The Restored & Empowered Blog
Learnings, teachings, tips & tricks from Alexandra Louise, LCSW, for you to refer to during difficult times, stressful workdays and moments when you need a little extra encouragement.
5 Fast & Easy Ways to Cope with Anxiety
1️⃣ OBSERVE & ACKNOWLEDGE THE ANXIOUS THOUGHT (instead o1️⃣ OBSERVE & ACKNOWLEDGE THE ANXIOUS THOUGHT (instead of trying to push it away/avoid it)… THEN, DECIDE IF IT GETS TO STAY AND WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
Don't believe every thought that enters your mind. When your mind starts swirling and there are anxious thoughts that are darting your way, take a pause to consider and acknowledge the core key anxious thoughts. Sometimes, they are present because they are trying to be helpful and keep you safe and prepared. Thank them for this!
Taking a moment to consider and acknowledge the thought and decide if it deserves to stay can save you hours of emotional and mental energy that otherwise would be spent playing the negative/anxious thoughts over and over in your mind. If there is a genuine need to address a presenting concern, go ahead and move towards problem-solving (journal it out or process it verbally with someone). However, often anxious thoughts are habitual and are distorted from what is really going on in real life. In these moments, you get full permission to acknowledge the thought and release it because it is not beneficial. You can even address the thought internally as you would a much younger, frightened version of yourself, reminding him/her that everything is going to be okay and that there are no monsters under the bed, and that you are safe.
Elevate Well-being: Sprinkle Mini-Movement Sessions into Your Daily Routine for Mind-Body Benefits
A “mini-movement session” is a focused time period of 10-15 minutes where you prioritize moving your body to reach optimal results for mental wellness, brain optimization, and physical health.
How exactly does it work to benefit you? Okay, grab your favorite tea/coffee/pre-workout and focus in on the 5 mental health benefits and 2 bonus benefits of adding mini-movement sessions into your life. Get ready to feel informed and excited to move!
Reset & Recharge with Quick & Easy Body Movement Breaks
Engaging in physical activity, especially when it elevates your heart rate, offers your nervous system the reset it craves. Not only does movement help complete the stress response cycle, but it also floods your brain with much-needed oxygen. This boost enhances your energy levels, increases alertness, and sharpens your thinking, enabling you to tackle challenges with greater clarity and effectiveness.
Is it Sadness or Depression?
Depression also is something experienced not only in thoughts but in the body. Maybe it feels like your daily activities take three times as much energy and time to complete or like you no longer have the energy to even begin to take care of yourself like you used to. You might stop exercising and showering regularly. Sleeping might become difficult, even though you are constantly feeling exhausted. You might find yourself with a lack of motivation to complete work tasks or go to social events. As depression worsens, you might even find yourself wishing you were no longer alive or preparing how to end your own life.
Depression can feel like a dark hole that you cannot find your way out of and often, suicidal ideation eventually shows its ugly head. Why do people want to die? Often because they are unsure how to keep living and in the midst of the negative thoughts and overwhelm, they have difficulty moving to problem solve through it to the place where there is hope.
Has this been you? Or maybe its someone you love that is going through severe depression? There is good news—there is hope and there is healing available.
There is a way out that does not end in death.
PTSD- When Time Doesn’t Heal
The truth is that with PTSD time does not heal the wounds. I wish I could tell you that it did because goodness wouldn’t that be more simple than the reality we are actually faced with? It’s okay though, because PTSD CAN get better…it just requires you to also lean in and do some brave, courageous work. It requires learning ways to retrain your brain to see that you are no longer in a space of danger. It requires looking at the feelings of anger, anxiety, panic, grief and sometimes even shame that seem to whisper to you all day long.
Get Unstuck, Find Gratitude Again
Feeling down or stuck? Find yourself looking around & only finding what’s going wrong? We’ve all been there. Sometimes we need a little extra encouragement and a direct how-to approach to get out of the muddy mindset and back into living our best lives.
Ready to get some encouragement? Listen HERE.
In this episode of The Restored & Empowered Podcast, Alexandra, LCSW, shares about how to get unstuck from this negative cycle of thinking that may be bringing you down. Here are some highlights of what this episode is about:
Practical examples of how to shift your mindset, find the good and feel grateful again…ranging from embracing nature to creating a new narrative.
A quick & easy 3-step journaling exercise to jump start your experience of shifting your negative mindset into a grateful mindset.