I Nourish My Body, Mind, and Spirit.

We tend to forget that our wellbeing, physical, mental, and spiritual, should be at the forefront of our minds.

We use healthy food and water to nourish our bodies, knowledge and information to feed our minds, and love for ourselves, for others, and the things we enjoy to uplift our spirits. 

Use these “I” affirmations to pursue your well-being on a daily basis.

“I use everything this universe offers to be strong. 

I use what is necessary to sustain and maintain my health and body. 

I cherish myself, so nourishment is important. It keeps me alive and strong. It helps me accomplish great things and help others. 

The nourishment I pick keeps the cells in my body healthy and the thoughts in my mind positive. 

I practice self-care because it is also part of my nourishment. I do what I can to take care of myself each day. 

I laugh and look for joy. I sing and enjoy music. I spend time with friends. I look for opportunities to expand my worldview. I seek out new information to make my mind stronger. 

Today, I use many tools and methods to nourish myself. From a healthy diet to keep my body strong to prayer to strengthen my faith, I discover tools each day that enhance my life as I give my mind, body, and spirit what they crave.”

It is okay to not be sure of what you need, but that is when you must have a conversation with yourself.

Ask yourself…

1. How can I take time for myself and still find time to help others?

2. What are the best things to nourish my body, mind and spirit?

3. Where can I find nourishment for my brain?

Calm Your Mental Chatter

Have you ever felt frustrated with the amount of thoughts that your mind is throwing at you, especially when you’re already feeling stressed or overwhelmed?. That internal noise never seems to stop. This can be distracting at best. At worst, it can undermine your confidence and optimism. While it isn’t possible to stop your mental chatter completely, there is plenty that you can do to tame it.

Keep these techniques in mind when you need an escape from your mental chatter:

1. Try using 5-4-3-2-1. When the noise in your head won’t seem to stop, try 5-4-3-2-1. This little exercise will get you out of your head and focused on your environment.
   Look around your environment and describe five things you see. It’s easy to find five things you see, but the remainder of the exercise is a little more challenging.
   

   • Describe four things you hear. “In the distance, I can hear car horns honking.” Really focus your attention on the noises you can hear and fully experience them.

   • Describe three things you feel. It could be the cool breeze blowing over your skin, the firm chair underneath you, or the pain in your elbow.

   • Describe two things you smell. You might have to really concentrate to come up with two.

   • Tell yourself one thing you like about yourself. By the time you’ve finished all five parts of this exercise, your focus will be in the present instead of on the noise in your head.

2. Meditate. Meditation creates a lot of opportunities for dealing with mental noise, because there’s nothing to distract you from it. Learn how to meditate and spend some time each day meditating to calm your mind.

3. Write it out. Set aside time each day to write down the things you’re randomly thinking. It’s very cathartic and really works if you give it a chance. After 10-20 minutes, take the paper you’ve been writing on and destroy it.

4. Use affirmations. Affirmations can improve your life. They also crowd out the noise. When the noise starts, use an affirmation to keep your mind occupied on thoughts that you want.
   -Have a list of affirmations ready to go. Pick one and use it when necessary.

5. Focus on your breathing. Put your attention on your breathing. This is convenient, because it’s always available to you.

6. Listen to music. Playing music in the background while you work can help to keep in the internal voices at bay. Be careful that you don’t listen to something so distracting that you can’t concentrate on whatever it is that you’re doing. This might take some experimentation and practice.

Your brain creates thoughts. That’s what it’s designed to do. But there are solutions you can employ to reduce the noise. Attempting to eliminate your internal voice is a waste of time, but you can greatly reduce the noise and avoid engaging with it. Practice these methods to reduce or prevent an overabundance of thoughts that you don’t want.

You Have To Focus On You

Healing is a word that can mean many different things to many different people. Going through the healing process, or calling yourself healed after a traumatic event or circumstance proves that life is an ever-changing journey, filled with seasons that we cannot predict. But, how does one heal? 

How does one self-heal?

Self-healing is the process of recovery that is motivated by and directed by a person that is often guided by instinct. Our nature allows us to be protective to ourselves and our surroundings, so self-healing is your mental response to the very core of who you are. As you are intentionally creating a space for yourself to heal, it is important to place habits in your life that take up time in order to shift your energy level, your mood, and thus cause self-healing to occur. 

You may be thinking, why is it important to heal? Well, let me be the first to say that healing is a continuous process that is important to your overall health and wellness. Not only does unhealed trauma have an effect on your mind, it can also have long-term effects on your body. In order to live life in a fulfilled way, self-healing must be a part of each season in our lives. 

Just remember, it starts with the mind-shift that must take place and the implementing habits that can support your healing.

Here are 5 ways that you can practice self-healing on a regular basis.

1. Meditate. Take 5 minutes out of your day to center yourself. Play sounds of nature, and be one with yourself. Close your eyes and focus on nothing but the sounds of nature. 

2. Breathe Intentionally. Feel each and every breath that goes in your nose and out of your mouth. You can also combine this technique with meditating for a more focused experience.

3. Eat well. Eating well not only improves the physical condition of the body, it provides you with greater energy throughout the day and gives your brain the nutrients that it needs. 

4. Rest- Sleep is the most important because your body needs to rest itself to heal and get stronger. Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep.

5. Yoga. This is a great way to move your body while also practicing a state of calmness. Whether it is a group class or a solo virtual session, yoga helps you to relax, center you and lessen distress.

If you are struggling with healing in your life, schedule a call to chat with one of our therapists.  Click here to book a session with one of our licensed professionals, who are ready to see you get well. We are ready to support you in your journey to healing.

Fighting An Invisible Disease

At times life can be difficult, and I mean really difficult. Trials and tribulations of life can make us question our purpose, where our life is going, and cause us to face what is coined “invisible disease.” An invisible disease is a sickness that cannot be seen at first glance by the human eye, but it infects and affects our mental state of mind. In fact, if an invisible disease is not treated, it can lead to very detrimental results. 

Some examples of invisible diseases can include depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, PTSD and more. All of these diseases have different root causes, and have to be handled in a special way. So the question becomes, what do you do about the illness inside of you that no one knows about? What do you do when you feel like you can’t heal or work through your invisible illness? How can you take care of yourself as you are fighting to get better? This is no easy feat, but when you proactively make the choice to fight against an invisible disease, you will win. Your healing towards better health and wellness is important to your livelihood, which is why we recommend doing these things in your daily life. 

1. Journal and reflect on the thoughts that you have towards your invisible disease. Holding everything in is not good for your psyche, because it can cause an eruption, similar to a volcano. Instead, make it a habit to release how you feel by writing it down. This will allow you to organize your thoughts and get clarity on where this disease came from, and how to directly handle the root of the issue. Journaling also gives your brain a break from the built up stress, and studies have shown that expressive writing can lower blood pressure and improve liver functionality. 

2. Speak to yourself in a positive manner. This retrains your brain to think positive thoughts about yourself, and it allows your body to release dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps you feel good or pleasurable. The more that you practice positive speaking, the more likely your brain is to release positive feelings about yourself. This not only affects your brain, but it trickles down to your self-esteem, your relationship with yourself, and your overall outlook on life. 

3. Eat well and get plenty of sleep. Believe it or not, our mental health is highly affected by the things we put in our bodies, and how we psychically take care of our bodies. This is why it is so important to sleep for at least 7-9 hours, drink water regularly, and avoid drinking and smoking. What we put in our bodies affects our brain and bodily function, so transitioning to a healthier lifestyle can also help with fighting an invisible disease. 

This is only a short list of tips that help to fight the invisible diseases that life may bring us. Just like a medical disease, we don’t know when or how an invisible disease will come, but the key is recognizing that we need to heal, and taking the necessary steps to do so. Healing can come in so many forms, but once you make the commitment to be well, things will fall into place as you do the work.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with an invisible disease, please contact us for additional tips that you can use to heal. Or click here to book a session with one of our licensed professionals, who are ready to see you get well. 

Improving Your Self-Esteem

We define self-esteem as confidence in one’s own abilities, talents, and a high form of self-respect. But the question is, how do we get to healthy and high self-esteem within ourselves? This also proves itself to be a large area that is talked about in counseling, because our life experiences tend to affect our self-esteem. 

So how do we create, maintain, and improve our self-esteem? This is a multi-faceted answer because this is not an overnight process. Rather, it is a continual journey that we find ourselves facing every day. 

You can start this process by identifying the negative thoughts about yourself, and challenging yourself. If you have negative thought patterns about the way you look, for example, challenge those thoughts patterns by thinking positively about your outer appearance. If something has happened to you that has made you feel less, think about how you have grown from that experience. Let that be the catalyst for an opposing and positive thought, and use that as a guiding light to higher self-esteem. 

Improving your self-esteem can also be in the form of affirmations. The mind is a very powerful tool, and when we think positive thoughts and then say them with our words, our outcomes have a great effect. This is why affirmations are so important. They give us strength behind our thoughts, and over time can shift our mindset to higher and healthier self-esteem. Affirmations can be as simple as “I love myself,” or something like “I choose to embrace who I am, exactly as I am.” Regardless of what you choose to say to yourself, let it be positive, let it reflect the best version of yourself, and let it be healthy. 

Finally, self-esteem can be improved through an active lifestyle through exercise. When we exercise on a regular basis, our bodies produce a great number of chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins then interact with your brain and trigger a positive feeling in the body, and thus give you happier feelings. Not only does exercise do our self-esteem good, but it also does your body, brain, and overall health good. What could be better than that!

Remember that improving self-esteem is not something that happens over a day, month, or even year. So, as you go through the process of improving your self-esteem, give yourself grace and space to embrace all that you are. There is only one you.

Here at Insights Therapeutic Services, we are committed to making your mental health a priority. Click here to request an appointment with us, and let’s support you so that you can thrive organically.

6 Ways You Can Help Reduce The Mental Health Stigma

The stigma for mental health clients continues to negatively impact communities of all kinds. The taboo of being mentally unwell crosses all socioeconomic levels, age groups, races, religions and professions. Similar to a physical health diagnosis; some people simply do not want to know, they are ashamed or in denial of their symptoms and self medicate. Whether you are the potential client or close to the potential client I believe the general consensus is, having a mental health crisis can be scary for everyone involved.

As a therapist, my goal is to discuss mental wellness with as many people as possible to help normalize seeking treatment for mental health and wellness. What better time to have an open dialogue about mental health than now with the many changes in our healthcare system. It would be ideal if everyone could set aside their assumptions, fears and negative perspectives about mental health. We can help those around us seek help without the fear of labeling and minimizing with a few tips. Below are a few ways to help someone that appears to need help achieving mental wellness.

What Can you Do....

Get educated. Learn the facts about symptoms you experience or observe in someone else. Mental health needs are not the same in everyone and can manifest differently for each person. Everyone will not need a diagnose, hospitalization or medication.

Know who to call and when. There is only so much self medicating once can do before the symptoms become too much to manage. Simply talking about mental health will not give a person any ideas. Sometimes, someone initiating a discussion can break the ice and start the process. Know the resources in your community and call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department when the symptoms appear unmanageable.

Be supportive. If you are struggling with providing support, connect with someone that is empathetic to you and can possibly lead you in the right direction. There are a number treatments available and it takes courage to seek the help. The difference between someone seeking help or silently fighting can be the support of one helpful individual.

Be aware of your own judgements and prejudices. We all have them; and unfortunately many come from other uneducated individuals passing on poor information. Be honest about your own shame and guilt about mental health so that you can be an active participant in ending the stigma.

Listen, listen, listen. Whether you have a mental health diagnosis or not - we all want to be heard. We all want to know that someone is listening to us and/or trying to understand what we need. Just because you don’t understand the symptoms does not mean you are not able to help.

Support mental health organizations and providers. Many organizations close due to funding and lack of community support. Volunteering your time and/or money goes a long way to provide resources for those in need of services. You may not know who you helped specifically but your contribution can help other professionals and volunteers with ending the negative stigma.

Mental health care and treatment is a universal issue and awareness is one of the critical pieces to making treatment available.