Know that feeling of your heart beating faster in response to a stressful situation? Or perhaps, instead, your palms get sweaty when you’re confronted with an overwhelming task or event.
That’s anxiety — our body’s natural response to stress.
If you haven’t recognized your triggers yet, here are a few common: your first day at a new job, meeting your partner’s family, or giving a presentation in front of a lot of people. Everyone has different triggers, and identifying them is one of the most important steps to coping and managing anxiety attacks.
Identifying your triggers can take some time and self-reflection. In the meantime, there are things you can do to try to help calm or quiet your anxiety from taking over.
If your anxiety is sporadic and getting in the way of your focus or tasks, there are some quick natural remedies that could help you take control of the situation.If your anxiety is focused around a situation, such as being worried about an upcoming event, you may notice the symptoms are short-lived and usually subside after the anticipated event takes place.
5 Quick Ways to Cope
​Question your thought pattern
Negative thoughts can take root in your mind and distort the severity of the situation. One way is to challenge your fears, ask if they’re true, and see where you can take back control.

Practice focused, deep breathing
Try breathing in for 4 counts and breathing out for 4 counts for 5 minutes total. By evening out your breath, you’ll slow your heart rate which should help calm you down.
The 4-7-8 technique is also known to help anxiety.

Use aromatherapy
Whether they’re in oil form, incense, or a candle, scents like lavender, chamomile, and sandalwood can be very soothing.
Aromatherapy is thought to help activate certain receptors in your brain, potentially easing anxiety.

Go for a walk or do 15 minutes of yoga
Sometimes, the best way to stop anxious thoughts is to walk away from the situation. Taking some time to focus on your body and not your mind may help relieve your anxiety.

Write down your thoughts
Writing down what’s making you anxious gets it out of your head and can make it less daunting.
These relaxation tricks are particularly helpful for those who experience anxiety sporadically. They may also work well with someone who has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) when they’re in a bind too!
However, if you suspect you have GAD, quick coping methods shouldn’t be the only kind of treatment you employ. You’ll want to find long-term strategies to help lessen the severity of symptoms and even prevent them from happening.

RESPECT in 25 Steps - Developing the Path to Self-Esteem:

1. Figure out what your problem is. Realize your problem isn’t who you are, it’s what you have used to protect your physical and emotional well-being. It’s hiding who you are: a beautiful human being, a wonderful source of awareness, knowledge, creativity, love and joy. If you practice self-esteem based on the faith that this is who you really are, then your problem will dissolve.
2. Figure out who you are. Take self-evaluation quizzes. Learn as much as you can about who you are and why you think and feel the way you do. Self-knowledge is a key to success.
3. Decide what you can and can’t control. Change and act on the things that are in your control and release the things that are out of your control.
4. Accept responsibility. Finding self-confidence requires accepting responsibility for your own happiness, and recognizing that you are a product not only of your genetic code and your environment, but of the choices you make. Begin your day with the words "I am responsible."
5. Make anxiety your ally. Write down your worries for 30 days. Nagging concerns that loom so large in your imagination lose their power on paper. Amazingly, after writing them down the anxieties begin to fade.
6. Recognize that mistakes are opportunities. Keep the setback in perspective. Most mistakes are not personal tragedies; rather they are problems you now have the opportunity to solve. "Success," is often a string of failed attempts to get it right.
7. Compete to improve yourself not to beat someone else.
8. Be ambitious. When setting goals, remember that you are distinct from what you have and what you seem to be. If you let others define who you are, you may not find happiness. Pursue your own dreams -- not your parent’s, mate’s, or your best friend’s.
9. Be brave and take risks. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Risk-taking builds confidence. When considering any risk: define a clear goal. Review the positive, practical and potential losses. Determine whether the risk is one of trust, identity or something larger. When you focus on risks that have a larger purpose, you can’t go wrong. Even if the risk doesn’t turn out as you hoped it would, you will gain from it. Act. Take a risk. Be confident -- you have earned it.
10. Think and speak positively. If you hear a compliment or positive statement about someone you know pass that compliment on to them. An Arabian proverb puts it neatly: Blessed is he who speaks a kindness; thrice blessed he who repeats it.
11. Learn something new. Create a new hobby. Increase your vocabulary one word a week. Take on a new physical challenge or activity.
12. Spend time investing in your personal growth. This enables joy to flourish amid the fears and difficulties of life. Read self-help books and act on the knowledge.
13. Decisions: the next time you ponder a decision, think of everything that could go right and say to yourself, "What do I have to lose, really?
14. Smile and be courteous. Use the words please and thank you consistently.
15. Be aware of media’s messages. Their goal is to make you feel bad about yourself so you will buy what they are selling.
16. Keep good company. Positive feeds positive and negative breeds negative. If you choose to be around positive people you in turn will become more positive.
17. Reward yourself. Give yourself and others positive rewards for being and doing well.
18. Don’t accept messages that damage your own self-esteem. It is much easier to improve or change your behavior when you believe you are lovable and capable.
19. Be aware of the different messages that you hear in your head and remember to turn up the volume on the messages that contribute to your positive self-esteem and to turn down the volume on any message that encourages you to think negatively about your worth or ability.
20. You can improve the quality of messages you have in your head about being lovable and capable. Use "how to" statements in your head and take action on the answers you receive. Repeat positive affirmations to yourself & out loud as much as possible.
21. Negative messages can build esteem as long a they are not attacking your self-worth or defining yourself as incapable. Properly delivered negative messages say "I care about myself. I am a worthwhile person and I can learn how to do things better."
22. Any thoughts that take us away from a positive feeling are not worth having or defending. If you want to be happy, follow your happy feelings, not your unhappy ones.
23. The moment you hear a critical remark, ask yourself, "What’s on this person’s screen?" Assume that all critical remarks arise from some shortcoming. Remember that people can only criticize what’s on their screen and that their screens are not reliable. It’s very unlikely that any criticism is based on an accurate perception of you. It’s much more likely that the critic is reacting to emotions, memories, and behavior patterns that have almost nothing to do with you. Thinking poorly about yourself because of such critics is a mistake. When someone criticizes you do and say the following: Smile and say to yourself, "Boy, I wonder what’s on their screen to make them so critical of me?" Remember it’s about them not about you.
24. Remember that all criticism shares one characteristic: it is unwelcome. You didn’t invite people to dump the distorted contents of their screen on you. You may feel that you owe some critics a response, but you never owe a critic your self-esteem.
25. A small success done to completion can bring big feeling of competence. Small steps lead to more steps. Pat yourself on the back every time you make a small success. Every step counts. Take one step at a time in a positive direction, this is the practice of self-esteem.

NOTE: Many times, when we have low self-esteem there is some overlooked forgiveness or block that needs to be owned in order for us to move forward and feel better about ourselves. Be supported in your process to respect on forgiveness,  feeling stuck, or whatever is unique to you: https://www.accessyouranswers.com/kick-start.html
​

​Emotionally Supportive Yoga = EMOGA
EMOGA is what it’s described to be: physical poses that allow you and your body to practice, have more permission for and allow certain emotional states and beliefs. Exactly like making yourself smile, whether you feel happy or not, will in fact set off positive cascade of effects in your brain, your body and in those around you. Read the article below to learn more specifically about this. So why not expand that same effect of “body emotional technology” to other feelings and beliefs. I have taken this and specifically designed poses as well as use existing yoga poses to create a more conscious approaching to increasing the feelings you want to have. EMOGA will help you tap into Receiving, Confidence, Believing in Yourself and much more.  The 1st video will take you through the head and shoulders EMOGA poses in less than 10 minutes. You can do these anywhere you can sit or stand, so a gym, mat or other work out necessities are not needed. Start off doing each pose for 4 to 10 seconds or repetitions and increase to 30 seconds as you like. Ideally you can hold some poses for a minute or more as needed.
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." —Thich Nhat Hanh
​
How Smiling Affects Your Brain
Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.
For starters, smiling activates the release of neuropeptides that work toward fighting off stress (3). Neuropeptides are tiny molecules that allow neurons to communicate. They facilitate messaging to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, or excited. The feel-good neurotransmitters--dopamine, endorphins and serotonin—are all released when a smile flashes across your face as well (4). This not only relaxes your body, but it can also lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
The endorphins also act as a natural pain reliever—100-percent organic and without the potential negative side effects of synthetic concoctions (4).
Finally, the serotonin release brought on by your smile serves as an anti-depressant/mood lifter (5). Many of today’s pharmaceutical anti-depressants also influence the levels of serotonin in your brain, but with a smile, you again don’t have to worry about negative side effects—and you don’t need a prescription from your doctor.
How Smiling Affects Your Body
You’re actually better-looking when you smile—and I’m not just trying to butter you up. When you smile, people treat you differently. You’re viewed as attractive, reliable, relaxed, and sincere. A study published in the journal Neuropsychologia reported that seeing an attractive, smiling face activates your orbitofrontal cortex, the region in your brain that processes sensory rewards. This suggests that when you view a person smiling, you actually feel rewarded.
It also explains the 2011 findings by researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Subjects were asked to rate smiling and attractiveness. They found that both men and women were more attracted to images of people who made eye contact and smiled than those who did not (6). If you don’t believe me, see how many looks you get when you walk outside with that smile you're wearing right now. (You’re still smiling like I asked, right?)
How Smiling Affects Those Around You
Did you know that your smile is actually contagious? The part of your brain that is responsible for your facial expression of smiling when happy or mimicking another’s smile resides in the cingulate cortex, an unconscious automatic response area (7). In a Swedish study, subjects were shown pictures of several emotions: joy, anger, fear, and surprise. When the picture of someone smiling was presented, the researchers asked the subjects to frown. Instead, they found that the facial expressions went directly to imitation of what subjects saw (8). It took conscious effort to turn that smile upside-down. So if you’re smiling at someone, it’s likely they can’t help but smile back. If they don’t, they’re making a conscious effort not to.
Looking at the bigger picture, each time you smile at a person, their brain coaxes them to return the favor. You are creating a symbiotic relationship that allows both of you to release feel-good chemicals in your brain, activate reward centers, make you both more attractive, and increase the chances of you both living longer, healthier lives.
 
References – PsychologyToday.com - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201206/there-s-magic-in-your-smile
1. Primitive emotional contagion. Hatfield, Elaine; Cacioppo, John T.; Rapson, Richard L. Clark, Margaret S. (Ed), (1992). Emotion and social behavior. Review of personality and social psychology, Vol. 14., (pp. 151-177). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc, xi, 311 pp.
2. Abel E. and Kruger M. (2010) Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity, Psychological Science, 21, 542–544.
3. Seaward BL. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett; 2009:258.
4. R.D. (2000). Neural correlates of conscious emotional experience. In R.D. Lane & L. Nadel (Eds.), Cognitive neuroscience of emotion (pp. 345–370). New York: Oxford University Press.
5. Karren KJ, et al. Mind/Body Health: The Effect of Attitudes, Emotions and Relationships. New York, N.Y.: Benjamin Cummings, 2010:461.
6. Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research Phil Trans R Soc B June 12, 2011 366: 1638-1659.
7. O’Doherty, J., Winston, J., Critchley, H. Perrett, D., Burt, D.M., and Dolan R.J., (2003) Beauty in a smile: the role of medial orbitofrontal cortex in facial attractiveness. Neuropsychologia, 41, 147–155.
8. Sonnby–Borgström, M. (2002), Automatic mimicry reactions as related to differences in emotional empathy. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 43: 433–443.

"Instant" chocolate pudding! I’m a big fan of chocolate desserts, and this is one I feel really good about.
Using a mix of avocado, almond milk, and cocoa powder, this “instant” chocolate pudding, full of flavonoids and unsaturated “healthy” fats,  is delicious at any time. It's also gluten free. A tea cup serving of this treat will satisfy any sweet tooth without second thoughts.
Servings: 6 ​    Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup honey, plus Stevia additional as needed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Flaky sea salt - if you like 

Directions

1. Scoop the avocado flesh into your blender container and then add the almond milk, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. 
2. Puree on high speed for one minute, or until a creamy consistency. Stop to scrape down the sides, as needed. 
3. Taste and add additional honey or stevia if needed. The goal is subtle sweetness to balance the richness of the cocoa and avocado. 
4. Spoon (or pipe, using a zipper storage bag with the corner cut off) the pudding into tea cups or small ramekins. 
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Prior to serving, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on top.

Nutrition Information (per serving)(includes 1/4 teaspoon added salt)

• Calories: 180
• Total fat: 11 g
• Saturated fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Sodium: 130 mg
• Total carbohydrate: 22 g
• Dietary fiber: 7 g
• Sugars: 13 g
• Protein: 3 g
•   A Kaiser Permanente Health Recipe

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Access Your Answers Intuitive Counseling & Healing Receives 2019 Best of San Jose Award
San Jose Award Program Honors the Achievement
SAN JOSE October 3, 2019 -- Access Your Answers Intuitive Counseling & Healing has been selected for the 2019 Best of San Jose Award in the Counselor category by the San Jose Award Program.
Each year, the San Jose Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the San Jose area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2019 San Jose Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the San Jose Award Program and data provided by third parties.
About San Jose Award Program
The San Jose Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the San Jose area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The San Jose Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community's contributions to the U.S. economy.
SOURCE: San Jose Award Program

CONTACT:
San Jose Award Program
Email: [email protected]
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