Self Help

For Self Help page at the bottom of the last page

Self Help

Sometimes we need reminders or suggestions about what we can do ourselves to improve our wellbeing and enhance our lives.

Mindfullness –

Mindfulness entails being aware of one’s current inner emotions and surroundings. By cultivating the ability to notice their emotions, thoughts, and experiences in the present moment, mindfulness can assist individuals in steering clear of harmful or reflexive behaviors and reactions.

Grounding Exercise   5 Senses

1. Relax: Sit in a comfortable upright position with your feet planted flat on the ground. Rest your hands on your thighs or on your desk.
2. Breathe: Just breathe. Refreshing, comfortable, and even breaths. Don’t worry about technique; just allow relaxing breaths to enter deeply and exhale fully.
3. Engage: It’s time to engage each of your five senses, one at a time, for at least one minute each. You can keep a clock handy or just estimate. The point here is to focus on the present moment and how each sense is being activated in that moment. You might start like this:

Hearing: Begin to relax by just noticing all of the sounds around you. Give yourself permission to suspend your judgment of the sounds. They are not good or bad, they just are. Are you now hearing more than you were before you started? Subtle sounds may have previously gone unnoticed. Can you hear them now? Remember your steady breaths while you are listening.

Smell: Now shift your concentration to noticing the smells of your environment. Is somebody cooking lunch in your building? Can you detect the electronic smell of your computer or fresh air coming in through your window? Try closing your eyes so you can focus on the subtlest of scents.

Sight: If you closed your eyes a moment ago, open them to notice the colors, shapes, and textures of your surroundings. If you really look, just about everything has color variation and texture that may have gone unnoticed. How many shades of blue or red? Any color missing?

Taste: You can do this one regardless of whether or not you have food to put in your mouth. If you have a snack go ahead and take a small bite, noticing all of the flavors and textures that arise. If you don’t have food, just notice your tongue in your mouth, your saliva, and your breath as you exhale. Most of us have tastes in our mouth at all times. Run your tongue over your teeth and cheeks- what do you notice? Keep breathing, one more minute.

Touch: Last one. Where did you place your hands when you first started this exercise? Notice the sensation of where your hands meet something solid like the fabric of your clothes or the surface of your desk. Notice the pressure between your feet and the floor. Try feeling the textures that you noticed by sight a moment ago. To fully ground yourself in the room and bring the exercise to a close, feel several objects on your desk and perhaps even stand up from your chair to bring energy and sensation to all parts of your body.

Time is up. Even when there are distractions during this five-minute exercise, you can gently bring yourself back to your senses. No need to get frustrated when that happens, because a distraction is just another engagement of a particular sense. Incorporate it into the exercise.