My Biggest Success | Healing Mentally

I am so very successful. Not because I have a degree, not because I can travel, not because I own nice things.

I am going to tell you my biggest success.

If I asked you what comes to your mind when I say "success", you may think of school, a career, money, a home, a family. That's exactly what I thought. Up to several months ago that is.

I graduated from university with a degree in Psychology and Sociology. I have a career. I bought a new car and I have traveled to California. I can afford to live comfortably. I am blessed to have these experiences and opportunities but they did not make me feel successful. 

I mentioned it in previous blogs, but I I grew up with distressing, intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors as well as anxiety and panic attacks.

As a child and young adult, I was desperate to find something to help me. I didn't care what. My life was passing before my eyes and I was stuck in my own thoughts, never in the present moment.

That was my biggest challenge to date. I spent years of my life practicing yoga, meditation, positive thinking and more to put an end to these thoughts.

And my efforts did not go unnoticed. I begun the healing processes and I started to form new thinking patterns even though I didn't really see the results until later. 

My life changed when I began my spiritual journey, studied Psychology and took a leap of faith in my early 20s. I started to heal. I remember feeling excitement and motivation again. My grades improved and I actually enjoyed studying whereas before it was something I avoided as I was unable to get out of my own head space long enough to have some quality study time.

I took on hobbies too. I discovered I am decent at (and more importantly, love) to draw and paint and do other crafty projects. I have fascination for dance. I love studying people while they dance. I often learn choreography to dance routines I like and when I find the right dance class, I plan on joining. I do yoga and meditate on a near daily basis.

For a lot of people, this might not seem like a big deal. You like to spend time at home and draw. So what? But up until several years ago, my mental state prevented me from expressing myself creatively. Having a poor mental state and not having an outlet to express my creative side contributed to a viscous cycle of anxiety and panic. 

Anyways, fast forward several years later. I was having a conversation with my friend and we were on the subject of mental health, our struggles, and what being happy meant to us. It was then I realized what my biggest accomplishment was.

Mentally, I am free. 

I have finally put the demons inside to head to rest. This has allowed light to shine through and a life of freedom to transpire. And when the demons wake (which they sometimes do), I am mentally strong enough to allow them to be there. I accept and embrace them and because of that, I am much less impacted like them.

I see the world differently now. I am the happiest I have been and I know it will only get better. I did this without therapy, drugs, and treatment. (Not that I'm against this options; at the time, I didn't know they were an option for me).

It took a lot of faith, a lot of change, and a lot of work. But it was worth it. And that it my biggest success in life.

Tell me your biggest success.

Please share and subscribe to my blog for more content.

Sincerely,

Ang

Follow my on Instagram and Twitter. You can find the links to my social media by clicking the icon in the top right hand corner.

Here are links where I discuss more about my mental state and how I healed:

Do you have repetitive, distressing thoughts? Read this.

Want To Let Go Of A Thought, Fear, Or Worry? Read This For The One Thing You Need To Know.

Feeling Lost? You're On Your Way To A Spiritual Transformation

I just wanted to right a quick blog to inspire those who may be feeling lost. It also a gentle reminder to myself that I am exactly where I need to be. 

If you're anything like me, you have your shit together. You know what you want in life and you work to make it happen. You see results and you know that set backs happen for a reason. For the most part, you feel pretty damn good.

Notice I said "for the most part". There are definitely moments when you feel miserable. You wonder if you're on the right track. You question your potential to achieve your goals. You think that past successes were just coincidences. 

If this is you, I really feel for you. I'm in a similar situation now. To be honest, I want to escape. I want to escape this world I'm currently living and find a life where I can live my purpose and be free. A life where I can reach people and talk about things that I'm passionate about without being constrained to a 9-5. 

I have been mostly confident in my ability to achieve this. But I have been doubting myself lately. I'm not seeing the results I would like to see. As a result, I have been looking for other careers and I have applied to go back to school. I know, though, that this will not give me that life style. But I hate feeling "stuck" so those efforts seemed necessary.

But then I am reminded of something. Feeling lost or stuck means you are on your way to a transformation. I don't know where I learned this. I feel like it's something I intuitively know. 

I think it's the universe's way of challenging you. If you keep working on your dream despite feeling discouraged, lacking motivation, or trusting yourself, the universe will take note. 

You need to go through rough patches. You need to be in the dark before you can see the light. It's the way the universe works!

So if you're feeling discouraged, keep moving forward! That is when the magic happens. You have nothing to lose anyways so it's worth the shot.

I hope this blog is inspiring. Feel free to share and subscribe to my blog :)

I'm working this weekend but I should be back Monday or Tuesday with a new one.

Have a great weekend. 

Ang

Here is a link to my previous blog:

Looking To Collaborate  

Related blog:

Have You Ever Asked The Universe For A Direction?

Looking To Collaborate

Hey guys.

I want to get to know other people with blog niches similar to my own. Ideally, I would like to create a community for new (ish) bloggers to come together to help each other as well as collaborate. I think the best thing we can is to help lift and inspire each other.

I would love to hear and learn from you.

Leave a comment or email me (angela.lundrigan11@gmail.com) if you are interested.

I look forward to hearing from you

Angie

Getting Bullied Because Your Vegan | My Experience & Advice

Going plant-based was more like a calling than a choice. I've talked about that in previous blogs.

It was in 2009 when I decided to stop eating meat. I was so proud of my decision. I was excited to tell my friends and family what I was up to and the information that I have accumulated on this topic.

I thought that my decision was going to cause a ripple effect. People would listen to what I have to say and they would follow suit. Why wouldn't they? There was so much evidence that plant-based diets are the healthiest diets. Plus, we were not slaughtering animals. It was a win-win situation in my opinion.

But I couldn't have been more wrong. Well, that's why I thought at the time.

It was so disappointing the little support and understanding I had from my own friends and family.

Here are some of the comments I received.

"What about the rest of your family? What are we supposed to eat?"

"I told my dad and he told me to tell you not to be so foolish"

"You should eat some meat. It's not healthy to have no meat in your diet"

"You don't eat meat? That's why you're so skinny"

"You're children will grow up to be freaks"

I am not sharing this to demonize these people or to make you feel sorry for me. This is my experience and I choose to share it to help people understand my situation and to help people who may be in a similar position as I was in.

So what would my response be to such comments? Nothing. I would remain silent and avoid eye contact.

I learned rather quickly that not only were people uninterested in what I had to say, they were also offended. I was implying that what they were doing was wrong and that they needed to change. Of course, these people liked to their chicken, steak, and pork and thus they did not want to change.

They wanted me to be wrong. That way they could go about their daily life as they always had. Of course, they couldn't really prove me wrong. So their only option was to become defensive and throw insults at me.

I got the message so I became silent, avoiding the topic at all costs.

I use to feel anger. I would accuse these people of forcing me into silence with their judgments. They were denying my freedom of speech because they did not accept my choice to go plant-based.

But time has passed and I have grown. With that comes a new perception of the situation.

People will not always accept or support your decisions. Even when you know it's a great choice some will not understand. And because they don't understand, they may feel threatened or offended. To make themselves feel better about the situation, they may condemn you or make fun of you.

By all means, keep doing what you're doing and stick up for yourself if you want.

But I think it's best to reserve your words for those who are interested and lead those who don't understand by example. Let me elaborate.

When I say reserve your words for those who are interested, I mean find someone who has a similar interest. That could mean getting involved in programs or clubs or even reaching out to people online. There are tons of people who are involved or interested in this movement. Share your passion with these people. It's a safe and positive interaction because you should be able to find someone who wants to listen to you. You can learn from each other and grow.

When I say lead those who are uninterested by example, I mean to illustrate to these people the benefits of what you are doing. Maybe you lost weight or cleared your skin by going planet-based. Maybe you are so passionate about what you are doing that you are glowing with excitement and energy. Maybe you are getting recognition by some program for your positive influence.

Based on my experience, people will stop throwing comments and insults once they see results. That does not mean that everyone who didn't support me before are now vegans. But some are eating more plants, some are interested in eating more plants, others have admitted that what I'm doing must be working.

So yes, there was a ripple effect. It only became obvious some years later :)

I hope you find this helpful.

And if you are struggling to find someone who understands your food choices, comment or send me an email (angela.lundrigan11@gmail.com). I would be more than happy to chat!

Don't forget to subscribe and share this blog. It would mean so much.

Ang

Here is a link to my previous blog:

How To Know If Your An Empath | My Experience

Here are some other food related blogs:

My Calling: A "Plant-Based" Joruney | A Personal Story

What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Unhealthy (Again)

If You're Tired Of Treating Acne With Diet... Read This.

How To Know If Your An Empath | My Experience

Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well.

You may have noticed that I have taken a break from blogging for the past week or so. I could say it was because I was busy with my day job. But the truth was that I lost myself.

No. I didn't get lost while hiking or traveling. What I mean is that I couldn't find my soul. My spirit. My passion. Or whatever you want to call it. So I took a step back from this blog. Not because I wanted to stop writing but because I wanted to be authentic. And for a while I didn't know how to be authentic.

I started doing some research. And when I say research, I actually mean mediation. I looked back at my interests and passions as a child and the Universe did not disappoint.

I don't want to to talk about the epiphany I had or the direction of this blog. But I will say that inspiration came my way.

So for this blog I want to talk to you about something that has been apart of me for my whole life. Something I didn't understand as a child, rejected in my teens, and now embrace as an adult.

Empathy.

A quick Google search will tell you that Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Well, doesn't everyone experience empathy at some point or another? Yes, they do!

But there is much more to Empathy than that. Yes, you take on other people's emotions and feelings. But for some, it is on a much deeper level.

Based on my experience, Empathy is being sensitive to any and all energies.

Maybe you can sense someone's energy before this person even enters the room. You know what they are feeling because you can feel it to. Maybe you take on the physical sensations that another person is experiencing such as headaches and stomach pains. Maybe you can feel the energies of events that happened in the past or future. The list goes on and the possibilities are endless.

I know this may sound a little out there or too magical for some. But I invite you stay with me. Allow your mind to be open as you read on.

It's not easy growing up as an Empath. It's not so bad now. I know my limits and I am much more in tune with my feelings and emotions. It is now something I embrace.

I wish to share with you my experience as an Empath. Not because I want to talk about myself but because I understand how challenging it can be. I wish I had someone explain things to me when I was a young.

I wish to help people who are in a similar position as I was. Or maybe you have a loved one who is Empathic and you want to understand them a little better.

Now I will share with you my experiences as an Empath. If anyone can relate to my stories then you are probably an Empath too. So welcome to the club!

1. I Felt That I Was Weird

And it didn't help that I was often called weird! It was embarrassing watching movies in public. If it was happy or sad, I would cry buckets of tears. If it was scary, I would be paranoid and heightened for days to come.

Being in a room full of people was challenging. I felt anxiety on a daily basis when I was in class. I didn't know it at the time, but it was because I was occupying the same space as 20 plus people. So I was experiencing the energies of all these people. Make no wonder I went home with anxiety and panic attacks.

I was often labeled as being shy. And so I was! But the successful, popular people I grew up with were not shy. They were extroverted, social butterflies. So I would be offended when I was labeled as shy. Also, the shyness was a result of the powerful qualities I possess (empathy, introversion). Being labelled as shy did not help me to explore myself and my talents.

Needless to say, I felt below average growing up. I wasn't a social butterfly, I did not excel in school, and I was definitely not apart of any groups or clubs. I more or less just drifted in my own head space. I had quite the imagination which had both positive and negative implications. The positive being I had a safe space to get lost in. At the time, I liked to play video games, read books, and toys that required using your imagination (like barbies and dolls). I also had an artistic nature so it was pretty common for me to have a burst of inspiration where I would write, draw or paint. The bottom line? I spent a lot of my time alone. And that isn't to make anyone feel bad for me! I didn't realize it at the time either, but I loved spending time by myself.

The bottom line is that I felt very different from my peers. Empaths usually do.

2. I Felt A Responsibility For The Planet

Remember how I said that Empathic people are sensitive to energies? Well this doesn't mean that they are exclusively sensitive to the energies of other people.

Growing up, and to this day, I felt like I needed to make a difference to the planet and it's animals. I was naturally drawn to eco-friendly alternatives and conservation. I felt a need to explore vegetarianism and veganism. No documentaries were required. It is an innate quality I possess, I guess.

Eating a meatless diet is a part of who I am and I feel very strongly about it.

I wrote an article about my calling to go vegetarian that I will link here.

3. I Always Felt Scared

I was told that I had an overactive imagination. And I believed that to be true as it helped me to feel less afraid.

I often thought I saw things in the corner of my eye. I often thought I heard whispering outside my bedroom window. I often thought I could hear the television when it was turned off.

I embraced this as a child. But when I got older I learned that it wasn't "normal" to see or hear things that weren't there. This made me worried I was either seeing a ghost or going crazy.

Well, Empaths are also sensitive to energies outside of the physical world too. And when I realized this, it brought to light a lot of experiences I had as a child.

This is still a concept that is relatively new to me and I understand some people may have a hard time accepting and understanding it. But I do believe there is a spirit realm. What it contains I have no idea. Maybe it's spirits, spirit guides, or residual energy of past events. But I do believe there are energies that we cannot experience with our 5 senses. Those who are Empathic, though, may be able to pick up on these energies.

But these experiences were frightening as a child. And I'm not going to lie... they can be frightening as an adult! But now that I understand and accept these experiences, I am more intrigued than afraid. How many people can say that they have experiences with the spirit realm? That's pretty cool.

4. I Am Sensitive To Stimuli

This one is pretty basic, but I am very sensitive to bright lights, loud sounds, and harsh smells. I rarely use ceiling lights. Sometimes I actually feel like I need to use a blind to cover my eyes. Harsh smells especially scents of chemicals and perfumes make me feel like I'm choking. I am very reactive to loud, sudden sounds. I thought it was because I just startled easily!

I guess that is sort of true. But when you think about it, if Empaths are highly sensitive to energies, their baseline for how much stimuli they can tolerate is probably lower compared to less Empathetic individuals.

5. I realize I have A Gift To Share With The World

Like artists, dancers, and songwriters, being Empathic is a gift and talent that can be shared with the world. There are an endless amount of careers you can have that require Empathy. I am choosing a a nontraditional route by sharing my experience as an Empath via blogging.

If you feel that you can help people on a very deep level, you are probably an Empathy too.

That is it for my list. I hope you find it interesting and I hope it sheds some light on the topic. If you have any questions regarding Empathy, let me know in the comments. And please subscribe to Confessions of an Awakened Youth and share this article. It would mean a lot :)

You can also expect more blogs about Empathy. I have been very inspired lately!

I am sending positive vibes your way.

Ang

Here is a link to my previous blog:
A Cause Of Anxiety No One Talks About | Your Intuition