OVERWHELMED WITH FEAR?

INSERT

YOUR NAME

Your holiday decor looks just right… but the cheery tableau belies the churning anxiety within you, as you can’t help but worry about the future. “Stress comes from two main sources,” reveals Erin Olivo, Ph.D., author of Wise Mind Living. “The belief that something is challenging and the belief that you don’t have what it takes to overcome it.”

Imagine you’re giving advice to someone experiencing what you are, suggests Marc A. Brackett, Ph.D., author of Permission to Feel and director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. “Let’s say it’s your mother struggling with negative thoughts— you might say, Let’s brainstorm ideas, like planning regular phone calls. All of a sudden, solutions you had trouble applying to yourself occur to you just because you’ve created psychological distance.” Boost the benefit by saying your name. “When I’m engaging in catastrophic thinking, I say, Marc, you can get through this. The third person creates the space you need to gain perspective and boost confidence.”