This past week I carried more stress than I have in months.  I used to deal with my stress by drinking and sleeping excessively.  I would ignore, avoid, and dull it any way I could. 

Throughout my healing process I have learned to lean into my stress and really feel it.  To explore where it is coming from so that I can truly release it.  I acknowledged this growth this week and it felt amazing. 

It was so awesome to recognize that I didn’t instantly go to booze or sleep to numb myself to the stress.  I realized that it was coming from a place of worry and fear.  What an eye-opener to see that most of my life I have created stress because I didn’t want to acknowledge that I cannot control everything in my life.

Understanding where my stress was coming from helped me to really move through it and release it.  I wanted to share 5 things you can use to help you cope and work through your stress.
 
5 Ways to Cope with Stress:

1. Do not avoid and dull your stress.  Really feel it.  Explore what moments are brining up stress.  Write them down or make a little video when you are in those moments so that you can truly examine what is and why you are feeling it.
2. Lean into the discomfort of your stress. It is natural and totally human to avoid things that bring us discomfort.  However, discomfort is generally where we will get a great deal of insights and growth.  So, don’t avoid it just lean into it and see what you can learn from your own discomfort.
3. Journal about your stress.  This helped bring me a great deal of clarity this week.  I wrote 2 pages about stress and so many things came up that I didn’t even realize were attached to the stress. 
4. Meditate.  Sit with your stress.  Talk to it and see what it wants to share with you.  Often when we go inside ourselves, we learn things we can’t even imagine. 
5. Use your magick.  Often when moments of stress happen, I will pull out my tarot deck.  I am sure some would disagree with this since your tarot takes on the energy you give and provides you with insights from that energy.  The reason I like using my tarot during these moments is it gives me a deeper insight into what is going on and what I could do to work through it.  Don’t be afraid of magick in the shadow moments.  Powerful magick and information lies in the darkness, embrace it.  As above, so below.

Finally, if you are really stuck in your stress don’t be afraid to talk to someone about it.  Even if you just need to purge and don’t really want advice or guidance.  Sometimes the best way to release is to verbally release.  Clear your throat chakra and let that shit go.  

 As I was pondering my word for 2019 freedom really stuck out to me. I started thinking about what freedom means to me. 

Freedom from expectations of me as a woman, freedom from the patriarchal work mindset, freedom from debt, freedom from my own fears and doubts.  While I was thinking about all the thing’s freedom means I started to examine how to gain these freedoms.

What came up for me was the word SURRENDER.

As a previous perfectionist and a minor control freak, this word makes me a little anxious. It is not something I have ever been able to do.  Every time I attempted to surrender in any way, I would let fear grab hold and tell me I had to control it or fix it. Talk about some unhealthy ego issues.

I’ve really been trying to lean into surrender the past week.  Lean into the discomfort and anxiety that come up with surrender.  To examine what it really means for me to surrender.  In what ways I can surrender this year, and to set an intention around what I want to gain from surrender.

I have started journaling again this week and have been writing about fear and surrender almost daily.  It has given me a clearer understanding of why surrender causes anxiety and fear to come to the surface for me. I recognize now that it is my ego, that long held habitual belief that I can control the universe and make things happen by never giving away that control.  This was truly eye opening for me and has helped me really embrace surrender the past few days.

I recognize now that surrender doesn’t mean I am giving away any of my power or my voice.  That truly surrendering is actually quite peaceful and safe.  I have been reading Rise Sister Rise by Rebecca Campbell and I recently read the section on being held. It was amazing to look at surrendering the way she explains it. (Read the book, it is amazing)

Out of all of this I am moving forward with two words for 2019, surrender and freedom. I truly feel like they are synonymous as you cannot have one without the other.  I cannot wait to see where surrender takes me and the freedom it will bring into my life.

“If you let go, you get to grow.” Erin Stump, PeaceLove&Bubbly