I saw an article on CNN today about how Walmart's sales at U.S. stores fell 1.4% from the same period last year. When customers are living paycheck to paycheck more than ever before, the sales aren't there because "customers can't afford the gas to get to the stores and that they're increasingly using food stamps when they get there." It's no secret we are living in difficult times. It's a no brainer that anxiety levels in the country must be rising. It made me wonder how much.

I have bad dreams pretty much every night. They take place in different locations, with different people, but the nightmare is always the same. I am desperately trying to get people from my past to accept and love me. Despite my best attempts, I am always rejected. Everyone always hates me and I feel completely worthless and unworthy to be around anyone. When I wake up, I feel sad and depressed. Not my favorite way to start the day.

I thought I would discuss what I use as my favorite tools and resources for learning about and dealing with my anxiety and phobias. Reading Material- The biggest help that I have gotten has been from the book The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook Fourth Edition by Edmund J. Bourne. The guidance in this book touches on everything that I can think of on how to manage your anxiety and phobias. I highly recommend trying to find this book at your local library. I was hopeless and this book gave me the motivation to take control of my life again. Main things that helped me were learning about Self Talk, Positive Affirmations and Mistaken Beliefs.

We live in scary times. Between the recession and natural disasters, you never know when a crisis could hit your home. Many people are one pay check away from losing everything. We live in scary, stressful times. It makes sense that now is the time to plan and prepare for what may lie ahead. We can't predict the future, but we can do our best to prepare for it. And if we are prepared, we won't have as much fear.