"I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love, and abundance. Then, whenever doubt, anxiety, or fear try to call me, they will keep getting a busy signal and soon they'll forget my number".-Edith Armstrong

Living a life that uses your strengths and talents, and is working for you plays a huge part in reducing stress in your life. Stress can be a sign that something is not working properly, but no-one is totally stress free. Stress becomes a real problem when it is chronic, and affects your health, your relationships, and your day to day living. If you are suffering from ongoing stress, it needs to be dealt with and the source identified. Sometimes the answer is making some life changes, or the change may need to be in your attitude and response to life's challenges.

Picture your perfect life. Imagine how you feel as you go about your day, you have achieved your major goals and are living your life as you want to. You will probably be aware of a feeling of real satisfaction, energised by living as you dream.

Now imagine you are living the opposite of your perfect life. How does that feel? Exhausting as you force yourself to do things you do not enjoy? Boring? Everything a chore? If you are feeling like this, instead of getting dragged down by how you are feeling, consider whether you are getting a sign that you need to make some changes.

Mental illness can create a major barrier to finding and taking part in activities that you love. Participation in postive uplifting activities is even more important, to avoid creating extra stress and isolation. Focus on overall wellness including medication, extra supplementation if necessary, therapy, and keeping physically fit and healthy. Do not decide you cannot have an extraordinary life, but you will need to be sure you have clear goals for maintaining your mental health issues.

The world has been blessed with some very gifted individuals who have achieved greatness while living with mental illness. These people include Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven, Patty Duke, and Spike Milligan. The world has also made it very difficult for people who have a mental illness. Caring for your overall health and having good support systems need to be top priority, and could be the most important goal you have as periods of illness could have a huge effect on your other goals.

Your psychological health and living a life you enjoy are closely linked. If one is not working properly, the other one is often affected as well. Working out which is the cause and which is the effect and making changes will be required to get back on track. It may be simple to change, but sometimes there are a number of factors that will all need to be worked through. A good support system can make this process easier to manage.

Have a wonderful day.