May is Mental Health Month, and we were ahead of the curve by celebrating our Mental Wellness Spirit Week. The Mental Wellness Committee would like to thank each of you for helping raise awareness regarding self-care, how our brain functions, the importance of Music, Physical Fitness and Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga. Together we can normalize feelings and issues relating to Mental Wellness, and we can help our students and staff reach out when one needs support.
Outsmarting Anxiety
In this article in Psychology Today, psychotherapist Linda Esposito suggests twelve “intentional acts of calm”:
• Reframe. When you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself, what is a different way of looking at my situation? “Doing this, says Esposito, “is a key step toward regarding yourself as a capable problem-solver.”
• Get outside. Take a walk. If you’re walking with a wily dog, that will help you get out of your own head.
• Hydrate. “Water,” says Esposito, “facilitates the delivery of nutrients to the brain, removes toxins and inflammatory markers, and improves cognitive functioning.”
• Do pushups. A short burst of physical exertion releases nervous energy.
• Visualize an admired person. What would they do?
• Use Pomodoro. Work in 25-minute chunks followed by 5-minute breaks, and after four cycles, take a 15-20-minute break.
• Insert a mindful buffer. Between work and home, “spend a few minutes in silence to make peace with what’s happened during the day,” says Esposito, “then take a few cleansing breaths before switching gears with presence and intention.”
• Clear clutter. This is especially helpful just before going to bed.
• Read hard-copy news. Onscreen news feeds are distracting and provoke anxiety.
• Dump smiley-face. “Sometimes you need to take off the rose-tinted glasses to see your smudged, cloudy challenges as they are,” says Esposito.
• Make a fun plan. Thinking about a get-together with people who are good for your mental health creates positive anticipation.
• Accept anxiety. “Sometimes letting go of the need to control outcomes leads to greater acceptance of your circumstances,” Esposito concludes.
“12 Ways to Curb Anxiety” by Linda Esposito in Psychology Today, May/June 2021 (Vol. 54, #3, p. 41) Back to page one