“We all deal with stress on a daily basis…it’s inescapable, and it brings with it a host of uncomfortable and distracting symptoms. Stress isn’t just a feeling or a mental state; if you don’t address it, it seeps into every aspect of your life” (Ackerman, 2021).

The Mental Health Foundation defines stress as the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental, physical, or emotional pressure. Good stress can inspire and motivate, it can focus your energy and enhance your performance; however, bad stress can leave you feeling drained, physically, emotionally, and mentally. You may feel worn out, have headaches, and little motivation. Bad stress, especially long-term, can be extremely harmful to your overall health. Our society has been surviving in a pandemic for almost two years, and while resiliency is building daily, there is no doubt…we are stressed.

So, what is one way we can better cope with stress? Sure, routines, self-care, and personal mantras can certainly help, but another proven way to deal with life’s daily stressors is through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). MBSR can not only assist with stress, but it can also help with anxiety, depression, pain, and even chronic health problems. While we cannot always change the circumstances around ourselves, we can learn to choose how to better respond to them. What exactly is MBSR? MBSR consists of two components, mindfulness meditation and yoga, and can be personalized based on one’s needs. Clients will understand the importance of “making each moment count by consciously bringing it into awareness…into the present moment.” Meditation helps us take responsibility for our mental state, alter our reactions to experiences, and produce more positive outcomes. It facilitates awareness and gives us the ability to change our thought patterns, emotions, and how we experience stress. Eating, walking, and breathing can all be used as a form of meditation, helping us focus on our senses, our bodies, and awareness to our surroundings.

 Below is one popular MBSR exercise, Worry or Urge “Surfing”

View your thoughts and feelings as “surfing” on a wave. Turn your awareness to the warning signs of a negative feeling like worry, anxiety, or anger approaching. Imagine the negative emotion coming at you like a wave that gets bigger and bigger as it approaches, then crests as it reaches you, and finally falls as it moves away. Imagine “riding” that wave as it passes, and let the negative emotion go with it. Make sure to celebrate your ability to let the emotion go, but acknowledge that more will come eventually and remember to “ride the wave” again when they do (The Mindful Word, 2012)

 
Interested in this approach?
Contact kaytie@kkjpsych.com.

Trauma symptoms are not contained only within our memories but flow throughout our physical body, like vibrations, into the nervous system. “The emotional pain we carry within us isn’t just in our heads. It’s etched in our muscles.” -Bercelli, 2008.

Trauma has an impact on our mental and emotional well-being, and science has shown us it also affects our brain and body. Bessel van der Kolk, who is a pioneer researcher in trauma healing, has written about how “the body keeps the score.” Yoga allows the body to reconnect to the brain and to restart the process of connection that has been disrupted by trauma. Individuals who have experienced trauma can feel unsafe and helpless within their own bodies. The benefit of mindfully practicing yoga for mental health purposes is to promote attention, mindfulness, body awareness, self-regulation, resilience, self-actualization, and pro-social behavior. This includes calming the nervous system, improving breath practice, and increasing mind-body connection. Yoga can be a self-led approach to mindfully and consciously BE with your whole self as you move. This is such an important step for healing from trauma as it can help us learn how to manage the physical symptoms triggered by memories or senses.

The mindful practice of yoga for trauma recovery can be facilitated by a yoga instructor or trained therapist. The individual who is practicing should move at a pace that allows them time to slowly move throughout the practice. There should always be permission and autonomy given to everyone to move or not move into positions that feel appropriate to match where we are at in the healing process. Yoga teachers and therapist should be encouraging and mindfully aware of an individual’s personal space. Slow and mindful yoga practice does not focus on the contortion of the body, nor is the goal necessarily to increase flexibility by challenging oneself with complicated moves. Individuals who have experienced trauma need to feel safe, supported, and validated. We need to recalibrate the nervous system, integrate past stress experiences, and develop resistance for future stress.
 
Interested in this approach?
Contact lisa@kkjpsych.com.

If you have experienced a trauma, chances are, a doctor or therapist has recommended you try yoga for stress relief.

There is research that supports the idea that “the body keeps the score” as noted by trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk. Trauma has an impact on not just our mental and emotional well-being, but science is showing us it also affects our brain and body. Yoga allows the body to reconnect to the brain when trauma has severed that connection. Yoga can help us feel safer in our own bodies and reduce the feeling of helplessness in our own environment.

However, not all yoga is created the same.

Subtle Yoga is a specific type of yoga developed as a holistic intervention which promotes: 

Subtle Yoga enhances one’s mental health recovery in addition to other therapy interventions. It is a person-centered approach to yoga that calms the nervous system, improves breathing, increases mind-body connection, and is trauma-informed.

How Can Mindfulness Help Reduce Downward Mood Spirals?
Mindfulness can help break the typical patterns of a downward spiral and help "nip it in the bud" so to speak.  Here are 5 examples of this in action, according to mbct.com:

More Information On Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
If you're in the Durham (or Chapel Hill, RTP, Raleigh) area and would like to learn more about Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), we invite you to setup and appointment by contacting our office.