News – Page 2

Helping Hurts

Empathy

Those serving in helping professions share a common feeling– that soul-deep responsibility for those under their care. Then, that empathic nature leaves many wondering if more could have been done, imagining alternate scenarios in the vacuum of hindsight, and questioning professional self-worth. These burdensome cycles of thought are products of the already distressing experiences of witnessing the physical and emotional contortions of trauma.

Suffering

Direct and vicarious trauma are what healthcare workers endure every day. Many are left feeling like their empathy is running out. With an open heart, vast waves of emotion and suffering are let inside, but rarely are they allowed to exit, and as a result, nurses, doctors, therapists, and technicians encounter helplessness in recapturing that empathy and releasing the suffering of others from their spirits.

Healing

Release, balance, contentment, peace, wholeness, and empathy can be mined from the passions and interests that tether every person to existence. Yes, that very profession that is causing you heartache can be a passion, but to create balance, nurturing other passions will lead to a healthier sense of being and a refreshed ability to give yourself grace. Those moments of contentment can lie in the simplest forms– a morning ritual of black coffee or an evening walk with your hound. Rejuvenation springs from a commitment to fully experience and engage in what brings you meaning, purpose, and passion.

Light

Carl Jung stated, “…the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” Life is naturally full of shadows and suffering, which is why light must live in willfulness. Action begets mood, and using your senses to take in those purest moments will deliver a new sense of empathy, where appreciation reigns and fear melts away. Share your ideas. Share your pain. Share your challenges. Share your healing. Create connectedness.

Connect with Missouri healthcare workers in a safe, confidential space for support and mindfulness skills.

How to Make the Most of Telehealth

Remote Therapy Video Demonstration

Laura Chackes, founder of The Center for Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy discusses Telehealth. — Laura Chackes, Psy. D., demonstrates how easy and convenient it is for clients and therapists to connect with remote sessions, also known as “telehealth.” (video opens in a new tab)

Due to the current pandemic, most mental health providers are using online video sessions to provide the services that you normally receive in the office.

Luckily with all of the technology that we have today, there are a number of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant websites and apps we can use for these sessions, so your privacy is protected.

Some people have reservations or anxiety about this remote therapy, also known as “telehealth,” so we made this short video to demonstrate how easy it is to do. Most people who have done telehealth find their anxiety lessens during the first session as they realize the online session is similar to sitting in the therapist’s office. They experience the same benefits as if they are in an in-person therapy session.

Here are some tips to make the experience go as smoothly as possible for you, and to help you get the most out of your sessions.

Find a private, quiet space in your home (or even your car if you need to) where you won’t be disturbed by other people or pets.
Choose a device to use that has a camera and microphone. Most laptops and tablets have these already, and some desktops do as well, but if they don’t you can add them separately. If you don’t have a computer or tablet that you can use a smartphone will work as well, but it’s a good idea to find a way to prop your phone up so that you don’t have to hold it throughout the whole session.
Test out your equipment ahead of time by following the link that your clinician gives you to make sure that your camera and microphone are working, and that you have a strong enough internet connection in the area that you’re in.
Turn off the notifications on the device that you’re using so that you don’t get distracted during the session with beeps, dings, or vibrations.
Make sure that your clinician has your phone number so that they can call you if either of you are having technical or other difficulties.
Log into the session a few minutes early so that you are ready to start when your therapist arrives, and so that you can manage any last minute technical issues that may arise.
Make yourself physically comfortable by leaning back in your chair or on your couch so that you can feel as relaxed as possible. Make sure that you can see the screen well and that the camera is picking you up, but you don’t need to be super close to the computer. Try to simulate how close you’d normally sit to your therapist, or if you haven’t been to therapy before, how close you’d sit to a friend or family member who you were talking with.
Take a few deep breaths while you’re waiting for your therapist to arrive, and remind yourself that it’s normal to feel nervous whenever trying something new. One of the benefits of telehealth is that it helps you learn to become more comfortable with new and different things.
When your therapist arrives try to focus your full attention on your therapist rather than looking at yourself in the corner of the screen. Often you can adjust the view or layout so that you are very small on your screen, or you can take a post-it note and cover yourself up so you are not distracted by seeing yourself on the screen.
After a few minutes you will likely become less focused on the fact that you are looking at a screen, and you will be able to focus on what you want to get out of the session. If you’re worried that you won’t remember everything you want to talk about, you can make a list ahead of time and bring it with you to your session.
While video sessions are recommended because they give you and your therapist the face-to-face interaction that you are used to in your sessions, if this is too hard for you right now ask your therapist if you can start with phone sessions. Most insurance companies are now paying for video sessions, and some are paying for phone sessions. If you normally use insurance for your sessions you can call your insurance company and ask what they will approve.
Remember that while this situation is temporary, we don’t know how long we will need to continue social distancing so it is not a good idea to postpone your sessions until your therapist is back in the office. Your mental health is a priority, especially during this time when so much else in your life is changing and uncertain. If you’re unsure whether telehealth will work for you, why not just give it a try and see what you think? What do you have to lose?

Mindfulness Practices to Decrease Fear and Increase Immune Functioning

By Laura Chackes, Psy.D.

Mindfulness rewires your brain to improve your mental and physical health.

Learn how to manage your emotions and improve your physical health with mindfulness.

From fear to anger to sadness, many people around the world are having difficulty coping with this pandemic. Despite the massive amount of information that we are receiving about the coronavirus, we are really in the dark when it comes to knowing how all of this will play out. This combination of information overload and uncertainty causes us to fear the worst.

Over the past two decades, there has been considerable research pointing to the mental and physical health benefits of mindfulness. Of course, mindfulness has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, but these benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. The physical health benefits of mindfulness are also quite profound, including most important at this time, increased functioning of your immune system.

So how can we start getting these benefits right away?

Set a time to practice daily

Think of mindfulness as an exercise for the mind. Just like physical exercise requires regular practice to see results, mindfulness must be practiced daily to experience the full benefits it has to offer. So start by choosing a time each day that you can commit to practicing for about ten minutes. There is no best time to practice. Just pick a time that will work for you (for example when you first wake up, before you eat lunch, or before bed) and set an alarm on your phone to remind you to practice at this time every day.

Use a guided mindful meditation

Formal mindfulness practice is done by meditating; however, mindful meditation is NOT clearing your mind, chanting, or even trying to relax. Mindful meditation is usually guided by a trained mindfulness instructor and involves bringing your attention to the present moment by refocusing back to the breath and/or the body every time the mind wanders away.

I think it helps to compare meditation to a bicep curl. Every time you bring your attention to your breath it’s like you are bringing your fist up towards your shoulder, and then when your mind wanders away it’s like your fist going back down. So the more times your mind wanders away, the more chances you get to build this mindfulness “muscle” with more repetitions of bringing your attention back to your breath.

Obviously you can’t really build a muscle in your mind, but mindfulness meditation strengthens neural pathways that create actual changes in your brain that can be seen in an MRI.

For an audio file of a guided mindful meditation called the Body Scan click here.

Incorporate mindfulness practices throughout your day

As a complement to your daily meditation practice, do informal mindfulness practices by simply bringing mindful awareness to any activity that you do. To practice mindful eating, a common informal mindfulness practice, grab a raisin or any other small piece of food and go through the following steps:

Using each of your five senses slowly examine this item.

What does it feel like in your hand or when you touch it with your fingers?

What colors and shapes do you see?

Does it make any sound if you roll it around between your finger and thumb?

What do you smell when you bring this item up to your nose?

When you place it on your tongue how does it taste?

Resist the urge to just quickly eat this item like you normally do, and instead continue to bring your attention back to the present moment by focusing on one of your five senses.

When you do bite down, notice how it feels between your teeth, and how the taste changes after you bite into it.

Notice the changing texture and sensations in your mouth as you continue to chew, and then notice your urge to swallow and how the food feels as it moves down your throat when you do swallow it.

Then finally notice how your mouth feels and if any taste lingers after the food is gone.

Become aware of how and why these practices can best help you

To gain the most from the formal and informal mindfulness practices ask yourself the following questions after each exercise:

What did you observe in your mind and body during this practice?

How is this practice different from how you normally breathe, experience your body, eat, etc?

How could this practice help you?

Take an 8-week mindfulness course

The research studies proving the mental and physical health benefits of mindfulness are primarily done with people who have completed an 8-week mindfulness course. These courses provide the structure, support, accountability, and instruction that create the best outcomes.

We are currently enrolling for the next session of our Mindfulness for Health & Well-Being 8-week online course starting Monday, November 9th. Click here to learn more about this course or to enroll now.

Learn More

Get Creative, Get Healthy

By Andrew Conrad MA, NCC

Creativity is thought of as an inherent skill or gift for the few. Yes, there are those people who can amaze us with a mind-blowing painting or a poignant song that brings tears to our eyes, but creativity is within everyone and it can be used to expand one’s mental landscape, develop more flexibility in being, and instill a sense of bravery and a willfulness to explore new avenues.

Connect with Life

Creative arts provide a path for everyone to make life more constructive, meaningful, passionate, purposeful, and enjoyable. Painting or writing or photography are not necessarily about the end product. They speak to the process. The process of overcoming avoidance, strengthening identity, and finding the spirit of connectedness and expression.

Build Awareness

Expressive arts take us to a way of thinking that is expansive– delivering insight, awareness, and a tangible vision. These elements can lead each person to growth and change, bringing us out of the stifling mode of insecurity and into a world of self-awareness where there is light and hope and opportunity.

Widen the Landscape

By nature, art and creativity are metaphorical. Metaphors serve in allowing us to step outside and beyond the churn of unhealthy thinking and belief patterns to a place that redefines and reframes our challenges. Human beings construct and perceive life through storytelling, which can be in the form of writing, imagery, music, and so much more. Stories and metaphors are the connective tissue in our minds, cultures, societies, and families. Metaphors add dimension. Thus, each creative and expressive endeavor deepens our understanding of the unique existence we possess and leads to a more open and desirable story about our future selves.

Think of the expressive arts as taking the cacophony, or the relentless and dissonant noise of life, and harmonizing it into a song of possibility and freedom.

I’m leading the new group “Get Creative.” I hope to see you there.

Becoming Unapologetically You in 2020

by Sarah Al-Zadjali

Woman smiling and holding an illuminated heart — This time of year is a good time to check in with yourself.

With 2020 being right around the corner, I would like for you to take a moment and envision your best possible future self. Who do you want to be, and what do you want to do?

For some people, the ‘New Year, new me’ mentality can cause us to experience anxiety and depression.

You might be telling yourself that 2019 wasn’t your year, or, an unforeseen situation happened that lowered your self-esteem, and you just feel stuck. Or maybe you are excited to start the new year off with a clean slate!

Regardless of where you stand, this time of year can be a good time to check-in with yourself and determine if you’re where you want to be in life.

Some things that many of us struggle with in asking and answering these
questions are not having a well-rounded idea of who we are and what we ‘really want,’ having low self-esteem, not liking our appearance, having difficulty being kind to ourselves in moments of heartache and chaos, and struggling with accepting certain things about ourselves.

We also tend to have difficulty finding a healthy balance between speaking kindly to ourselves and holding ourselves accountable, figuring out how these ‘love yourself’ and ‘take care of yourself’ concepts actually work, and determining what our values really are and how to bring them to life.

For example, we hear the phrase “don’t look back—you’re not going that way!”, and I absolutely agree!

Yet, it can be helpful and eye-opening at times to take a minute, and reflect on the journey life has taken us on so far.

How can we use this information to guide us into figuring out our identity and who we are? Have societal norms gotten in the way of us wanting to be our authentic selves?

Exploring a timeline of our life to see what meaning and connection can be found through the different roles and experiences we’ve had is a great way to help form and understand our identity.

What about the “inner critic?” Does that name ring a bell? It’s that soft (or loud) voice in your head that reminds you to not take risks, to stay small and safe in your comfort zone.

It’s that voice that reminds you to compare yourself with those around you, and to mind-read what others are saying about you.

Self-talk— it’s the narrator of our life. It’s the stories we tell ourselves to create meaning of the noise around (and within) us. It can be harsh sometimes, and not supportive at all—especially when you’re
feeling overwhelmed and defeated.

Exploring this inner critic and finding alternative, more healthy and rational ways of thinking is extremely helpful in improving our self- esteem and overall view of ourselves.

This is another big one… self-acceptance. How can self-acceptance improve
anxiety, you may ask? How does “accepting” something you are fearful of help you get

further in life? Acceptance does not mean you have ‘given up’ or that you are ‘weak’ for not holding on.

Instead, acceptance shows that you have chosen to let go of the heaviness of trying to compete in a battle you are never going to win.

Radically accepting the pain, hardships, and anxious moments you are experiencing frees you from rumination of “what could be” to “what is” in a compassionate and empowering way.

Explore how you might benefit from practicing self-acceptance by giving it a try, and see what happens.

If you are interested in dedicating time to work on yourself this new year, and/or any of the above topics sound like things you would like to work on, I have great news!

The next session of my group “Unapologetically You: A Road to Self-Exploration and Self-Acceptance” starts January 7th!

As a team, you will begin the New Year by re- writing your narrative, which will improve your emotional and mental wellbeing, empower you with the skills and resources you need to feel successful and whole, and graduate you into being unapologetically you!

Click here for more information or register here.