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Tuesday, October 8, 2019

The Power of the Spoken Word


How often in our day to day lives do we say something that when we later reflect on it we wish we had not said. Or how often do we send negative messages to ourselves, yet we would never say those same messages to our loved ones?

In our daily lives we are influenced by either our friends, family members, or social media. The messages we receive and take in often influence how we speak about other people or speak to ourselves. As a child and even into my college days I always struggled with tests. I would often tell myself I wasn’t going to get a good grade, or if I got a bad grade on a test I would tell myself I was stupid. It was not until later in my college experience when I began to change the message I said to myself. I would always repeat “I’ll be happy with a passing grade.” Once I began changing that inner message I began to do better with my tests. I hadn’t changed my study skills or how I interacted in class, I just changed a negative message I was telling myself to a positive one.

Sometimes it is hard to switch a negative message that we send to ourselves or to someone we care about to a positive one. Often we have to look within ourselves and see why we say what we say. One way we can start to change the messages are with positive affirmations. Positive affirmations are reminders or statements to ourselves that can encourage or motivate ourselves or others. Affirmations can be as simple as a message on your bathroom mirror or the screensaver on your phone. Some people have a pattern of where they say the same affirmation every night before bed. I have provided links below of examples of positive affirmations.


Carmen Stites, LPC

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Mindfulness

Mindfulness.  What does that really mean?  There are many different aspects of mindfulness and many different perceptions of what it means.  In our culture today we are constantly stimulated and feel that “more is better.”  We are “crazy busy” even though we are surrounded with devices and conveniences that were invented to “make our lives easier.”  Mindfulness is about putting down all the balls that we are juggling and embracing the beauty of monotasking.
     There are health benefits associated with mindfulness that include alleviating depression, anxiety, and pain.  It can also decrease our flight or fight response and increase our ability to pay attention.  Many of us feel that being busy helps us to feel productive but research shows that if we are in a relaxed alert state we actually perform better.  We are also more productive.  
     So how do we integrate moments of stillness, mindfulness, or meditation in our lives? It takes practice and commitment.  Start small by taking a minute in the morning to wake up, take in the smell, and the scenery.  Take time to land in your day and notice all the things that are stimulating your senses.  Go through each of your 5 senses and identify what you see, taste, hear, smell, and touch.  Life is beautiful so take time and literally smell the roses.  


April Moedl LCSW