About

Our Mission

Bringing awareness to individuals regarding various stress relief techniques and resources available to them so they can learn about different ways to help reduce stress.

Our History

My journey with stress and anxiety started in the mid 1990s. Initially it was anxiety attacks my boyfriend at the time described as seizure-like. They would happen when I had to return to a situation that was extremely stressful.

At the time, at 25 years old, the youngest of my family, and having very little experience with kids, I was helping my brother out with his kids. He was an over-the-road truck driver, was splitting up with his ex, and would have the kids until the end of the school year. I decided to help him with the kids until he could get a local job.

He found a farm house for us to live in. It had cistern water which had to be refilled periodically. The kitchen sink would not drain so we had to carry the dishes to the bathtub to wash. If we used the electric skillet in the kitchen it would blow a fuse. The two boys had one bedroom, the two girls the other bedroom. I slept on a bed behind the couch in the living room.

The girls were 10 and the boys 12 and 13. Their mother did not like ‘in-laws’ so had told her kids that I hated them. Their mother would take the girls one weekend, the boys the next one a rotation basis. She never had all the kids at once, nor did I never have any kids except for when my brother was able to get home for a couple days. The kids fought with each other all the time, confronting me at every turn, calling their mom all the time to undermine my authority. Not a fun situation.

I survived it, but I have scars from the stress and anxiety of the situation. Move forward in time and I found myself having the anxiety attacks when I was not sure if it was time to put my cat down or not. I recognized this was ridiculous! At this time I realized I had anxiety attacks from perceived great fear/loss. I contacted my doctor’s office asking for help learning how to manage my stress. The nurse knew the perfect place, however my insurance required a doctor’s referral. So I went to see my doctor – who at the time I did not know was a quack. That’s another story.

When I saw her she asked me why I wanted to go to the facility the nurse recommended. I told her exactly what I told the nurse. Instead of the referral, she prescribed me an antidepressant and referred me a therapy. I was puzzled, but at that time I still believed doctors always knew best. I went to therapy and after explaining why I was there, he looked at me confused. He wondered why on the earth doctor sent me to him. That all he could do was what she could have done…tell me to get enough sleep, exercise, eat right. I walked out the door and threw away the pills.

This was the start of my journey. Well, actually it accidentally started when I was in a bookstore shortly afterword. I happened to notice a book called The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. I grabbed it, skimmed it, and purchased it. That was the true start of my journey. After that, any time I found any resource that had to do with stress/anxiety management or relief I purchased it. As I learned more about what to do, the items I’d grab grew.

I’ve learned that it takes time to find what works for you. I learned what will work for one person may not work for another person. Even what works for you under some circumstances may not work for you with other circumstances. It is a trial and error process. You just have to try them out.

As most people do, I had my trials over the years. I was in a relationship with a newly recovering chronic alcoholic. I have him to thank for my learning about codependency. I was laid off, broke up with him a couple months later, then my eldest brother was killed in an accident six weeks later. I was living in another state at the time, away from family, so I moved back home. Over the next seven years I lost numerous people suddenly, mostly from vehicular accidents. I lost a step-brother and a nephew.

Those years were hard for someone that had not suffered anything harder than their parents getting divorced, then moving to another state 500 miles away from their father. It was like fate noticed it was behind on my suffering and decided to get caught up in a short amount of time!

I learned a lot. About stress relief as well as about life. I firmly believe things happen for a reason.