How to Psych Yourself Out in 30 Days or Less

I've been really quiet on this blog lately, but life has taken a lot of ups, downs, and twists in the last few weeks.

To put it simply, I've spent most of the last month freaking myself out about life. Based on the advice from other freelancers that I've read (on blogs and elsewhere), I've already fallen into every freelancer pitfall there is. And I'm barely a month into it!

And as an added curveball, last week I started with full-blown anxiety attacks, so that's been zapping a lot of my energy. I pulled myself together long enough to complete the articles I had to do, but there has been a lot, LOT of downtime just to get myself together.

I'm psyching myself out over everything. Luckily (and don't think I don't count my lucky stars EVERY SINGLE DAY these days) my boyfriend has been absolutely wonderful, and has been helping me to see things a little more clearly. I'm doing my best to both focus and not put so much pressure on myself, because that's when the chest tightens and all hell breaks loose.

Basically, I'm just trying to get out of my own way with this, and see where it takes me. I realize I might be at this for awhile, so I have to cut the nonsense and commit to it. But still, this is a lot harder than I ever imagined.

I'll try to be better with the blogging, even if only to post progress reports on here for awhile.

Favorite Ways to De-stress

I'm frantically trying to wrap up some loose ends (both writing-related and not) before heading to the beach for some MUCH needed downtime. I haven't been on a big trip since the fall (I know, boo hoo for me, right? I know some people who haven't been anywhere in years--my b.f. being one of them), but I'm itching to get out of my regular routine and do some big time chilling for a few days.

Which brings me to my main question--what are some of your favorite ways to de-stress?

Since I'm not a full-time freelancer, my first response is almost always "Do some writing". And it's true that writing helps me to calm down, focus, and shift my thoughts away from other things that might be bothering me at the moment. But as any writer will tell you, it's not an easy process; being stuck and having a few deadlines looming isn't exactly a vacation.

So I'll go with what is usually my next response--"Chill out with a book". This is probably closer to the truth as far as my favorite way to de-stress. One of the main things I'm looking forward to doing over the summer is making a major dent in my reading list--it's getting a little out of control, but it would probably be even easier to manage if I would stop buying them! Sigh. But yes--I would say that laying on the couch (or beach!) with a good book and no plans for the day is probably my absolute favorite way to de-stress and unwind.

Oh, and massages are good, too!

What are some of your favorite ways to de-stress and unwind?