Radical Self-Care Therapist Style

Welcome back to my Radical Self-Care series- working on creating my R.E.A.L. self-care program so stay tuned.   I asked some awesome psychotherapists and others in helping professions what their daily self-care routine is and got an amazing array of answers.  Thank you all so much for helping me out with this.  As therapists we tend to give a lot of energy away to others and it is of utmost importance that we take care of ourselves.  Check out what these awesome clinicians do for self-care and also check out their websites and what they do!    

Stephanie Devereux   I would say I struggle to get time for self-care daily as I have little ones. But I try to go to the gym, listen to music and "disconnect" from TV & internet, and I practice deep breathing nearly every day.

Bethany Raab  I read something that isn't related to work and doesn't come from the internet. Usually a book, but sometimes a magazine. Helps get my mind onto something different. Exercise is also a big part of my self-care routine!

Molly Merson  I just love being in nature. We are fortunate to have some wilderness areas quite nearby in the East Bay, but even if I only have about 20 minutes, I can find connection in a park or even in the neighborhoods walking past people's gardens. If you give nature a moment to connect with you, it can offer so much more room to hold difficult emotions and ground spiraling thoughts than is possible to do on your own. I walk slowly, purposefully, and let my mind wander. I breathe deeply and regularly, noticing my breath, and noticing the way the light is on the grasses and leaves, the smell of the trees and the air, how the wind, sun, rain feel on my skin, and in about 10 minutes I feel pretty recharged. Plus, it's free!

Helen Chalmers, LPC  I tend to be an introvert (gaining energy/recharging from being alone), so if I have a bunch of clients on one day, say, more than four or five, I will usually keep to myself that evening. I have spent all my listening-and-being-engaged energy for the day. I also don't schedule more than one day like this a week, so I don't have them back to back.

Mercedes Samudio, LCSW  Each day, I listen to music and journal. Music helps release whatever stress accumulated during the day and journaling helps me get my thoughts sorted and out of my head. Both techniques help me unravel the clutter of the day so I can have free space to create and grow the next day.

Jessica Fowler, LCSW  I think of self-care as two levels. My base is the necessities. Daily I make sure I get enough sleep, eat healthy and exercise (a few times a week). When I do those things, I am able to do the things that bring me more joy. Other things I do for self-care daily include reading (even if just for a few minutes), deep breathing, praying and sitting in silence (with little kids you learn to seek out silence!).

Mark Loewen, LPC  I make a point of not checking my work email from home. As a self-employed clinician, it is hard to keep professional and personal schedules separate. I also try not to respond to -or make- work phone calls from home. When I am at work, I take 30 minutes for lunch where I am not working at the same time. I take some time to read articles or text with friends. In between sessions, I take one minute to take a few deep breaths and settle into the here and now, setting an intention to be present with my next client.

Michelle Tapia  I take my dogs to an off-leash dog park 2-3 times a week because their mental health is tied to my mental health. The other days they get neighborhood walks. It is good for them and it is good for me.

Diann Wingert  I start my day with at least 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation on the Headspace app

Megan Bearce  For me it’s going on Facebook which sounds weird at first but I try to fill my feed with inspirational pages like A Mighty Girl and Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls.  They share uplifting stories especially about the cool things women and girls have done or are doing. We also have friends and family scattered across the US so it’s an easy way for me to stay connected with them.  Our profession can be isolating and stressful and this is a quick, easy way for me to feel less so.  Weekly- I get to a yoga class. Monthly- I get a massage.

Kim McLaghlin, LMFT  Self-care question- I have been meditating most every day for the past 8 months. I do it at no particular time and it is a quick 5-10 minutes. It is immensely helpful and when I took the pressure off of it having to be 30 minutes in the morning (like "they" recommend) I have been able to do it most days.

Nellie Narsia  For me I always have to be outside and to feel connected to nature, sometimes just standing on the ground and feeling myself connected to it all allows me to be able to be present with my clients! I love to journal, and it write poetry, poetry truly connects me with my soul and it is very healing to me! I love bubble bath, and love pink Floyd!
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Not everything is good or bad, sometimes is just is

Mindfulness- what is it anyway?  It is a key phrase in mental health, yoga and other fields right now.  It is used in medical fields to manage chronic pain, it is used in mental health for depression, anxiety and other disorders, it is used in addiction and recovery, in other words it is every where but what is it?

That, my dear friend, depends on who you ask.  My definition is that mindfulness is being aware of what is going on in and around you and accepting it without labeling or judging it.  I also like Jon Kabat Zinn's definition "Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way on purpose in the present moment, without judgement"  If you have not heard of him Jon Kabat-Zinn is a famous teacher of mindfulness meditation and the founder of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts where the program has been active for over 30 years.  It is a fabulous program that I am fortunate to have been able to complete and a goal of mine is to one day be a certified MBSR teacher.  That certification by its very nature of being mindful is a long journey and process that is a joy to be undergoing.

In life, most of us, live in the past or the future.  We spend amazing amounts of time analyzing the past.  We review in detail what we did or said, what we wish we had done or said, regretting actions or events or wishing we we had done something we didn't do.  When we aren't living in the past we are in the future.  We are planning, we are imagining often in great detail every possible outcome or event that we could encounter and often feel compelled to play out every possible ending and how we would react and feel if this or that happened.  Guess what?  It usually never happens in the way or ways we imagine it.  If by chance it does happen the way you imagined is it helpful or does it serve us in anyway to live the event more than the one time it actually occurs?  I say NO!  How often does this happen though?  We live and re live past and future events and when we do we put our bodies through the exact same physical reaction as if it is happening over and over and over.  Our bodies go into a stress reaction.  We jump to fight, flight or freeze reaction involuntarily and our heart rate increases, blood pressure increases, adrenaline gets going and all sorts of physical reactions that are needed IF our lives are in danger and we have a bear chasing us.  The reaction is not needed if the phone rings, we are late to a meeting or have an argument with a partner or friend yet this is what we have conditioned our bodies to do.  I always try to ask of myself and others around me "does that serve you in positive way" and if the answer is no then lets try to change it.  Most of the time the present moment, the right now is ok.  Most of the time right where you are and what you are doing is ok it is the fear of future or regret of past that creates depression  and anxiety.  If we practice and achieve being present in the here and now and being mindful, we are safe and can avoid many of the unneeded and unwanted emotions and fears we experience.  This is a touch on what mindfulness is and can do for you.  I look forward to sharing much more.  I want to give you something to try at home to begin putting this into action to living your true authentic life as the real you.

Take away tip:  Try these at home as  beginning mindfulness exercises.

1- Set a timer for one minute.  Close your eyes and listen, just listen and nothing else.  After the timer goes off write down every sound you heard, all noises big or small.

2- Set a timer for one minute.  Look around the room you are in, just look and nothing else.  After the timer goes off close your eyes and name verbally all the things you saw in the room and ask someone to them down for you.

3- Set a time for one minute.  Close your eyes and feel, just feel and nothing else.  Notice how your body feels inside, notice the feel of the floor on your feet, the seat you are sitting on, the air in the room, the sensation of breathing in and out.   After the timer goes off write down everything you felt.

Then take another moment or two to look, listen and feel and see if you are able to observe anything you missed the first time.  Start noticing what you hear, see and feel everywhere you go, it is interesting to take a notebook and write some observations down so you can compare the changes as you practice more.  Have fun with it.  We are here to experience so experience and really be present with the experience.  Don't label, don't judge.  It does not have to be good or bad, some things just are, just notice, be aware, be mindful and this is the start of the journey of MORE.

love and light

Jamie

Becoming more, becoming authentically you, creating abundance in 2015

Welcome!  My name is Jamie L. Summers Stacks and I am so excited to be starting new adventures with the new year!  This blog will be a living journal of my journey to do and be MORE.  I am, by trade, a mental health therapist and I love, love, love what I do.  Many years ago I decided I wanted to become a therapist with the noble idea of helping others.  Wow!  I had no idea that over the years I would be so honored and so blessed to learn so much more from the people I am grateful to work with than I could ever hope to teach them.  It has been an awe inspiring experience that grows more and more every single year.  The very nature of me and of any professional who wants to do the best they can involves ongoing learning.  Learning new techniques, new theories and most important to me new ways to reach people.  Super exciting things like mobile mental health, text programs, online and in person programs in addition to individual and group therapy, teaching and training and educating in as many ways as we can.

My personal life journey too has led me to study and learn new practices and ways of doing and being.  Yoga, mindfulness, meditation and breathing!  These practices hooked me immediately and I felt compelled to read, study and learn everything I could for my own wellbeing.  Let me tell you, when I realized the impact these practices had on me (more in a moment) and that I could marry them with my therapy practice my life's passion was born.  Yoga literally taught me to breathe....how I managed to breathe before yoga I am still not sure.  Mindfulness is such a simple concept of staying present, aware of the now but it is a life long mission that is a joy to chase.  Practice makes perfect they say (whoever they is) so practice I do!  Meditation has been  practiced for thousands of years and is a now highly studied evidence based practice that literally is proven to rewire your brain.  It is not just that I find it an awesome way to live, it just works!!  Breathing sounds so simple until one has experienced anxiety attackts or other unfortunate experiences that impede breathing.   Learning breathing techniques is my favorite coping skill to teach or practice.  Why?  You can breathe anywhere, anytime and not disturb anyone else and it is an awesome regulating tool.  I could go on and on with other joyful techniques that I study and will continue to introduce and learn about.  Essential oils and the healing power they have, healing your own energy and accessing your inner voice that always knows the answer even if we don't like the answer we hear. there is so much to explore.

My intention and goal is to spread and share and teach and educate.  I use these practices in my life and in therapy but I want MORE.  I need to do all I can to spread this passion to far, far more people than I could ever reach in individual therapy.  Therapy is my love and I will continue it but I want to increase and reach more.  I am going to design programs to introduce these practices to businesses, corporations, schools and anywhere else I can get in.  I will do interviews and talk and express my pure joy and excitement to as many as will allow me.  I will create and provide trainings for other mental health professionals, I will create and lead online and face to face programs that will increase the number of people that can be reached.  The more these concepts are shared and taught and introduced the MORE people can live the true authentic lives that they deserve,  I will encourage and beg and otherwise do what is needed to get others who learn these practices to share and teach and educate.  If you all join me in this, in this MORE the world can be a much more sacred and safe place for us all to be and that is the MORE that I am after.

Please join me, please ask questions, make comments, follow along and see where this journey and the year of abundance takes us.  I think we will be amazed.  I am thrilled to be along for the ride and what a ride it is going to be.

Be more, be you, be abundant

love and light
Jamie