Coping Tip of the Day

[Daniel E.]

Stress and Coping in the Menopause

The menopausal transition (MT) is characterized by higher stress levels in some women. It is unclear if the MT leads to stress, as a result of increas…

www.sciencedirect.com

Coping responses are infinite, but can be categorized as problem and emotion-focused coping and dysfunctional coping. Emotion-focused coping regulates stressful emotions by changing the way the relationships in the environment are attended to, and reappraisal of these if necessary. It may involve emotional distancing or seeking social support, and may be used if the situation can't be changed, such as the MT [menopausal transition]. Problem-focused coping alters the environment to reduce stress and is generally employed when the situation is perceived as controllable.

Dysfunctional coping is defined as those coping styles that employ avoidance, denial, self-blame, or detrimental ways of coping such as alcohol or drug abuse. Greater psychological distress and symptom reporting during the MT [menopausal transition] has been associated with less effective coping styles. This requires greater education and management to promote effective coping and better well-being.

Coping styles are seldom used alone, and may change over time and adapt to the demands of the situation. It is suggested that people may employ preferred coping strategies that can be applied over a variety of situations.

 

[Daniel E.]

What a Brief Jog Can Do for Your Brain

Just 15 minutes of movement is all it takes.

getpocket.com

Light exercise does more to boost cognitive function than relaxing for the same amount of time. And the reason appears to be that movement lifts mood and leaves people feeling more energized than doing nothing.

 

[Daniel E.]

Behavioral Activation: How To Be More Active in Your Life!

How to Be More Active in Your Life! by Matthew Tull, PhD, About.com When people feel depressed or anxious, they may be less likely to do the things they enjoy, and therefore, it is important to learn how to be more active. Behavioral activation is a way to do this. The goal of behavioral...

forum.psychlinks.ca

"The purpose of behavioral activation is to improve your mood, not stress you out even more."

 

[Daniel E.]

10 Ways to Build and Preserve Better Boundaries

You can have strong and healthy relationships by building healthy boundaries.

psychcentral.com

“If you come away from a meeting or telephone conversation with friends, family, or anyone, feeling depleted, anxious, [or] wound-up, there are probably boundaries being breached.”

Research also shows that blurred boundaries, particularly between work and home life, are linked to unhealthier lifestyles and lower levels of happiness, along with a higher risk of family conflict...

“If you’ve got a narrative in your head that says you’re worthless and undeserving, then you’re going to find it difficult to put boundaries in place that protect you. A lot of it comes down to self-worth and self-value.”

It doesn’t take much to start encouraging this mindset either, adds Baker. The more you engage in activities “that release feel-good hormones, like singing, running, or whatever you want to do — things that feed your own heart — then that’s going to help change your internal dialogue and make you feel more deserving.”

 

[Daniel E.]

Against Willpower

Willpower is a dangerous, old idea that needs to be scrapped.

getpocket.com

Countless books and blogs offer ways to “boost self-control,” or even to “meditate your way to more willpower,” but what’s not widely recognized is that new research has shown some of the ideas underlying these messages to be inaccurate...

 

[Daniel E.]

More info:

10 Stressful Thinking Patterns, and How to Reverse Them

Ovrgeneralizing, catastrophizing, and more.

www.psychologytoday.com

 

[Daniel E.]

An affective neuroscience model of boosting resilience in adults

Although research has identified dozens of behavioral and psychosocial strategies for boosting resilience in adults, little is known about the common …

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[Daniel E.]

22 tips for 2022: To fight "laziness," slow down and focus on your values

Feeling "lazy" is probably more a sign of needing to take a break, not do more. Try the values clarification exercise to help get rid of the guilt of not doing "enough."

www.npr.org

Devon Price, a social psychologist and the author of Laziness Does Not Exist, says that laziness is probably a sign you need to take a break, not work more.

To stop feeling like you're worth only your "hard work" — try the values clarification exercise :

Here's how it works:

1. Form a long list of values, things like achievement, family, spirituality, money, creativity, community, etc.
2. Identify the areas you want to focus on.
3. Narrow that down to just three values. Which would you pick?

Picking three areas to focus on will help get rid of the guilt around not doing "enough."

"I think laziness really is this canary-in-a-coal-mine kind of emotion that tells us when our values are out of step with our actual lives," explains Price. Once you have a sense of what really matters to you, then you can realign your life to be in step with your values.

 

[Daniel E.]

5 Research-Backed Strategies to Cope With Another Tough Winter

The latest research in psychology, neuroscience, and sociology has a lot to say about getting through hard times.

www.gq.com

During hardship it can be helpful to release from any sense of this has to be meaningful or I need to make the most out of this in favor of being kind to yourself, being where you are, and just getting through. If you pay close attention to what is happening inside of you during these liminal phases, and do so without judgment, the right choices and actions tend to emerge on their own. Gradually, you progress from disorder to reorder.

 

[Daniel E.]

 

[Daniel E.]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life

"We should think more about whom we'll be in the future – because doing so has profound consequences for our health, happiness and financial security."

 

[Daniel E.]

The Benefits of Optimism Are Real

A positive outlook is the most important predictor of resilience. It's not just Hollywood magic.

www.theatlantic.com

"Having a positive outlook is the most important predictor of resilience."

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Boost Resilience in Midlife

How to Boost Resilience in Midlife by TARA PARKER-POPE, New York Times Well July 25, 2017 Much of the scientific research on resilience ? our ability to bounce back from adversity ? has focused on how to build resilience in children. But what about the grown-ups? While resilience is an...

forum.psychlinks.ca

"You will never eliminate stress from your life. Instead create regular opportunities for the body to recover from stress."

 

[Daniel E.]

A Cheap Way to Restore Your Attention and Focus

"Green experiences" can overcome the cognitive fatigue caused by modern life.

www.psychologytoday.com

Identifying places in your community or near your workplace with features that provide:

• Soft fascination, such as good locations to view the sunset or watch the clouds or waves roll in.
• The feeling of being away from your everyday life, like a short walk in a nature preserve or walk by a river or creek.
• Beautiful, breath-taking vistas and views of the water, valleys, and other natural landscapes.
• Compatibility (consider your preferences, fears and safety concerns, mobility and fitness level, etc.).

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Cope with “Brain Fog” When You’re Chronically Ill

People who are chronically ill (which includes chronic pain) often experience brain fog—a lack of mental clarity due to an inability to focus or remember things.

www.psychologytoday.com

Break down big tasks into a series of tiny ones.

If you have something to do that’s going to require a lot of concentration, don’t attempt to do it all at once. Make a list of what’s involved and then spread the task out over as long a time as you can—even weeks if that’s possible. And if, on a given day, your brain fog is too intense to perform the part of the task that you allocated for that day, that’s fine. Just move it to the next day. Even if you have to keep moving things forward, eventually you’ll have a day when your brain is clear enough that you can make up for lost days by doing more than one part of the task on that day.

 

[Daniel E.]

How Understanding Neurodiversity in Borderline Can Help | HealthyPlace

Learn why understanding neurodiversity can help those living with borderline personality disorder. Learn why at HealthyPlace.

www.healthyplace.com

"My therapist once told me that the senses are a back door to the mind. What truth I have found that to be. These days, if I feel triggered, I will stop trying to talk myself out of the emotion and do some self-care."

 

[Daniel E.]

"People who believe they have the power to exercise some measure of control over their lives are healthier, more effective and more successful than those who lack faith in their ability to effect changes in their lives."

"In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life."

"People's beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities. Ability is not a fixed property; there is huge variablitiy in how you perform."

~ Albert Bandura

 

[Daniel E.]

Throughout my teenage years and early adulthood, I kept waiting around for fun to happen. I wanted to be invited to parties, plans to be made for New year’s eve, and wished to have a full social calendar that would never let me feel bored.

I could not have been more wrong about this. Fun is not an elusive concept that someone was going to hand over to me because I was finally worthy. I also could not achieve it by executing conventional ideas, like going out. I needed to make my own fun.

How? Ask yourself what you would like to do today. If you want to put a hot tub in your living room, go ahead and do it.

If I think staying in my pajamas, eating takeout and watching a movie is fun, no one can take it away from me. Kramer did the most unusual things and always ended up having fun. People can laugh at him or call him weird, but can anyone doubt whether he was having fun? No. Here’s the answer; the only person you need to convince is yourself.

 

[Daniel E.]

A Secret to Resiliency in Mental Health

A Secret to Resiliency in Mental Health by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. April 3, 2012 In the years that I’ve been working with people either directly in therapy or teaching mindfulness groups, I have been fortunate enough to witness some wonderful transitions. However, most of us think that’s...

forum.psychlinks.ca

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of not belonging.”

~ Mother Teresa

 

[Daniel E.]

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