Ctrl Shift De-Stress
4 Tips to De-stressing During Life’s Most Trying Times
Difficult situations can leave you feeling worked up and hopeless all at the same time. Sometimes staying positive and calm may seem beyond tough. But in reality, it possible with a little effort.
You can confront your challenges head on, without breaking under pressure.
Developing your inner strength take practice. If you implement factor listed below, you can get a head start on journey towards building your resiliency to handle anything that comes your way.
Embrace your worth. Do you tend to come down hard on yourself as the reason for challenging experiences. Yet, truthfully, they may not be your fault at all of you have little to no control over it.
Embracing your own worth is extremely important so you do not wrongly persecute yourself and cause even more stress. We may have a role in some of trying situation, but some we may not. Letting yourself off the hook for the parts that are not yours is important also.
Face the situation on what it truly is and have the courage to believe, “it is not my fault.”
Believe in your ability to overcome the circumstances.
Be Optimistic. This too shall pass. Regardless of the seriousness of the situation you are confronted with, it will not last forever! It might be really rough right now. In fact, it might even be extreme. But focus on the end of the tunnel- where these is always light.
Take brief moments to put plans in plan for when the storm finally passes.
Lean on support from loved ones. Family and friends can keep you afloat during crises. Passing through life’s trying situations calmly and optimistically can seem tough as if you are going through it alone. But it may not feel that way when you keep you loved ones close.
Give the details of the situation, both the good and the bad.
Trust that you will get a unbiased Point of View from your supportive loved one, even if you do not life everything they say.
Acknowledging various strengths display from your supportive loved one is the past will help you build your strength to deal with the situation calmly.
Breathe Deeply. Deep breathing on a regular basis can really help to relax you! Staying calm and positive is as much about mental toughness as it is about being a physically at ease. Give it try and feel the difference both mentally and physically.
During stressful times, you strengths lies within you. Try practicing these tips and you will trust that you have the ability to overcome whatever you face even long after COVID-19 passes. Day by day, you will start to resolve your challenges head on with confidence, regardless of how bad they may seem. You will start to feel stronger and be better emotionally prepared for life and manifest balance. De-stressing is not hard when you have the know of how to prevent stress and the skills to dissolve it as it occurs.
If you find it hard to resolve some of your current stress, let’s connect for a PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN Mental Wellness Check at today. April is Stress Awareness Month, visit my instagram page for tips and tools all month long.
Be Balance & Well,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Ctrl Shift Worry (Pandemic Edition)
8 Tips to Overcome Worry and Rumination during a Crisis.
Our world is in a Public Health Crisis. Our minds are running with some many thoughts, it can be hard to begin to name them and its stressing you out. On top of that it can be difficult to recognize and express helpful ways of thinking about your current stressors. Your thoughts may try to tell you that you are helping yourself by worrying & rumination but, on some level we know that it is not helpful. Often we become stuck because we are not sure what to do next. Your worrying magnifies your stressor by bring up more negative possibilities. Negative thoughts lead to another negative thought and then you start to feel stressed. To take it a step further, rumination is a persistent and repetitive worry that is often associated with increase depression and anxiety over time. Please note that if you are ruminating when you are down, you may begin to feel worse. It is important now than ever to gain some type of understanding of thoughts and move them in a new direction. Below are some tools to move you in the direction of recognizing your worry and rumination and started moving towards more helpful thoughts during this time.
1. The purpose of WORRY is to PLAN. Begin by asking yourself, how helpful is the worry. Are you actually finding solutions when you worry or finding concrete plan to implement? Are seeing solutions in a new light or after thinking about the problem you feel, worst. If you are unable to find new solutions and new perspective and actually feeling worst, then your worrying is considered unhelpful and it is time to focus on somethings else.
2. Practice thought Stopping. As soon as you notice yourself worrying or ruminating, begin to visualize a big red STOP sign. Yell STOP aloud in your and even raise your hand to signal you to STOP. Or visualize a detour sign, directing you unto a new mental track.
3. Create a WORRY Corner. Designate a place in your home or work. Identify which chair/space will be your worry corner. Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes 2-3 times a day. Write down the worry in the area. Leave them there. Soon your brain will learn to associate your worry corner with worries and all other activities will be associate with the absent of worry. This activity allow you worry about the pandemic, finance, work, family, health during a control, timed limited way.
4. Picture it. Picture your worries as bubbles popping in the air, as leaves floating down the stream or a car driving away into the sunset getting smaller. This mindfulness technique that can give you distance from your worries.
5. Find an alternative thought. Focus on a funny image every time you start worrying. Find a funny image like a Green Horse driving a car. As soon as start to worry or ruminate, think of your green horse drinking in spotted car.
6. Playback. Imagine hearing your worries in an annoying voice of not so favorite character. I would be highly annoyed hearing my stressors called out by Yosemite Sam from Hannah Barbera Cartoons.
7. Look for patterns. For one week, notice and record triggers that make you worry or ruminate (such as talking to anxious person, lying awake in bed, or watching certain TV shows). Now, develop alternative positive things to do and way to avoid those triggers. Avoid the person who response negatively to your problems. If you start to feel negative while lying in bed, get up in 15 minutes and get active versus watching TV.
8. Interrupt the worry cycle. This can be done walking around or mindfully checking in with what is happening in your body. If you notice areas of tension, send some breathe in the area. Then also label that tension such as “fear,” “anger,” “sadness.” This can overcome that avoidance with being “in your head” about the pandemic.
I understand that there are somethings that we don’t have control over at this time. Watching the media, talking to friends, fears about employment or your business, the state of your families health can naturally increase your worry. Understand the anxious thoughts about it may around for weeks or months to come, but by increase our awareness and implement of tools we can improve our mental wellness during this public health crisis.
Be Balanced and Well,
Shayla Peterson
Ctrl Shift Finding Balance
Can you find balance in your life? Some say you can, while others say there is no such thing if you want to be highly successful.
It’s true that many of the most high-profile successful people have anything but balanced lives. But, many of them develop feelings of anxiousness, intense frustration, sad majority of the day, poor concentration an irritation which can appear mimic symptoms of depression and anxiety. Finding balance can be possible while attaining a high level of success and enjoy all the aspects of your life that mean the most to you.
Find balance with these strategies:
· Cut back on the non-essentials. If you’re struggling to find balance in your life, a lack of time is the most common issue. Take a look at how you spend your time each week. What are the activities you can do without?
· Avoid wasting time. Now, consider all the ways you genuinely waste time. This might include watching TV reruns, surfing the internet, or window shopping. The more time you can find in your life to apply to the things that matter, the more balanced you can make your life.
· Set your priorities. Know what balance means to you. What are the most important things in your life? If you know your priorities, you can put your time to the best possible use.
· Focus on your health. Giving your health a high level of priority can help to balance everything else. If your health is important, you’ll find the time and energy to eat properly and to exercise. You’ll get enough sleep. Placing importance on your health can help prevent the rest of your life from getting out of control.
· Plan your time. Have a plan for your week and each day. Know how you’re going to spend your day before the day arrives. That way, you can make the most of your time. The more you can accomplish with your time, the more your life can be in balance.
· Focus on the most important tasks. There are a lot of things you could work on each day, but there are only a few that will make a big difference. These tasks usually aren’t the most fun, but they’ll save you the most time. You can’t major in the minor things if you want to be successful and have a balanced life.
· Review consistently. Life is dynamic, so even if you’re able to create a balanced life, it won’t stay that way forever. Keep your finger on the pulse of your life. Look for ways to improve. Notice when things are starting to get out of control again.
· Have reasonable expectations. There’s only so much you can do. If you’re trying to create a multi-billion-dollar company and train for marathons, you’re not going to have much family time. On the other hand, if you want to spend every minute with your children and spouse, other areas of your life may suffer.
A balanced life is sometimes hard to master. When you’re an adult with a family, it’s hard to find time for everything. When you’re older and your children have moved out, it can be a challenge to find meaning in your life. Life is always a challenge to balance properly, but with identifying what is in your control and shifting your perspective it is possible.
You must decide for yourself what it means to have a balanced life and what works for you. Honestly, it is not always easy and it may require more planning. Ctrl Shift Balance Mental Wellness can assist in your creating your balance.
Wishing you Balance & Wellness,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW, LISW-CP
Ctrl Shift Self Love
9 Ways to Shift into Self-Love
Loving yourself might sound a little odd, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t critical. The more you love yourself, the better you will take care of yourself. That impacts your health, longevity, self esteem, self-confidence and success.
When you love yourself, you make yourself a priority. The truth of the matter, you deserve nothing less.
As you embark on this journey of self love, here are key things to remember:
Remember your Victories. View yourself in a positive light more often, One of the easiest way to do this to remember your triumphs. Maybe you won the oratorical contest in the 2nd grade or perhaps your won a track meet in 10th grade. Remember your high school graduation. Think about the day you received that promotion. Easy to fall in the trap of remembering our failures. Try practicing the opposite and see what happens.
Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to boost your self-esteem. It is easier to love yourself when you see yourself as a good person. Put your attention on someone else. You will enjoy the mental break and your opinion of yourself will get a boost. You are a good person, so remind yourself of that from time to time.
Be a good friend. You know how to be a good friend, but there are times that you are not. Being a good friend make you feel good about yourself. It will also improve the way your friend view and treat you, too Everyone win when you decide to be a good friend.
Forgive yourself. You made a few mistakes. Who hasn’t? However, it is time to forgive yourself. GIve yourself a break. You would do the same for someone else you care about, so do it yourself.
Pursue what you need rather that what you want. What you want is rarely what your need. Once you have take care of your needs, you will be a better position to acquire what you want. Satisfying your needs is a prime example of self love.
Take care of your body. When you are eating poorly and not receiving enough exercise, you are harming yourself. And this is not an example of self-love. Show yourself some love and take your health seriously. You are loving yourself every time that you eat a healthy meal or exercise your body.
Appreciate that your are unique and wonderfully made. Often times as women, we get embarrassed about our qualities, skills and abilities that unique. Remember, that the most valuable part of you are the ones that different from others.
Practice an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for your body, mind and uniqueness. Practice being grateful for everything in your life. You life is better than you think. You are better than you think. As you practice being grateful daily, you will start to believe that you deserve more love from yourself.
Be kind to yourself as you would be to anyone else. To be kinder to others than you are to yourself is just showing everyone, including yourself that you don’t respect yourself. At the end of the day, there may be no one looking out for you. You will have to take on this responsibility yourself.
Self Love is an important part of yourself development. WIthout self-love your success and happiness will continue to face huge obstacles. Self love is a skill that can be develop. It is also a result of an effective set of habits. Set aside some time each day to build your self-esteem and self-love. You life will be balanced and better because of it.
Be Balance & Well,
Shayla