6 steps to keeping New Year's Resolutions

Tackling New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year where most of us are contemplating changes we can implement to better our lives.  Often these changes include weight loss, increasing exercise, quitting smoking, healthier eating, handling finances better, and many more.  Despite the best of intentions, New Year’s resolutions often don’t become a permanent change in our routines.  When we realize that we’ve failed to meet our goals, our mental health can be negatively impacted.  Utilizing a plan of action, a positive attitude, and a support system can help us to turn our resolutions into solid life changes.

Steps we can take to ensure success are:

(1) start small – don’t make your goals so large that it will be impossible to meet them.

(2) focus on one behavior – attempting to change multiple behaviors becomes overwhelming and often leads us to give up.

(3) Verbalize your intentions – bring your friends and family on board, some may join you in your goals while others will support your efforts.

(4) Don’t be so hard on yourself – change takes time, allow yourself to make mistakes and don’t use them as an excuse to give up.

(5) Be Consistent when you start to become inconsistent - When you don't follow through with your resolution one day, pick it right back up the next day.  This will develop consistency and patience with yourself along the way.

(6) Ask for help – accept help from those who you’re close to.  When you’re struggling with reaching your goals and the ensuing negativity, reach out for help from those whom you trust or from a professional mental health provider.  Outside perspectives can help you develop new strategies and coping mechanisms to achieve the changes you want in your life.

Written by: Amanda Furca, Graduate Level Intern and Charity Loring, LMSW

Loring Therapy LLC

loringtherapy.com

Adapted from the APA Online Publication, “Making your New Year’s resolution stick.” 

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/resolution.aspx

5 Steps to Manage Holiday Stress

       It’s not uncommon to hear that people are entering the holiday season with an overwhelming feeling of dread.  For many of us, the holiday season highlights the things that we are missing in our lives.  The holiday blues often include: pressure to feel joyful, remembering past holidays, thoughts of lost loved ones, loneliness, money problems, and winter weather/lack of sunlight.  

1. Despite the difficulties of the holiday season, there are things we can do to lessen our stress. 
2. Don’t dismiss the way you feel, forcing yourself to feel a particular way may make you feel worse.  
3. Try to get in twenty minutes of sun daily.  Both exercise and sun can help maintain healthy chemical balances in your body that keep depression and stress under control.  
4.  Volunteer to help someone else (soup kitchen, nursing home, homeless shelter, etc.).  
5.  Create new traditions that incorporate things you enjoy.  
6.  Stay busy and fill your calendar with pleasurable events or people.  

Being prepared for the holidays will help to navigate them with less stress and depression.  One of the most important things you can do to alleviate holiday negativity is to recognize the positives in your life.  Take the time to do some self-reflection and identify all of the things you have going for you.  Incorporating these things along with some healthy perspective can make your holiday season much more manageable and enjoyable.  

Written by: Amanda Furca, Graduate Level Intern, Loring Therapy LLC

loringtherapy.com

Adapted from the 2006 Psych Central Article, “Beating the Holiday Blues,” by Maud Purcell. 

http://psychcentral.com/lib/beating-the-holiday-blues/000390

Emotional Hygiene

Did you brush your teeth?

Did you shower?

Did you work on your Emotional Hygiene?

No? 

Emotional Hygiene is creating small daily habits of addressing our emotional issues.

Some of the things we can do to keep our Emotional Hygiene clean are:

1. Pay attention to emotional pain - If you had physical pain lasting more than a few days, you would probably go to the doctor. Treating emotional pain is just as important. You may want to treat it with self help exercises or get help from a Therapist.
2. Protect Your Self Esteem - Our Self Esteem is like and emotional immune system.  When we are feeling down about ourselves, we don't cope as well as we would like. When we are feeling better about ourselves, we tend to cope with the stress of life better. There are many techniques to use for this or you can get professional help from a local Counselor.  Stay posted for some of these techniques in upcoming Blogs.

We should put as much effort towards strengthening our minds as we do our teeth. Emotional Hygiene assists us in that daily process.

Written by: Charity M. Loring, LMSW, Clinical Therapist

Loring Therapy, LLC

www.loringtherapy.com

Adapted from - G. Winch, Steps to Emotional Hygiene

Care for your Emotional Health just as much as your Physical Health

Emotional Self-Care

*TIP* - WRITE out this exercise. If you just think about this, it may not absorb as thoroughly as it would if you were to take the time and write it out. Example: If you said you were hungry, but just thought about food, you would still be hungry.  Writing is like preparing the food. Re-reading what you have written is like eating or absorbing the food.

Step 1 - Write or type out actual attributes you believe you have in the important realms in your life. If Relationships are an important realm, what attributes do you believe you have when it comes to relationships? You can address different realms as well such as: Work, Social life etc.

Step 2 - Write an essay on why you value those attributes in others and why you think others value those attributes in general.

Written by loringtherapy.com

Adapted by G. Winch  - Emotional First Aid

How to cope with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

Now that the winter months are coming, it’s important to be aware of the seasonal blues. Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that affects us primarily in the winter months, draining our energy and making us feel more moody. Here are some symptoms and possible treatments for SAD.

Symptoms:

• Low energy
• Oversleeping
• Irritability
• Problems getting along with other people
• Appetite changes, especially craving carbs
• Hypersensitivity to rejection
• Weight gain

Ways to cope:

Light Therapy- This therapy requires one to sit in front of a special light that mimics natural outdoor light. Doing so cause changes in brain chemicals that are linked to mood. This treatment usually works in a few days to two weeks and has very limited side effects. You can talk to your doctor about if this treatment is right for you. 

Talk Therapy- Having either individual and group therapy can help deal with the effect of SAD. Therapy can help you identify and change negative behaviors that make you feel worse and learn to manage stress. 

Exercise- Exercise improves your mood as well as decrease your levels of stress which often can increase feelings of depression during the winter months. One hour of exercise is equivalent to 2.5 hours of light therapy. Taking a brisk walk or run, sledding or having a fun snowball fight can decrease feelings of depression this winter.  

Written By: Jenai Muhammad, graduate level intern, Loring Therapy, LLC www.loringtherapy.com Adapted from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/treatment/con-20021047

How exercise helps your brain

       We often hear that exercise is one of the things we can do to improve our mental health.  It isn’t uncommon for us to disregard this information due to our busy lives, disbelief, or lack of interest.  While we’re often indifferent to the benefits of using exercise as a tool for mental health, studies show that active individuals are less depressed than inactive people.  Research also indicates that regular exercise can be used to treat and maybe even prevent anxiety.  

So, what is it about exercise that helps our brain?  There are multiple factors that can contribute to the effectiveness of exercise.  These factors exist on a physiological, psychological, and social level.  

1. When our bodies are healthy and active, communication between the brain and the body is in better in tune to handle our emotions.  In the primitive days our bodies were designed to deal with stress and fear by either running or fighting, so it makes sense that exercise can aid us in dealing with anxiety and stress.  
2. Biologically speaking, endorphins and BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) increase in our brain leaving us feeling somewhat euphoric because BDNF has a protective and reparative trait that affects our neurons. So in essence, endorphins and BDNF make us feel good! The somewhat scary part is that they have a very similar and addictive behavior like morphine, heroine or nicotine. The only difference? Well, it’s actually good for us. 
3. Exercise can also work to help us feel better about ourselves and our bodies which often contributes to healthier and more confident social interactions.

When starting an exercise routine, go slow.  It’s important to not overwhelm yourself or sustain injuries.  Get a feel for what your body can do and pay attention to your mental status when you’re done exercising.  Be mindful of what feels best for your body and your brain and use that as a guide for creating a routine for yourself.  

Written by: Amanda Furca, Graduate Level Intern, Loring Therapy LLC

loringtherapy.com

Edited by Charity M. Loring, LMSW

Adapted from the American Psychological Association Article,

 “The Exercise Effect,” by Kirsten Weir

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise.aspx

6 steps to stand Up to Your Social Anxiety!

Most of us experience social anxiety of some sort.  Whether you’re fearful to speak in public or scared of large crowds, there are ways to control and reduce social anxiety.  Because social anxiety exists in many different forms and has multiple levels of severity, it is important for you to sit down and determine how much of an impact it’s having on your life.  

Here is a list of some of the most helpful things we can do to address social anxiety:

1. Try a self-help manual – self-help manuals can be great tools for battling social anxiety.  They’ll provide a multitude of example situations and options for coping with your anxiety.  They also often provide exercises to help calm your anxiety.
2. Work with a therapist – if you’re not having luck tackling social anxiety on your own, contact a therapist.  A therapist can help you identify reasons for your anxiety and will also help you find ways to cope and conquer your social anxiety.
3. Practice deep breathing every day – having a calm body and mind helps minimize your stress response to anxiety producing situations.  Regular breathing exercises daily can go a long way to helping you deal with social anxiety.
4. Create an exposure hierarchy – write down ten things that you fear the 

most and rank them on a 100 point scale (0 being no anxiety and 100 being the most anxiety you’ve ever felt).  Once you have the list created, you start doing those activities starting with the easiest one and moving your way up to the #1 anxiety producing item. 

1. Create objective goals – don’t start with the hardest thing on your list 

and then berate yourself for not being able to complete it.  Be smart and fair when setting your goals.  Don’t base your goals on other people or your own negative judgments.  If you set a goal to say a minimum of three comments at a work meeting,  you do say three comments but you stuttered, that is a success not a failure.  Your goal was to say three comments, forget about the fact that you stuttered and give yourself credit for meeting your goal!!

1. Keep a rational outlook – avoid telling yourself that you’ll fail or that 

there is no way you can accomplish a particular task.  Take a moment to stop and think logically about your situation.  Don’t look at things in an all or nothing fashion, give yourself a pat on the back for attempts and partial completions of tasks you normally would just avoid!!  

Try incorporating the above list into your life and you’ll surely find something that will help you to battle your social anxiety!!!

Written by: Amanda Furca, Graduate Level Intern, Loring Therapy LLC

Edited by: Charity M. Loring, LMSW

loringtherapy.com

Adapted from the article, “6 Ways to Overcome Social Anxiety” 

by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.

URL:  http://psychcentral.com/lib/6-ways-to-overcome-social-anxiety/00017631