When you get bad news, how do you react? When I hear unexpected bad news, I actually feel a tightening starting in my shoulders that moves around to my chest and then to my stomach. It's a visceral reaction to stress and pain. 

Depending on the severity of the news, I handle it a couple of different ways. First, I literally try to step outside of my physical body, mentally. Look in at the situation. Visualize relaxing. Breathing. Calm. 

Then, I step back in and start reasoning it out. Making a plan and working it to solve the immediate problem. It's what I've always done. I rarely let myself dwell in it, even for a short amount of time. Like many of us, in unfocused moments, I let fear and doubt creep in. Self-judgment. Doubt. What could I have done to prevent this? Once I clearly identify it, I think about what I've learned. In every situation, good or bad, we have the opportunity to teach or learn a lesson. I truly believe this and it helps me reframe and get something positive out of the situation that will enable me to grow. Become better. Help myself and others. 

How do you handle stress? Please comment below. 

So, this was it - my first presentation on NLP, hypnotherapy and Type 1 diabetes - to a T1D parent crowd to boot. The Greater Western Carolinas JDRF Family Summit was this past weekend in Greenville, SC and I got a 45-minute slot to speak about T1D and alternative therapies that can be used to help reduce anxiety, stress and resistance to self-care.

The room began to fill up - all 60 seats were taken - awesome!  And then 30 minutes before we were to begin, I realized...I didn't have my presentation! I had transferred it to my USB drive but then stopped at Staples in Mooresville - 2 hours away - to print some color flyers. In the rush and excitement, I didn't realize they'd held on to it. But, we quickly put our heads together and my daughter Cassalyn got Staples on the phone and was able to get my presentation emailed to us - with 8 minutes to spare before I had to begin speaking! (Shout out to Staples print shop and Cass!)

This all brought to mind the great Marie Forleo, who tells a good story on Super Soul Sunday about everything being "figureoutable." The story about the missing presentation ended up being the perfect ice-breaker and also went on to prove my point about T1D and the alternative therapies I was discussing - everything IS figureoutable!

Life-coaching, especially using NLP techniques, is a bit more fun and action-oriented for kids. So, if you and your T1D are struggling with stressful injection times, site changes, adherence to diet or just all-out burnout, give me a call. Together we can create a plan that will help. There is hope - everything is figureoutable!