Anxiety – Melissa Schlies

My Fall Bucket List & How Fall Helped Me Find Contentment

For as long as I can remember, fall has been my favorite season. It has the perfect weather to wear a sweater, but not need a jacket. To drink a hot, fall flavored latte without overheating. And to turn on the oven, and bake a pie. But ten years ago, Tony and I entered into a difficult life season, and fall became even more dear to me. Fall has the perfect weather to wear a sweater, but not need a jacket. To drink a hot, fall flavored latte without overheating. And to turn on the oven, and bake a pie. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-10-13T23:20:23+00:00October 14th, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Change, Conflict, Contentment, Creativity, Depression, grief, Habit Making, Health, perseverance, Self Care|Comments Off

How Do We Find Contentment—in All of This?

As I write this, a big red truck is beeping outside my window. The sound of grinding pavement can be heard in the distance. It’s not the perfect soundtrack for writing, but here I am. For almost six months now, our city has been digging up the streets around our house to replace our gas lines. And even though today there’s the promise of new pavement, believing it will all be over soon, is difficult. There’s been too many weeks of “no parking” signs posted on our sidewalks. Too many days of circling the block trying to find our way [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-10-04T14:18:01+00:00October 4th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Anxiety, Balance, Contentment, Depression, Habit Making, Self Care|Comments Off

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

In January, when we were all praying this year would be better, I committed to practicing yoga at least three times a week. I needed a physical way to release all the stress my body was carrying—but also, I was out of shape. And rather than begin with an intense exercise regimen that may be hard to maintain, I decided to slowly build back the strength I had lost in 2020. Soon, yoga became a morning routine I looked forward to. It helped me start my days with purpose. Emotionally, I was calmer. And the more I practiced, the stronger [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-16T10:22:58+00:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Anxiety, Balance, Change, comparison, Conflict, Failure, Habit Making, Routines, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Three Things To Remember As Fall Begins

Last week, Tony and I got on an airplane for the first time since the pandemic began. We went to visit Family. On our way home, due to a connecting flight, we sat on a hot tarmac in the middle of North Carolina, waiting to take off for Pennsylvania. And though, it wasn’t one of those awful situations you hear about on the news where people get stuck on a plane for hours, It felt like we were waiting forever. While Tony fell asleep next to me, I read. Then from my seat, I looked around the plane. Finally I [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-10T10:47:09+00:00September 13th, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Change, Failure, grief, Habit Making, Hope, Routines|Comments Off

Simon Biles, The Lies We Believe About Rest, & An Announcement

Did you feel it? The Earth shifting under our feet last week as a woman stepped away from what was expected of her—to take care of herself. Through prioritizing her mental health over Olympic glory, Simone Biles modeled what many of us women struggle greatly to do: She chose rest. She chose herself. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of her country, judges, colleagues, friends, coaches, and family, Simone listened to what her mental, emotional, and physical self was telling her. She couldn’t keep going. So she stopped. I am not sure what your journey with rest and self [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-08-01T20:01:39+00:00August 2nd, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Courage, Habit Making, Health, Mental Health, Self Care|Comments Off

When Spring Means Change

Friends, bear with me for a moment while I celebrate. Winter is over. It actually came to an end. The forecast for today, as I write this, is sixty-eight degrees here in Pennsylvania. And, is there anything better than the feeling of warm sunshine on your face after a long winter? Ok, coffee and chocolate are definitely up there. But come on, we made it through a whole winter of the pandemic. Spring is finally here, which means good changes are coming. Only, with these changes, some of us may be experiencing an elevated level of stress. So much so, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-04-11T20:36:13+00:00April 12th, 2021|Categories: Adulting, Anxiety, Balance, Change, Habit Making, Hope, Making Decisions, Practice, Preparation, Routines|Comments Off

This Season, Be An Amateur

"When did we stop doing things just for fun?” —Annie F. Downs For my birthday last week, Tony and I made pizza for our stay-at-home celebration. As I shared a few weeks ago, I’ve been learning how to make sourdough bread, and pizza felt like the next step. I made the crust from my sourdough starter. I followed the directions so carefully. And still for most of the process, I felt like I was holding my breath. Trying new things feels scary. I am still so new at working with fermented yeast, that I always have this little touch of [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-03-28T21:34:56+00:00March 29th, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Creativity, Failure, Fear, Habit Making, Health, Practice|Comments Off

When the Rules Are Still Unknown

Last week, I shared that this season I am making sourdough bread. What I didn’t tell you though is on my first try at making my starter, I failed. I’m pretty sure I killed all the yeast I’d brought to life. What I didn’t tell you though is on my first try...I failed. After making bread so many times, and reading up on the sourdough process from two different cookbooks, I went into this endeavor rather confident. Only when I finally made my starter, I didn’t read far enough to realize how important it is that your water is warm—but [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-02-26T20:11:17+00:00March 1st, 2021|Categories: Anxiety, Conflict, Fear, Health|Comments Off

Scary Movies, Scary Times, & Taking Care of Yourself

When I was a youth pastor, many of my students liked horror movies. In between church services or during our after school program, they’d tell me about the latest film they’d seen. Then, I’d ask them why they liked it, and they couldn’t always say. But they did tell me, they liked the rush it gave them of being afraid. Now, what I usually didn’t tell my students was that: I hate scary movies. For me, stories—whether in books or movies—often live on in my brain for a while after I read or see them. The characters find me in [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-11-01T22:14:04+00:00November 2nd, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Anxiety, Balance, Declutter Your Mind, Fear, Health, Self Care|Comments Off

What To Do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible

When I was a teenager, every September, I’d get grumpy. Not because I was upset to be back at school. In fact, if you look at my extracurriculars in High School, you’d see I practically lived there. But each fall, the beginning of a new year was especially difficult for me. (This is where I send a shout out to my mom for loving my teenage self) For almost the entire first month of school, I’d come home every afternoon in a horrible mood. I was exhausted from my day, overwhelmed by homework, and basically hated my life. But then, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-16T14:39:15+00:00October 19th, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Change, discipline, Habit Making, Health, Hope, Practice, Purpose, Routines, Self Care|Comments Off

My Fall Bucket List & How Fall Helped Me Find Contentment

How Do We Find Contentment—in All of This?

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

Three Things To Remember As Fall Begins

Simon Biles, The Lies We Believe About Rest, & An Announcement

When Spring Means Change

This Season, Be An Amateur

When the Rules Are Still Unknown

Scary Movies, Scary Times, & Taking Care of Yourself

What To Do When Finding Your Routine Feels Impossible

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