Does Managing Stress Stress You Out? Here’s some practical advice.

MindfulnessDo you wake up at 3:00 a.m., your mind racing with what what you have to do today, getting up to check email, heart rate up, hands shaky, chilly and upset that you’re up? How about during the day? Does your whole body scream “ALERT!!” as you’re driving, checking texts at stoplights, grabbing a coffee for lunch, forgetting little-big things, feeling overwhelmed and hopeless, barely keeping up, hoping no one will notice, bags sliding off your shoulders as you run to what’s next, what’s next, and what’s next? This is making you sick. Stress is good as a motivator, a message, but this much is nuts! Sit down, take some deep, really deep breaths, and get out your calendar. We all must schedule “me” time. We must be on our lists. This article is meant to encourage you to take care of yourself.

 

http://ornishspectrum.com/proven-program/stress-management/

Is your relationship in trouble?

CoupleJohn Gottman has studied couples for 30 years. By observing couples discussing an issue in his “Love Lab” at the U of Washington, he can tell whether or not the relationships will crumble. Read this article and see if you recognize any trouble signs in your relationship:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/communication-success/201503/3-major-warning-signs-relationship-trouble

 

 

“I don’t know what else to do. What’s better than time-outs?”

Time.OutTime-outs leave your child stranded, angry, frustrated, flooded with emotions and stress. Time-outs leave YOU stranded, angry, frustrated, flooded with emotions and stress. Time-outs leave your partner stranded, angry, frustrated, flooded with emotions and stress. Nothing is resolved. Nothing is learned, by anyone. Instead, Dr. Dan Siegel teaches a mindful approach. The building blocks are Presence, Attunement, Resonance, and Trust. I encourage you to learn more about this. It’s not only for parents, teachers, and children, but is so helpful for couples who need to break out of destructive, dead end communication patterns.

Here’s the link to Dr. Dan’s article and book: http://drdansiegel.com/blog/2014/08/20/no-drama-discipline/#more-185

 

Are You Wasting Enough Time?

Royal.ArchThis morning I ran across an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review by game designer and MacArthur winner, Jane McGonigal. I feel I should be “doing something” productive all the time. But I look out my office windows into Boulder Canyon. Sometimes snow is falling, or the squirrel is jumping branch to branch from the nest, or a raven calls from the lodge pole pines. My mind drifts. I’m not wasting anything.

Here’s the link: https://hbr.org/2012/10/building-resilience-by-wasting-time