SESSION #1 - A Mindful Way To Reduce Stress And Develop Resilience

A Mindful Way To Reduce Stress And Develop Resilience

Session Themes ▪ Session 1: Cultivating Self-Awareness ▪ Session 2: Understanding your stress response and taking care of your nervous system ▪ Session 3: Taking stock of how you spend your time: Nourishing and Depleting Activities ▪ Session 4: Taking stock of your connections: Connecting to self, others and community

Cultivating Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness ▪ The ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, thoughts and behaviors – is foundational for well-being ▪ Better emotional regulation: Knowing what you’re feeling allows you to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively ▪ Greater resilience: Self-aware individuals can process setbacks more constructively, reducing stress and anxiety ▪ Higher life satisfaction: Understanding your goals and values leads to a more meaningful and fulfilling life ▪ Improved relationships: Awareness of your own emotional patterns and communication style improves how you interact with other

And, there is a downside….. ▪ If not balanced: ▪ Overthinking or rumination: excessive self-focus, especially on perceived flaws or failures, can lead to anxiety or depression. ▪ Self-critical thinking: without compassion, awareness of one’s faults or limitations can hurt self-esteem instead of helping growth

Healthy self-awareness balanced with self-compassion and action-oriented reflection is key to enhance well-being

Why Cultivate Self-Awareness ▪ Recognizing habitual patterns and ways we react to what we encounter, including difficult thoughts and emotions. ▪ We do this on autopilot. The more we repeat, the more ingrained these patterns become. ▪ We can learn to hit the ‘pause’ button before reflexively leading with negative reactions. ▪ Create space between receiving information, processing and reacting ▪ The more we repeat this pausing, the more effortless it becomes to do so ▪ Recognize and reconnect with core values and what is important and meaning for us and our lives

Two Types of Self-Awareness ▪ Internal ▪ Strong internal self-awareness helps people align their actions with their true values, leading to greater authenticity and life satisfaction ▪ It’s linked to better emotional regulation, lower stress, more goal achievement, and a stronger sense of purpose. ▪ However, too much inward focus without constructive action (e.g. dwelling on your flaws) can lead to rumination, which negatively affects mental health. ▪ External ▪ High external self-awareness helps with social well-being: better relationships, empathy, and teamwork ▪ It allows for social adaptability – understanding how you’re perceived means you can communicate more effectively and avoid unnecessary conflict. ▪ But, if someone is overly concerned with how others see them, it can cause social anxiety or people-pleasing, which undermines well-being

Strategies To Develop Internal Self- Awareness ▪ Reflective Journaling ▪ Spend 5-10 min. writing about your emotions, thoughts and reactions each day. Focusing on why you felt a certain way and build insight ▪ Mindfulness Practice ▪ Learn to observe your thoughts, emotions, sensations without judgement ▪ Focusing on Breath/Anchor and noticing these aspects of experience can build internal clarity ▪ Values Clarification Exercises ▪ List your core values ▪ Ask yourself regularly: Are my actions today aligned with my values? ▪ Emotional labeling ▪ Practice naming your emotions, “Name it to Tame it” ▪ Reduces intensity and increases self-understanding ▪ Ask Helpful Questions ▪ Instead of “why is this happening to me?” ask “What can I learn about myself from this?” ▪ Shifts from rumination and leads to growth

Strategies To Develop External Self- Awareness ▪ Seek honest feedback ▪ Ask trusted friends, mentors, coworkers, etc.: “How do you experience me in conversations/meetings/conflict?” ▪ Perspective-Taking ▪ Practice imagining: How might someone else interpret my behavior right now? ▪ Can build empathy and helps you adjust your actions more intentionally ▪ 360-Degree Reviews ▪ Structured feedback from peers, subordinates and supervisors ▪ Body Language and Tone Awareness ▪ Notice how your nonverbal communication (posture, facial expressions, tone) affects others ▪ Small shifts can dramatically change how you’re perceived ▪ Public Speaking or Social Role-Playing ▪ Practice speaking or performing in front of groups can sharpen your external awareness

Session 1 Practices for building internal self-awareness ▪ Anchoring Attention and Noting Experience ▪ Name It to Tame It ▪ List 3 core values and identify 1 specific action you have or will take today that reflects this value

How? Mindfulness Practice ▪ Learning to pay attention to our inner experience ▪ Practice: Noting ▪ Practice: Breath - Body - Open Awareness ▪ Practice: Name it to Tame it ▪ Briefly jot down what you were aware of? ▪ Thoughts? Type? Felt sense? ▪ Body Sensations? ▪ Emotions or mood? ▪ Impulse to do something about any/off of this?

How? Values Clarification ▪ Identify 3-5 key values that your currently hold ▪ Reflect on last few days ▪ What specific actions did you take that align with one or more of these values? ▪ Any actions that did not align? ▪ What small, simple, doable action can you take in the next few days to reflect one or more of these values?

Questions?