One thing I know for sure is that things are changing so quickly that predicting what the future holds isn’t always possible.

I am hearing from so many people that they are feeling overwhelmed and overloaded in the midst of chaos, in fact some feel fried and frazzled.

When adversity comes our way, how we respond to that challenge is much more important than what has happened to us.

Knowing we have choices in life frees us from feeling trapped in any situation and our attitude is the key to our mental health.

Irena Geller

If your goal right now is to feel calmer, more connected and less stressed try out a few of the practices below.

STEP 1 – Declutter Your Mind.

From my ongoing journey and EXPERIENCE with my dear clients, I have understood much about the unconscious mind and the importance of re-framing negative self-talk. 

We all have patterns running inside our subconscious mind, which start at a very early age. We’re heavily influenced by our friends and family, as well as our environment.

While the process of understanding how you sabotage yourself can take years to unravel, there are ways to re-program your thinking.  

One of those ways is Morning Journaling.

Researchers have found that journaling frees up our cognitive resources for other mental activities, including the ability to manage stress more effectively.

Here are some tips for starting your journaling practice:

Journal every morning for 15 minutes to manage your emotional health.

Journaling is a great way to:

• Manage stress and anxiety
• Download your thoughts and FREE your mind
• Release bottled emotions
• Identify the thoughts that are not serving you and change them

STEP 2 – Practice Self-Awareness with Self-Compassion, And Self-Kindness.

Self-Awareness -The Benefits

• By looking inward, you will understand who you are as a person and what your feelings actually mean.
• Allows you to approach your internal world in ways that open you up to new possibilities.
• Allows you to work out where you are right now, where you would rather be, and the steps to get there.

• Self-compassion and Self-kindness.

Let’s be REAL- it’s impossible to be perfect all the time.

What is Self-Compassion?

It is the opposite of self-criticism, which releases hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Both of these hormones worsen immunity and depression.

If your natural response is to criticise yourself or guilt-trip yourself, when you do slip up then this could overshadow success.

The kinder and more patient you are with yourself, the better you will feel.

And you’ll have more compassion to extend to loved ones and friends.

Self-Compassion practice.

Creating a regular practice of self-compassion is a healthy preventative measure to change self-talk and build resilience.

Here are some Self-Compassion Exercises:

When you are judging yourself:

• Ask, “How would I treat a friend who was going through this?” Reflect on the conversation you might have.

When you catch yourself being self-critical?

• Acknowledge the voice and reframe the observations.

Here are some tips:

Give yourself permission to meet your own needs and recognise how this will replenish your energy and enhance your quality of life.

• How can you turn these exercises into a regular practice?
• What might it look like?

STEP 3 – Gratitude and Affirmations.

A. Gratitude.

I believe that gratitude offers us another way to respond to our lives, allowing us to meet our states of ingratitude with compassion and acceptance for ourselves.

Gratitude plays a significant role in deriving satisfaction and making life more meaningful and hence building resilience.

• Practising gratitude will help you shift your overall outlook on life.
• How can you turn your thinking around and be grateful for some things you may be complaining about?

Here Is What I Am Grateful For:

• Getting up early-I get to move my body
• Doing the laundry-I have clothes to wear
• Dirty dishes- I have food to eat
• Crumbs under the table- I love family meals

Here is a tip: The Three Blessings 

We tend to think too much about what goes wrong and not enough about what goes right in our lives.  

• Every night before bed, write in your journal 3 things that went well for you during the day.
• As you write these things down allow your mind to re-experience the situation and why it went well for you. 

B. Affirmations:

Going from negative self-talk to self-love doesn’t happen overnight.

However, I can assure you that if you practice these affirmations over time, you’ll start to notice your thinking change.

You’re welcome to use these or write your own. After practicing them several times day, I guarantee you’ll start to feel more positive and in control

1. I am the creator of my future and driver of my mind. 
2. I allow myself to make choices and decisions for my higher good.
3. I bring the qualities of fulfilment, happiness and contentment into my life as I am now. 
4. I bring the qualities of love into my heart. 
5. I have hope and certainty about the future. 

And lastly, If you are trying to control your circumstances you will be having a pretty hard time right now, because you have no control of the current circumstance of being in isolation.

So, resisting it or trying to change it is futile and a waste of your TIME & ENERGY.

Control what you can control:

• Your thoughts

• Your feelings,

• And your actions

– YOU WILL FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!

And now it’s over to you…

• What stagnant thoughts and emotions are in your mental closet?

It’s time to bring them out and get rid of them for good!

I would like to offer you support.

Please join me for a free, informal chat , where I will support you with effective anti-anxiety strategies to help with stress, overwhelm, and overload, and of course, the overeating that can show up at challenging times.

Feel free to share this link to anyone you think might find it helpful.

Sending you and your family love and peace.

Written by Irena Geller https://irenageller.com.au

Self-care Is Not Chocolate: How To Make Yourself A Priority