Anchor Your Day ~ a mental health blog by Counselwise ~

PTSD explained

In a recent article I read titled “The Vicious Cycle of Post traumatic Stress: 4 Cornerstones of PTSD” by Sally Nazari, PsyD and featured on Good Therapy, she talked about how PTSD symptoms can often occur after experiencing a traumatic event. Dr. Nazari writes, “Many different types of events can be traumatic. Trauma responses can follow any major change disruption in a person’s life.” She goes on to write, “In the time immediately following a trauma, many people have experiences of PTSD. In some cases, those experiences decrease over time and the person naturally recovers. It can be helpful to think of PTSD as a process where something got in the way of that natural process of recovery.”  

I especially like the last sentence as it helps to normalize to people that very often times their PTSD has developed as a result of not having been able to work through the acute stress response

Read more

Things I Have Learned in High School: Guest Blogger!

Today my blog is written by a guest; my eighteen year old daughter, Layne 🙂 While recently on vacation, I invited her to write a post for my blog; I gave her “carte blanche.” What she came up with was quite insightful. Good job, kiddo!

 

Things I have Learned in High School

  • Your self-worth is most definitely not based on “likes.”
  • Having quality friends is more important than being popular.
  • Very few boys are emotionally mature – their actions are usually never about you.
  • No one really cares how you look; they’re usually too focused on themselves.
  • Doing your own thing is far more enjoyable than following a crowd.
  • Any drama will be irrelevant in, like, a week. Just stay out of it.
  • Be nice to your teachers; they will be nice back.
  • Where you fit in the social hierarchy in high school really does not matter in life.
  • Don’t be afraid to look silly; do what you do with confidence.
  • The really cool people aren’t the popular ones.
  • Always look forward.

Nature Unplugged

I am an early riser; as part of my own “anchor to my day”, I like to take a daily walk with my dog. This is often quite early in the morning, “dawn’s first light” type of early, and I am pretty good about ignoring the phone in my pocket. I have come to observe over the years that my walk is always where I do my best thinking and I notice things that I would not have paid attention to had I been plugged in. In the spring for example, the predominant noise in the air are the birds, vocalizing their praises to the warmer sun, and yet this time of year, all I can hear are the crickets. Curious as to why, I googled “what is the meaning of crickets chirping?” and I have now learned that it is only the males who chirp as a mating ritual. I guess they are expecting a long, hard winter. 🙂

There are times when my day seems overwhelming in front of me and so beyond my better judgement,  I pull that darn phone out of my pocket and fire off some texts or answer some emails. I can’t recall a time when I didn’t regret that decision as I come back from my walk much preoccupied and far from feeling peaceful. And so, I have pledged to myself to “be in nature unplugged,” to give myself the gift of contentedness, and reflective thought to begin my day. At the very minimum, I can at least give those crickets the audience they deserve.

Photo credit: http://Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash

Podcast: Other People’s Problems; Unhealthy Behaviours

In a recent podcast I listened to called “Other People’s Problems,” with therapist Hillary McBride, she was showcasing a session with “Maggie” and had this to say about the problematic behaviours we sometimes choose to help us cope with stress and hurt.

Looking at these [unhealthy] behaviours through the lens of emotional regulation, these are all things that [Maggie] is doing to manage her low mood or depression. There are all sorts of things that all of us do to manage a low mood, to boost us up a little bit. And the feeling of doing something indulgent actually gives us a sense of relief, again, maybe reward and excitement………..so it’s not unusual for people to use behaviours that can become addictive like eating, using pornography, gambling, shopping; any behaviour that creates a dopamine rush in us. That those can be ways we can actually disengage in life and numb out as a way of avoiding pain, sadness, responsibility in life. So we want to make sure its not creating dysfunction.”

I resonated especially with this last sentence; when we

Read more

Depression Fact #1

Depression makes it hard to give. I often see clients who come into therapy because they live with a person who is struggling with depression and they are looking for ways to cope. One of the things that is quite common to hear is their perspective that their loved one “doesn’t contribute very much” which in turn places a greater weight on them to manage the household and family. And, as sympathetic as they attempt to be, resentment eventually plays a role in the dynamic between them.

The fact is, sometimes it is hard to think of other people when you’re wrapped in a prickly blanket of sadness, and yet being able to invest in others, to minister to not only your family but to the community as well (even in small ways), helps to lift that weighted blanket. In turn, it often takes only a little bit of give for the loved one to begin to move from their own growing feelings of exasperation and withdrawal to one of greater hope and reciprocity.

Follow the link for a great self-help guide for depression and anxiety: https://www.moodgym.com.au/

Photo credit: http://Photo by Nicole Wilcox on Unsplash

The Colour of Our Sky

I read the book “The Colour of Our Sky” by Amita Trasi while on holidays this summer. Nothing I like better than getting into a great book while sitting on the sunny shores of the beach and listening to the waves.

Here is a passage that I would like to share with you: “He used to take me around the village and tell me that all people are equal and that people from the lower caste should not be treated the way we were treating them. Initially, I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. But later on, slowly, I discovered that there is one thing that we all have in common, irrespective of anyone’s caste or religion: we all get hurt in life, we all want to survive and be happy, and we all deserve to be treated well. After all, we don’t choose where we are born but we can work hard and pave our way to success. And every person on earth deserves to have that chance.”

“The Colour of Our Sky” by Amita Trasi is a worthy read.

Photo credit: http://Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

Anxiety Fact #1

Anxiety is normal. We are actually pre-programmed to worry. Eons ago, when we lived on the plains, we had to worry. It was imperative to our survival that we worried about shelter, worried about how we were going to get food, worried about how to make fire. And so, anxiety, although it feels uncomfortable, is a very adaptive and necessary process and it is part of our survival brain. Everyone experiences anxiety at times.

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.”
– Roy T. Bennett

Information for this post and a great website is:   https://www.anxietybc.com/

Photo credit: http://Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

Judge Judy: Part 2

Part Two on the podcast called “Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda” whose guest speaker was Judge Judy: In another part of the podcast, Alan Alda and Judge Judy are speaking about relationships and Judge Judy remarks that “Anger is a much easier emotion to deal with than pain or sorrow.” She goes on to put this into the context of divorce and how that can ultimately damage children. She says:

Read more

Podcast: Alan Alda with guest Judge Judy

I recently listened to a podcast called “Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda” whose guest speaker was Judge Judy. In one part of the podcast, Alan Alda asks Judge Judy about her ability to read people and this is her response: “It doesn’t start out with reading people; it starts out with a story. It starts out with the common sense of things. It starts out with if something doesn’t make sense, it’s usually not true. Now there is aberrative behaviour where something happens and

Read more

Anchor Your Day

Welcome to my very first blog post! Anchoring your day is a concept in self-care strategy. When we purposefully engage in a peaceful activity at either the start of our day, end of our day (or both!), we are feeding our souls and nurturing our spirit. One of my favourite things to do in the morning is to get up while everyone is still sleeping and sit peacefully in my comfy armchair with a freshly brewed coffee. This is my time to think about my day, scroll through Facebook or read for a bit (esp. if my book is really good!) What matters here is to choose an anchor activity that brings you a feeling of contentment. For some people this is prayer, for others meditation, a morning or evening walk, a cuddle with our pet, journaling, etc. By anchoring our day, we are reminded of the importance of the moments of simplicity, not only becoming more aware of and valuing our inherent need for peace but consciously making space for it as well.

Photo credit: http://Photo by Ximena Nahmias on Unsplash