Podcast focuses on Mindfulness and Grief

I came across this podcast on Mindfulness and Grief that you may find helpful for yourself, someone you love, or a client.

Mindfulness & Grief: 

From Self-Care to Posttraumatic Growth with Heather Stang

 

Meditation for grief can help you cope with the pain and overwhelming emotions of loss, provide much needed self-care, as well as find new footing in your very changed world. It may even lead to posttraumatic growth. Author Heather Stang discusses the second edition of her book, Mindfulness & Grief, with guest host Karla Helbert.

The act of being mindful in your grieving process is about finding the places where you can create more space to allievate some suffering and to find the places where you can become the person that you want to be now that this has happened.

- Heather Stang

In this episode the tables were turned—Karla Helbert, author of Yoga for Grief & Loss, interviewed me on my own podcast! This gave me an opportunity to share some "behind the scenes" tidbits from the second edition of Mindfulness & Grief, and explain how I developed the eight week program in the first place. Both Karla and I find the concept of Posttraumatic Growth interesting and powerful.  While neither of us see grief as a gift— in fact when I hear that I cringe in pain—but we agree that grief changes you.  The mindful approach to grief includes both acknowledging what you can not change, and taking charge where you can. This may included applying self-care techniques to your grieving body, mind, and spirit. Not being so hard on yourself by decreasing negative self-talk. Saying no to others when you just don't feel up to socializing. Getting that massage, doing yoga, and finding meditation and relaxation tools that help you get back to sleep. Spending times doing things that sooth your soul, or help you remember and honor your special person. Once you begin to take care of yourself,  you may start to find that you are benefiting from this self care and introspection. THIS IS NOT TO SAY YOU ARE BENEFITING FROM GRIEF! Right? You would rather have your special person. You are benefiting from how you are treating yourself, and now seeing the world. In fact, there are five domains of posttruamtic growth (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006):

• Increased Appreciation of Personal Strength
• Sense of New Opportunities & Possibilities
• Deepened Sense of Connection & Compassion
• Appreciation of Life in General
• Spiritual or Religious Change

Please consider adding the second edition of Mindfulness & Grief to your collection, and leave a review on Amazon if you already have a copy. I tried to write the book I wanted to read, and I feel the updates in the new edition are helpful. Thank you for listening!

Website Shares Bright Illustrations for Mental Health Awareness and Self-care

There is a website that I recently discovered, Blessing Manifesting.com, out of my home state that I find very helpful as a therapist.  I enjoy using her brightly-colored artistic snapshots for mental health awareness, well-being, and self-care with patients and love that she makes them available to everyone.  I just wanted to share a few of her latest offerings and encourage you to check out her website and FB page.

Good Self-Care

Self-care is very important. We probably don't do it enough. Sometimes, though, what we think is self-care really isn't. We should consider what we need, not only what we want, which can end up being more helpful in the long run. If you want some ideas of how you can consider ways to self-care in different domains - physical, emotional, spiritual, social, pleasurable, mental, and sensory - here is a good website to explore.

https://www.developgoodhabits.com/self-care-ideas/

"Color Me Stress-Free" Selected Among 5 Self-Care Products to Help During Social Distancing

It was very cool to come across a post about 5 self-care things that you can do during the pandemic in self-isolation, and they included "Color Me Stress-Free" as a way to help occupy your mind and ease stress.  A perfect way to spend your time at home!  I'm truly honored to be included.

The 5 Self Care Products to Help You During Social Distancing

TEMWA NAMANDWA |Mar 31, 2020 11:05 am|Mar 31, 2020 11:40 am 

Oksana Mizina/ Shutterstock

Day-to-day life as we all know, has come to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the realities of adjusting to social-distancing and self-isolation start to kick in, it’s easy to feel anxious and stressed. In these times, it’s so important, if not essential to prioritize self-care. 

Here are 5 self-care products that will help you get through the next few weeks of social distancing without losing it.

“Color Me Stress-Free” by Lacy Mucklow, $14.99 

barnesandnoble.com

 
Coloring books and chill are now a thing. So if you want to de-stress, relax, and take your mind off this crisis: get coloring! Adult coloring books are not the ones we grew up with, the adult version has more intricate patterns and pictures. The Color Me Stress-Free by Lacy Mucklow is one you’ll find therapeutic to color!

Self-Care is Important

This is something I tell my patients all the time. You can't give to or take care of others if you're running on empty.

 It's also great advice for us therapists to employ as well....we can easily fall into that hole of giving without recharging. It's OK to self-care.