September 21 is World Graditude Day. Take some time to think about todaywhat you are grateful for. Your situation may not be perfect, but try to acknowledge the things that have brought even a half smile to your face. Changing your thoughts can change your life.
Grateful,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Our body can signal us when we are stressed. Are you able to recognize them? Learn how to recognize the top 5 stress signals and what you can do to work towards relieving your stress.
1) Insomnia– If you go to bed thinking or worrying, the physiological response is adrenaline, which is activating and interferes with getting sleep or achieving restful sleep.
How to wind down. Create a routine for winding down and putting your mind to rest. Before bed, swim, walk, mediate, drink warm milk or herbal tea (no caffeine), take a hot bath or choose to think of peaceful, pleasant thoughts.
2) Headaches and sore muscle – When your body is in high gear, you are continuously on alert to respond and body tension accumulates. If tension is chronic, the results can be muscle soreness and rigidity. A tight neck, upper back and shoulders can lead to an headache.
How to wind down. Stretching and light exercise every couple of hours throughout the day may help relieve the symptoms.
3) Stomach problems – When you are stressed, acid is secreted in the stomach, which can cause heartburn, stomach cramps or other digestive problems. Over the counter antacid may alleviate the symptoms, but don’t ignore the real culprit of irritation : stress, caffeine, smoking, alcohol, poor nutrition, inadequate sleep and relaxation or spicy food.
How to wind down. Use physical activity, deep breathing and self-soothing activities to calm your digestive track. Be sure not to ignore these symptoms and consult with your PCM.
4) Addictive Behaviors – Efforts to escape chronic stress by drinking too much, increase smoking, overeating, overspending, gambling or other negative patterns that lead to increased stress.
How to wind down. Find helpful and healthful ways to deal with stress. Seek a local qualified professionals therapist in your area.
5) Low Sex Drive – While this can be a signal of stress of fatigue, a variety of other issues need to be explore with your PCM such as high blood pressure, decreased testosterone, excessive salt consumption, excessive alcohol use, certain drugs and disease that may cause hieghten blood pressure in some people.
While there is no way to prevent stress, we can control how we respond and handle it. Try not to let stress build up, deal with stress when it strikes, think positively, visualize yourself solving your stressors, set limits and time frame to when you will manage your stressor and lastly, be honest about what you have control over and what you do. Take this Wednesday to wind down and move towards recognizing your stressors, physical stressors and make moves to manage the stress.
Winding Down,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Source : Therapist’s guide to clinical intervention : 1-2-3’s of treatment planning (2nd edition) by Sharon L. Johnson
Get unstuffed and stop sticking. Let’s take Friday 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.
I hope that you find Feel your Feelings Friday helpful and beneficial to creating a balance to kick off your weekend. Send me note let me know how “Feeling Friday” balanced you.
Unstuffed and Not sticking,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Source: DBT skills training by Jean Eich, Psy, LP
You can reduce feelings of anxiety by using serenity, courage and wisdom. This quick blog will allow you to step back and evaulate your situation, determine he difference between the things you can and cannot change, and then act on your knowledge.
Step 1) Describe a situation that you have been feeling anxious about in your own life lately.
Step 2) Think about the situation careful and realistically, then list the things that you can actually change about the situation.
Step 3) List the things that you really cannot change.
Step 4) How will it affect your life if you accept the things you cannot change.
Step 5) Are you able to feel serene about? Ask yourself, why or why not.
Step 6) Do you have the courage to change the things you can change? Tell why or why not.
Step 7) What might help you feel more courageous?
Step 8) WRITE and READ aloud : “I have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Balanced in Serenity, Courage & Wisdom,
Shayla Peterson, LCSW
Source : The anxiety workbook by Lisa M. Schab, LCSW (2008)
Major depression is the psychiatric diagnosis most commonly associated with suicide. Lifetime risk of suicide among patients with untreated depressive disorder is nearly 20% (Gotlib & Hammen, 2002)
•2/3 of people who complete suicide are depressed at the times of their deaths
•7 out of every 100 men and 1 out of every 100 women who have been diagnosed with depression in their lifetime will go on to complete suicide.
•People who have had a dependence on alcohol or drugs in addition to being depressed are at greater risk for suicide
•Individuals who have multiple episode of depression are at greater risk for suicide than those who have had one episode
Source: http://www.suicideology.org #nspw16 #spsm #suicide #suicideprevention #wspd #depression #anxiety #substanceabuse
Shayla Peterson, LCSW, LISW-CP 