Why are boundaries necessary?
Maintaining boundaries allows us to gain trust in ourselves to take care of ourselves. It results in a healthy sense of control and overall well-being. How do you plan on creating boundaries in your life today?
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Stress is bound to happen no matter what but how we deal with can help us reduce the amount of it. Who doesn’t want to feel less stressed? Maybe we can actually enjoy Manic Monday’s. Check out the 3 ways to manage your stress:
1) Avoid it. Remove yourself from the stressful situation when you can; don’t purposely put yourself into situations that you know are highly stressful for you; don’t dwell on thoughts that raise your stress level
2) Make Adjustments. Do what you can to change the stressful situation
3) Alter your thinking. If you can’t change something, change your thoughts about it so you don’t perceive it as stressful. Or change the way you cope with it so you can handle it better.
Avoiding, Adjusting & Altering,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Just a friendly reminder that we can help anyone else before we put our oxygen mask on first. Allow this photo to be a visual reminder to refilled our pitcher in order to refresh ourselves and others around us. We can not afford to neglect ourselves….our physical and mental health depends on it. How do you plan to refill your pitcher this weekend?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…..Life can feel like you are managing a circus, literally a circus attempting to balance different roles such as spouse, parent, son or daughter, brother or sister and friend. Let’s not forget the hoops we jump through for our careers. Along with juggling our feelings and past experiences that sometimes get in our way of making effective decisions. Balancing the Circus’ missions is to provide tools to reduce the stress and create a space to produce a smoother running Circus (oops, I meant to say smoother running Life). You are the Ringmaster or RingMistress (a female circus leader) of your life, and you get to decide the balance between acceptance and changes in your circus called, Life. Imagine that you actually got a handle on family, work, life balance with a guest appearance mental wellness. Let’s put on our high black boots and red top coat, because getting up and getting dress is half the battle. Be the Ringmaster. It’s your Life!!!
Ringmistress,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
The two most common reasons for self-injuring are 1) to control the extremely painful and frightening experiences of overwhelming emotions, and/or 2) escape from awful feelings of being numb and empty. Self-injury is not a cry for attention, it a way to regain emotional balance, it is a solution to the extremely disturbing emotional problem of feeling out of control, and it works. It can be considered an effective coping skill, just not a healthy coping skill. March 1 was Self-injurious Awareness Day, so let’s address the myths behind self-injurious behaviors according to the book, “Helping Teens who Cut: Understanding and Ending Self-Injury” by Dr. Michael Hollander, Ph.D.
MYTH 1 -They do it to get attention. According to some researcher, less than 4% of adolescents deliberating hurt themselves to get attention. It is the most common reason that parent and some therapy give account for the behavior despite the fact that often an adolescent is self-injurious for months before an adult even notice. The misconception of this kind derails treatment and prolongs both the adolescent’s and the parents’ distress.
MYTH 2 – Everyone is doing it. Deliberate self-injury has been part of the adolescent scene for many years. Many therapists suggest that self-injurious behaviors are on the rise. These are three possible reasons why self-harm is the rise a) deliberate self-injurious has often been mistakenly documented as a suicide attempt, b) no firm criteria due to the narrow to board view of what of what constitutes non-suicidal self-injury and c) Adolescences seem less secretive about it.
MYTH 3 – PEER PRESSURE is the Main Culprit. While those who cut themselves are often friends with others who do the same, peer pressure probably has little effect on keeping the behavior going. People use their peer groups to air their problems. People and Adolescent, in particular, don’t start injuring themselves because of the influences of friends; they are more likely to choose friends who share their behaviors. Therefore, it is not unusual for one teen to tell another about her personal experience with self-injury or to let on that another friend has tried it. Preliminary research suggests that 52% of adolescents learn about self-injuries from a friend or media.
MYTH 4 – Drugs and Alcohol Increase the likelihood of self-injury. Self-injury soothes emotional distress, just as drugs and alcohol do. So the behavior, especially in a person who self-injures as a way to regulate emotions, would rarely be triggered by drug or alcohol use.
MYTH 5 – Certain Kids Manage Physical Pain More Easily than Emotional Pain. When adolescents are asked about the self-injurious behaviors shared that it is easier for them to bear physical pain than emotional pain. However, when you ask an adolescent does their self –injurious behavior hurt, the typical answer is NO. How can it be easier to manage physical pain than emotional pain if there is no physical pain? When the mechanism that provides the relief for this teen has to do with the neuropsychological effect of self-injury some people experience when they are in an intense emotional state. This sense of soothing is the most common experience during the moment of self-injury. It seems that when emotional revved up, there is a sense of calmness and relief when skin tissue is damaged.
MYTH 6 – It’s a Failed Suicide Attempt. More often than not, deliberate self-harm is not a failed or half-hearted suicide attempt. Those people who self-injure themselves may do so as a type of suicide prevention. Most therapists are better able to differentiate self-injury from self-harm with the intent to die. It is critical that any person who is self-injuring undergo a thorough suicidal assessment by a qualified professional.
March 1 was Self Injury Awareness Day and I hope that this brief article shed light on the myths bout Self-injury. For additional information regarding assessments and treatment, please contact a qualified mental health professional in your area.
Check out these resources for further education:
S.A.F.E. Alternative – www.selfinjury.com
Adolescent Self-Injury Foundation (ASIF) – www.adolescentselfinjuryfoundation.com
References:
Hollander, Micheal. Helping teens who cut: understanding and ending self-injury. (2008)
Shapiro, Lawrence. Stopping the Pain: a workbook for teens who cut & self-injure. (2008)
By Shayla Peterson, LCSW
There is so much to be stressed about, but there’s so many other things I rather fill my mind with today. I understand that stress is a normal response to a state of unbalance. Signs that I look for when my stress is unbalanced are in the areas of cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral. Our brains may react by experiencing increased forgetfulness, poor concentration, increased worrying, poor judgement and seeing only the negative. The emotional aspect of stress may present with moodiness, feelings of being overwhelmed, isolation, difficult to relax and increased irritability. Physical signs of stress may include aches & pains, nausea, easily catches colds, decreased sex drive and increased heart rate. Behavioral signs may appear in the form of less/more eating, too much/too little sleep, isolation, neglecting responsibilities and using alcohol, drugs and cigarettes to relax. These various symptoms if not addressed can lead to increased mental health concerns as the majority of these symptoms parallel with depression and anxiety. In efforts to increase mental wellness and prevent further stress, make an active effort to reduce stress today to improve overall mental health. These are the ten things I chose to use today to support my mission towards eliminating stress:
Feel Free to use these ten ways to have a STRESS FREE day. Note: Please do not feel disappointed if your day is not completely stress-free by using these tips, if you reduced one of your signs or decreased your symptoms of stress, you have made strides. Let’s Celebrate our progress!!!
Balancing the Stress,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
As we recognize Social Work Month during the month of March, I have decided to posted the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. I will never forget my professor in graduate school making the class recite the NASW Code of Ethics to promote memorization because of its importance. A Big acknowledgement to all the social work students, BSW, MSW, LMSW, LICSW, LSW, LCSW and DSW standing by our code and doing good work in the community.
Value : Service
Ethical Principle : Social worker’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems.
Value : Social Justice
Ethical Principle : Social worker challenge social injustice.
Value : Dignity and Worth of the Person
Ethical Principle : Social worker respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.
Value : Importance of Human Relationship
Ethical Principle : Social Workers recognize the central importance of human relationships.
Value : Integrity
Ethical Principle : Social Worker behave in a trustworthy manner.
Value : Competence
Ethical Principle : Social worker practice within their areas of competent and develop and enhance their professional expertise.
Happy Social Work Month,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Shayla Peterson, LCSW, LISW-CP 