{"id":817,"date":"2020-05-01T04:07:38","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T08:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/?p=817"},"modified":"2020-10-12T20:40:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T00:40:42","slug":"how-well-do-you-bounce-understanding-resilience-self-care-in-order-to-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/how-well-do-you-bounce-understanding-resilience-self-care-in-order-to-thrive\/","title":{"rendered":"How Well Do You Bounce? Part 1: Resilience &#038; Self-Care"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-kpbckground\"><span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 10px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\"><strong>How Well Do You Bounce?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Part 1: Resilience &amp; Self-Care<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\"><strong>Kristine Proctor, MSW, LCSW<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 10px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">We all approach life with great expectations. And we should! Yet at times we need to deepen our understanding of ourselves in order to be successful personally and relationally. In other words, we need emotional wellbeing to thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Emotional wellbeing is coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships. This means having an understanding of what it takes to handle stress well is essential to creating management techniques that work best for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\"><strong>How do we recognize stress?<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">We all experience stress but we need to dig a little deeper in our understanding of stress so that we can recognize when we are experiencing it and determine how we choose to respond. By definition, stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. (1)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Stress occurs when one\u2019s tension level exceeds their energy level, resulting in an overloaded feeling. As long as our available energy<strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> exceeds<\/span> <\/span><\/strong>our tension level then we\u2019re in an okay state. But if energy is low and tensions are higher, then that can lead to a state of anxiety, depression and feeling overwhelmed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Experientially stress is:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Low energy.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Headaches.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Aches, pains, and tense muscles.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Chest pain and rapid heartbeat.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Insomnia.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Frequent colds and infections.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Loss of sexual desire and\/or ability.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Depression or general unhappiness.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Anxiety and agitation.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Moodiness, irritability, or anger.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Feeling overwhelmed.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Loneliness and isolation.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Other mental or emotional health problems<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Do you recognize any of these in your experience? Being able to identify symptoms of stress <em>when they are happening <\/em>gives us the opportunity to intentionally respond rather than just react in the moment. Practice tracking your reactions to become aware of their occurrence. By tracking I mean, when you have these various emotional and physical reactions,<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">notice without judging yourself.<\/span><\/strong> These are signals from your body and self-blame is not helpful. It is destructive and can create more stress.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Culturally, we tend to accept the idea that it is a good thing to judge ourselves when we experience negative emotions. But <strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">feelings are not to be judged<\/span>.<\/strong> Feelings are signals from our bodies that we need to respond to. When we have a sprained ankle or broken bone, do we judge ourselves because we are experiencing pain? Typically, no. We know it is a signal from our body that we need to respond to in order to recover and be healthy. Feelings can serve a similar purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Being able to recover quickly from difficulty is essential to managing our stress levels. In other words, we want to be able to bounce back. We want to be resilient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Resilient people tend to have several characteristics in common. They are consistently able to meet the demands of their life successfully, take action to deal with challenges and setbacks and to seek support when needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">They know when to take a break and rest and allow themselves to do so. Resilient people have a sense of independence and self-worth and intentionally form and maintain positive, mutually respectful relationships. And overall, they have a sense of purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">So, how well do you bounce?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Well, we can all develop our resilience! Here are a few ideas:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Adapt a growth mindset.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Assess how vulnerable you are to stress.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Develop self-knowledge.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Challenge negative thoughts and put things in perspective.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Develop additional coping skills<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Develop body-based skills, such as deep breathing<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Develop a self-care plan<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Work to change our emotional responses<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">One of the keys to successful change is to \u2018choose your battles.\u2019 In other words, don\u2019t try to change everything at once or you will quickly become overwhelmed and give up. And that means more, not less, stress!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\">Choose an area that seems like it would be one that you could benefit from most at this present time in your life and then explore how you might start to implement it in your life. In upcoming blogs we will explore the ideas listed above to further facilitate your resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: Book Antiqua,Palatino;\"><strong><em>Find yourself, and be that!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-915 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Kristine4BLOGsigTransp552020Use-300x64.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"64\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Kristine4BLOGsigTransp552020Use-300x64.png 300w, https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Kristine4BLOGsigTransp552020Use.png 347w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 30px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>References:<\/p>\n<p>(1) Oxford Dictionary<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Well Do You Bounce? Part 1: Resilience &amp; Self-Care Kristine Proctor, MSW, LCSW We all approach life with great expectations. And we should! Yet at times we need to deepen our understanding of ourselves in order to be successful personally and relationally. In other words, we need emotional wellbeing to thrive. Emotional wellbeing is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_meta":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13,16,1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1430,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817\/revisions\/1430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kristineproctorcounselingdeland.com\/counselordeland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}