Stress is common during the holidays, but imagine the holidays with a Zombie Apocalypse, we would all be affected by such an extreme crisis. Now the reality of 2020 with all its extras can seem very similar to a Zombie Apocalypse. Add in the holiday season and it's bound to create stress overload.
In my office and in my personal life, I am reminded of how difficult holidays are for most humans, without the 2020 extras. Thrown into the mix now is a more emotional ups and downs, sadness, anger, frustration, and anxiety that 2020 has brought on.
Gratitude is an oldy-but-goody thought practice that can change your mental focus from the glass is half-empty to half-full. It's an example of one of my favorite DBT skills -- acting opposite. I am reminded of it weekly when clients start to feel better by resistantly practicing acting opposite.
I have been called "nervous" since I was a child. I would venture to say that large doses of caffeine and chocolate probably did not help my "nervousness". As a small child, I would drink a coke and eat a bag of Hershey's chocolates and literally run in circles at family functions. We still laugh at these memories.
One of my favorite memories of my grandfather was when all of us were breakdancing, even my grandmother. As a child my grandfather was patient, kind, and full of laughter.
As the Hurricanes creeps closer, I allow myself to accept the facts that it will (according to the facts of the forecast),affect us. With so much social media exposure and news forecasting on this impending doom, I feel overwhelmed.
Noticing your victories can have a profound affect on your mental health. I know many of you say that sounds too easy... but, when your brain is full of all the things you did not do, all of your inadequacies, all your cant's and should's, noticing your victories begins the positive inner snowball needed for change to occur.
Part two of my gratitude blog: let's take this day to thank and notice the fathers and father figures in our lives. It does not have to be your own, but notice someone who inspires you and heals your soul.My father died about a year and half ago, suddenly and shockingly. Time helps to heal those wounds, but this day reminds me of my grief. I miss him so much, more than I ever would have imagined. So today I want to honor him.
Can a daily practice of gratitude grow "good" feelings in ourselves and in others? Gratitude is an old practice that nurtures and deepens relationships with others and within ourselves.
