KindMindbyDana

 As the final exams get closer, it's very important to help our kids and students handle any stress or anxiety that comes up. We can achieve this by applying these three strategies: Make sleep a priority. Although it might seem a bit controversial for teenagers, we should still motivate them to get enough sleep and rest. We can explain to them how important it is for their memory. When they get a good night's sleep, they'll feel refreshed the next day and be able to concentrate and study better. Prepare in advance. It's a great idea to motivate your students or kids to create a plan and divide their tasks throughout the week. You can provide them with a planner or a visual tool where they can note down the exam dates and create a daily schedule, specifying the time they'll dedicate to achieving their goals. While it's important for them to take charge and feel independent in organizing their study time, as a teacher or caregiver, you can always offer suppor...

 'I am Whole, Complete, Valid and Perfect'. What happens to your mind when you read these words? I am inviting you to notice the quality of your automatic thoughts at this moment. Then, find something that is FREE and DISCONNECTED from your history.  It could be a random person you saw today, a nice outfit you saw someone wearing, or the fact that the earth spins around itself and the sun 🌍 The point is to stop automatically thinking or associating things together.  Did your mind jump to tell you 'No, you're not?', or you simply remembered one time that you actually felt like a whole, or perhaps incomplete. Again, notice these thoughts, and go back to this moment; You, reading this sentence, while sitting on a chair or maybe walking to your next session. 'I am Whole, Complete, Valid and Perfect' Notice what is NOT automatic after you hear this. Notice 'who is noticing' ; You are not your thoughts, your memories and whatever happened to you.  ...

Anxiety is a normal feeling. Anxiety disorder is NOT. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear. It is a normal feeling that anyone can experience at some point in their life. You might feel anxious before your new job interview, an important exam, or a huge event! From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety has played a crucial role in our survival and adaptation such as living in the wilderness and facing daily challenges. So, we eventually needed it to survive, and our brain is wired to detect any potential threat or problem to help us overcome it. However, an anxiety disorder is a mental health condition that makes it difficult to get through your day and impacts your social, academic, occupational, and interpersonal life. This is tricky because the same alarm system, fight or flight response, which is activated by a flood, will also be triggered when the brain identifies any stimulus as a danger. This could be your class presentation, meeting with the director o...

It is hard to wake up with anxiety. It can be a very distressing experience. You just opened your eyes, and you notice the stream of thoughts coming to your mind 'I don't feel like doing this anymore, I really want to change my job'.  You may feel some physical symptoms like sweating, racing heart, and shortness of breath; 'Why is my heart beating so fast? I feel that my chest is so heavy'. You hold your phone and start wondering 'I can't even remember my schedule. Did I promise Sally to see her today or next week?' Then, next week's presentation pops up and you realize that you have not started working on it yet. Everything feels so heavy, you decide to go back to bed. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. It is a normal feeling that anyone can experience at some point in their life. For example, you may feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam, or having a medical test or a job interview. Howe...

How are you feeling today? You might answer 'fine, okay, good, great....' There are many other words that can describe our experiences more accurately.  Plutchik’s  wheel of emotions beautifully summarizes the eight primary emotions- joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust- these are way beyond 'feeling okay'. There are also emotions that can be can be more complex and nuanced, often blending with or influencing one another. Like feeling love and hate, envy and admiration, worry and apprehension... Now ask yourself again, 'how am I feeling now?' Are you happy, excited or pleased? Sad or disappointed? Heartbroken or distraught? Proud or connected? Why is this important? The ability to accurately identify and label our emotional experiences is a fundamental skill for emotional regulation . Asking ourselves a simple question like 'How am I feeling now?' allows for a heightened emotional awareness and a mindful grounding i...