Welcome to October everyone!
I hope that you are all well and ready to embrace the cosiness of the Autumnal weather? It is my favourite season as I love the dark nights, warm clothes and comfort foods! However, as the nights draw in, and we spend more time indoors, we can have more time to think and reflect. Hence why your October newsletter is about WORRY.
Are you a worrier?
Would you describe yourself as a worrier? Worrying in a normal part of everyday life but when it becomes more persistent, negative thoughts and anxiety can be invasive and exhausting. So how can we reduce the time and intensity of our worrying?
What can I do about it?
There are many ways to learn to focus your worrisome mind, many of which are shared in this article . One of these is taking some designated time each day to allow yourself to worry- a worry window. Perhaps this is a 10-minute period of time where you allow your mind to run free. You may prefer to write these thoughts down and then scrunch them up and discard them? Once this time is up, encourage yourself to move on and continue your day.
Challenge your mind:
At times, worry can be useful and help us to solve problems but at other times these worries serve only to cause us stress. For these non-productive anxieties, think about if you can change or improve the thing that you are worrying about? Is it out of your control? If it is, try to challenge the negative thought with a rational or more positive alternative. Think about what evidence you have for the worst-case scenario thinking. Read more about this here. The NHS have a brilliant app called Catch it designed to help with this.
Gratitude:
Gratitude thinking is another way to be mindful and encourages a positive mindset. Each day, write down or think of 3 things that you are grateful for. These can be people, places, things, events- literally anything. This takes just a couple of minutes and offers huge mental benefits. More about the benefits of gratitude practice here.
Be mindful and breathe!
Advance apologies for the constant breathing exercise nagging! I am again encouraging mindfulness and breathing exercises. They really are so beneficial and spending just a few minutes each day trains your brain to be able to challenge worry and negative thoughts when they enter your mind. Some people enjoy putting action with their breathing, for example using yoga or Pilates. Running in nature is also an excellent way to soothe and work out worries whilst ridding the body of excess stress chemicals. Whatever you choose, be kind to yourself.
How can reflexology help?
Taking time for yourself gives your mind a chance to rest. Here is some excellent research about the benefits of reflexology;
Reflexology balances the body and mind and 'may help you feel less stressed, more relaxed, and more energized. But the benefits might go deeper if you have certain health issues. Some people with medical conditions find that they feel less pain and discomfort if they have less stress, and reflexology may help with that. Researchers reviewed 17 studies of the psychological benefits and found that it boosted feelings of well-being and made it easier for people to manage their conditions.' See the full article here.
Used as self-help, hand reflexology can give your mind focus and used alongside a breathing exercise can act as an excellent way to calm a busy or worrying mind.
I hope that you find something in here to help.
Take care everyone,
Melanie x
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