" instead of being happy for them and grateful for what we have. As the saying goes, "Comparison is the thief of joy."
8. I attract all that is good and beautiful.
When you remind yourself that you are the prize, you continue to attract great things.
9. I am safe at this moment.
There's no time like the present to reaffirm that you are secure in the place that you dwell. This affirmation will help you relax and help you master your feelings.
10. Today, I choose happiness and joy.
Each day, we have a choice to be happy. Even when something doesn't go as planned, you still have the power to change how you feel.
Argue for your limitations, and they are surely yours. That's a daily reminder that what you think and focus on will become your reality. While anxiety can affect your mental health, it does not have to cripple you. If you're dealing with debilitating anxiety, I suggest seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist to help you achieve inner peace. Honestly, in a way, I feel like my anxiety was caused by not allowing myself to be free—free of fear, free of inhibitions, and free of self-doubt. There's always that little voice telling you that you can't do it again, that you're not worthy of success. It's time to let it go.
My final affirmation: I have nothing to prove to anyone, but everything to prove to myself.
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Ayana Iman is a certified life coach, professional speaker, and mama of one based in New Jersey. She's also known for her love of big hair, travel, and cooking. Find her across social @AyanaIman.
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
There are moments on our health journey when our bodies are bugging us to hit the reset button.
With life, we can start to see slips in our diet, irregular exercising, and inconsistent sleep schedules, and our mental health can suffer because of it. But what many people come to find is that with just a few adjustments — as opposed to restrictions — being made to their food intake, we can see a focus more on eating “the right” calories and less on being on a restrictive diet.
"Raw Till 4" is a dietary concept and lifestyle associated with the raw vegan and high-carb, low-fat vegan (HCLF) movements. Created by Australian blogger and YouTube star known as 'Freelee the Banana Girl', the method suggests eating raw, uncooked plant-based foods until 4 p.m. each day and then having a cooked, vegan meal in the evening.
The Raw Till 4 lifestyle follows the guidelines of vegan and rawist eating and involves consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains in an uncooked, natural state until the designated time of 4 p.m. or around one’s typical dinner time. After 4 p.m., a cooked vegan meal is consumed, which may include foods like steamed vegetables, grains, legumes, and plant-based sources of protein like tofu or tempeh.
On TikTok, creator Adina Yaffa is repopularizing the trend, sharing how it’s helped to improve digestion, boost energy levels, and support weight loss.
@adinayaffa Replying to @🌜kat🌛 here is what I eat in a day on a raw till 4 lifestyle. I eat with the sun and according to the circadian rhythm that out bodies follow on a typical day. Where i drink liquids during the first 8 hours, then juicy fruits, then smoothies, more dense building fats, proteins and veggies! #snatchedwaist #bellyfat #bellybloat #smallwaist #hourglass #rawtill4
“During the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., your body is in an elimination phase and needs all the help it can get,” Yaffa says in the clip. “So what you’re going to do is drink coconut water, citrus juices, and green juices during this time, and around 8 a.m., you can break your fast with some fruit. I suggest juicing fruits, and then after that, I suggest having a smoothie or a bowl with berries and granola so you can get your fats and healthy proteins in.”
@adinayaffa Raw till 4 has so many benefits including better digestion, nutrients, belly fat and bloat elimination, snatched waist, more energy and so much more! #snatchedwaist #bellyfat #bellybloat #smallwaist #hourglass
On the official Raw Till 4 website, Freelee the Banana Girl shares tips on how to get the best outcomes of this lifestyle change, which include:
- “Stay hydrated! You should pee about 8-12 times per day, and your urine should be clear. Drink 1 liter of water when you wake up in the morning, and 1 liter of water about 30 minutes before each meal for optimal results.”
- “Fragmented sodium (salt) should be kept to a minimum. Use herbs, lemon juice, etc. wherever possible in place of salt.”
- “Eat unlimited calories at every meal, no restriction. The majority of your calories each day should come from fruit. Don’t under-eat on fruit during the day or 'save up' your calories for dinner time. RT4 is about abundance at every meal.”
- “Move your body daily. Find an activity you love and make it your playful exercise.”
- “Make sure to get lots of rest, relaxation, and good sleep. Learning to incorporate good rest, early nights, and regular sleeping patterns into your life will greatly improve your overall health.”
- “Practice gratitude and peaceful emotions at mealtime, and get a vision book started! Be sure to enjoy this journey. Focus on long-term health instead of short-term results.”
Critics argue that it can be challenging to get all the necessary nutrients from a raw vegan diet and that it may not be suitable for everyone, especially over the long term.
As with any diet, it's important to consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before making significant dietary changes to ensure that it meets your individual nutritional needs and health goals.
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