Quarantine: Day 19 and Online Classes
When we’re in difficult or traumatic situations, feeling both self-agency and purpose is a necessity! Without it, we can feel anxious, fearful or even paralyzed. In quarantine, we can feel isolated, both from our support systems and from what’s happening in our communities. I’ve had moments of guilt for feeling good, for not suffering in the way other people may be suffering. I’ve had moments of feeling useless for not having a role to play in this world crisis. And then I’ve stepped back and recognized that like all of you, I do have things to offer.
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Greetings from Spain: day 4 of quarantine
Many of you know that I am currently a resident of Spain in full lockdown. Strangely, instead of feeling isolated, I feel deeply connected. I'm feeling lucky to be in a country under quarantine. I feel both calm and comforted knowing that every other person in Spain is doing the same thing and that we are all playing a role in containing this virus and protecting those most vulnerable. There is a quality to all of this that makes quarantine feel connecting versus isolating.
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The Neuroscience of Fear and 5 Helpful Tips
This blog is not about influencing how you feel about the coronavirus. It’s not about giving you any facts, numbers, percentages or travel advice. And it’s not about comparing your chances of getting the virus to getting another flu, SARS, or any other disease for that matter. All I want to do is help you feel more relaxed so that you can gain perspective and approach the news with a clear head. Because the news is sensational! It’s about grabbing your attention. And what all reporters know is that nothing grabs our attention as quickly as fear.
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Can Noticing The Sensations In Your Body Reduce Stress and Anxiety?
Did you know that one of the best ways to lower anxiety is to practice interoception; the skill of paying attention to the sensations in your body? This simple practice of shifting your awareness from your mind to your body can calm your nervous system and reduce ruminating thoughts and anxiety. It also strengthens a part of your brain called the insula which is the center of the mind/body/brain connection.
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Do I Practice What I Preach? The answer is...
Besides teaching Your Brain on Mindfulness, I’m doing a video challenge this month. Every day I receive a prompt that I have to answer in a short spontaneous video and send off to my group. Today’s was, what's your guilty pleasure?
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What's Better Than New Year’s Resolutions?
I love to reflect - to look back on where I’ve been and ask myself where I want to go. And the new year or even the new decade is one of those natural transitions when many of us pause and set goals and intentions. But new year’s resolutions can go terribly wrong! There’s just no way we can do “all the things” at once. So this year, instead of making your list, consider choosing a quality instead.
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A Thanksgiving “Anchor Memory”
At the end of the meal, what I was left with was a kind of contentment or happiness that you can't get from food (not even from the absolute best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted in my life). It was the feeling that is born of gratitude. Because it's gratitude that makes us happy - not the other way around.
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Keeping Stress In Check
On Monday mornings, I take a look at my schedule, goals, intentions and to-dos for the week. There are some weeks when I do this and I honestly feel crushed by it. And there are other days when my week looks exactly the same, and I feel great and excited about the challenges in front of me. Why is that? Why do I have such different responses to the same situation?
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