The season is changing

I guess for most people reading this, it is the time of year were summer if finally definately over and winter is not too far off. For a lot of people it is a hard time of the year to deal with. They find it dificult that the days are getting shorter and colder. Therefore it is no big surprise that a lot of seasonal depression start in the autumn when the leaves begin to fall.

What can you do to defend yourself against these feelings? Especially for those with chronic complaints the long winter can seem daunting yet there are things you can do to protect yourself as much as you can.

• Eat healthy foods

• Take supplements when needed

• Warm clothes [if muscles are your weak point, keep them warm]

• Use hot water bottles or gelpacks to make sure you bed is nice and warm when you step in.

• If the loss of light hits you hard use daylight therapy to make up for it.

• Pamper yourself by taking long baths or showers or get a massage

Allow yourself to set a slower pace. Accept that winter is tougher than summer and don't be angry if you can do less. Focus on what you still can do and enjoy that to the fullest.

If after all your precautions the sniffels and the coughs do get you, remember you did the best you could. Now allow yourself a few days to let your body heal.  Have plenty of tissues on hand, nice big mugs of hot tea and other treats and make the best of it. Watch that nice movie you did not have time to before, read a book and if you can't concentrate too long, listen to your favorite music and recharge.


And remember every day spring is a day closer! And yes there is much in winter to enjoy as well if you open your mind to it.

How do you recharge your batteries?

In our society everything has to move fast. Often we juggle work, private life, family, kids and study all together and most of us wish there were more hours in the day. While we are so busy running it is easy to forget that our body and spirit also needs to rest and relax. If we don’t we will get signals that more rest is needed. Your body is very good at letting you know that it cannot cope any longer. At first it will be gentle small signals but if you refuse to listen those signals will become less and less subtle until either your body or your mind will call it a halt. This can result in burn out or RSI [repetitive strain injury] like complaints that can linger for long times.

So what do you do when your body tells you to take a break. I can tell you what works for me. Next to a hot shower, a good book or a good movie, for me a change of location helps. To just be able to leave home and work behind and just take those books and movies that help you relax and to go out into nature. The beach is one of my favorites, nothing beats being on the beach when a storm is blowing and you watch the strength of nature in the waves. This time of year, fall, a forest is also very favorite. The turning of the leaves makes nature stand out in splendor. Or to find a spiritual place on earth. For me that is Glastonbury in England, but you don’t have to be spiritual to have that special place somewhere where you feel good and that allows you to recharge the batteries.

 

Feel free to share here what you do to relax and recharge.

knowledge is power

I believe information is very important not only to a counsellor. I think when you have a business and you work with clients it is your duty to always keep looking for information and be the best you can be. That is why I love to attend seminars and such online to further my knowledge. Next of course to my addiction to books. I am always reading up on new matters and subjects that I want to learn more about.

Yesterday I attended the Open Office Hours of the Online Therapy Institute. If you are a fellow therapist reading this and you want to know more about working online, have a look at the website, it is full of very useful information. And there is a forum you can join and chat with other therapists. And try to attend one of the coming open hours. Every other month they are held in Second Life. Yesterday was in Second Life and that also gave me the opportunity to learn more about that medium. [Yes I am reading a book about Second Life right now as well]

For me it was very interesting to talk about marketing ideas and brainstorm about my personal dream of there being a global insurance company in the future so that therapists can work with clients from all over the world easier. A big thank you to Kate and DeeAnna for sharing your time for free.

Speech recognition

One of the challenges of a physical disabilies is finding a way around them, so you can continue to enjoy life to the fullest. It is one of my 'jobs' as a counsellor for people to terms with chronic pain. It is a road I have travelled myself, so I understand the frustrations and the anger and yes, also the despair. We all have days were you think it is never going to get better. Those are the days it helps to talk to a friend or a counsellor and that different perspective can give you ideas to go on and to see the fun again.

What changed my life and made studying and later work possible again is a program called Dragon Naturally Speaking. My problem was that suddenly writing and typing were much more difficult. And writing had always been the way I expressed myself. I certainly was not about to give that up, so thanks to the internet I started to look for ways around my problem. Soon I found a program called Dragon Naturally Speaking, and it became my lifeline. Through the years I have gone through a couple of versions, every version more accurate were I can just talk to my computer in both Dutch and English and the program translates my words to text with little or no mistakes. These days I can type again on most days, but it is such a comfort to know that my program is there on the computer for the hard days.


That is what is all about, finding the little things that make life easier, knowing the support is there, knowing your limits and within those limits: ENJOY!