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THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF
Depression, anxiety and phobias create low self-esteem which, in turn, prevent you from being the best version of yourself. Right now, there is something that you wish to achieve but a fear of failure, a fear of losing, a fear of disappointment are holding you back.
Through therapy sessions you can learn to identify your fears and overcome them to realise your goals and be the best you can be. Allow your inspiration to be your energy and embrace the challenge by removing the fear element.
It’s time to remove the niggling, hypothetical complications that are preventing you from beginning your journey, it’s time to escape the wheel that is spinning you round in circles with ideas that never see the light of day. It’s time to believe in yourself and your potential.
FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY
When you are trapped by anxiety or caught in a cycle of depression
When you have lost a friend or a relative
At a time when your OCD feels like it is shackling you or your phobia is controlling your life
Everything can feel impossible
Work, meeting friends, going to the shop, taking up an invite to a party
It all feels beyond you
As you feel your self-esteem at zero, as you feel lost and unable to see out
Everything can feel impossible
Take the deepest breaths of your life, reach out to a trained counsellor who can help you, who can share the responsibility of the burden you are carrying and says
TOGETHER WE CAN GET YOU FEELING BETTER
That step, that step alone will be life changing
It will start you on a new path, to healing and recovery
FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY
DISCOVERING YOUR ENLIGHTENED SELF
-1- MEDITATION
Meditation improves your cognition, develops your focus, gives you better sleep and greater compassion. It provides spiritual development and happiness.
Meditation delivers a quietening of your thoughts and mind. It exists in different forms, two examples are transcendental through repeating a mantra and mindful, via being a spectator to your thoughts, allowing them to arise and peacefully leave.
To avoid physical and mental exhaustion, focused rest is essential. Falling into mental anguish is often a solitary experience. Embracing meditation, is an alternative which brings stress relief, reduced anxiety, improved health, better breathing with more oxygen and a more loving approach to others.
To quieten the mind is to give your heart centre stage and allow the real truth of you to surface.
This age-old practice helps to prevent rather than treat illness and delivers enlightened, intuitive thought.
In preparation, be comfortable, be still, be cross-legged on the floor or sit on a chair with a cushion for your feet. Make sure your spine is aligned and elongated.
Inhale over a count of 5 and exhale over a count of 5, as though there is a balloon in your belly which you are blowing up as you breathe in and deflating as you breathe out.
In motion meditation, allows you to quieten the mind as you are moving. Focus on the action you are partaking in. Be mindful of each detail, for example, when gardening or shopping.
Spot meditations can be undertaken when waiting, in a queue, for example. Quieten the mind and focus on your breathing.
Micro meditations can be carried out on a train ride or whilst waiting for a cake to rise, for example.
In standard meditations, more time is required for deeper meditation and to open the doorway to the enlightened being.
Deep meditation brings deeper restoration and deeper enlightenment.
Bringing meditation into your life as a routine helps your chakra or internal wheel of energy, allowing it to flow.
Affirmations or positive words and phrases can help you to overcome obstacles. In meditation your judgmental brain is relaxed, allowing you to enrich and reward yourself and your self-worth.
WHY MEDITATION-WHY SELF-KINDNESS
The demands on us, the expectations are enormous. How much of our time contains happiness? We just want to be ourselves and when we can’t, we fall into depression. When we don’t have a nourished inner peace, when we are not centred or balanced, we suffer. Yet, there is no switch that we can flick for anxiety or panic to stop. So full of data, with a racing mind, rest is not rejuvenating; we feel just as tired as when we went to sleep. Our minds are like a balloon, air filling with information, stretched to its limit. Release is necessary or it will burst, often this comes as anger. This is the reason why we need meditation, the practice that our ancestors have partaken in for thousands of years.
Our lives are filled with worries and stressors, many of which simply aren’t worth it. A kindness schedule helps you to structure your week, as much as possible, around being kind to yourself. In your kindness schedule, you make a written plan of days and times for what you need or love, swimming, yoga, tennis, writing, painting, playing a musical instrument, meditating, are all examples of inclusions. You give these precious times to you, they are for you, they help to nourish you. It’s important to not compromise on being kind to yourself. An investment in yourself, is a great investment.
FIRST STEPS OF HELP
It can be difficult to reach out when you are suffering with your mental health.
It can appear easier to struggle on because it is scary to make that first step of letting someone know how you are feeling. You feel weak for having the issue. A mental illness is as valid as a physical illness in every way.
Going to see an expert about a twisted ankle or earache would not give this feeling. Your illness does not define you and it does not reflect on you as weak, weird or wrong. It is something to overcome, as with a physical problem, through expert advice, treatment and therapy. The first key to feeling better is to accept what is happening to you, not be afraid of it and not attach a stigma to it.
The first contact with a mental health professional still appears daunting. You may have a lot of questions about what it will be like. The reality is that a qualified counsellor or psychologist is trained in how to interact with you with complete empathy and without judgement, therefore you will find that the response you get is one of care, understanding, kindness and a willingness to help you through it.
There are options of face-to-face counselling or on-line counselling which is still very effective and can remove the stress of travelling, finding enough time to fit in a session or actually walking through your problems face to face. Whichever process you opt for, this experience is fundamental in allowing you to talk through your pain, suffering and experiences and free yourself.
PAY ATTENTION
Pay attention to the details in the elements around you. It will help you to live in the moment and reduce your levels of anxiety and stress. So much of the time, we don’t see even what is right before us. Walking down the street, there is a house, the house is made of stone, it has a wooden, navy blue door, the windows have white panes, the curtains are floral downstairs, upstairs there are sky blue blinds. Look now, an old man is passing, he has round spectacles with a gold rim and a fluffy, white moustache, his long coat is grey and soft.
LET NOT LIFE PASS YOU BY
MINDFUL JOY
Buddha spoke that each morning we are born again and what we do today is what matters most. However, mainly, we live but we are not present in our lives. Mindfulness is moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, experiences and environments. The practice of mindfulness helps us to nourish and re-enforce our inner ability to restore well-being.
We can use this state to access the energy that helps us to recognise the happiness already present in our lives. Assess who you are, without judgement, observe your feelings, thoughts and reactions without criticism. Recall a dispersed mind to a wholeness and live fully in every moment.
MEDITATION
Turn to meditation
Light a candle, an incense stick, turn out the lights
In the beginning
You may feel restless
Remember that meditation has the power
To transform your life
Give yourself time to understand
Your inner mind
Try to meditate
At the same time
Every day
So, it becomes a routine
Start with 10 minutes
Undisturbed
No distractions
When your mind wanders
Bring your attention back
To meditating
Be comfortable
Bring your attention to your breathing
Focus your breath
Experience the air
Flowing through your nose
Out through your mouth
Inhale 1,2,3,4,5
Hold
Exhale 1,2,3,4,5
Close your eyes
Bring yourself away from distractions
Imagine yourself
In a serene environment
Listen to the gentle sounds
In your mind
Feel the beauty of this place
If your mind wanders
Bring it back to this place
Open your eyes
Focus your attention on your candle
Focus on the shape and the colours
When thoughts come
Observe them
Without engaging
When you have finished
Lay down
Close your eyes
For 5 minutes
Before you open them
Choose a smooth, enclosed path
Through a park or a forest
Away from people and noise
Inhale
Hold
Exhale
Anchor your mind to your walking
Observe how your feet
Rise and fall
Walk for at least 15 minutes
Enjoy the mindfulness
Meditation
Lowers blood pressure
Cholesterol
Relaxes nerve signals
Responsible for tension
In blood vessels
Reduces pain
Strengthens
The immune system
Makes you
More resistant
To disease
Calms you
Helps you sleep better
Helps manage the pain of a chronic condition
Meditation
Gives you
Increased concentration
Focus
Attention
Reduces cortisol
A stress hormone
Cytokines
An inflammation causing chemical
Eases anxiety
Promotes creativity
Imagination
Helps stave off Alzheimer’s
Improves learning ability and memory
Helps the production
Of serotonin
A mood enhancing chemical
It boosts feelings
Of well-being
Reduces depression
Promotes peace of mind
Mental clarity
Emotional well-being
Helps you to respond
Rather than react
Increases compassion and empathy
Increases self – awareness
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PAIN AND SUFFERING
In the journey of life, pain may be inevitable but suffering is more of a choice. Meditate, inhale, say to your mind the words PEACE, LIGHT, PURITY. As you exhale, say to your mind the words worry, stress, pain. Feel all the negativity and impurity leave you. Rejuvinate your life force, your qi, your prana.
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