Interactive Electrical Learning-for kids

 Empower Your Child's Curiosity with Interactive Electrical Learning!

Fun Interactive Electrical Classes For Kids 8 - 12

MAX Power Presents

Build , Create & Learn how Electricity works !!!

All students will build and bring home a fun activity to share.

Hamilton West Mount - 8 spots available

June 22 2024 - Runs from 8am until 12 noon.

$50 for 4 hour sessions

Learn circuit building and build fun games using electricity they can take home. Learn the science behind it too. DC circuits. I will also be touching on safety a bit too

If you know anyone interested pass along the information.

Text Chris Cumoric for details.

Cell: 647-383-6232 ** it’s a mobile trailer so I can travel

CMHA Halton's Wellness Matters Newsletter

 


Coming Up - Summer and Fall courses!
We have Mental Health First Aid and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) courses scheduled for June to October. Click here for more info and to check out upcoming dates on our website

Check out dates for our DBT-informed workshops with sessions on Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness skills. 
Read more and register.

We honour this month dedicated to centering and amplifying the stories, accomplishments, and enduring strength of Indigenous Peoples, who have inhabited this land for countless generations and continue to shape the fabric of modern Canada. 

In the News: Government of Canada announces National Suicide Prevention Action Plan
On May 31, the Honourable Ya'ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced the release of Canada's first National Suicide Prevention Action Plan. The Plan lays the foundation for increased collaboration and engagement with partners across the country to strengthen Canada's response to suicide.
Click here to read the Plan.

CMHA Halton joins individuals and organizations worldwide to celebrate the history, courage and diversity of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) individuals for Pride Month in June.

Free Crisis Planning App: Be Safe

Be Safe by mindyourmind is a free evidence-informed safety planning and service navigation app developed in partnership with youth. Check it out to create a safety plan, find local resources, and be prepared if you find yourself in a crisis. Get it wherever you find your apps

Wellness Wisdom
"For me, it's not about perfection, but persistence and showing up to repeat a new habit, even when I am feeling 50% into it. This has helped me cultivate my meditation practice for the last year and a half. There are some days I do 2 minutes of breathwork with a lot of chatter in my mind and others I can go up to 20 minutes or longer. I've seen incredible impacts of this imperfect persistence in so many areas of my life, especially parenting."
-Wajiha, Manager, Clinical Services

Mindful Movement-Karma Gaia

 

4 Types of Mindful Movement

Breathing exercises are different from when we observe our breath at rest during seated meditation. Rather, we intentionally lengthen our breaths to quiet our parasympathetic nervous system or deliberately shorten them for brief intervals to re-energize and refocus in order to establish a connection with our body.

A walking meditation can be a simple and effective way to explore mindful movement. The primary distinction between strolling normally and engaging in a walking meditation is that during the former, our goal is to become still. Rather, we take our time and make an effort to walk with complete awareness. This may manifest as paying attention to our breathing or when we take each stride and become more aware of the ground beneath our feet. We return our thoughts back to the present feelings when they stray.

Stretching and yoga can help us release tension, stiffness, and heavy emotions. Our body and minds both experience discomfort when immobility persists. We can increase our energy, attention, and resilience by taking a moment to let go of the day's distractions, moving away from the couch or desk, and practicing mindful movement.

If you’re looking to blow off steam, working out is another opportunity for mindfulness. Exercise can help us become more aware of our bodies, coordinate our breathing, and live in the present moment while also strengthening and nourishing our muscles.

Building A Healthy Self-Image-Karma Gaia

 

Take it one step at a time and start small.

Don't worry about starting small; you won't change everything at once. Establish attainable, easy-to-achieve goals and begin working toward them.

Say “No” to your inner critic

Developing your self-esteem might be a fantastic starting point for learning how to deal with and replace the voice of your inner critic. Recognize your negative ideas and address them. A problem is easier to fix the easier it is to recognize it.

Take a 2-minute self-appreciation break

Sometimes it's helpful to just slow down, take a big breath, and ask yourself what you like about yourself. These items don't have to be significant, but they should showcase the aspects of you that you now find appealing. Counting the good aspects of who you are will boost your self-confidence and help you transform a bad day into a productive one.

Go for good enough

It's simple to let yourself down when you strive for perfection, and this will have an impact on how you see yourself going forward. Enhancing your self-perception can be achieved by understanding that it is acceptable to give it your all and be satisfied with the result, even if it is not perfect. Instead of dwelling on your shortcomings, acknowledge and appreciate your accomplishments.

Avoid falling into the comparison trap

You can never win when you put yourself in the position of comparing yourself to other people. There is always someone who has more or is better than you at something. Comparing yourself to yourself and concentrating on your progress is a superior strategy. Concentrating on your accomplishments will inspire you and boost your self-confidence.

Overcome Traumatic Memories-Karma Gaia

 

Soothe Emotional Trauma Meditation

Trauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or events that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. It can stem from a single incident or repeated stress, affecting one’s mental and emotional well-being.

Healing from trauma may involve therapy and practices like meditation, which help manage and soothe the long-term effects.

This meditation harnesses the power of the breath and mindful visualization to soothe anxiety and gently ease the responses triggered by past trauma, promoting emotional regulation and resilience. Join me in embracing calm and understanding through these mindful moments, as we guide our minds and bodies toward peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=149tYQEhqvY

Traumatic memories: what are they?

Traumatic memories are frequently stored in the subconscious until they are triggered by particular events.

Places, experiences, emotions, and people can all act as triggers. For instance, being in a crowd could trigger a terrible occurrence you had at a concert. Triggers cause the memory to become salient and can mean the person feels like they’re reliving the event.

This can induce psychological and physiological symptoms such as issues regulating negative emotions, increased heart rate, nervousness, and sweating.

Some attempt to suppress painful memories in an effort to avoid negative emotions. While doing so may temporarily alleviate symptoms, over time it may make the problem worse.

Solutions:

1. Identify possible triggers

Even if it could seem like unpleasant memories are all you can think about, you might be able to ignore them for the most part.

You may, however, be able to recollect these memories in response to specific internal or external stimuli, or triggers. The traumatic memory itself determines how specific these triggers are.

Certain memories are activated by specific stimuli, like a certain house or aroma, while others are triggered by more general ones, like loud noise or crowded areas.

You might be able to prevent unpleasant memories from being triggered if you can recognize your triggers and stay away from them.

However, if the triggers are more general, this may be difficult. Finding the trigger in this situation is still beneficial since you can use soothing methods like breathing exercises, grounding (staying in the moment), and flashback halting strategy.

The method known as "flashback halting protocol" takes you back to the present by preventing the flashback from occurring.

Researchers suggest that triggers can be reassociated with different memories. Reducing the impact of a traumatic memory on your life might be achieved by associating such triggers with pleasant experiences or emotions.

2. Exposure therapy

One popular type of psychotherapy that tries to expose people to their concerns is called exposure therapy. A mental health professional offers safe spaces for you to confront unpleasant memories and helps you develop useful coping mechanisms.

Numerous research have proven that exposure therapy works. One study showed that exposure therapy could reduce PTSD symptoms in female veterans.

Narrative exposure  is another form of exposure therapy that involves an individual telling the story of their entire life rather than just repeating the one traumatic event. This method has been effective, particularly with refugees and individuals who have gone through torture and conflict.

Positivity-Karma Gaia

 

How To Be Positive Everyday

You must accept and welcome the fact that thinking positively is a purposeful and conscious decision in your life. Here are some really effective strategies on how to improve positive attitude –

1. Practice Gratitude

Adopt a grateful mindset. It is among the easiest and most effective strategies for cultivating optimism. Every day, take a few minutes to reflect on the blessings in your life.

It could be something as easy as making dinner at home, something important like completing your job ahead of schedule, or something enjoyable like going on a date.

The moment you shift your focus to the positives, your consciousness and attention is withdrawn from stressors, worries and negative thoughts. This contributes to making the room necessary for developing a growth attitude and optimism.

2. Surround Yourself with Positivity

The individuals in our immediate environment have a big impact on our feelings and thoughts. Your heart and mind will be overflowing with negativity if you spend a lot of time with people who constantly complain and whine or who have a scarcity mindset.

It is for this reason that you should associate with and be surrounded by people who inspire you. People that radiate positivity and encourage others. Being in their presence will help you comprehend their outlook on life.

Another helpful strategy is to avoid or restrict your access to news, social media and toxic environments that can leave you feeling drained and lead to negative thinking. Instead, take part in things that make you joyful and raise your spirits.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Living in the present allows you to be more hopeful and more capable of overcoming intrusive negative thoughts. You can deliberately choose to have a happy attitude in life by being attentive of the present moment and objectively observing your thoughts and feelings.

Additionally, practicing mindfulness can increase your awareness of your thoughts and emotions and make you feel calmer and more at ease in daily life. Controlling intrusive thoughts and increasing your optimism can be achieved by reducing stress and improving awareness. This is the daily approach to positivity.

4. Reframe Negative Thoughts

It's normal to experience negative thoughts when we deal with dangers and difficulties on a regular basis. No one is 100% optimistic all the time. However, you can reframe this pessimistic mindset by changing your inner thoughts and rephrasing them to more empowering and positive thoughts.

When presented with a problem, for instance, concentrate on the lessons you can take away from it rather than the chances you lost. Pay more attention to the opportunity for development than to the obstacle or setback. No, it won't be simple, but with little practice, you may improve your attitude and way of thinking.

Regain Your Self-Respect-Karma Gaia

 

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Although social media opens up a lot of good opportunities, it can also foster harmful ideas. Everyone has experienced the natural tendency of comparing their lives to what they see on social media at some point.

When you see that you are making comparisons, how do you gain confidence? First, tell yourself that it isn't beneficial to do so. There is no competition in life; each person is competing in their own race.

Reminding yourself of your own accomplishments and talents is a fantastic place to start because it will help you concentrate on your own life rather than the lives of others.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

Perhaps more than you realize, the people you spend time with can affect the way you think about and feel about yourself. Thus, be aware of how other people make you feel. It could be time to say goodbye if, after spending time with a certain individual, you feel self-conscious.

While having a large social circle is not a terrible thing, it is also not incorrect to have a small one. Seek for people who can boost your confidence and are optimistic. Positivity and self-assurance go hand in hand.

Take Care of Your Body

We have talked about how you can show respect to yourself through taking care of yourself and this will also result in having more confidence. If you are mistreating your body, it is difficult to feel good about yourself. You'll inherently feel more confident if you practice self-care since you're taking good care of your mind, body, and spirit.

Face Your Fears

Try confronting some of your anxieties that are caused by a lack of trust in yourself. Try even if you're worried you'll look foolish or that you won't do it well. A small amount of self-doubt may even boost output.

You may discover that occasional anxiety or a few slip-ups aren't as terrible as you once believed. Additionally, as you advance, your self-confidence grows.

Healthy Ways To Release Your Anger-Karma Gaia

Throw or break something (safely).

Throwing something physically can assist in the moment and reduce stress. Have a yard? If you have enough room, go outside and hurl some pebbles or go throw a ball. Alternatively, destroy anything you've been wanting to get rid of, like an old piece of garbage or a mug. If that's not practical, think outside the box. Toss an apple into the woods or something mushy (like balled-up socks or a roll of toilet paper) against a wall; the birds will definitely find it.

Scream – in private.

Yelling is frequently highly cathartic and can help you break free from a blind wrath that you may be experiencing when you sense anger building within you. Take care to not startle or worry anyone (including nearby neighbors) by screaming into a pillow. Your car is also a wonderful option if you can take a brief break from work.

Sing it out.

Play some angry music, even if the composer doesn't share your feelings of rage. Channeling your own feelings into the song and expressing that fury can help release some of your own anger.

Dance it out.

Expressing your emotions through dance can be quite effective, particularly if your feelings are so strong that they physically affect your body. Get your excess energy out by dancing to upbeat, cheerful, or aggressive music.

Do a tough workout.

If dancing isn't your thing, consider boxing or running as high-intensity exercises. If you're seeking to let out some fury, you can browse for free fitness videos online or just work out on your own. Just remember to push yourself and give it your best. It might feel silly but yelling or grunting while working out might even help you exert more energy.

Capillary Wave-Men’s Mental Health Support Group

 Capillary Wave Community

We are a new Men’s Mental Health support group with the goal of becoming a full resource center for men who are suffering from any type of mental health challenges.  Men’s mental health is all encompassing so we don’t have a singular focus.  It makes no mind if someone is suffering a little or a lot, we say pull up a chair!

 

‘Men don’t share their feelings’ and that we suffer in silence… while there is truth in that there is also unequivocal truth in that men do talk when given the space and support.  During the last meeting a new brother said “I did everything I could to talk myself out of coming here tonight” – I’m sure that the emotions of shame, guilt, weakness (the inner critic) were doing their best to stop him… by the end of our meeting, his smile and attitude was contagious to the rest of us.

 

The stigma of, you’re not manly if you do this or that when it comes to emotions is complete garbage.  We all have similar life experiences, we are not alone, we are not the first person to go through what we’re going through, thoughts are not reality. We are not meant to be islands onto ourselves. 

 

A community of support without judgement, where you can talk or listen as much as you want is the space we provide.  Everyone who has attended says they leave feeling better than when they arrived.

 

We meet every Monday 7-9pm at the Haber Community Center

Pull up a chair!

Address for the Haber Community Center

3040 Tim Dobbie Dr, Burlington, ON L7M 0M4

This is being run by Nelson Borges.  

Please contact him via Facebook so he can keep you informed if there are any changes to the meetings.

Here is the link to join Capillary Wave:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555501892635&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Managing Your Emotional Triggers-Karma Gaia

 

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings

Emotions are a natural aspect of living. It's typical for all these emotions to make you more sensitive to your triggers. Treat yourself with kindness. Do not compare your past and present life. You might still be recovering from wounds from your previous experience.

Your old experiences remain there. Deal with the present while drawing lessons from the past. Remind yourself of this all the time so you can respond to your trigger with better judgment.

2. You Deserve Some Space

Sometimes, when the trigger is so overwhelming, it is better to step back and leave. It's acceptable to request a break in order to prevent losing your temper.

If you are alone, relax and take a deep breath. Your objective is to feel better and come up with a more effective plan of action for dealing with your trigger. You're allowing yourself time to relax and clear your thoughts. When you feel like you can manage yourself again, it's time to face the trigger event with composure.

3. Be Open-Minded

Every single human being is at the mercy of their own triggers. If you believe that those in your immediate vicinity are purposefully causing you to feel unpleasant, reconsider. Like you, they are also human. They, too, may feel triggered without you knowing it.

Be open-minded, so you understand the behavior of someone you are not familiar with. Avoid passing judgment on them and make an effort to understand their viewpoints.

4. If You Feel Negative Emotions, Practice Positive Actions

Often, when a person experiences negative and strong emotions, they show negative responses as well. If you are lonely, you initially want to lock up inside your room and starve. You should practice acting positively instead.

Avoid isolating yourself. Make time to spend time with your loved ones and friends by giving them a call. Engage in activities that will produce positive feelings.

5. Create Positive Memories from Positive Experiences

Investing in pleasant experiences makes sense if you want to have positive triggers. Spend time with the folks that bring back fond memories for you.

Examples of good memories are setting up the Christmas tree, which reminds you of your wonderful childhood, or hearing your favorite song playing, which reminds you of your special someone.

6. Learn to Communicate

Even after following all of the advice given above, you continue to find yourself in a circumstance that triggers you. Now is the moment to be honest. Speak with the individual who set you off so that neither of you has to deal with it again.

Remain composed and at ease. You have to communicate to yourself by identifying what you feel. Slamming the door on your lover for not appreciating the work you put into your relationship is one example. Here are some things you can do:

You have to name what you are feeling.

Tell your partner, “I feel so frustrated and angry right now. I don’t feel that you are putting the same quality of effort as I do in this relationship. This pisses me off. I love you, and I don't want to feel this way. What can we do about this?”

Of course, you have to consider that others may not be open communicators like you. You can't make someone tell you their side of the story or open up to you.

The ability to connect what you want to communicate is what matters. The other person will take some quiet, introspective time to process what has just transpired.

Build Positive Energy In Your Home=Karma Gaia

 

1. Declutter your home:

Follow the principle of minimalism! Get rid of nearly anything that is barely useful or nonexistent. You can decide that by eradicating everything that has never been used in the past 4-5 years, as those items have a very bleak chance of being used in the near future. You'll be surprised to learn that clearing up clutter in your home brings positive energy into your space and makes you feel content and at ease!

2. Natural sunlight and fresh air:

Gift your abode with natural sunlight and fresh air that will cost you nothing, but add a lot of positive energy and good vibes to your home! Nothing artificially lavish lighting can accomplish that natural light can. During the day, open the curtains and blinds and observe how a well-lit home makes you feel pleased and at ease!

3. Dreamcatchers and windchimes:

Dreamcatchers and windchimes are well renowned for their ability to draw happiness and calm into a home. They bring a restful sleep and a positive energy into our life by warding off negativity and evil eyes. Additionally, one can get dreamcatchers and windchimes that are so attractive that they double as décor for homes.

4. Idols:

Bring happiness into your home and surround yourself with idols that you believe in. For instance, you can go for a Laughing Buddha, Buddha in meditation, or a Ganesha, anything based on your beliefs, and place it in the foyer area of your house. Allow a happy energy to fill the house as soon as you walk in, and that of your guests.

5. Planters:

Natural healers, plants bring calm and fresh air into your home. In addition to cleaning the air, indoor and outdoor planters also help to clear our minds! Opt for the best-known positive energy home décor items, such as jade, spider plants, snake plants, aloe vera, tulsi, and ferns!

6. Wall art:

You might be surprised to learn that wall art plays a big part in bringing more positive energy into your house. Never hang disturbing or confusing paintings such as a ship stuck in a storm, war, still water, a crying, or a sad human. Choose anything that inspires you, such as koi fish, Buddha, lotuses, peacocks, Krishna, mountains, flowing rivers, seven running horses, flora and fauna, or any other natural setting!

7. Photographs capturing happy moments:

Making a collage or a spectrum of large and tiny photo frames that represent the happiest times spent with family and friends is another concept for a good energy home décor piece. Use your greatest photos and fashionable photo frames to make an eye-catching wall art, or display them on a side table or coffee table.

8. Aromatic candles:

In addition to being wonderful décor pieces, aromatic candles can ease tension and anxiety, promote calm sleep, mental clarity, and relaxation. The finest ways to create positive energy at home are with aromatic candles!

How To Awaken Your Authentic Self -from Karma Gaia

 

How to Be Authentic

Discovering and growing into your true self won't happen overnight. Instead, it's an ongoing process of learning. Take the following steps to make a start:

1. Live By Your Values

Living authentically means that you live according to the values and beliefs that you hold most dear, and that the personal goals that you pursue emerge from these. Finding your basic beliefs and making a commitment to live and work in accordance with them should be your first steps. Next, you must establish goals for your career and personal life that complement them.

2. Identify the Gap

Is there a difference between the person you know you could be and the one you are now?

For instance, do you put on a mask when you're at work? Maybe you believe that's how a leader gets things done, so you're more abrasive with your team than you'd like to be. Perhaps you take a casual approach to your work because you don't want people to think you're uninteresting, even though you approach your work with seriousness. Alternatively, perhaps you have a ton of ideas but you never share them because you fear your colleagues will reject them, which makes you feel miserable and confined.

Try to identify these gaps by writing a list of words that describe the qualities of the person you know you can be, and by thinking about how closely these reflect how you actually are.

Next, pick a word from this list that you wish to focus on. For example, you might want to be more "open." Use personal goal-setting techniques, and resolve to work on this every day. It's more realistic to set small goals and work on one trait at a time than it is to try to transform your entire life, all at once.

3. Live With Integrity

Integrity requires bravery to cultivate and maintain. Analyze your everyday decisions to start. You will often intuitively know what the right and wrong choices are: your goal is to learn how to listen to that "small voice" – that sense of unease – that tells you that something is wrong. Study each choice that you make, and ask yourself which one will make you feel good about yourself the next day.

Being a person of integrity also entails accepting accountability for your deeds, including your errors. Take responsibility for the decisions you make and put in great effort to make up for any errors.

4. Communicate Honestly

Speaking your mind while honoring the wants and feelings of the other person is a sign of honest communication. Emotional intelligence and effective communication are required for this.

It also means not playing games: you speak your mind and don't rely on cryptic hints or other tactics to get your point across.

Communicating honestly also means keeping your promises – if you give your word to someone, then treat it as a bond. Never pledge something you are unable to fulfill.

5. Don't Make Assumptions

It's simple to assume the worst about others as you go through life. If passing judgment isn't absolutely required, do your best to refrain from doing so. Try to take people at face value and let their actions speak for themselves.

You might find that as you make an effort to be open-minded with others, they'll extend the same courtesy to you.

Guided Practices and more

This post is a follow-up to a presentation given by Joanne Hudspith at a recent Equilibrium meeting. 

Joanne is a yoga therapist, educator and writer. 

She is currently writing a book about building resilience through cultivating and nurturing the mind-body connection.

To learn more about her work, please see her website: joannehudspith.com

Thank you so much for your time and attention at Tuesday night’s Equilibrium meeting. It was a pleasure to share some of my work with you.

 
I would have loved to have had more time with you to work with some more inquiries, offer you more information about your nervous system, and help you experience how to work with your body rather than against it.
 

A few key points that I may not have gotten to and/or are worth repeating:

 
Learning how to feel sensations in your body gets you out of the chatter in your brain and helps you to work more effectively with your nervous system.
 
Your nervous system loves patterns; the unknown and unfamiliar will often trigger a stress response – when you can feel that response in your gut, around your heart, in your throat, or in the pounding of blood in your head without pushing it away, you can get more comfortable with the unfamiliar and unknown, and it won’t have as much power.
 
Self-care is about learning how to tap into the knowing of your body and growing your inner wisdom, strength and resilience so you can experience challenges in life without being paralyzed by them. So you can feel difficult things without them ruling your life, without losing your ability to experience joy, love, energy and pleasure, even on the crappiest days.
 
Each time you come back to feeling, to sensing in your body, and practice supporting your nervous system, you are rewiring your brain and increasing your capacity to deal with stress. You’ll notice you can meet difficult situations with more clarity and respond more appropriately instead of reacting blindly.
 
The most effective tools for improving your ability to feel and for working with your nervous system are the ones you enjoy using. Ask yourself if what you’re doing is aggravating or soothing. You’re different each day; as you get more comfortable with the tools you’re using, you can grow your toolbox and add new ones.
 
To get better at anything, you need to practice it. Sustainable change happens through small, manageable steps. Offer yourself love and grace through your difficult days. You are whole and complete.
 
 

Things you can do to improve your ability to sense your body:

 
Qigong tapping – YouTube has tons of videos you can find with instructions!
Bouncing, Shaking
Dancing in your kitchen or living room – put on your favourite song and dance like nobody’s watching!!!
Guided body sensing meditation – I’m attaching one here.
Body Scan - lots of guided ones are available online
Set an alarm on your phone several times per day for you to pause and check in with your breath and your body.
 

Things you can do to calm your nervous system:

 
Guided relaxations, guided meditations – here is one
Breath awareness practice – here’s one
Alternate nostril breathing
Let one hand rest on your heart and the other on your belly, and just feel your breath coming and going easily.
 

Things you can do to improve your nervous system’s ability to regulate itself:

 
All of the above things, plus –
Vagus nerve stimulation – here’s a video that may be helpful
Belly massage – here’s an audio recording you can use
 
These are just a few suggestions. There is soooo much information available – a quick google search will unearth so many ways you can work with your body, breath and nervous system. Try the ones you gravitate towards and be curious about the mood of your body and nervous system as you play. Create a habit of feeling inward that you enjoy. If you find yourself thinking in terms of “have to” and “should”, can you reframe to “want to” and “get to”?
 
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about my presentation. If you’re interested in learning more about how to work with the mind-body connection, please take a look at my previous newsletters – they live here on my website.
 
I’m in the process of publishing a workbook/course on growing resilience through improving the mind-body connection; it’s tentatively titled “The Power of the Pause.” I’ll keep you updated on that in upcoming newsletters.
 
In gratitude,
Joanne
 
p.s. If you have friends who you think would find this helpful, please go ahead and forward it to them!

Stop Getting Triggered-Karma Gaia

 

Stop Getting Triggered

An emotional trigger is anything - including places, experiences, or interactions - that sparks an intense emotional reaction, regardless of your current mood.

Frequently, our triggers unintentionally bring up painful or traumatic memories. Growing up meant that we would inevitably face grief or suffering that we were unable to recognize or appropriately handle at the time. As a result, events that bring back these unpleasant memories often set us off in adulthood.

When we experience a trigger our body kicks off a complex process of self-protection that readies us for three possible actions: fight, flight or freeze. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surges flow through our bodies and brains.

We frequently lose contact with our healthy coping mechanisms once these stress hormones are produced, and we end up reacting rather than responding.

How to Identify Your Emotional Triggers

1. Notice the Internal Shift

It's not always simple to identify the trigger. Our heightened emotions and dysregulated nervous system can make it difficult to pinpoint what exactly stimulated such a strong response. Look back and attempt to pinpoint the exact moment when you transitioned from "okay" to "not okay" in order to determine your trigger. What offended you? a remark from your manager? An item from the news? From a friend, via text?⠀⠀⠀

2. Name Your Feelings

The next action is to take note of your feelings during the trigger. Were you depressed, nervous, afraid, or furious? Observing the sensations in our bodies is one method to develop attunement to our feelings. A lot of emotional experiences originate in the body and then come to mind.

3. Understand the Trigger

Consider the following questions to help you identify the underlying causes of your triggers:

When, in my life, have I experienced something like this before?

What does it remind me of? Are the feelings familiar?

What thoughts come with the emotions?

Is there a specific event from my childhood that stirred up similar emotions?

Recognizing your triggers is a sensitive skill that requires practice and is sometimes best accomplished with a therapist's assistance. It's critical to treat yourself with kindness and patience; if you approach your triggers with curiosity and self-compassion rather than condemnation, they will be simpler to identify.

How to Self-Regulate When You’re Triggered

1. A Deep Sigh

Take a moment to relax your body by slowing down and breathing when you feel like your emotions are going to go on a roller coaster. Your body-brain naturally releases stress and resets your neurological system when you take a deep breath. The vagus nerve, which is responsible for sending signals from the brain to the body, signals us to "switch off" the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and "switch on" the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) when we exhale for a longer period of time than we inhale.

2. Take a Breather

It might be challenging to remain objective when we are upset, so keep in mind that it's acceptable to take a brief break to allow yourself to collect yourself. You can move away from your computer, end a discussion, or put down your phone. Whatever it takes to refocus and regain equilibrium.

3. Go on a ‘mindful walk’

If it feels safe to get your body moving, try going for a short mindful walk. All you have to do is pay attention to the sights, sounds, and sensations that come with each step while you walk. If your mind stray, softly bring it back to each step while keeping your breathing in mind. Walking mindfully is a wonderful method to decelerate and concentrate on the here and now. It's also a great skill to use when we're feeling overwhelmed.

4. Journalling

Giving our thoughts a home can be helpful since when we're stimulated, they can run wild in our minds. Writing in a journal can help us make sense of our thoughts and feelings and let go of bottled up emotions. Journaling can be done in any way you like; just write whatever comes to mind!

5. Accept Your Feelings

It's true that you have to feel something in order to heal it, so practice self-compassion and try not to pass judgment on your emotions. Remind yourself that having strong reactions to things is okay and extend empathy and compassion to yourself for any unpleasant feelings you may experience. Our triggers frequently present us with a chance to grieve further or address unresolved issues from the past.

Topics on Mental Health-KARMA GAIA

Please see the attached link for various topics on Mental Health saved and collected from Karma Gaia.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1r47e2V49POe7H51x1eqwc-xlr3og0mrHLkyb97Hmhp8/edit?usp=sharing

There is a wide variety of information here to help with strategies, techniques to help cope with topics that may be of interest to you.