Problem: Article: Get into a comfortable position, then breathe in deeply through your nose and fill your belly with air. Count slowly to five as you breathe in, then gently exhale through your mouth as you count to five again.   Do your breathing exercises for three to five minutes whenever you feel overwhelmed or experience other symptoms. Instead of counting as you breathe, you can also think or say a soothing word, like "relax." for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Wear loose, comfortable clothes, and set aside some time when you’ll be free of distractions. Sit upright with your chest out and shoulders back. Keep your feet flat on the floor if you’re sitting in a chair, or cross your legs if you’re on the floor. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and envision your breath flowing in and out of you.  Focus completely on your breath as you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Imagine each breath fills you with light, and draws wandering, chaotic thoughts to a single point. If you notice your attention wandering from your breath, just refocus again. Don’t judge or criticize yourself, simply return your attention to your breath. You can also look for guided meditations on YouTube and other services. When a negative thought comes to mind, acknowledge it instead of trying to push it aside. Say it out loud or write it down, then say, “This is a negative, exaggerated thought.” Challenge it with a realistic thought to take away its power.  For example, if you starting thinking to yourself, “I’m worthless,” acknowledge the thought and say, “No - that’s an exaggerated, black and white thought. My family needs me, my friends treasure me, and my boss values my work.” Do your best to take the power away from negative thoughts before they start to spiral. Try not to see things as black and white or absolute and unchangeable. Throughout the day, stop to acknowledge small victories. Depression can make it tough just to get out of bed, so even something seemingly minor like getting dressed could be something to celebrate.  Try starting your day by making the bed. It might seem trivial, but it’s a way to start off each day with an accomplishment. Praise yourself for things like cleaning, going outside, cooking a healthy meal, and exercising. Sit somewhere comfortable without distractions, close your eyes, and breathe slowly. Calm your mind by focusing on peaceful images. Think of a place that you find relaxing, like a childhood refuge, a mountain retreat, or an exotic beach location.  Open your imagination to the sensations that you would feel in this place: the sounds, smells, colors, textures, and temperature. Visualize the place with as many sensory details as you can. Spend 10 to 15 minutes in this restful place before opening your eyes. Visualization can help you relax, minimize stress, and improve the quality of your sleep. You can also visualize positive resolutions if a specific conflict prompted your symptoms. Identify your conflict and bring its image to mind. If you stand before it and feel very small, inhale deeply, and imagine yourself growing taller and taller. Imagine that from this new height you have the power to see new ways to solve the problem. For example, if you’re feeling powerless, overwhelmed, and hopeless because of a fight with your significant other, envision yourself becoming larger than the conflict. Say to yourself, “I have the power to resolve this conflict.” Then, try to break down the situation into its facts, and visualize a conversation with your partner that could resolve the conflict. Listening to music can ease stress, depression, and anxiety. Play your favorite soothing tracks when you’re at home, going for a walk, or driving your car. Instead of watching television, try turning on the stereo.  The type of music that relaxes you will depend on your personal preference. Singing can also be a great way to relax or release tension.
Summary: Try controlled breathing exercises. Meditate Practice positive self talk. Celebrate every small success. Visualize calming situations. Visualize solutions to your conflict. Listen to calming music.

Problem: Article: Many people will tell you to take art lessons if you want to learn how to draw but that can be a little intimidating if you’re a complete beginner. So why not learn at home? If you browse on the Internet, you’ll see that there are lots of great websites offering free and paid lessons, and also YouTube has thousands of terrific videos on the subject.  Have patience with yourself. Even for skilled artists, the beginning of a drawing can look frightening. But it almost always can be corrected. You’ll be surprised, too, at how well a drawing will turn out to be when you’re finished with it.  Practice drawing a pet or roommate. Draw Charlie, your pit-bull dog, when he’s sleeping or when he’s playing in the backyard with a ball. Or, if you have a roommate, start sketching the person while they’re making dinner. Once they leave the room, then finish the drawing from a photo that you have of them. Consider enlarging it so that you can see the person or animal’s features better.  Experts say that it takes about 10,000 hours of doing something before you become expert at it. If that amount of time overwhelms you, don’t let it because you have to start somewhere. One of the best things you can do is buy a good beginner’s book. Look for one that has clear, step-by-step instructions. You also want it to have simple patterns for some basic garments and home decoration items as well. Look for real pattern paper in the book, too. You will also need a good machine. There isn’t anything more discouraging when learning to sew than on a temperamental sewing machine. Vintage machines are actually some of the best but zig-zaggers work well, too.  Start with small sewing projects. It’s a lot more fun to sew something simple and do it well then tackling something too advanced and being disappointed with the results. You’ll learn either way, but it’s easy to get discouraged when the results don’t match what your expectations were.  Like any other skill, you’ll need lots of practice. After a while, sewing tasks that seemed difficult at first become second nature. It’s best to begin learning how to do yoga under the guidance of a qualified teacher; however that can either be by taking classes in your community or by watching videos from teachers who you know are highly qualified, along with being certified. The reason you want them to be qualified is to avoid possible injuries. Be sure that the teacher or video that you find provides gentle, warm-up exercises first. This is very important, as it helps to loosen up the body and prepare for the actual yoga set. Even if you’re someone who can’t touch their toes, it doesn’t mean yoga is not for you. Actually yoga is for everyone regardless of how tight their body may be. In fact, yoga is even more for people who feel tight in their bodies. Yoga is a process of uniting with oneself, using breath, body and mind. With some practice, you’ll find that you become a lot more limber, too.
Summary:
Teach yourself how to draw. Learn how to sew. Get into yoga.