In order to try to be mindful of the times we live in and reduce spread of the COVID 19 virus I am transitioning to telehealth. At this time how we transition is an individual process for each client and I will work with all of my clients to come up with a plan that suits them. For webinar I use Zoom and I subscribe to their package that is HIPAA compliant. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and/or feedback about this process.
Category Archives: Change
Renewal
Spring seems like a great time to start back up with my blog posts. This Spring we are all in desperate need of some renewal. So far 2020 has been challenging. We are all experiencing something quite unique for our time. Humanity of course has seen and endured other pandemics but enduring a pandemic in the informational age is filled with easy access to ongoing death tolls and news that makes the calmest of us a little on edge. It is also, however, filled with easy access to all sorts of positive resources. After a week of seeing clients since schools and restaurants were ordered to close I have been able to gather suggestions from clients of things that are helping to keep them renewed and not drained with all the alarming aspects of what they see online. Here are some of the ideas I have heard this past week.
- Yoga with Adrien is a continued recommendation from my clients, https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
- limiting social media to only an hour a day
- Having friends call up and give them the news instead of hearing it on line.
- You tube projects
- Pinterest projects
- Online parties and meetups with friends
- Looking up old friends online and catching up.
- Starting an Etsy shop
- Getting rid of clutter by selling items on Ebay
- Online yoga classes and fitness classes that are being offered for free through gyms and places like yoga journal
- Online free virtual tours of museums
- Replacing 30 minutes of social media time with a podcast
- Finding online support groups via NAMI and local hospitals
- mindfulness courses and meditation through apps like “Insight Timer” and “Head Space”
This is the current list and I will continue to collect ideas and do a follow up post on this later. As we try to follow guidelines and stay safe, I ask you to take a moment to ground yourself and try to find some positivity for the day. It does appear that this may be a long haul for us and we are going to need some ongoing renewal as we keep moving forward.
Take Care and wishing you peace.
Brain Health
Research on Alzheimer’s was again in Scientific American this month. This particular article was reviewing research based on a clinical trial by “FINGER” (the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability) between 2009 and 2011. The results of the clinical trials and the study show that it is never too early and in this case never “too late” to intervene with cognitive decline through changes in the way one lives.
The changes they were referring to were eating a Mediterranean like diet, getting exercise, and challenging the brain through learning new things and memory challenges. These recommendations are by no means new to the public but just validates even more this life style. To be clear the exercise that showed positive results in memory and organization was 2-3 times a week of 60 minute periods of exercise like muscle strength training, aerobic exercise and postural balance and the Mediterranean diet was fruits, vegetables, whole grains, rapeseed oil, a fish meal at least twice a week. The only supplement given was Vitamin D.
Of course the groups started slow and built up to this goal which is encouraging. They started at 30 minutes. The exercise sometimes is the most difficult to work in. It’s important to note that the time they give is not straight cardio work, it combines strength building, cardio, and posture improvement such as in physical therapy, physiotherapy, and some types of yoga.
Motivation for change can be a slow process but building up reasons to change is one of the steps. Looks like this study gives us more to add to that list of pros and cons. Hopefully also it will also help us to work through the ambivalence.
NEW OFFICE LOCATION!
I am now at Revolution Mills as of 1/24/17.
The new office location is:
1250 Revolution Mill Drive
Suite 262
Greensboro, NC 27405
Revolution Mill Drive is off of Yanceyville Street. If you are coming from downtown you would take a left on Yanceyville.
Parking:
You can park in the visitor spots in the first 2 parking lots on the right. There is designated handicapped parking on the curb outside of the building.
Entrance:
There are 2 entrances for my office.
- The first is at the 1250 building entrance above a flight of steps. Once inside walk to the left of the red stairway diagonally pass the Mill History Exhibit toward suite “261”. My office is next door on the left.
- The 2nd entrance is at the 1175 building entrance and has no steps. This one is handicapped accessible. Once inside go through the next doorway and take a left. Go down the hallway past the red stairs on the left. Take a right after the Mill History Exhibit. You should see suite “261”. My office is next door on the left.
*If you arrive early you may see a sign that says that either directs you wait by chairs near the Mill exhibit or to come inside and take a seat. In these cases I’m in a session. Please just text/call me to let me know you have arrived. (Prefer text.)
Click below for map.
Making “Not-So-Good” Habits Work for You
“A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” – This is SAMHSA’s working definition of recovery. this could be recovery from Mental Health or Physical Health concerns.
Recently I have seen a good many clients that have come in reporting very similar symptoms. They feel somewhat down or even distressed. They are functioning relatively okay with work and home but feel like they have lost their way. They report feeling empty, tired, anxious. Most of these individuals have been very involved in family and/or community. They have been the family coordinators, the church volunteers, the community activists.
When looking at the above working definition of recovery, these folks are definitely self directive, but somehow the other two areas of health and wellness and full potential have been overshadowed by others needs (others in their own family and others in the community). When using the needs assessment tool I incorporate into my practice (the DLA20), it is clear that many facets of their life have been neglected and continue to be drained. There’s just not enough nourishment and recovery built into their lives to keep pace with all the other routines in their life.
We live in a society of go, go, go. Ample supplies of caffeine and energy supplements. Ample supplies of foods and other items to grab quickly from moving to one activity to another. We more and more are getting out of habits of nourishment and allowing for our bodies to recover. Recovery is not just a mental feat but very much a physical feat as well. We have to develop healthy routines to nourish our bodies and brain. These routines have to be consistent in order to make an impact. Just like we consistently go to the coffee pot, check Facebook, or volunteer to help another, we need to consistently eat nourishing foods, take time for some quiet, and get some stress relieving physical activity. But how? It sounds simple but if it were that simple we wouldn’t have this problem of course.
The trick is to begin by connecting one activity to another. The activity can be good or bad. If you drink coffee every morning or check Facebook before bed on a consistent basis, then these are great activities to link with more nourishing habits like 10 slow breaths or eating an apple. Once you have successfully linked these habits consistently you can build in more healthy habits like a walk or some yoga. It’s better to start small though. Later you may decide to even phase out the original activity, especially if it was doing more harm than good. Getting overwhelmed and not doing anything at all is not an option if you want to stop the cycle of constant drain, low energy, and feeling like you’re in a fog.
Sometimes we need reminders, so setting timers, getting others involved are great ways to ensure more consistency. Also subscribing to a blog whether it is mine or another wellness author could also be a good way to get a tickler to continue to work on developing healthier practices. As with much in life persistence against failure eventually develops consistency regardless, so keep trying.
Maintaining Progress
January, the time of resolutions. Just checking out Facebook or talking to friends or coworkers you are bound to hear about new projects people are attempting. Eating better, exercising, losing weight are big ones. Also many people this year are de-cluttering and working on simplifying their life. Some are doing away with bad habits like smoking or other dependencies.
Most of these resolutions are very admirable and when people first decide on them you can hear the optimism and hope in their voice. But come March or April, how many are still focused on these resolutions. How many in August? December? It’s difficult maintaining change and progress, especially if change is incremental. So how does one maintain focus and progress?
I strongly believe that setting solid goals that are specific, measurable, realistic and with a deadline is the best place to start. In counseling we use the acronym “SMART” to guide us in making goals with clients. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. So if the goal was to lose weight then you would want to set a deadline to lose a certain amount of pounds. You would need to do some research to find out what is a healthy amount to lose a week (usually no more than 2 lbs is advised) and make sure your amount and deadline are realistic and attainable. Then you would set small weekly goals and research the best options to lose weight to choose your strategy.
The next step would be incorporating supports. Would you benefit from joining weight watchers or finding a friend to exercise with? Do you need to track your diet in a journal or use an app like Myfitness pal..?
The third step is then identifying obstacles like donuts at work or eating leftovers from kids’ plates. Then you develop strategies for each of these obstacles; like having alternative snacks handy at work or having kids clean up their meal themselves so you are not tempting to grab a bite..
Fourth is evaluation and noting the progress and setting fourth another goal. This is where most people throw in the towel actually. The idea of seeing failure is sometimes enough to call it quits. I like to think of failure as an opportunity to really understand what didn’t work. What obstacle do I need to prepare more for and what are my options for this obstacle? This is where breakthroughs are made but so many times we are too fearful of feeling like a failure or we are burned out on the task at hand that we really don’t learn from it or keep the progress we really did make.