Five Ways to Control Your Anxiety

    How can you find some enjoyment and keep your anxiety in control? Try the following five steps for a less anxious you.

    Stop comparing yourself to others. When you compare your life to others', you are giving up your power. People have success or failures at different points in their lives. You might think others have better lives, but you don't have the full story. Next time you begin to compare yourself to someone else, tell yourself this, “I only compare me to me.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Be grateful. Gratitude is the secret to a happier, less anxious you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When you practice gratitude, you start training your brain to pay attention to all the wonderful things about your life and doing so improves your mood little by little.

    Forget perfect. Going after perfection sets you up to feel defeated. Accept that you will have days that are far from perfect and learn to laugh at the funny things that go wrong at the wrong time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Move your body. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I'm sure you'll feel better--especially if you exercise regularly. Doing exercise will give you a sense of achievement that you can use to deal with other difficulties in your life.

    Connection with other people. If you struggle with anxiety, you may not feel like putting yourself into social situations, but isolating(使孤立)yourself socially is the worst thing you can do. Connecting with others can help you realize everyone has struggles and that people are there for you.

   {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Connection can help you improve your mood.

A. Life is so much more enjoyable when you expect less of it.

B. Make sure you aren't going around trying to please everyone.

C. It is scientifically proved that exercise can improve your mood.

D. See a friend, call a family member or just smile at strangers passing by.

E. Pen and paper can provide you with a special place to express your feelings.

F. When you take time to enjoy all the good things, you can't help but feel good.

G. Only by competing with yourself to be a better you can you get where you want to be.

    Sleep is something we all do. But some people need to sleep more than others. Babies sleep most of the time. Children in school sleep about ten to twelve hours a night. Most adults sleep only seven or eight hours. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    All parts of our bodies have to rest after they work.. Our arms need a rest after we lift heavy thing, When we run fast, our legs work hard. They get tired. We have to rest them. Our brains work hard, too. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. We can sit quite still and rest our arms and legs. But our brains aren't resting. They go right on thinking as long as we are awake.

    Our brains slow down a bit when we sleep and dream. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Instead of thinking wide-awake thoughts, our brains make up dreams. Some dreams are very pleasing. Some are not. Most of the time we forget them when we wake up.

    Scientists have tried to find out what would happen if people were not allowed to sleep. They asked some people not to go to bed. The people stayed up all night and all the next day. They stayed up the next night too, and the day after. They played games, but they made mistakes. They forgot things. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The people grew rude and mean. They became angry with their friends. Finally they were too tired to stand up. When they sat down, they fell asleep.

    Scientists have found that if people are not allowed to sleep and to dream, they act in an unusual way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But we do know that we need it to stay well. So tonight have a good sleep. Lie down under the covers. Shut your eyes. Let your thoughts wander. Soon you'll stop thinking. You'll be asleep.

A. It was hard for their tired brains to work.

B. When we are awake, they help us pay attention to the world around us.

C. But babies, children, and adults — all of us need to have our sleep.

D. Good sleep helps to improve one's memory.

E. No one knows why sleep is so good for us.

F. But even as we sleep our brains are doing some work.

G. Of course you will have a good sleep.

    We all know that a hot, milky drink and a warm bath are supposed to relax you before bed, but many of us still can't slip into sleep. Here are some tips to help you go to sleep.

    Breathe in through your left nostril(鼻孔)

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sleep specialist Peter Smith says, “Lie on your left side, resting a finger on your right nostril to close it. Start slow, deep breathing in the left nostril.” Peter, author of Sleep Better With Natural Therapies, says this technique is particularly good when overhearting is preventing sleep.

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    Relaxing all your muscles can prepare your body for sleep. Anxiety expert Charles Linden says: “Lying on your back, take a deep, slow breath in through your nose and, the same time, squeeze your toes tightly as if you are trying to curl them under your foot, then loosen them slowly. Breathe again, contract your leg muscles, then your thigh, belly, chest, arms, and so on until you hat all the way up your body{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Try to stay awake

Challenge yourself to stay awake— your mind will fight against it! “It's called the sleep paradox(悖论).” Says psychotherapist Julie Hirst. She explains: “Keep your eyes wide open, repeat to yourself 'I will not sleep'{#blank#}4{#/blank#}but instead view this as an instruction to sleep and eye muscles tire quickly as sleep turns up.”

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    Use at least three senses imagining yourself in a situation where you feel content—a paradise(乐园), sailing on calm waters, walking in flower fields.

A. Just imagine.

B. Enjoy a paradise.

C. Squeeze and relax

D The brain doesn't process negatives well

E. You must repeat what you have done

F. This yoga method is thought to reduce blood pressure and calm you

G. When you have gone from head to toe, you should feel ready for sleep

Why you shouldn't punish your kids for lying

    Getting your children to stop lying is challenging. There are many influences (TV, movies, video games and some great books) in which lies are common. Children see parents lie to others, if only to be polite. Most parents add to that with tales about the lives and activities of Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, or to lessen fears.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    The most common reactions to children who lie are explaining why it is wrong and punishment.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Here are three better tools supported by research to use instead.

    PRAISE: You could ask your child to say something that happened at school that is true. When your child obeys, praise him enthusiastically. Be specific.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} and give your child a hug or a high five. Aim for one or two interactions (互动) like this a day. If you happen to “catch” your child in a lie, say something like, “That is not true and could get you in trouble outside of the home.”

    MODEL: Explicitly tell the truth. This could be about something that happened when you were a child or something that happened during the day. It need not be dramatic. Another option is to play a game at dinner. Each person tells one thing that was true that day. Again, give a little praise to the child who normally lies if she plays along.

    DECREASE PUNISHMENT AND MORALIZING: They are unlikely to change behavior or develop the conduct you want.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Rather, use very mild punishment (light scolding, short loss of privilege, a brief time-out). More severe punishments (shouting, taking away something for a week, hitting) are not more effective in actually changing the frequency of lying.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Usually they can be dropped by then. It is unlikely that lying will be completely removed, but with the right encouragement, k can be dramatically lessened.

A. It is not what that is, but about practice.

B. As ways of changing behavior, these are ineffective.

C. That does not mean ignoring, lying or letting t go.

D. “That was great! You told me what happened just like I asked. Wow!”

E. Try these procedures for two to three weeks and see where you are.

F. “You did a good job, but what you said was not what I'd like to know!”

G. Parents do this out of love, but for some children, lying can become a problem.

Four Habits to Help You Succeed

    We all want to succeed, whether it is in losing weight or learning the guitar. For those who have tried and failed, success seems difficult to understand. Why does one person succeed while another person fails? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    ⒈Identify your core values.

    Finding your core values is in line with creating inner motivation.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Pick a handful of things and write them down. Remind yourself of your values every day, and reflect on whether you are honouring those values through your work.

    ⒉Pick a goal and focus on it.

    Choose one goal to start something large enough that will give you a sense of achievement, while adjusting well to your core values. Focus is key here. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} If you perform many tasks at a time, you might never complete your projects because they will take far too long.

    ⒊Set a deadline for success.

    Set a date for success. Identify when you hope to achieve your goal. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    By setting a time limit, you are making the process more real.

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    Failure can't be avoided when you take risks. Many people give up far too early. Use failure. Treat it as a good thing, and move on.

A．The more focused you are on one goal, the higher chance you have of success.

B．Make the right decision.

C．I have made a list of four habits to help you set goals and achieve them.

D．Stick to your goal.

E．Keep it realistic, while not giving you too much time.

F．Sit and reflect on what you value most.

G．Push yourself to be courageous, and take that next step.

    Have you ever been bored and decided to check social media, only to find out that your best friend is at Disneyland, that one of your classmates is eating delicious pizza at your favorite pizza store, and that one of your soccer teammates is climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Have you ever had that feeling that others are experiencing things and enjoying life more than you are? Oh, man! You're missing out!{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Researchers call that feeling the fear of missing out or FoMO.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}It's so easy today to see what your friends are doing from the social media. Unluckily, we only have so much time in the day and only so much money to spend on food or entertainment. It would be impossible for us to enjoy all the same activities we see others take part in on social media.

    Rather than realizing this basic truth, though, we usually let FoMO lead us to compare our lives with those of others on social media. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Why? We know all the sides of our lives— both good and bad, but all we see on social media are the picture-perfect moments others share.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}FoMO makes us check social media more frequently, leading to addiction and a negative cycle that can be hard to break. Researchers have found that social media and FoMO can cause serious negative results, including feeling of depression, loneliness and boredom.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Researchers advise that we stop looking to social media for happiness. Instead, we should focus our attention on our real lives, including the people around us and all the things we're grateful for.

A. Have you ever experienced FoMO?

B. At least that's what you might think.

C. This certainly leaves us feeling dissatisfied.

D. So how do we break the cycle and avoid FoMO?

E. Over 75% of young people report feeling FoMO from time to time.

F. As famous Theodore Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy".

G. If you let FoMO control you, the only thing you'll really be missing out on is your own life.