HOW TO QUICKLY CALM YOUR MIND AND SPIRIT! MEGHAN LEMERY FRITZ LCSW-R
Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing in State College, PA. For more information email meghanlfritz@gmail.com
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tress is a huge factor in having health problems and chronic sleep issues. It’s easy to get stuck in the quicksand of every-day life and become unconsciously in the habit of constant worry. This type of thought pattern releases adrenaline into your body and causes you to live in a state of chronic anxiety. The key to developing healthier thought patterns is to engage in what I call easy energy shifters all day long. These exercises will begin to train your mind to be in a place of rest and ease, allowing you more joy in every- day life. An energy shifter exercise is a short out-loud set of affirmations you can do anytime and anywhere. They are meant to help you enhance your self-esteem, peace of mind and overall well-being.
: STAIR AFFIRMATIONS: Whenever you go up the stairs in your home, an office building or anywhere, say a positive adjective on each step. For instance, “I am strong, I am healthy, I am full of joy, I am full of peace, I am blessed.” This exercise makes you stop and think of positive words which immediately reduces stress in the body.
DISHWASHER BLESSINGS: Unloading the dishwasher used to be a chore I really did not like. I would find ways to avoid doing it and would pray if I waited long enough my husband would beat me to the punch. One day I realized I was creating lots of emotional drama around a very simple task. The amount of time I spent resisting the task was a waste of time and a build-up of negative emotion.
I now use this time to say (out-loud!) things I am thankful for. This helps keep my perspective balanced and reminds me of how blessed I am in every-day life. Dare I say I now look forward to emptying the dishwasher? That may be a stretch, but I’m no longer participating in energy draining drama over this task.
FOLDING LAUNDRY: Again, this chore can make us feel overwhelmed and immediately drain our energy when we spend time thinking about all the laundry we fold. Don’t let this task be a burden, use this time to do your affirmations and gratitude blessings! This will immediately give you a skip in your step and help shift your attitude.
STOP SIGN/RED LIGHT PRESENT TO BE PRESENT: Every time you come to a stop sign or a red light, take a deep breath and focus on that breath. This will turn the volume down on the noisy thoughts that shout at you all day. Just taking short breaks each day to be present can help lower your blood pressure and increase feelings of peace overall. Use these every-day symbols as a reminder to slow down and take a breath.
DEODORANT AFFIRMATIONS: A friend of mine swears the best time to do daily positive affirmations and intentions is when you put your deodorant on. This is a task you do daily (hopefully!) so why not use it to enhance the good mojo within you? Affirmations and gratitude blessings don’t have to be daunting tasks. Use these simple energy shifters daily and watch how your energy increases and your stress level starts to diminish!
YOU ARE WORTH IT!
44 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | SPRING 2020
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