MindBody Hacksheet 1
- 1. Anxiety & Depression Hack-sheet 1 With long term historical clinical depression and anxiety, ongoing face to face professional treatment is also recommended alongside these factsheets.
- 2. How I can help I call these worksheets- Hack-sheets as they help to cut through- stuck emotions negative thoughts and beliefs body stiffness and fatigue They include some simple practical options, to help you balance and self soothe.
- 3. How I can help I will show you some simple practical tools for – Balancing yourself Self soothing Focusing your mind I’ve learned some of this knowledge through- personal & professional counselling & coaching training, philosophy, & self development work.
- 4. How I can help Included are some breathing techniques I’ve learned from- ‘Wim Hof’ cold therapy training & “Systema’ Russian martial arts http://systemabrighton.co.uk
- 5. They have helped many people to reduce anxiety and depression and live more purposeful happy lives. If you find my free content useful. I’ve also included links to my affordable mind, body & lifestyle hack-sheets. If like many other people you are experiencing feeling paralysed with panic, anxiety or exhausted by depression; then please read on!
- 6. My Personal Experience Anxiety & Depression Why have I put these two polarised emotional experiences together? In my personal and professional experience they seem to be two sides of the same coin. Let me tell you a little bit of personal experience, I found myself like many people these days, having panic attacks at work about 15 years ago. They lasted until I learned to interpret them differently in a more helpful and informative way. I wound up in a career I hadn't fully intended to be part of. I didn't feel like I fitted in, even though I could act or pretend I did a lot of the time. Eventually the pretending ran out of steam, I had got in a lifestyle cycle that was not sustainable.
- 7. This included, negative thinking about myself and others, dreading going to work, not feeling appreciated or valued. Binge drinking and excessive recreational drug use became a coping strategy. Excessive craving for excitement and pleasure seeking is common in many professions these days. Socializing and partying was a big part of the career lifestyle in London, and a distraction and coping strategy for many people.
- 8. I don't believe all hedonism is bad, on the contrary, but in situations like this, it's often an avoidance tactic, and a substitute for genuine happiness. For me; this led to not enough sleep and frequent hangovers, feeling burnt out. As well as excessive use of coffee, sugar and fatty food to substitute my lack of energy.
- 9. I dreaded mornings when I felt the most depressed and trapped, I became increasingly more irritable, isolated and a combination of fear and shame about where I was and who I was. In my case, as with many of the clients I've treated, there are ‘Micro belief systems' made up of beliefs about yourself in the world. Some are truer than others. As well as an overarching ‘Macro belief systems' based on ideas and beliefs about the wider world in relation to you. They are all influenced by values inherited from our families, communities, religion, career choices, & political influence. Check out- https://www.time-to-change.org.uk for more on work related mental health.
- 10. Soon we will be looking at the three MindBody principles shortly. They include some simple and helpful techniques and tools. As well as the two most common hurdles or stumbling blocks to self improvement. But next my professional experience.
- 11. My Professional Experience Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked in the NHS and in schools as a counsellor. As well as running my own private practice. I learned to use of some very helpful models including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Transactional Analysis. As well as Embodiment (body awareness) coaching tools and techniques that help to reduce psychological and emotional symptoms. Some of the biggest obstacles of wellbeing and good mental health that make up our shadow traits are – denial, blame, avoidance, and a lack of trust in self and others. This can look like not listening to our inner wisdom or the wisdom of others who genuinely care. A good way to spot it in yourself is to notice how triggered you feel when someone challenges you or offers caring advice. How quickly do you bite their head off or run away and ignore them hoping to never speak to them again?
- 12. The 1nd Hurdle Stigma & Shame The unhelpful cultural stigma around addressing 'mental illness' and even talking about mental health. These also include admitting failure, or vulnerability, often judged in the corporate world as weakness. Can you imagine applying the same approach to something far less important like running your car, i.e. 'never taking it for a service and never learning anything about your car from an expert. Would you expect the car to run well or to last a long time? Why then, do we culturally tend to feel that we shouldn’t need to learn new things about how we are on a cognitive and emotional level?
- 13. The 2nd Hurdle Secondly - once someone goes to the trouble of getting help, sometimes they dismiss much of what they discover with reasons like- I don't have the time or resources I can’t or don’t want to change myself; I want others to change I don’t want to try new things It’s normal to feel a bit unsure and even a bit scared to make changes. The timing and stage of life can be important factors to consider. But in my experience long term benefits only come from the internal changes and commitments that we make. So this type of self-development work, is most effective for people who have typically already worked through some of the first two hurdles already, and ideally invested in some sort of counselling or coaching already. You are ready to make fundamental changes towards self-improvement. And you are open- minded and willing to try new ideas and strategies, and you are committed to radically growing a new happier responsible purposeful life.
- 14. The 2nd Hurdle You will also know that there isn't a magic pill or button. It is you alone who has the power and the responsibility to change your life for the better. I only run these kinds of focussed counselling & coaching courses for people who meet these criteria, if that sounds like you, then great! please continue reading.
- 15. The 1st Principle Of MindBody Wellness Look after your mind-use it! We can grow new neurons! Contrary to previous scientific beliefs Amazing!, right? This is arguably the most important- it involves, ongoing frequent self development. Including- any learning that improves your understanding of yourself in some capacity in the world
- 16. The 2nd Principle Of MindBody Wellness A body practice Any activities that you use your body to move, engage, compete & improve on Make use of your body for fun & growth as much as you can, you only get one body. So use it wisely, so it will last as long as possible Makes sense?
- 17. The 3rd Principle Of MindBody Wellness Lifecycles Routine patterns that contribute to your positive wellbeing, including- sleep, nutrition, relationships & habits Obvious right? Yet often we don’t
- 18. Work related Anxiety & Depression One of the epidemics in our society is anxiety and depression, it often shows up in the workplace. Employers are being forced to acknowledge they need to do something to help their employees to relieve stress and remove anxiety and depression from the workplace. In my experience, the symptoms of depression are often natural reactions to aspects of dysfunctional environments and lifestyles. In short, the problem is- too much pressure and demand for individuals to continuously deliver more and more profit, to pay higher and higher bills for less and less personal gain. Less and less quality free time, often due to exhaustion and remaining hyper- vigilant and feeling unable to relax when not at work. As well as not enough meaningful engagement and connection with friends and family. In many cases, not enough feeling valued or meaning in life. We have to hold the business world accountable for this, we were not put here to sit staring at screens, typing in numbers all day to make a few people a lot wealthier than most of us.
- 19. A Common Story I Hear From Clients Is This Steve works in sales, he used to enjoy his job, then a new boss arrived and things changed. His new boss expected him to change his plans short notice to meet sales targets on demand. He started arranging short notice meetings often very early or at the end of the day. Steve wasn't able to keep his commitment to his football team, and he saw less of his partner who complained about it. Rather than talk to them about the problem, he started lying about what he was doing as he knew his partner would tell him not to put up with his bosses unreasonable demands. But he was scared of confrontation, as well as this, he lied to his football team about when he was free to train with them and they decided to drop him to a substitute position to protect the team from further let down.
- 20. All this led to Steve feeling more and more bad about himself until eventually he couldn't find the strength to get out of bed one day and had to be signed off sick for an extended period. Thankfully Steve’s work was obliged to provide him with an EAP counsellor, and fortunately for Steve he learned in counselling that he was stressed, anxious and depressed about the compromised situation he found himself in.
- 21. Due to his new found confidence and assertiveness! Steve's productivity improved and he realized how important his mental health, wellbeing and living a purposeful life really was So we can see from this, all of the above can lead to - anxiety, depression, panic attacks, insomnia, substance & alcohol misuse & eating disorders. A lot more people than the official stats admit suffer from one or more of these symptoms at any point. Do you really believe the pharmaceutical and the corporate industries really want you to know, just how bad for you, the lifestyle being imposed on you really is?
- 22. But also Steve learned that it wasn't his fault, and when he spoke to his colleagues he found out others had also been having similar feeling about work. This helped Steve to feel a lot better and he decided to go and speak with his new boss about how work had been affecting his health. They agreed together that Steve would not have to miss football practice again, as this was very important to him and meetings from now on should be planned. Short notice meetings were voluntary to attend, unless there was an emergency.
- 23. The 8 Pillars The next page contains the 8 pillar principles. They came to me in a creative inspirational insight after my first Wim Hof cold therapy training. I’ve put them together as a type of graph, graphic equalizer or map towards better self awareness
- 24. The 8 Pillars This is a map to wellness I have designed, I like to visualise it like a graph Acceptance- as must as possible of what occurs in life, helps us remain calmer Surrender- to what you can't change, save your energy for other issues Commitment- as much as possible in any situation, helps us to give our best Responsibility- to yourself & others, helps us to be reliable and safe Forgiveness- how much you can forgive yourself & others? This helps us to let go Respect- for yourself & others as much as you can, helps us to care Trust- yourself, your process & others, where possible to to helps us enjoy the journey Giving- what you can back to contribute to those that need your support These principles can coexist in any order as such, and we can use them as a map or graph towards good mental and physical health. Deficits can help to tell us where we are challenged or stuck. I’ve written more on them on a separate pdf.
- 25. I hope you found this useful Food for thought! When we are triggered and feel unsafe it's likely that most of the variables of the pillars will be quite low. But if we can find a way to relax in any situation, we might be able to create the conditions for shifting the triggered automatic fight/flight response and make use of some of these principles. When we can make use of at least some of the pillars, even just one or two, then we can approach a situation more objectively. They can help to make some space between our sense of self and our overwhelming emotional reaction. Then we have more of a chance of improving our situation. If we cannot move from fight or flight, then it is quite unlikely that we will be able to break an embedded unconscious pattern. One final important point !- when we feel depressed and anxious we usually don’t feel like doing anything that might be good for us. It’s important to hold in mind that our thoughts and feelings are not always out allies! We might need to do the opposite of what they tell us. If you would like a more detailed document about this please follow this link – 8 pillars link If you would like to download Hacksheet 2 for free please click below- https://mindbodycounselling.co.uk/welcome/thank-you-for-subscribing/more-self-care-content/ Paul Weeden mbacp www.mindbodycounselling.co.uk All rights reserved