Sue Bergeson
Thursday, January 17, 2008
There are so many things that I love about the
Facing Us Clubhouse website, but one of my favorites is the section devoted to
wellness tips-especially the window of wellness tips on every page. For example, I was just watching one of the videos on the site when I noticed the tip in the "window." Here's what it said:
Thankfulness list. When I am feeling down and everything seems bad or against me, I find that making myself WRITE DOWN A LIST of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I have to be thankful for really helps. Sometimes the list starts out to be pretty pathetic, but it eventually starts to blossom and so does my mood.
I like the idea of changing my journal to a thankfulness list, because my attempts at journaling can get bogged down sometimes. When I've written about my childhood (following my therapist's instructions), I just never want to look at that stuff once I write it. I feel like, "OK, I'll do it, but don't expect me to like it or to go over it again." But I really like the idea of using my journal as a gratitude journal and using that list when I need to "reboot" my mood and focus on my wellness, not my illness.
Here are some other examples of the "wellness windows" on the Clubhouse site:
Balance. I've learned that I have to balance my up time with my down time. I need to have a block of a few hours where I'm doing what I want or need to relax. If I don't give myself enough down time I start to feel overwhelmed and anxious.
3:00 rule. As much as I miss it, I have given up having any coffee after 3:00 p.m.
Curb your enthusiasm. I often let my enthusiasm overwhelm me and then I'm disappointed and discouraged. But I don't have to do everything today and it doesn't have to be perfect every time. Small, slow steps are going to get me to the end.
Building up motivation. Whenever I feel unmotivated or overwhelmed with "to do" lists, I work up motivation by limiting myself to five minutes or less to do one small task. When time is up, I evaluate if I can to do five more minutes. I keep doing this as long as I can, but I always limit the time for each task, and give myself the option to keep going when time is up. If I can't keep going, I focus on the positive and give myself credit for anything I have accomplished.
An expansive life. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -Anais Nin
One of the things I love about the wellness tips section in the Clubhouse is that I can add my own tips ... and decide whether I want the rest of the Clubhouse community to see them or not. I can also select certain tips-my own or ones that someone else has shared-and put them in my very own personalized wellness book. Or, I can collect tips and tools for a wellness book that I can send to a friend who's feeling down.
What tips do you have that we could add to the Clubhouse?
