Ctrl Shift Situations
Sometimes work, caring for a sick or elderly family member, having financial trouble, or other concerns can cause you to feel stressed. It's common to get stressed out when something like that is a large part of your life, but you can find constructive ways to deal with the concerns you're facing so you can keep your peace.
When you end up in a situation or around a person that causes you stress, focus on the things that really matter. Is it worth getting upset about? If it really is worth worrying about, what can you do to make things smoother, ease the worry, or change the situation?
Consider these options to reduce your stress:
1. Seek solutions. Talk with the people in your life who cause you stress to look for solutions together.
2. Let go. Letting go of a negative relationship that's troublesome, problematic, or just plain unhealthy can benefit both of you if you can't turn it into a positive force in your life.
3. Switch jobs. If your working conditions are volatile or consistently upset you regardless of what you do to rectify the situation, looking for another job or switching departments may be the answer you're looking for.
4. Ask for help. Seek help with difficult situations, regardless of what kind of challenge you face. Confiding in a trusted friend, family member, or therapist can help relieve your stress and sort out solutions.
5. Take time to de-stress. Schedule time to relax, let go of problems, and recharge. Do your favorite activities or hobbies in your "me" time, meditate, or just take a nap - whatever works best to relax you.
For some people, getting rid of - or at least lessening - mental stress is easier than it is for others. If you find that you're having serious trouble letting go of stress in your life, see a professional who can help you.
Ask yourself how will my life be different in 90 days with the choices that I make today?
Above all, commit to living a more peaceful life. The peace and joy you deserve are right around the corner. When you make a conscious decision to start letting go of mental stress, you'll be better able to see the joy in your life again.
Be Well & Unstressed,
Shayla Peterson
Ctrl Shift Rest
When we find ourselves in storms of life, it often takes a while to regain our perspective. Remember that REST is an anchor for you. Think about when the week is filled with meetings, projections and running errands after work; rest allows us to spend time alone and reassess our priorities. On the other hand, if we are constantly on the go not giving our mind and body rest, that is counterproductive to our Mental Wellness. Possibly leading to feelings of overwhelm, keyed up, frustrated, sad mood, isolation or complete shutdown from everything. That fact of the matter is it’s unbalanced. Find time for REST, it’s productive and necessary for your mental wellness.
One way to achieve quality REST is through a balanced schedule., a mix of work and play, family and friend, reading several chapters to a book and binge watching TV, you get it. Remember the importance of having necessary clarity of the mind to discern which responsibility we should take on which one needs to wait.
How will you schedule time for REST this weekend?
With Balance & Wellness,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW, LISW-CP
Ctrl Shift Feelings
Get unstuffed and stop sticking. Let's take today to address our feelings and being mindful of our emotions. The goals is to notice and experience our emotions and allow them to come and go naturally. That means sometimes experiencing painful emotions without turning the pain into suffering. Emotional Suffering can be created by stuffing or sticking to our emotions, and that's out of BALANCE.
When Stuffing our emotions, we bottle up l, ignore and reject your emotions. Emotional Stuffers try to push their emotions away. Just because we stuff or ignore our emotions does make them go away. It causes emotional build up, leading to feeling overwhelm and possible breakdown.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, is Sticking. When we stick to our feelings, we hold on to emotions and try to keep them around. When we emotional stick, we replay stressful situations and experience the emotions over and over again. Sticking prevent are emotions to natural come and go and never provide them with the opportunity to fade. Thus leading emotions to Stick around longer than hey natural would.
Create Balance by actually feeling your Feelings. Feeling your feelings serves as a middle group between stuffing and sticking. Trying noticing your feelings without holding on to them. Observe and describe your emotions, your sensations, thoughts and urges. Take note of how intensity comes and go. When a new emotions is ready to come in, let the emotion go and notice the new feeling.
Are you Stuffing or Sticking?
Let’s Chat about your feelings.
Would you like mental wellness tips delivered to your inbox, click here.
With Balance & Wellness,
Shayla
Ctrl Shift Grounding
Grounding Techniques to Reduce Stress during COVID-19
Grounding yourself in times of Stress during COVID-19.
During this time of uncertainty, people are experiencing increased stress relating to fear of illness, quarantine routine, job layoffs, milestones events being cancelled or loss of your ideal imagine of how events will be happen. These factors may have a lasting effects on during the years to come on ones financial, physical, emotional and mental health. I wanted to share one of my most use skills that I share with clients that I work with to reduce their stress levels not just in times of uncertainty but throughout other stressors in life.
Grounding Techniques are things that you can do to help you feel solid, soothed and connected to yours surroundings. It involves you deliberating using your attention to an experience that you are having that is not threatening. Incorporating grounding strategies are good for people who have a hard time staying mindful. Using grounding strategies incorporates your whole brain oppose to using only one side which could lead us to missing key information.
Incorporating grounding strategies can help you feel calm when you feel your stress is overwhelming you and break your “fight, flight or freeze” response that you may experience. During COVID, you may have already experienced these responses. I will share some tips with you that you can incorporate immediately to work towards stress relief.
Imagine yourself as big tree. Stretch your arms up to the sky and imagine branches and leaves. Dig your feet into the floor and imagine them growing roots.
Take off your shoes and walk slowly around the room, feeling connection between your feet and the carpet with each step Feel your toes, your sole, and your heel connecting with the carpet.
Describe three things in the room in terms of sensory qualities (color, shape, texture, size, smell, etc.)
Shake your body. Begin my wiggling your toes, then your ankles, your lower legs and them move to your upper legs. Then do the same with your arms, hands and fingers.
Breathe in for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, breathe out for a count of 4, and then pause for a count of 4. Try to slow your breathing down with each time that your practice.
Imagine being a peaceful place, close to nature. Visualize yourself at the beach or overlooking the bay or in the forest or hiking on a trail or in a park or garden.
THERAPIST FAVORITE : Drink a cup of tea slowly. First feel the warmth of the cup. Then smell the aroma. Notice the color and texture of the tea Take a small sip and swirl it around your mouth. Now swallow. Notice the taste and feeling of the tea as it flow down your throat.
Suck on a peppermint (a sunday classic) or smell eucalyptus.
Draw, paint or color.
Rub your pet, hold them in your lap, notice their breathing and feel their warmth.
Take a warm bath or showing, cuddle in blanket and slip on fuzzy socks.
Listen to soothing music
Go for a walk in the neighborhood.
Once you start to feel grounded and solid, you can look at the stressful situation and your emotions about COVID-19 without feeling so overwhelming and chaotic. Grounding signal to particular part of your brain (the amygdala to be exact) that you are safe in the present moment, allowing it put a pause on your “fight, flight or freeze” response.
I hope that you find these grounding strategies help as we continue to face this crisis. Email me at shayla@ctrlshiftbalance.com and let me know which one has been helpful for you. If you would to work through to addressing your “Fight, Flight or Freeze” during a pandemic, schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
Be Balanced & Grounded,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW