February 16, 2021 Self Care is Knowing Who You Are & Your Limits Written by Angelina Colon, MS, LAC, NCC What is self-care? Self-care in essence is the mindful taking of time to pay attention to you, but in a way that ensures that you are being cared for by you. Self-care means knowing who you are and your limits. Self-care means recognizing when you are doing more than you are used to handling and trying to figure out what can be done to slow down. Try to find a way to decompress throughout your day. Ask yourself, what helps you tune out the noise of your day, how can you rest your mind during and after a stressful day. Trying to integrate mini breaks throughout your day helps to refresh the mind and body. For example, try stretching or taking a walk, drinking some water, and talking to a friend. Self-care means identifying what you enjoy doing and what's fun for you and make a serious effort to integrate it into your day or, at the very least, your week. Make it a habit to plan something to look forward to everyday and that doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as planning to read a good book at night or planning to have dinner with someone whose company you enjoy. Remember that self-care is not only about taking care of your mind, but also taking care of your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Take the time to pause and reflect on what you need to make sure you are the best version of yourself! Examples of self-care activities to engage in:

Melissa Maranzano, MA When a senseless act of violence such as the one that took place in a Texas elementary school this week occurs, we feel for the families affected and fear such a thing happening much closer to home. There is no easy way to have a conversation with your child about such a tragic event, but it is recommended that you talk to your child. Between heightened police presence at schools, television, social media, and peer conversations at school, most children are aware that something has occurred. Tips for the conversation: Check in with yourself and think about what you are feeling before speaking to your child. If you bring feelings of anxiety and fear to the conversation, your child will begin feeling anxious and fearful as well. Find out what they already know. You do not need to offer more details than they already know or need. Listen to what they have to say and allow them to guide the conversation. Be mindful of their age and maturity, only sharing information that they are seeking in an age-appropriate manner. Remind them that the adults in their life, both parents and teachers, strive to keep them safe. Let them know how we try to do that, such as practicing emergency drills and not allowing strangers in their school building. If your child does not want to talk about it, allow them that freedom. Simply let them know you are there if they have any questions or want to talk later. If your child is experiencing high anxiety and fear, alert their school counselor that they may need additional support.

Taylor Strothmann, LAC Music is universal. When people listen to music, it triggers a part of our brain that lets us have an emotional and sometimes a physical reaction (i.e., crying, heart racing, etc.) which differs person to person due to our own brain chemistry and experiences. Listening to music is also a great way for us to practice mindfulness. Listening to music mindfully allows us to be fully present, increase our attention to ourselves and others around us, increase awareness of our bodies and emotions, and reduce anxiety and stress. It also helps us practice being nonjudgmental of our emotions and thoughts that arise when we listen to music mindfully. Sounds have vibrations at different levels or frequencies just like colors in the rainbow. When these vibrations hit our ears and brains each frequency causes a reaction When we utilize colored noise in our mindfulness practices there are additional mental health benefits. For example, we can identify our emotions and thoughts that arise which helps us process things that we may not have realized we were not acknowledging due to distractions in our lives. Additional examples include: white noise helps us block out distractions to help increase concentration and focus, pink noise sounds more like heavy rainfall which helps us relax and experience deeper sleep, red and brown noise mimic the sound of strong waterfalls or ocean waves from afar which helps with concentration and focus. Other benefits include improved cognition, increased ability to learn, and increased quality of sleep. During a creative topic activity (completed with adults and younger adolescents), I reviewed the benefits of mindfulness with my clients and educated them on how to practice mindful listening as well as the benefits of each colored noise. I then had my clients mindfully listen to white, pink, red, blue, orange, green, and brown noise for two minutes and they were instructed to write down any thoughts, feelings, or memories that came up for them. We then discussed how different noises/frequencies prompted different feelings and thoughts, how everyone’s reactions were different, and if we can control our emotions. Overall, they enjoyed the activity, thought it was interesting, and thought provoking.