Tag: Stress Relief

How to experience more awe every single day

You don’t need to take a flight in space or even take a white water rafting trip to experience awe. You can experience awe at varying intensities, and in your own ways: listening to a moving piece of music, seeing a giant skyscraper, or reading a newspaper story about a local hero.

“It’s how we respond when we see something new or novel that doesn’t fit with our understanding of the world,” Amie Gordon, PhD, Principal Research Scientist in the Emotion, Health, and Psychophysiology Lab at University of California-San Francisco, tells NBC.

Fundamentally, awe is about novelty and vastness, Gordon says. Physical space might create that vastness, as can someone’s talent or someone’s goodness, she says.

And negative experiences, too, can trigger awe (think natural disasters), Gordon adds — though which benefits such moments come with is yet unclear, she says.

There’s no perfect formula for what might elicit awe from you (because it’s different for everyone), but there are some things you can do to help you run into it more often.

1. Go out into Nature

Research shows that people consistently rank nature as one of the top ways that they experience awe, Gordon says. Try getting to a place where you can get a vast view of your environment (such as climbing a mountain or even getting to a the top floor a high building), she says. Or just take a walk in whatever nature is around you and try looking for something you’ve never seen before, she says.

2. Get out of your comfort zone.

Novelty is a big part of awe. Visit somewhere in your town or city you’ve never been. Try something new. Read about someone you don’t know much about, or a biography of someone who inspires you, Gordon suggests.

3. Look up.

Sure, you can experience awe watching a film showing the world’s tallest mountain or listening to a recording of a symphony. But those encounters likely pale in comparison to the magnitude of awe you’d feel had you had those experiences in real life, Anderson says, making the case for taking time to experience awe in 3-D. “Your phone will never be as intense as actually being there in person.”

Take in the sites and sounds around you. And look up from your phone and other distractions.

4. Have an open mind.

Part of the experience of awe is that feeling of smallness that cause you to rescale yourself — or see yourself in a different light, says Beau Lotto, PhD, a neuroscientist at and founder of the private, experimental research lab, the Lab of Misfits.

Lotto and his colleagues recently partnered with the Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group to observe how the company’s live performances elicit awe and how it changes brain activity. (They’re findings suggest when people report experiencing awe mapped to changes in patterns of brain activity linked to being more willing to take risks and being more comfortable with uncertainty. The data has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal.)

Lotto’s advice for feeling more awe therefore is to engage with the world with a more open mind, see possibilities, ask questions, and look for the impossible.

Photo credit: restless.co.uk/health/

Learn How to Meditate

What is Meditation?

A brief explanation of the practice.

How do you learn to meditate? In mindfulness meditation, we’re learning how to pay attention to the breath as it goes in and out, and notice when the mind wanders from this task. This practice of returning to the breath builds the muscles of attention and mindfulness.

When we pay attention to our breath, we are learning how to return to, and remain in, the present moment—to anchor ourselves in the here and now on purpose, without judgement.

The idea behind mindfulness seems simple—the practice takes patience. Indeed, renowned meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg recounts that her first experience with meditation showed her how quickly the mind gets caught up in other tasks. “I thought, okay, what will it be, like, 800 breaths before my mind starts to wander? And to my absolute amazement, it was one breath, and I’d be gone,” says Salzberg.

While meditation isn’t a cure-all, it can certainly provide some much-needed space in your life. Sometimes, that’s all we need to make better choices for ourselves, our families, and our communities. And the most important tools you can bring with you to your meditation practice are a little patience, some kindness for yourself, and a comfortable place to sit.

When we meditate, we inject far-reaching and long-lasting benefits into our lives. And bonus: you don’t need any extra gear or an expensive membership.

Here are five reasons to meditate:
  1. Understanding your pain
  2. Lower your stress
  3. Connect better
  4. Improve focus
  5. Reduce brain chatter

How to Meditate

Meditation is something everyone can do, here’s how.

Meditation is simpler (and harder) than most people think. Read these steps, make sure you’re somewhere where you can relax into this process, set a timer, and give it a shot:

1) Take a seat
Find place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you.

2) Set a time limit
If you’re just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as five or 10 minutes.

3) Notice your body
You can sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, you can sit loosely cross-legged, you can kneel—all are fine. Just make sure you are stable and in a position you can stay in for a while.

4) Feel your breath
Follow the sensation of your breath as it goes in and as it goes out.

5) Notice when your mind has wandered
Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. When you get around to noticing that your mind has wandered—in a few seconds, a minute, five minutes—simply return your attention to the breath.

6) Be kind to your wandering mind
Don’t judge yourself or obsess over the content of the thoughts you find yourself lost in. Just come back.

7) Close with kindness
When you’re ready, gently lift your gaze (if your eyes are closed, open them). Take a moment and notice any sounds in the environment. Notice how your body feels right now. Notice your thoughts and emotions.

That’s it! That’s the practice. You focus your attention, your mind wanders, you bring it back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible (as many times as you need to).

Source: mindful.org

‘Knolling’ Is ‘Kondoing’ for Maximalists

In short, “knolling” is an organizational method that involves arranging groups of tools and other everyday like objects into parallel lines or 90-degree angles. The result is a workspace that looks clean and symmetrical, where the items you use regularly are clearly displayed, instead of tidied away. Your stuff is not only accessible, but also aesthetically pleasing.

Photo: nadianb (Shutterstock)

You may have also seen Instagram posts featuring knolling—similar to the image above—where its more commonly referred to as “flat-lay photography.”

The name “knolling” is a reference to Knoll, Inc.: An American furniture company founded in 1938 that has manufactured chairs, tables, desks, and storage pieces from iconic designers and architects, including Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Marcel Breuer, and Frank Gehry.

The organizational method dates back to 1987, when sculptor Andrew Kromelow and artist Tom Sachs were both working in Gehry’s studio. Kromelow coined the term, and Sachs popularized it.

How to use knolling to organize your space

In 2010, Sachs created a video for his employees titled “10 Bullets,” which he described as “the studio manual.” One of the 10 bullets is “Always Be Knolling,” in which he breaks down the organizational method into four steps:

  1. Scan your environment for materials, tools, books, music, etc., which are not in use.
  2. Put away everything not in use. If you aren’t sure, leave it out.
  3. Group all like objects.
  4. Align or square all objects to either the surface they rest on or the studio itself.

Source:

‘Knolling’ Is ‘Kondoing’ for Maximalists (lifehacker.com)

15 Ways to Respond to Bad News

If you hear something sad or disturbing that you weren’t expecting, don’t just say the first thing that comes to your mind. 

Take a deep breath and count to five. Then, think about what is most important to you at that moment. Is it making the person in front of you feel better? Is it expressing disappointment? Is it remaining professional? 

 

Whatever it is, choose the words that will help you achieve that goal. Here are a few helpful suggestions for how to respond to different kinds of bad news.  

loveenglish.org

The top 6 childhood complaints heard from adults in therapy

Childhoods can range from severely neglectful/abusive to nearly idyllic, but there are some overall themes that emerge when people discuss what they wish they or their parents had done differently.

photo: fizkes shutterstock

1. No idea how to be a good husband/wife

This is actually a fairly common regret that people feel when recalling their own childhoods.

2. No guidance about career/life

This isn’t just a complaint from clients whose parents were not highly educated themselves. It is just as common among people who had very high-achieving parents who were fairly uninterested in and disconnected from the child’s life. A parent who goes to work 60 hours a week in a great career may say literally nothing to their child about the child’s own strengths, interests, and goals.

3. Discomfort around expressing emotions

Some families are very stunted in how they express emotion, and that can have a long-range impact on their child’s ability to verbally express their feelings, or even be aware of their feelings, in adulthood.

This can even lead to alexithymia, particularly in males. In adulthood, partners can get frustrated with what appears like emotional withholding, but it is really a genuine inability to express feelings, derived from a childhood where emotions were just never discussed.

4. Invalidation/insults

Teasing kids, particularly sensitive ones, or telling them that their feelings are wrong or crazy, can lead to long-term low self-esteem and trust issues when these kids grow up. Many boys in particular are angry at fathers who teased them mercilessly under the guise of “just kidding around.”

Sarcastic, cutting, or just mean remarks about children that are said in a cool voice as though they are just observations may have an even worse impact than words that are screamed in the heat of the moment, when a child may be able to convince himself that you were just angry.

For example, a child will remember a parent saying, “You’re really not very attractive” for his whole life, whereas some kids will be able to discount a father yelling “You idiot!” out of anger when the child broke a window.

5. Authoritarian parenting

When a child is not allowed to do what the majority of his peers are doing, whether this is dating, going to a sleepover, or staying out till 4 am on prom night, the child is likely to resent this forever. Parents may think that a child will one day, “Boy, I’m glad my parents cared enough about my safety to give me a 10 pm curfew when they knew everyone else had 11 pm,” but I’ve yet to see that in my practice.

Note that authoritarian parenting means cold and strict, whereas authoritative, which is associated with positive outcomes, means warm but firm, and flexible. The third type of parenting, permissive, or warm with zero rules, has even worse outcomes than authoritarian because it makes a child feel uncared for.

6. Making a child scared of the world

For some, this is a fear or hatred of men learned from a mother. For others, it is being paranoid of everyone who isn’t in your same religion, because parents taught you not to trust “strangers.” For still others, it may be the fear to gain weight or throw anything away, or being sexually or emotionally intimate with partners. Fear leaves a mark on kids, and it is easy to teach and hard to unlearn.

Think about which of these regrets and complaints are relevant to your own upbringing, and which you may be unwittingly fostering in your own kids.

No parent can be perfect, nor is perfection the goal, but it is very useful to examine your own childhood when parenting in order to ensure that you don’t automatically repeat the very patterns that you wish you never learned in the first place

Article by Dr. Samantha Rodman Whiten, aka Dr. Psych Mom

source: yourtango©

7 Natural Ways To Beat Anxiety Without Meds 

They actually work!

Over 40 million people in the United States alone, aged 18 and older, suffer from anxiety (roughly 18 percent of the total population). That’s nearly one out of every five adults. How ridiculous is that?

At what point do we allow ourselves to recognize that something is slightly off with the system that has raised us? 

Photo: wehearit©

Today, I’m going to give you those seven tools for how to deal with anxiety naturally. I wish that I had known about these 20 years ago, and so I’m passing them on to you, hoping that they will have a noticeable positive effect on your life (regardless of whether or not you are currently suffering from anxiety). Here we go.

1. Walk more.

When anxiety takes over, it’s often because we’ve been spending too much time in our head, and not enough time living in connection with our bodies. Even if this sounds somewhat like hippy-dippy woo-woo stuff, you know that there’s some truth to this.

If you spend all of your days by yourself, staring at screens, with too much time to ruminate on your life and all that you perceive to be wrong with it, it will inevitably make you feel anxious. Our bodies are made to move, and we were made to connect with others. This is why solitary confinement is one of the highest forms of punishment in prison (don’t move, don’t socialize, zero time spent in nature).

The simplest way to get into your body is to start making daily walks a priority. Go out walking for 15 minutes, or 30, or 60. Do this every day for a week and see how much better you begin to feel. If you really don’t feel like moving or exercising at all, another good couple of ways to get into your body are taking hot Epsom salt baths, or getting massages done.

Whatever it is that connects you to your body (walking, dancing, lifting weights, exercising, taking long hot baths, etc.), make it a priority. Your mental health depends on it.

2. Spend more time with friends.

As touched on above, having too much time to ruminate in isolation isn’t good for anyone. We are a social species and we are literally hardwired to connect with other people. Spend more time with your close friends or family members.

If you don’t currently have a thriving social life, then combine tips #1 and #2 by getting yourself out to group activities like dance classes, weight training classes, or walking groups. If you just did these two things (walk for an hour, and spend quality time with other people) every day for a week, you would already feel a noticeable difference in your anxiety.

3. Eat clean, and avoid all stimulants.

Do you drink coffee or soda? Do you eat a lot of processed sugar and junk food? Do you drink alcohol or smoke? As resilient as we are, if you put junk into your body, you’ll eventually feel like junk.

Eat a balanced diet of whole, nutrient-dense foods with a focus on fresh vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates, and cut out any and all stimulants that give you insulin spikes.

4. Supplement intelligently.

Certain micro-nutrients are especially helpful to consume when it comes to combatting anxiety and/or depression. I’ve done a ton of research (that I won’t bore you with), but anxiety and depression are largely caused by inflammation in the body (along with other genetic/traumatic factors).

If I were hard pressed, I would say that these three are the highest leverage things you should consume on a daily basis to combat your anxiety.

  • Omega 3 + DHA
  • Vitamin D3
  • Curcumin (aka turmeric)

5. Avoid screens as much as possible.

Excessive screen time has been scientifically linked to depression and anxiety. If you roll over in the morning and immediately check your phone, and are checking your phone/email/computer throughout the day, you could literally be damaging your brain.

Go on a screen diet to chip away at your anxiety. If you need to use your computer, set a timer to make sure that you don’t over indulge in staring at the blue light.

6. Spend more time in nature.

Nature sucks out the toxicity of daily life. Make a point to spend as much time near fresh water or in a forest as possible. Don’t have access to much clean nature in the place that you live in? Maybe it’s time to go camping or go on a vacation somewhere beautiful and less inhabited.

7. Talk to someone and realize that you’re not going crazy after all.

A lot of the power that anxiety has over us is linked to how much time we allow ourselves to sit alone in rumination, feeling anxious about the fact that we have anxiety. Externalize your thoughts to a safe, trusted, non-shaming friend, family member, coach, or therapist, and gift yourself with the sense of knowing that you are not alone.

During the most anxious periods of my life, I had thoughts like “I’m losing my mind,” “what if I have a panic attack?” and “will this anxiety ever stop?” Just like no weather pattern stays forever, no emotional state stays forever. You can get through what you’re going through by learning how to beat anxiety naturally, and you can speed up your process by doing some of the things mentioned above.

Anxiety is never fun, but it is surmountable. Allow yourself to be supported by others, talk to someone about your fears, and prioritize play, time outdoors, and bodily movement.

Article by Jordan Gray for yourtango.com

Some Good News for a Change

There’s still a lot of good in the world — and a lot of reasons to be hopeful. (Even when it doesn’t always feel that way.) Here is some good news for you.

Earth’s ozone layer is healing.

Because of pollution, the Earth’s ozone layer has seriously suffered. And of course, that’s no good for anybody, since the fragile gas layer protects our planet and shields us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. That’s why it’s such a relief that climate change experts believe that the ozone layer will fully heal within 50 years, according to a 2018 report from the United Nations.

The man who invented the polio vaccine could have made billions by patenting it, but purposefully didn’t.

When Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine, he could have patented it and made an estimated $7 billion, according to Forbes. Instead, he chose not to do that. On April 12, 1955, when CBS’s Edward R. Morrow asked the scientist who owned the rights to the vaccine, Salk replied, “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

A village in India plants trees every time a baby girl is born.

When the leader of Piplantri, a small village in Rajasthan, India, lost his 16-year-old daughter in 2006, he decided to turn his grief into something beautiful. In order to ensure that the village treasured each baby girl, he set up an initiative that sees trees planted every time a girl is born in the village, according to The Guardian. As of 2018, 350,000 trees had been planted.

More millennials give to charity than any other generation.

Turns out, more millennials donate to charity than any other generation, according to 2018 research by fundraising firm Blackbaud. The researchers found that while 84 percent of millennials donate to charitable organizations, just 72 percent of baby boomers and 59 percent of Generation X do the same. It just goes to show that we’re moving toward a kinder, more charitable world.

And people who volunteer live longer.

Volunteering your time or money won’t only help others, it could also help you. One 2011 study from the University of Michigan found that people who volunteer for selfless reasons live longer than those who don’t volunteer at all. Those who volunteer for more self-centered reasons, such as looking good in their community, don’t experience the same benefits.

Eating certain types of chocolate is good for both your physical and mental health.

There’s nothing wrong with eating chocolate simply to enjoy its delicious taste. But if you need an excuse to indulge, you’ll be thrilled to find out that chocolate can be good for both your mind and body.

According to a 2019 review of research by University Health News, “eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate benefits health in many ways. In fact, chocolate is now considered an anti-aging, anti-inflammatory ‘superfood’ for the brain and body.”

Article by Best Life

You Can Get TSA Pre-Check at Staples—Here’s How

With the holidays rapidly approaching—along with long airport security lines—enrolling in TSA Pre-Check can save travelers time and headaches this holiday season. Staples TSA Pre-Check enrollment process offers an easy “lifehack” for travelers.

OLENA YAKOBCHUK/SHUTTERSTOCK

Here’s how Staples made your next trip through airport security a breeze.

What is TSA Pre-Check?

No one likes waiting in long security lines at the airport. It can be a hassle to take off shoes and layers and rummage through bags. That’s where TSA Pre-Check comes in.

TSA Pre-Check offers an accelerated security process for travelers. The option allows travelers to keep their “shoes, jacket and belt on… laptop in its case; 3-1-1 compliant liquids in your bag; and enjoy a better overall travel experience,” according to the Staples website.

For frequent travelers, those flying with kids or anyone who simply wants a stress-free travel experience, TSA Pre-Check can be a lifesaver for both domestic and international travel.

How can I enroll in TSA Pre-Check at Staples?

Typically, enrolling in TSA Pre-Check requires travelers to go to designated locations like the airport. But as Mackenzie says, “If you’re looking to get TSA and you’re like ‘I don’t want to go to the airport,’ all you have to do is sign up on Staples the night before and go to your local Staples.”

On the TSA Pre-Check enrollment process, Mackenzie says “they took our fingerprints, took a mug shot, we confirmed our address, typed in our social security number, and we were out of there” with the entire process taking around “three minutes.”

According to Staples website, it really is that simple. All travelers need is to follow these easy steps:

  • Search for the closest participating Staples to your location by typing in your zip code on the Staples TSA services website
  • Head to the government website to begin the enrollment process
  • Once on the government website, look for a “located inside Staples” option to confirm you are enrolling at the store that is closest and works best for you

With those three easy steps, you’re ready to head to Staples for a process that takes less than five minutes. Talk about our new favorite travel hack.

What are the benefits of TSA Pre-Check?

TSA Pre-Check costs $78 dollars to enroll in. However, the upgraded security screening lasts five years! Bonus: according to the TSA website, in October 2022, 91% of TSA Pre-Check travelers waited less than five minutes in line going through security. With lines like that, we’re planning our next trip already.

Article by Jessica Kaplan, the Assistant Editor of Trends, writing for Readers Digest©

Source: rd.com/article/tsa-pre-check-staples/

How to use the 333 rule for anxiety

A 2014 study from YouGov found that one in five people who experience anxiety have no coping mechanisms to help them through it.

While the health service suggests treatments such as therapy or antidepressant medicines, there are other things you can do to help manage those feelings.

© iStock

One of these methods is known as the “333 rule”. According to Healthline, the 333 rule is an informal technique for coping with anxiety.

It can help to keep you grounded and “calm down in a moment where you are feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed”.

The 333 rule consists of three factors. When you’re feeling anxious, you’ll need to look around your current environment and:

  • Name three things you see
  • Identify three sounds you hear
  • Move three things, such as your arms or legs, or touch three things such as an object

A recent TikTok video posted by mental health membership club Mind Bar said: “Practicing this method is an easy tool to bring you back to the present moment.”

While there have been no scientific studies into the effectiveness of the 333 rule, it can be a helpful aid to manage anxiety.

Other ways to help reduce feeling of anxiety, according to the NHS, include going on a self-help course, exercising regularly, stopping smoking, and cutting down on the amount of alcohol you consume.

Article by Laura Hampson

Source: How to use the 333 rule for anxiety (msn.com)