Hi friends,

Thanks for all your tips on diabetes that you emailed me. I'm always looking for extra things to try, since I expect to be working to stay healthy with this for quite a few years to come.

And if any of you find success lowering your blood sugar by using exercise after meals, I'd love to hear. :)

Trust Your Instincts - Self-Defense Tip #20

Today, I thought I'd discuss trusting your instincts as a crucial self-defense tool to avoid dangerous situations.

Anyone who has listened to victims' stories, has likely heard something similar to:

"I knew something was off about the guy."

"I didn't want to offend him, but wish I had left earlier."

"I almost said no to the invitation. Why didn't I?"

The common theme?

Many had an instinct that warned them of something wrong, but they ignored it for various reasons: Not trusting themselves. Social pressures to fit in. Embarrassment. Trying to please someone, etc.

And we've often heard statements that discourage trusting our instincts, like:

"Don't be so paranoid."

"He's a nice guy. What's your problem?"

"You worry too much."

What can we do better?

First, trust your instincts and respond to them immediately.

Say no. Don't go. Leave. Walk away.

Whatever it takes to avoid a person or situation that makes you uncomfortable. If these actions make you feel embarrassed or you don't think you're that brave, then try a few role-plays. Get a trusted friend to act out the situation where you don't think you could stand up for yourself. Practice until you feel more confident. Good luck!!

Second, change your language to encourage yourself and others to trust themselves:

If a friend cancels on an outing they are unsure of, perhaps reply with:

"Of course. I want you to feel comfortable and if you don't, it's completely fine not to come."

A friend mentions someone they avoided because of how they feel around them. Encourage them:

"Nice way to trust your instincts and look for someone who makes you feel safe instead."

As we encourage and support ourselves and others around us to take whatever steps are necessary to feel safe and avoid people/situations that make us uneasy, we can cultivate new, much safer habits.

Good luck and stay safe out there!

— Misty :)

______________________

I've got a treat for you today, a book plus a brand new boxset from two post-apoc author friends of mine - both on 99c sales today!

Salvation by Christopher Artinian

$0.99 SALE On Amazon! Free with KU!

The bunkers were built for the apocalypse. Just not the one they expected.

Life was bad and getting worse in the depths of Salvation. It did not take the people of Level Three long to realise that the only reason they had been spared from the cataclysm was to become a slave class.

Gateway to Chaos Boxset by TL Payne

New Release $0.99 Special - ALL 4 Books!

(The audio version is over 26 hours for one credit.)

The nation goes dark. Technology fails. Help isn’t coming.

An EMP has destroyed the nation’s power grid and the country is plunged into darkness and chaos during one of the coldest midwest winters on record.

So Much Awesome Fantasy!!

All FREE! All Sci-Fi & Fantasy!!

All FREE! Sci-Fi & Fantasy eBooks!

Broken Memory by J. Sharpe

FREE ebook!

An invention will affect the fate of the world in this epic novel of wonder and terror.

"I just woke up in this ghostly town. There are only a few people living here, although “living” might not be the right word. They just told me that I’m dead.

____________________

Misty's Writing Update:

Ok, someone in my final battle is having a serious brush with death, but I can't say how it turned out.

Plus, there might actually be another unexpected danger looming, that our crew is unaware of . . . because that's just how a final battle has to happen, right? :D

And on the question of whether some characters should die in stories, the responses I got last week seemed to agree that an occasional side character dying upped the stakes and the surprise of a story, so a reader didn't get too complacent knowing everyone would always make it through.

Ok, fine. I guess I have to agree with that.

So, someone may or may not be dying here at my computer during these final battle scenes . . . hopefully it's not me - lol.

I just passed the 148k word mark in the book and for those of you who go by pages, there are usually 250-300 words per page which means this book is about 490-590 pages long!

Dang! It is my longest by a wide margin.

And one of these weeks soon, I will hopefully tell you I've finished it and started number 2!

Enjoy reading this week!

— Misty :)

p.s. For a web version of this newsletter and previous newsletters: https://sendfox.com/mistyzaugg/campaigns