Wellness Breakthrough

In this course, I support your “wellness breakthrough” with educational content (not therapy).  I invite you to sit with me for a one-minute meditation at the beginning.  Then, I model a healthy approach and attitude toward dealing with difficult feelings per Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  Next, I show you around a map of the stress-response (your “window of tolerance” and fight, flight, and freeze stress reactions), with mental health education that could be helpful for emotions self-regulation.  I talk about why coping skills are important to expanding your “window of tolerance,” allowing you to cope even with stressful situations in a way that is calm, cool, collected, and connected, a.k.a. pointing you in the direction of resilience. I help you answer the question: but how can I practice self-care with limited time or on a limited budget? We’ll come up with answers.  To further help you get “un-stuck,” I offer guidance about a 7-step problem-solving formula, as well as options for action per the book Nonviolent Communication.  I offer you information about another Acceptance and Commitment Therapy exercise wherein you identify your life values (toward self and others) in four domains of life: relationships, work/education, health and religion/spirituality, and recreation/leisure.  This encourages balance because the domains themselves underscore that there is always more to life than work alone, for example.  I help you draw a picture (no drawing skills required!) about how your current life aligns with your values, so that you can further reflect on this.  I remind you about the four pillars of wellness: diet, sleep, exercise, and stress management.  Then, considering whatever hopes you brought into this course and whatever new ideas you have as a result of this course, I invite you to write-up your “S.M.A.R.T. Wellness Goals” (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound), so that you can make your next step in the direction you value.  This course emphasizes balance in elucidating the different domains of self-care or the different domains of life, e.g. supporting you to incorporate intentional leisure time and self-care.  This course also uses current scientific knowledge to underscore the importance of coping skills, and strives to make achieving those coping skills more attainable with practical tips.