Healthy Ways To Handle Holiday Stress

It's no secret that the "most wonderful time of the year" is also often the most stressful. The holiday season may bring lots of joy, but it can also mean coming face-to-face with financial strain, tense family relationships, and endless to-do lists. Friends, don't fret: There's hope. You can make things a bit easier by taking extra care of yourself during the holidays. 

Get outside and break a sweat.

Unplugging to spend some time in nature is a great way to slow down overwhelming thoughts and reconnect with the present moment. A nice walk in the park—or even just around the block—can help remind you what really matters to you. It's even better if you can find a way to squeeze in some extra exercise while you're out, because endorphins are your BFF in times of stress. 

Focus on gratitude.

Remind yourself of everything that makes your life wonderful, and of exactly why you appreciate those things. Every morning (or just when you're feeling extra low), jot down a few things that you're grateful for. You may even enjoy sending a thank-you note to someone you love, or baking them a few extra holiday cookies.

Meditate.

That people experiencing extra stress set aside three to five minutes every morning to "[meditate] on what you appreciate in life, and plan time throughout the day to do nice things for others."

Don't feel guilty for needing downtime.

In this 24/7 world, most of us are constantly on the go. Mix in a whirlwind of holiday parties and gift shopping, and that breakneck pace becomes even more difficult to maintain. It's completely human—and healthy—to take periodic breaks to rest up. "Build in some extra downtime to recharge your inner battery," "Be sure to get enough sleep to repair your system." Aim to get 7.5 to 9 hours of shut-eye each night.

Watch or listen to things that bring you joy.

It's hard to remember now, but at one point, you'd never heard the words "bills" or "work deadlines" before, and this season was solely about candy canes and whimsy. Take yourself back to the holidays of your childhood by carving out time to enjoy things that make you happy. "Put together a positivity playlist, with songs that inspire you or help you unwind,"

#UTSAAH PSYCHOLOGY CLINICIF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION DON'T HESITATE CONTACT US:WWW.UTSAAH.COPH: 9891717772

Bullying

Bullying 

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems. 

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:

An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.

Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.

There are three types of bullying:

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:

1. Teasing

2. Name-calling

Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation 

or relationships. Social bullying includes:

1. Leaving someone out on purpose

2. Telling other children not to be friends with someone

Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:

1. Hitting/kicking/pinching

2. Spitting

3. Tripping/pushing 

#Utsaah Psychology Clinic
if you have any question don't hesitate contact us:
www.utsaah.co
Ph: 9891717772

What is addiction?

What is addiction?

Addiction is a physical or psychological need to do, take or use something, to the point where it could be harmful to you.

Why does addiction begin?

There are many reasons why addictions begin. In the case of drugs, alcohol and nicotine, these substances affect the way you feel, both physically and mentally. These feelings can be enjoyable and create a powerful urge to use the substances again.

Gambling may result in a similar mental 'high' after a win, followed by a strong urge to try again and re-create that feeling. This can develop into a habit that becomes very hard to stop.

Being addicted to something means that not having it causes withdrawal symptoms or a 'come down'. Because this can be unpleasant, it's easier to carry on having or doing what you crave, and so the cycle continues. Often, an addiction gets out of control because you need more and more to satisfy a craving and achieve the 'high'.

The strain of managing an addiction can seriously damage a person's work performance and relationships. In the case of substance abuse (for example, drugs and alcohol), an addiction can have serious psychological and physical effects.

Some studies suggest that addiction is genetic, but environmental factors, such as being brought up by someone with an addiction, are also thought to increase the risk. An addiction can be a way of blocking out difficult issues. Unemployment and poverty can trigger addiction, along with stress, and emotional or professional pressure.

Symptoms of addiction

People may or may not know they are addicted. The symptoms that indicate you, or someone you know, has an addiction include:

1. repeating something even though it interferes with your life

2. stealing or selling things to continue the addictive behaviour

3. losing interest in other things

4. being angry, violent, moody, or depressed

5. seeing changes in eating habits, sleeping habits, or weight

6. feeling sick or shaky when trying to quit.

#Utsaah Psychology Clinic
if you have any question don't hesitate contact us:
www.utsaah.co
Ph: 9891717772

4 Things Needed for Trauma Recovery

4 Things Needed for Trauma Recovery

Recovery from trauma can be a complicated, long, and difficult process.  In truth, a traumatic experience is not always something that a person can get over, but there are ways to heal and work through a traumatic experience.  Trauma recovery is about stabilization, healing, and building back mental and emotional strength that may have been damaged by the trauma.

Here are some of the most important aspects of trauma recovery that I have found are needed to support those who have experienced a trauma:

1. Safety

When your safety is threatened, you have to drop everything and try to achieve a sense of safety again before you can move forward with your life.  This is why is is so important for trauma survivors to feel safe.  This might be accomplished by increasing security at home or other areas, or by avoiding areas that trigger a sense of fear or safety threat. It may also mean building a sense of emotional safety by setting boundaries with others or limiting contact with people who have been abusive.

2. Belief

A major barrier to healing from trauma is when survivors are not believed when they talk about or report their experiences. Leave the evidence questions to the courts, and be supportive of the people you care about. If you have been traumatized, seek support from those who do believe you, and limit your engagement with those who express disbelief or judgement about your trauma. It can be incredibly painful when those who are supposed to care about you do not believe you, but there is support out there from professionals and advocates that can help.

3. Validation

People who have experienced a trauma need to be understood in addition to being believed.  Validating someone’s experience by listening to their story and understanding why the experience has impacted them in the way that is has is key to trauma recovery. Feeling validated that your trauma is understood by others to be real and impactful can help you feel supported when you are trying to recover from a traumatic experience. his doesn’t mean that you need to relay all the times when you have felt those emotions as well, as you don’t want to turn the conversation back around to yourself when you’re trying to be supportive. But it can mean just saying that you understand what is is like to have those feelings, and you want to support their healing throughout their recovery process.

#Utsaah Psychology Clinic

if you have any question don't hesitate contact us:

www.utsaah.co

Ph: 9891717772

3 Habits That Make Your Anxiety Worse

3 Habits That Make Your Anxiety Worse

1. NOT HAVING A SLEEP SCHEDULE

You have probably heard it a million times before. A good sleep schedule is vital for your physical and mental health. Let me tell you, you have not been deceived! Not giving your body the rest it necessitates is some seriously hazardous behaviour.

Sleep is a crucial part of any recovery, and not having good sleep hygiene means poorer overall sleep. This is what we should take away from noteworthy studies on the subject.

2. OVERTHINKING

The process of overthinking will quickly make a tiny insignificant issue into a monstrously huge issue. The effect this has on your anxiety cannot be overstated. If you want to rid yourself of anxiety and worry, you must learn how to keep yourself from overthinking.

1. Identify the worst possible outcome for whatever situation you are worrying about.

2. Accept that this possibility exists, and that you might have to live it.

3. When you have accepted it, figure out how to improve the situation.

When you accept the worst and begin to improve on it, you are not leaving any room to worry.

3. BAD STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress might have a bad reputation, but it’s a completely normal and desirable reaction. What we recognize as stress is our body preparing to answer a perceived challenge or threat.

As for the necessary stressors, seek healthy ways to reduce or cope with the stress involved:

1. be optimistic and look for ways to reframe bad situations into something positive. (Usually things 

are not as bad as you have been led to believe, either by yourself or others. See point 3 on overthinking.)

2. Talk about it. Talking is a great opportunity to find new perspectives, try finding someone familiar with active listening.

3. Do not procrastinate. Take action quickly. Most issues will not resolve themselves; they may however grow out of your control if ignored.

#Utsaah Psychology Clinic

if you have any question don't hesitate contact us:

www.utsaah.co

Ph: 9891717772

4 SIGNS YOU SHOULD SEE A THERAPIST

4 SIGNS YOU SHOULD SEE A THERAPIST

We all experience periods of feeling sad, stressed out, anxious or depressed, but these are usually short lived. If you’re experiencing any of the signs below, it’s probably time to seek professional help.

You experienced a trauma or a loss and can’t stop thinking about it.

Coping with grief can take time. But if you find that thoughts about your experience are regularly interfering with your life it might be time to see a therapist.

Your friends or family have told you that they’re worried about you.

Sometimes the very nature of how you’re feeling makes it hard to recognize the negative impact it’s having on your life. The people around you are often better able to recognize when you’re struggling with an emotional problem than you are

Has your irritability has begun putting a strain on your relationships? Or if you find that you’re losing relationships because you’re isolating yourself, these are also signs that the problem is more serious.

You’re using substances to cope with how you feel.

Having a drink to relax or de-stress from time to time isn’t a problem. But if your substance abuse is getting more frequent or intense, this might be a sign that you’re using it to cope with difficult emotions that you don’t want to feel.

You’re thinking about death a lot or you’re thinking about hurting yourself.

When depression and anxiety get severe, it can sometimes feel hopeless. But it’s important to know that treatment can help you feel better.

#Utsaah Psychology Clinic

If you have a question don’t hesitate contact us:

www.utsaah.co

Ph: 9891717772