College Notes for today (October 1st)

College notes: I am trying to be a good munchkin and keep a record of what I have studied. This probably wont make sense to anybody else, but feel free to have a read.

Relaxation techniques, what works for you? (me)?

* Doodling, colouring in, music, a hot bath or shower, walking, good book (easy read), lame/cheesy movie, cup of tea/coffee.

Suggested things: (for both in a counselling session and for home).

1. Deep Breathing.

2. Gentle exercises

3. Light a candle.

4. Listen to music,tapes.

5. If your working with children they find it hard to relax and focus on deep breathing, so blowing bubbles is a good way to get them to concentrate on their breathing technique (what else works?).

I told my tutor that next week I will bring in my two Didgeridoos, that's right I have not one but two of them! It should be useful in the deep breathing exercises and learning how to breath from the abdomen. Try not to laugh too much at the thought of counselling students having a whirl on the didgeridoo, I have yet to mention whale music and chimes.

Notes: Look up various breathing exercises, guided imagery and other relaxation techniques. Using journals, articles, websites etc.

Watched video about CBT and interventions you can use:

The first scenario was a woman talking about going into a job appraisal meeting, in which she thought it was just going to be one to one with her manager. It turned out to be her manager and the person that was going to be taking over his job.

Automatic Negative Thoughts:

Wrong footed!

Two people instead of one.

Perform and prove herself instead of an informal chat.

She left the meeting feeling frustrated and annoyed with herself, wishing that she had been more assertive. Was she the only employee that been subjected to this?

What would you do differently?

The second scenario:

A woman talks about feeling like the odd one out in a circle of friends, she feels like she is not really liked by the other women. This upsets her a lot and she is not sure what to do about the situation.

As this is a CBT approach of counselling, a thought record was used.

An example can be found here. Thought Record PDF.

Feelings from today's lesson: For use in Personal Journal in college portfolio.

Its hard getting back into the swing of things and to be honest the last thing I wanted to do was research stuff in the library and then watch a video. How is this different from what I could do at home? I am not saying that its wasn't an informative video but as I had missed the first part, I wasn't sure what exactly was happening. So I am annoyed at myself for not speaking up and asking what I had missed whilst on holiday.

The class seems very small now since lins has left and a few people were missing, so it still feels like we haven't really started this term. When I say 'we' I mean me, its really time to get focused.

Important Note: Do you blog about Mental Health issues? If so check out the new Mental Health Blogging Directory created by Bradley from How is Bradley?.Please have a look and spread the word about this directory, its an invaluable tool.

Interesting sites found:

No more panic . : A site full of hints,tips, stories and support.

Will be adding more relaxation type sites, when I tackle this subject again.