It’s mental health awareness week and a good time to remember that to live well, we not only need good physical health, we need to feel balanced, happy, able to cope with the stresses of life and to enjoy the things we love in life.
For many of us the stress and anxiety of modern life are bigger than ever. Our days can feel like a race against time, we rarely separate from our digital devices, we're bombarded by advertising, competitive consumerism and reports of destruction and horrific violence across the globe. We have less face to face contact with our nearest and dearest, less time in nature, and a depreciation of the value of rest.
This post is a reminder to check in and reach out. We all need a helping hand sometimes, us humans are complex and social beings, and we are soothed with connection, kindness and expertise from fellow humans. Self care is great, but we don't have to do it alone 😊
STRESS AND TRAUMA
I worked for several years managing a multidisciplinary therapy centre in London that provided mental health support for vulnerable children and young people. Working closely with psychotherapists, I developed a strong drive to support people experiencing emotional and stress related health issues such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and PTS.
Traumatic and stressful experiences, big or small, can leave huge footprints on our psyche and physiology, leaving us feeling agitated, disempowered, fearful and stuck in the stress response. As well as talking therapies and therapeutic bodywork, energetic practices such as acupuncture with an experienced therapist can be life-changing over time.
Those experiencing stress or trauma can learn to regulate their physiology, build trust and connection with self and the external world, settle the spirit and experience much needed stillness and quiet to notice how things can and will shift. Observing sensations that ebb and flow, combined with the experience of being in a safe space, are all positive neural imprinting experiences which provide evidence of safety and regulate the core arousal system in the brain allowing people to feel safe once again inside their bodies.
ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture is proven to have a positive effect on stress related conditions including anxiety, depression, PTS and insomnia. It is understood to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the relaxation state) and regulate cortisol levels – the stress chemical.
In the short term, acupuncture can provide instant relief by grounding when agitated, lifting when down, clarifying when muddled, smoothing emotions and restoring overall balance. It can help provide a bit of space from the hustle and bustle of life, just enough to recharge and keep going, and perhaps even build enough strength and clarity to take appropriate action.
In the longer term, acupuncture can enable us to gain greater awareness of the changing nature of sensations – therefore circumstances - therefore our emotions, feel more balanced, have a sense of agency, build greater resilience for life’s struggles and help us grow our strengths.
Even in the most challenging and traumatic of circumstances we can find balance and are reminded of the incredible human capacity to transform.
THE IMPORTANCE OF S P A C E
Time and space heal. During stressful times, we tense up and the spaces between our breaths, between our flesh and bones, between thought and action, stimulus and reaction, the space we allow our bodies to take up, become smaller and we feel even more restricted and powerless.
If we can insert contemplative intervals in life, be they a yoga class, a mindful cup of tea, a meditative wander by the sea, a therapeutic session, we allow ourselves to recover and catch our breath, clear the mental clutter, gain perspective and make sense of our lives.
It doesn’t make all the bad stuff disappear, but a little bit of space offers distance, allows airtime for the good stuff and enables a more complete picture to emerge.
MY THERAPEUTIC JOURNEY
I went through a traumatic time myself several years ago, and am incredibly grateful for the support of family, friends and my own self-care bag of tricks, but what also got me through and enabled me to more deeply process and compost the experiences is the professional therapeutic support I received over the years. I was lucky to receive short term specialist counselling at the time, ongoing long term psychotherapy and a course of EMDR, as well as regular acupuncture.
Nothing compares to having an experienced and compassionate professional holding space just for you and whatever you turn up with. I still have regular sessions with a psychotherapist, take herbs, attend qigong workshops, have various tretaments when I can and I highly value the spaces to unravel and gain new insight.
If times are hard, I utterly recommend finding a properly qualified therapist who is experienced at working with mental health and creating regular space for you to receive kind and transformative attention. Whatever feels right for you, talking therapy, massage, acupuncture, yoga, meditation or a combo of it all – for me it was a bit of everything - every day was different.
MENTAL HEALTH SOUL FOOD
My soul soothers include walks on the beach, paddle boarding, regular hangouts with loved ones, exercising, mindful time in nature, learning new things - currently an evening class in photography - informal bird watching (mainly gazing at seagulls), music and qigong.
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