We are tired. We need healing. It’s likely we’ve lost people, dreams, cherished ways of being, and not been held in our grief because we were all too busy surviving. Slow down. It’s impossible to rush wellness. Lean into each other. Allow ourselves to mourn together, to mutually hold each other. Trust that allowing mutuality leads to healing. We are in collective pain, and the antidote is messy, authentic, mutuality.
This group includes expressive arts, (supplies provided by the BCC) relational skills, and specific stress management skills. Participants will leave with ideas on how to push back against peer pressure, managing difficult behaviors such as procrastination, getting better sleep, and identifying thought distortions.
Offering evidenced based coping tools nested in expressive arts (swing by to pick up your child’s weekly brown bag project, or ask us to deliver) and relational work, these fun meetings will be on Tuesday evenings from 4:30-5:15, on March 23, 30, and April 6, 13, 20, and 27th. Scholarships and sliding scale available!
One of the tools we’ve been trying to use, is Amy Banks’ idea of Positive Relational Moments. In her book, Wired To Connect, Banks defines PRMs as moments you felt “safe and happy in another person’s presence.” Returning to your PRMs can slow or even reverse a downward spiral of stress and isolation by activating healthy neural pathways. It’s not always easy to pull up a PRM on demand though, sometimes we could use a reminder– a picture, an email, a journal entry, or, now, an Appreciation Effect campaign.
Outdoor therapy offers an opportunity to connect with each other and nature while we work. You can set the pace, and choose from several locations. The goal is to get our bodies moving a little bit in nature, not to work up a sweat. Research has suggested that walking in nature reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, and supports improved cognitive functioning.
You are here. You are not responsible for carrying us anywhere else. There are few things that cultivate more hopelessness and helplessness than pretending a moment isn’t what it is. Be where you are. That is enough.
Covid-19 has created an anxiety stew that even the most relaxed parents can’t avoid. When kids catch on to the fear it becomes an even bigger struggle to keep a semblance of normal life. Here are some tips for helping the entire family work through anxiety.