self care

How Opposite Day will improve your Health.

creativity, health, learning, mental health, problem solving, self care, stress, therapy, Uncategorized, wellness

Ever feel stuck in a rut–doing the same thing day in and day out? Then, take advice from Seinfeld’s George Costanza and do the opposite of what you normally do. It can be as simple as taking a different route to work or seeing a movie you normally wouldn’t be interested in. Often, we can be too judgmental or too set in our ways to give something new a try. If you tend to jam-pack your schedule with events and activities, try scheduling in some quiet time at home. If you are more of a homebody, try something more adventurous that you normally wouldn’t do. You never know what you might discover if you start making yourself get out of your comfort zone. Intellectual Wellness is achieved through self-directed behavior focused on learning. Any activity that inspires and stimulates your willingness, desire and intent to learn, explore and expand your mind intellectually in any way supports healthy Intellectual Wellness. It also means being free intellectually to learn something new.

Intellectual Wellness is also about your willingness and curiosity to acquire new information, while continuously seeking out new challenges to expand and improve your knowledge and skills. This often develops a sense of awareness and satisfaction. Some people find it gratifying to share their skills and knowledge with others.

Research studies show that maintaining a healthy level of Intellectual Wellness helps keep the brain-mind cognition healthy.

Few Questions to check your intellectual wellness:

  • I am interested in learning new things.
  • I enjoy attending lectures, plays, musical performances, museums, galleries, and/or libraries.
  • I enjoy creative and stimulating mental activities/games.
  • I make an effort to improve my verbal and written skills.
  • I am able to analyze, synthesize, and see more than one side of an issue.

 

Methods to grow your intellectual wellness:

  • Continuously exercise your mind while remaining clam and tranquil.
  • Create development by continuously acquiring, applying, and expressing positive and constructive critical thinking.
  • Keep an active mind through mental activity stimulation.
  • Open to new ideas.
  • Be motivated to master new skills and seeking out new challenges.
  • Develop and maintain a continuous sense of humor, creativity, and curiosity.
  • Reach your own correct decision, make up your own mind, in your own interest when there is a choice or a problem.
  • Reading is one of the great ways to learn.
  • Start a new hobby.

We don’t have to spend hours on our Intellectual Wellness each and every day to reap significant benefits. Just a few minutes a day, several days a week will get the job done. Intellectual Wellness is the wellness aspect that adds extra spark to our lives, and if we take on these projects with a sense of adventure, we’ll notice an amazing difference in no time!

It is better to stretch and challenge our minds with intellectual and creative pursuits than to become self-satisfied and unproductive.  It is better to identify potential problems and choose appropriate courses of action based on available information than to wait, worry, and contend with major concerns later. national wellness institute

Basically, if you’re learning something new, you’re focusing on your Intellectual Wellness!

Traveling the ELM Mental Wellness path, we’ll explore issues related to problem solving, creativity, and learning. As you develop your intellectual curiosity, you’ll actively strive to expand and challenge your mind by learning to value vision, wonder, and lifelong learning.

Spiritual Wellness is a personal matter.

health, mental health, positive thinking, relationships, self care, spirituality, stress, therapy, Uncategorized, wellness

The spiritual dimension recognizes our search for meaning and purpose in human existence. It includes the development of a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and natural forces that exist in the universe. Your search will be characterized by a peaceful harmony between internal personal feelings and emotions and the rough and rugged stretches of your path. While traveling the path, you may experience many feelings of doubt, despair, fear, disappointment and dislocation, as well as feelings of pleasure, joy, happiness and discovery. These are all important experiences and components to your search and will be displayed in the value system you will adapt to bring meaning to your existence. You’ll know you’re becoming spiritually well when your actions become more consistent with your beliefs and values, resulting in a “world view.”

 

Evaluate your own spiritual wellness with this brief quiz.

  • Do I make time for relaxation in my day?
  • Do I make time for meditation and/or prayer?
  • Do my values guide my decisions and actions?
  • Am I accepting of the views of others?

 

9 Ways To Improve Your Spiritual Wellness:

  • Explore you spirituality – When you are examining the core set of your beliefs and principles, you should put forward questions like: Do I know myself? What do I have to realize in my life? If you are persistent you will find the puzzles of your life and realize your innermost goal.
  • Pray – All you need to do is find a neat and comfortable place to send your prayers.
  • Clear out the mind garbage – Consider writing down, at the end of the day, your thoughts; the things you wanted to say but didn’t have the chance or simply write down how your day passed. Sharing will give you a sense of relievement and calmness will take you from there.
  • Yoga – It will relief the physical and emotional tension. All the things like bad emotions and feelings that interrupt your wellbeing will leave permanently.
  • Finding the purpose – There is saying: The most precious lessons in life aren’t learned in school. And it’s true. In every failure, there is a hidden lesson we must learn. This is how we evolve spiritually. We shouldn’t run away from obstacles and evade them as they will ruin us. They have come to pass.
  • Think positively – People complain all the time. What they do is stuffing their mind with limiting thoughts that ruin their life eventually. Being concentrated on the positive side of life, you will be a step closer to happiness. It will flourish your growth and make you forget the worries.
  • Go incognito – When you are incognito, it’s that special time when you can analyze the situation. You can practice it whenever you feel like it. When you are incognito, you can meditate, practice yoga or apply other useful activities.
  • Travel – Visiting other places is beneficial for your mind. Being all by yourself in a quiet and peaceful surrounding helps you increase the connection with your inner self. Try one of your local parks!

These activities will make sure you are on the right track in improving your spiritual wellness.

ELM Mental Wellness can help guide your spiritual wellness through exploration of readiness, identifying resources, your strengths and solutions. We will explore your willingness and ability to transcend yourself in order to question the meaning and purpose in your life and the lives of others.

How I quit the donut, 24 years and counting.

health, nutrition, self care, sugar, Uncategorized, weight, weight loss, wellness

Consistently I am asked this question, so I decided to write about it.  24 years ago I recognized I ‘really’ liked donuts, and I could eat a lot of them.  When the morning arrived I stood in front of my closet trying to find something to wear to work, then realizing nothing fit anymore.  I called in sick to work because I felt and was sick.  After crying for a few minutes, it came over me like a storm.  This was it, this was my last straw moment, and today was the day to do something!  So I dried my tears, put on my big girl panties and sought help.

I had to realize that donuts were not my friend, they were not my therapist, and they certainly weren’t helping anything.  I began to dig deep, “what benefit am I receiving from this sugary delight?”  I began to journal about when and where I would eat donuts, along with my emotions.   I recognized boredom and stress were fuel to my donut fire. I stopped eating them immediately, because I was ready to.

The longer I did without them, the better I felt.  My motivation machine was ON and there was no turning it off now.  It was all about action.

Almost 20 years ago, two well-known alcoholism researchers, Carlo C. DiClemente and J. O. Prochaska, introduced a five-stage model of change to help professionals understand their clients with addiction problems and motivate them to change. Their model is based not on abstract theories but on their personal observations of how people went about modifying problem behaviors such as smoking, overeating and problem drinking.

The six stages of the model are:

  • precontemplation
  • contemplation
  • determination
  • action
  • maintenance
  • termination

Gold, M. (2016). Stages of Change. Psych Central

Understanding your readiness to change by being familiar with the six-stage model of change can help you choose treatments that are right for you.

Nothing succeeds like success. I implemented a good plan, I was beginning to see it work and experiencing it working over time, as well as making adjustments along the way. The many things that hiding in a donut may have taken from me began to be restored, along with hope and self-confidence and continued determination not to eat one.

Today I understand when we eat something loaded with sugar; your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice.  This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine.  An overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more.

So what’s the magic potion you ask?

This is my recipe:

  • My last straw moment prompted determination and plan preparation.
  • Commitment to change with appropriate skills.
  • Success reducing my sugar urge propelled continued achievement.
  • Continuing to educate myself and adjust plans to maintain long term sustained change, bye bye donut.

Here are some Tips:

  • Out of sight is usually not out of mind
  • Make lower calorie choices when possible
  • Our environment is toxic – unhealthy food is highly accessible
  • Don’t let yourself get too hungry
  • Try a cravings journal
  • Smart carbs to the rescue – whole grains, beans, fruits, vegetables
  • Take care of yourself, in a non-food way

I have successfully managed my weight health and sugar craving for almost 25 years now.

As you travel the ELM path, I will join with you to explore your challenges and cravings.  We will discover your strengths for determination and preparation, as well as what might get in the way.  We will create an action plan with small, sustainable goals, and prepare for long term maintained change.

I look forward to hearing about your donut!

Be well!

Kelle Greeson, LPCC CWC

ELM Mental Wellness, owner