How Meditation Can Help With Getting A Better Night’s Sleep
If you are struggling with getting a good night’s sleep, consider the benefits of meditation. Meditation that focuses on sleep helps one be present in the moment. Meditation can help create a calm state, by clearing the mind in preparation for sleep.
Distraction can be a great way to cope with anxious thoughts during the day but what happens when it is time to sleep? Do you start engaging in mental activities such as counting sheep? Perhaps scrolling through social media out of boredom but find your mind overstimulated and even more “cluttered”. Do you check the time and realize you “should” be sleeping by now? Focusing on difficulties falling and staying asleep can make things even more stressful!
Mindful Meditation is a great practice that can be combined with other strategies such as guided imagery to help get a better night’s sleep. Meditations that utilize mindfulness-for-sleep may include sensory rich details of relaxing images of places such as the beach or a mountainside with softly drifting clouds or gentle flowing water. While these techniques incorporate an element of distraction, these serve more as relaxation strategies because they can shift one’s focus to positive distractions as part of a relaxing meditation.
A body scan meditation brings mindful awareness to different parts of the body, noticing the different sensations as one scans each part of the body. It is common for one’s thoughts to wander. Be kind to yourself as you gently bringing back your awareness to your breath and body. Focusing on breathing can help create a sense of calm as one is doing the body scan. Techniques such as breathing in calm and breathing out tension are often practiced with a body scan meditation as we help our bodies naturally relax.
Noticing worrisome thoughts and placing these on an object such as a leaf on a gently flowing stream or a cloud and watching it drift away is a strategy that incorporates mindfulness with cognitive diffusion that many clients find helpful. With mindfulness, whatever worrisome thoughts are present, including the anxiety of not being able to sleep, practicing letting these go, allowing and trusting the body’s ability to relax.
The Sleep Foundation has an excellent list of Nine Mindfulness Principles. Thought patterns consistent with these principles (rather than focus on the negative) can help reduce anxiety and promote a better night’s sleep. These include: a beginner’s mind in your approach to thoughts about sleep/ expectations, non-striving as sleep is not a result of a forced effort, it just happens. Letting go which include letting go of judgments or non-judging, and acceptance. Sometimes you may get a good night’s rest and other times you may not. Trust in your body’s ability to regulate sleep and have patience in the process. Finally, gratitude, allowing yourself to focus on the good things and showing generosity to others can be positive distractions that can re-shift focus.
Meditation can help when it is used regularly before bed and getting into the habit of daily meditation can help receive optimal health benefits.
Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC
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How To Show Yourself Kindness and Those Around You
We know the importance of being kind to others but are you also showing kindness to yourself? Showing kindness is one of the greatest forms of humanity, as kindness make a big difference in one’s life.
What steps can you take to show kindness to yourself and those around you? Here are some areas of reflect on for Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 14-20, 2021).
Take time to Notice and Express Kindness
- Acknowledge and notice others that you encounter within your daily life. This can be difficult when one is busy and distracted.
- Take small steps to show kindness such as connecting through eye contact, a smile, head nod, touch, conversation, or other gesture.
- Engage with yourself and others in meaningful ways such as spending quality time, working on a project, or gifting a token of appreciation.
Be Gentle with Yourself and Others by Practicing Self-Compassion
• Use gentle, kind, and affirming words that build a strong sense of self.
• Offer yourself loving kindness in moments of suffering and offer compassion to others in times of suffering.
Show Kindness to Yourself by Taking Care of Your Body
• Eat healthy nourishing foods, exercise, rest, and treat physical and mental health.
• Seek support if you struggle with disordered eating, drug/ alcohol misuse, self-injurious behavior, and/ or engaging in risky or reckless behaviors.
Learn to “Let Go” and Forgive
• Let go of judgment, perfectionism, unrealistic standards, control, or other areas.
• “Permission-granting” can be a helpful way to allow yourself to be your authentic self and “let go”.
• Being able to forgive yourself and forgive others can be an incredible act of kindness.
Be Generous
• Consider how you choose to spend resources such as time and money; challenge yourself to use resources towards random acts of kindness.
• Help meet basic needs (e.g. food, clothing, shelter, companionship) and be an advocate for others.
• Be generous with your praise. Give yourself credit for your accomplishments and growth.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all which have the potential to turn a life around”.
–Leo Buscaglia
Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC
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Tune Into Your Body To Increase Resiliency and Happiness
Rather than just focusing on the neck up, therapists are incorporating body work by taking a more holistic approach and integrating the rest of the body! Specialized therapeutic approaches such as somatic psychotherapy utilize the mind-body connection to bring awareness to one’s body and integrate the body within the healing process.
The nervous system plays a key role in body work; tuning-into-your-body-can-make-you-more-resilient. Amid threat, our body goes into “fight or flight”; this serves as a protective, survival response. The sympathetic nervous system plays a key role in triggering this response whereas the parasympathetic nervous system works to calm the body’s response. Our body works hard to keep us safe, healthy, and calm! Body-based interventions can help soothe our body when our brain is sending out signals of distress. By increasing somatic intelligence, one can better understand the-stress-response and learn techniques that help regulate stress responses and contribute to overall healthiness.
BREATHING & RELAXATION
One of the first places we can focus on regulating our nervous system is through breathing by using deep abdominal breaths which is known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing. Breathing can be paired with deep sighs or humming to calm. Breathing can also be combined with soothing words or images as part of meditation and guided imagery relaxation exercises.
Check out this link for steps how to do deep breathing exercises to include diaphragmatic breathing, rib stretch breathing, and numbered breathing: https://www.healthline.com/health/diaphragmatic-breathing#steps-to-do
PHYSICAL TOUCH
There are many benefits-of-touch in response to reducing stress and calming the nervous system. This includes the body’s release of the hormone oxytocin which is released during activities that utilize physical touch such as hugging, massage, cuddling, and sex. Soothing activities such as petting an animal also offer these benefits. Meditation activities that incorporate touch and self-compassion such as placing one’s hand on their heart and offering kindness is another intervention that utilizes physical touch.
MOVEMENT
Use of movement and therapeutic approaches that use movement such as yoga and tai chi often combines deep breathing along with fluid rhythmical movements that help calm the nervous system. Incorporating mindfulness for “mindful movement” with activities such as walking or yoga helps relax both the mind and the body. Simple movement activities such as shifts in posture and stretching also easy activities that you can do anywhere.
INTEGRATE ALL THREE!
Breathing/ relaxation, touch, and movement can be combined. A technique called grounding is helpful with moving through distress (especially with trauma) as it helps one feel connected to the ground/ earth. This can be paired with sensory-soothing interventions to feel fully connected and present such as physical touch and eye contact in addition to breathing.
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We’re united by our commitment to providing effective, relevant, and innovative mental health support at all stages of your journey. Click Here to find out more about who we are, where we come from, and how we live out CARE’s mission every day.
The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
How to Practice Mindfulness and How Shame Can Affect Your Eating Habits
Eating is a daily practice that helps nourish our bodies by keeping them strong and healthy. It is the “fuel” that provides energy for the day. Eating habits may become unhealthy patterns ladened with guilt and shame. It is important to become aware of maladaptive core beliefs and the internalized messages that come along with eating habits and feelings about weight, appearance, or overall body image.
Shame is an emotion that can greatly affect eating habits whether it be mindless eating, restricting, binging, purging, struggles with weight and/ or body image. Feelings of shame are often present with behaviors that are done in secret and may be associated with rigidly held beliefs including “food rules” that affects-eating-habits. Mindfulness can help bring awareness to unhelpful thoughts that contribute to feelings of shame. Mindfulness can help us sit with the discomfort these feeling bring, being present in the moment and approaching eating habits with curiosity. In our moments of pain and suffering may we find compassion for ourselves. Oftentimes it is much easier to show compassion for others while the inner critic is unleashed on the self. Offering yourself kindness and compassion during a difficult situation is a great mindfulness practice which can help work with feelings of shame.
Here are some guidelines how to practice mindfulness while eating that incorporates simple-practices-for-daily-life.
1) Notice What You are Eating. Make mindful choices that nourish the body and soul.
2) Savor Your Food. Take time to notice the aroma, taste, and texture. Allow yourself to connect and enjoy these sensations.
3) Create a Pause. Activities to slow down and then enjoy the food such as breathing or a prayer before eating can help with the transition to meal time.
4) Be Mindful of Where You are Eating. Do you eat on the couch in front of your TV, at your desk while working, or in bed? Take the time to prepare a special place for meal time, even if it is a place setting for one.
5) Listen to Your Body Signals. Learn to recognize and appropriately respond to signals of hunger and fullness.
The Center for Mindful Eating provides some great information on mindful eating as well as mindful meditations: https://thecenterformindfuleating.org/FREE-Meditations
If you are struggling with shame around eating habits, please schedule a time to talk to a therapist with specialty working with eating disorders https://care-clinics.com/ or a specialty clinic that provides treatment for eating disorders.
Melrose Center: https://www.healthpartners.com/care/specialty-centers/melrose-center/
The Emily Program: https://www.emilyprogram.com/
Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC
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Practicing Mindful Sex
Feeling alone …
You find yourself scrolling through social media and before you know it, you find yourself “doomsturbating“—doomscrolling while masturbating. This outcome is not too much different than other self-soothing activities we tend to find ourselves doing while stressed, anxious, depressed, lonely, or just plain old bored.
How about watching TV while mindless eating? You may find yourself eating past your comfort level and making choices that contribute to feelings of guilt and shame. By incorporating mindfulness, it helps one to fully enjoy pleasure in the moment in activities whether it be eating chocolate or having sex. Mindfulness is about being fully present.
Mindfulness can offer a wonderful sense of freedom when practicing mindful-sex. Have you ever experienced anxiety before, during, or after sex? What is it like to have sex with a partner(s) when you are pre-occupied and insecure about your body, orgasms, or overall performance? Biological, psychological social/ environmental and cultural factors are all important aspects that affect sexual health.
Sexual relationships struggle when they are impacted by feeling detached, preoccupied, unsatisfied, or even numb to pleasure. What would it be like to feel mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually connected while having sex?
Many individuals that seek help for relationship concerns, especially around intimacy and sex often struggle with communication. Sex and sexuality are important aspects of what makes us human. Good communication can lead to sexual satisfaction and improved mental health. Communication and consent are vital to practicing mindful, hot sex.
No matter your “relationship status”, I challenge you to treat yourself to pleasure. It does not need to be sexual, although if you choose to have mindful sex, prepare yourself for something even better than chocolate!
Here are Steps to Get Started:
• Set aside an intentional time to practice mindful sex.
• Enjoy a multi-sensory experience. Indulge the senses with sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
• Be fully present to experience the moment rather than focus on performance.
• Practicing loving and nurturing yourself. Learn first how to be comfortable with and in your body. Discover new erogenous zones.
• Increase your comfort level to communicate. Talk to your partner(s) about what you want.
Finally, do not be afraid to talk to your therapist about your sexual health concerns. Yes, it is OK to talk about sex in therapy! Not only is it OK, but it is also encouraged.
Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC
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How to Maintain Friendships When Feeling Depressed, Anxious, Etc…
Friendship is a beautiful thing—childhood friends, friends from school or college days, friendships formed through work, and other stages of life. Sometimes friends are made in the least expected places, bonding through pain, hardship, and times of suffering. Reaching out for help is not easy, nor is reaching out for social support when struggling with depression or anxiety.
When one is struggling with mental health, it can be difficult to maintain friendships. Yet, this is a time when we need support from friends. If you are feeling anxious or depressed, who are three people that you could call right now? When is the last time that you reached out to someone? Has it been in the last day, last week, last month?
We all have a need for social connection, through the good times and through the bad. It is especially important to maintain friendships while feeling depressed, anxious, etc.
Here are Three Ways to Maintain Friendships:
- Take a Step to be Vulnerable and Reach Out
• Start with small steps. Sending a simple text or making a phone call is a great start.
• A good starting point is to reach out to the top three names that come to your mind.
• Be open about what you are feeling and what would be helpful, perhaps just someone to listen.
• If you are lacking social supports, reach out to community supports or a mental health resource line. https://mn.gov/covid19/for-minnesotans/get-help/mental-health - Take Care of Your Mental Health
• A good friend can offer support but will not be able to “fix” your depression, anxiety, etc.
• Separate yourself from your mental health. For example, I am a person who is feeling depressed vs. I am depressed.
• Practice coping skills that encourage being able to tolerate negative emotions and build on social connection. One of my favorites is listed here: https://www.dbtselfhelp.com/html/accepts.html - Recognize that you are Important to Others
• Sometimes people are reluctant to reach out to friends as to not “burden” or stress out others. Although it may not feel like it during times of struggle, your friendship is a precious gift.
• Friendships give and take. How would you respond to a friend? Showing and receiving kindness, patience, and understanding are qualities of a great friendship.
“You are a piece of the puzzle of someone else’s life. You may never know where you fit, but others will fill the holes in their lives with pieces of you.” -Bonnie Arbor
Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC
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The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
Stuck on Negative Thinking
For many of us, we tend to get stuck on negative thinking. For some reason, our brains defer to the negative. According to the National Science Foundation, 80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% of our thoughts are repetitive. WOW. That is a lot of negative, repetitive thoughts!
We all have thoughts and feelings about ourselves and important aspects of our life—relationships, work, school. We may find our brain “stuck” on the past, unable to let go. Anxious and depressive thinking can impact our ability to be fully present in the future, especially when expending time and energy worrying about the future.
Exactly how many thoughts do we have? Researchers at Queen’s University in Canada estimated that we have 6,200 thoughts-every-day. Researchers were able to establish a way to identify when a thought ends and begins thorough isolating “thought worms” which are moments of being fixed on the same idea.
Here are some common examples of negative thought patterns:
Pessimism:
• Our “mental filter” focuses on the negative. We may minimize the positives and may “spiral” into depressive thinking.
Catastrophizing:
• Making small problems into big problems or “worst case scenarios”, assuming the worst will happen.
Rumination:
• Repetitive thought(s) in which your brain tends to get “stuck” on negativity.
• Individuals may find that they have a hard time moving on. They may struggle with obsessions and experience anxious distress.
Perfectionism:
• Placing unrealistic high standards on self.
• Individual may find themselves being hyper-critical; feeling like a “failure” when standards are not met.
Negative and repetitive thought patterns are present in both anxiety and depression. There are many cognitive-distortions present in negative thinking. These distortions can be treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy, using techniques such as cognitive-restructuring.
Other helpful interventions include:
• Practicing gratitude
• Surrounding yourself with positive people
• Increasing awareness of negative self-talk and replacing it
• Establishing new rituals/ habits within your routine
• Learning how to “let go” of negativity and practice self-compassion.
Written By: Charlotte Johnson MA, LPCC
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Our wellness experts will be happy to take care of you. You can CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment now or call (612)223-8898.
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The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
Seasonal Depressive Disorder
SAD? Are you feeling tired, lacking energy, experiencing fatigue, and a loss of motivation? These are common in those with a seasonal pattern of depression.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is viewed as a form of major depression. In addition to depressed mood and/ or decreased interest or pleasure activities. Additional symptoms often include a tendency to oversleep, difficulties concentrating, and irritability.
Seasonal affective disorder tends to begin in the fall (Sept/ Oct) and last through the spring (March/ April). January tends to be an especially difficult month for many individuals, exacerbated this year by the stressors of the pandemic.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that over half of the US adult population (53%) have reported negative mental health impacts due to COVID-19 related stress. The duration the pandemic, combined with the winter months have experts concerned winter-and-pandemic-stressors-could-be-double-whammy-for-mental-health. For those of us experiencing Minnesota winter where the days are shorter, the sun sets sooner, and the temps are frigid it can be harder to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine.
• Did you know that for those with visual impairments, the risk of developing seasonal-affective-disorder is almost three times higher?
• Women are especially at risk, as 4 out of 5 people with SAD tend to be women.
• Susceptibility to seasonal depression may also be influenced by eye color due to the amount of light the eye can process and melatonin production. #Why-blue-eyes-keep-the-blues-away.
Changes in the amount of sunlight appears to trigger seasonal-affective-disorder. These changes may negatively impact one’s “biological clock” which controls sleep-wake patterns and disrupt the functions of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin helps regulate mood.
These are several theories about the causes of SAD. Research suggests nimh.nih.gov/health/publications sunlight is an important factor that aids in the maintenance of normal serotonin levels. For those with SAD, these are problems with regulation that result in decreased serotonin.
Melatonin production may be another factor as producing too much melatonin increases sleepiness. Melatonin is a hormone that is important in maintaining a regular sleep-wake schedule.
Low vitamin D levels could also be a factor as it is believed to promote serotonin and those with SAD tends to receive less vitamin D through exposure to sunlight.
One interesting thing that I recently learned from my optometrist is the connection between eye health and mental health. This is a friendly reminder that if you have not had a recent eye exam, now may be a good time to schedule one. It is also the perfect time to see a therapist!
SAD Treatments Include the Following:
- Increasing exposure to light during the winter
- Exercising outdoors
- Using light therapy such as a SAD lamp
- Psychotherapy
- Antidepressants
- Vitamin D
Written By: Charlotte Johnson MA, LPCC
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Our wellness experts will be happy to take care of you. You can CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment now or call (612)223-8898.
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We’re united by our commitment to providing effective, relevant, and innovative mental health support at all stages of your journey. Click Here to find out more about who we are, where we come from, and how we live out CARE’s mission every day.
The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
Ways to Implement Workplace Happiness
As a provider in mental health, it is important to take care of employee well-being to offer the best care for our clients. This includes managing stress, being engaged in my work, and feeling a sense of purpose as these factors all help promote a sense of workplace happiness.
Are you or your employees feeling stressed out at work, disengaged, or generally dissatisfied? If so, it may be time to introduce some change to implement workplace happiness.
Considering that the average person spends 1/3 of their life at work, or 90,000 hours working in their lifetime, that is a lot of time being unhappy!
Jessica Pryce-Jones, author of “Happiness at Work” identifies Five Keys to happiness-at-work.
• Contribution – the effort you make and your perception of it
• Conviction – the motivation and resilience you have whatever the circumstances
• Culture – how well you feel you fit
• Commitment – knowing you’re there for the duration
• Confidence – the level of self-belief you have
These five keys are viewed as interwoven. Other important factors Pryce-Jones identified included trust and pride in an organization and recognition from an organization. Workplace happiness includes a sense of achieving at one’s full potential, maximining performance while also incorporating fun.
At CARE, our team “plays together and stays together” The annual retention rate sits at 94% (the national average is 40% in behavioral health)
What’s the secret of happy employees? Check these out to learn more.
• Incorporate fun events throughout the year. Laugh together!
• Encourage events that foster social connections outside the workplace for stronger team cohesion.
• Show you CARE. Be authentic and genuine.
• Greet others. Work to create a respectful inclusive culture.
• Use clear, open communication to build trust.
• Create teams to work through difficult work, get feedback/ ideas, and share success.
• Develop independence/ leadership within the organization.
• Encourage and offer personal and professional growth opportunities. Focus on wellness.
• Offer meaningful perks such as workplace flexibility for work-life balance and employee benefits.
• Create a comfortable, inviting workspaces.
• Praise employees and provide public recognition; be consistent with these areas.
• Work towards a shared mission.
• Focus on the positives. Surround yourself with positive, talented people.
Written By: Charlotte Johnson MA, LPCC
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Our wellness experts will be happy to take care of you. You can CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment now or call (612)223-8898.
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We’re united by our commitment to providing effective, relevant, and innovative mental health support at all stages of your journey. Click Here to find out more about who we are, where we come from, and how we live out CARE’s mission every day.
The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
No Name Calling Week
No Name Calling Week (January 18th- 22nd, 2021) falls during the same week of the presidential inauguration and is just weeks before Twin Cities educators are preparing for the transition to classroom learning for K-5th grade students.
No Name Calling week focuses on creating inclusion and awareness for LGBTQ students within K-12th grade schools to ensure a safe learning environment free from name-calling and bullying due to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Events and resources seek to promote a learning environment free from harassment and discrimination by sharing tools and resources.
No Name Calling week was inspired by the book “The Misfits” written by James Howe, created by GLSEN https://www.glsen.org/ and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing http://www.simonandschusterpublishing.com/no-name-calling/, with over 40 national partnerships.
In the midst of trauma impacting our community and nation, students of color and LGBTQ youth commonly experience societal stigmas, bullying, harassment, and violence at higher rates than their straight youth.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019 , 1 in every 5 students report being bullied.
70.1% of LGBTQ students were verbally bullied (e.g., called names, threatened) because of their sexual orientation, 59.1% because of their gender expression, and 53.2% based on gender (Kosciw, Greytak, Zongrone, Clark, & Truong, 2018).
Now more than ever, it is important to unite by facilitating ongoing dialogue focused on eliminating bullying and working towards creating a safe learning environment. Parents, educators, and mental health/ health care providers can work together to support children and youth who are struggling.
There are significant emotional and health physical impacts, especially considering the negative impacts of name-calling on one’s sense of self, especially when name-calling directly targets one’s identity. The effects of name-calling can impact one’s self-esteem and limit one’s own beliefs about their self. Mental health support is helpful to target internalized messages such as self-hate, self-doubt, insecurities, and depressive thinking, resulting from negative self-talk. The CARE team includes specialists who work with LGBTQ youth, those struggling with negative self-talk, as well as the parents and educators who are supporting our youth.
Check out these mental health, educational, and bullying prevention resources, focused on creating inclusion and awareness for LGBTQ youth.
https://www.glsen.org/no-name-calling-week
• Ideas how to participate in No-Name Calling Week
http://www.simonandschusterpublishing.com/no-name-calling/
• List of bullying prevention books for kids, teens, and adults
• Bullying Prevention downloadable book discussion guides
• Downloadable elementary, middle school, and high school lesson plan
https://www.pacer.org/bullying/
• Information and resources for parents, students, and educators, includes a variety of great downloadable tools and statistics.
https://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/
PACER’s Kids Against Bullying Website
https://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/
PACER’s Teens Against Bullying Website
https://www.mnteenmentalhealth.org/lgbtq-resources
Minnesota Teen Mental Health Directory for LGBTQ+ youth resources
Written by: Charlotte Johnson MA, LPCC
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Our wellness experts will be happy to take care of you. You can CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment now or call (612)223-8898.
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We’re united by our commitment to providing effective, relevant, and innovative mental health support at all stages of your journey. Click Here to find out more about who we are, where we come from, and how we live out CARE’s mission every day.
The professionals at CARE are actively collecting and creating resources to help with what you need. We’re Here for You.
