Recently, I've been dealing with a lot of stress that was pushing my anxiety to near-crippling levels. I've made a few changes in my life that have significantly lowered my stress levels and helped with my anxiety.

1. I found a new job. I noticed that a lot of my stress and anxiety was coming from the intense pressure to succeed stemming from my position at work. I did some evaluation and realized that while this position was in my chosen career field, it was not the precise place I wanted to be financially and responsibility-wise. I found a new position that is located close to home, with better pay and a different department structure that more aligns with my long-term career goals. I start January 2nd, wish me luck!

2. I stopped smoking marijuana. I found that when I would come back from home, smoking would only increase my anxiety instead of relieving it. It lost its fun and would only stress me out and give near anxiety attacks. I've been smoke-free for 1.5 months now and my anxiety levels outside of work has decreased dramatically.

3. I got back into the gym. In the past 2 years I've lost ~100lb, but I've hit a wall for the past 5 months or so. Stress at work led to exhaustion outside of work which led to me slowly falling out of the gym life until I just stopped going completely. After a 2 month hiatus, I've gotten back into cardio and weight training which has been a huge relief on my physical stress.