UNRELENTING CRISIS
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
A Lesson in Avoiding Avoidance
What’s Your Grief Podcast: Grief Support for Those Who Like to Listen
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Brooklyn Brainery is accessible education, crowdsourced to our local community.
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of November 9th
The last week has been a blur of multiple events, moving at a snails pace which has been draining and emotional for many. Between the record setting daily increases of new COVID cases and the prolonged conclusion of the presidential election, it provided a week of unease.
It has been both overwhelming and numbing. How is that possible? Our brains have been sorting through this week’s information in a linear manner. However, life is changing in a variety of complex ways requiring us to break through our rules and linear minds to accept all of the changes.
This exponential change has challenged all of our states of mind. Our reasonable mind has approached this week intellectually and based on facts. Our emotion mind has been flooded by feelings, direct thoughts and behaviors. Our wise mind has been striving for balance of our emotional and reasonable minds. Accordingly, our wise mind has the job of recognizing and acknowledging our feelings. Our wise mind also has the responsibility of planning and carrying out an effective response to both our emotion mind and our reasonable mind. It’s a tall task!
This week we want to hear about your experiences of your different states of mind! Send us images of your emotion mind responses to the week. Did your reasonable mind walk you through your experience? What role did your wise mind play?
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
PODCAST OF THE WEEK
Quiet Minds and Steady Hearts with Trudy Goodman Kornfield
by Jack Kornfield
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Click below to see full instructions on how to make a scented soy candle
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of November 2nd
This week, many of us will proceed to the polls to cast our votes for the presidential election. Voting this year looks different. Some are voting by mail for the first time or voting early to avoid crowds, while others are voting on election day to maintain the status quo. Although the process of voting this year may feel foreign, the fundamental right to vote remains the same. The act of voting provides us with the choice to support leaders who align with our values and the social issues we observe as prevalent to ourselves and others well-being. Today’s political polarization and the increasing acceptance of violent rhetoric is leaving many of us to question reality, and struggle with the preoccupations of right and wrong. In the face of this dilemma, we are reminded of the importance to exercise our right to vote and speak out with direct expression. Direct expression allows us to put accurate words to our thoughts and feelings to ultimately feel heard by others.
As we go into the election week, we want to remind everyone to be compassionate with themselves. We encourage you to practice direct expression of your thoughts, feelings and sensations to allow others to hear your voice. We want to hear from you. How are you using your voice to be heard? How are you rocking the vote this year? How is this year and this presidential election empowering you?
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
We want to hear from you.
How are you rocking the vote this year? Send us your images from voting this year.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
John Lewis
by Oprah Master Class
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Click below to see full instructions on how to create “I Voted” pins
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of October 26th
Halloween is almost here! We have been enjoying the festive decorations at our local stores and have appreciated the playful displays of skeletons, witches, and Frankensteins throughout our neighborhoods. Halloween is the one night a year we are encouraged to express our creativity through disguising our identities, and finally we can consider a different kind of mask than what we have all been prioritizing over the last seven months. We fully embrace the upbeat nature of this holiday (we love candy, too), and simultaneously have been thinking about the function of disguise during the other 364 days in a year.
As it turns out, many of us wear some version of a mask nearly every day. This is so common, in fact, that DBT has a name for it! Apparent Competence describes that “thing” we do to mask our emotional vulnerability, suffering, or capability. While apparently competent behaviors vary from person to person, they typically function to “trick” our environment into believing we are more okay and more capable than we really are. Is this something you do? If so, what might you be avoiding in expressing yourself more authentically to your community? What are the pros and cons of wearing this mask?
On Halloween, some of us are attracted to glamorous costumes or dressing as a favorite cartoon or movie character. Others find themselves drawn to gory makeup, or dressing as Freddy Krueger. Wherever you find yourself, we would like for you to consider that perhaps the scariest, most glamorous thing you could do is avoid the trap of apparent competence and be your most authentic self.
Now, most importantly, what is your favorite candy? We can’t wait to hear what costumes you wear for Halloween, and how you will practice being more authentically you.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
How do you participate in Halloween?
We want to see how your dress up or your pets dress up for the fun of Halloween.
DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK
(click below to learn more)
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
Worrier Pose – Finding Freedom from the Body of Fear
by Tara Brach
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Click below to see full instructions on simple patterns for carving a pumpkin
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of October 19th
Since 1990, NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness) has designated a week in October to raise awareness about mental health. One out of every five adults in America live with mental health concerns. However, many of such adults do not seek treatment in the early stages of mental illnesses as they don’t recognize the symptoms. Accordingly, Mental Health Awareness week is designed to promote education about symptoms of major mental health disorders.
During the month of October, Metro has been raising mental health awareness by sharing information about mental health symptoms. Additionally, we are challenging some rigidly held beliefs about mental health. We are also encouraging family, friends and therapists to step in as advocates to support each other.
We want to inspire people to recommit to a routine of self-care. We want mental health to be a common part of any lifestyle and well-being discussion. We want to motivate people to be screened regularly for mental health concerns. Finally, we want people to enthusiastically contribute to the knowledge and research currently being done to recognize and understand signs of mental health concerns.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
How do you share your mental health commitments with your friends and family?
We want to hear from you about the choices you make to raise awareness about your journey.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
Anxiety & Triggers – Dr. Jill Stoddard
by MentalPod.com
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of October 12th
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
This week we want to encourage a break from social media. When you put down your phone, where do you place it to keep it out of reach?
We want to hear from you about your creative ways to set boundaries and limit over exposure to social media.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
The DBT Prolonged Exposure (DBT PE) protocol
by Charles Swenson
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Create a sketch of yourself as a super hero. (click below to get full instructions)
DESSERT RECIPE
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of October 5th
The past 7 days has been a whirlwind, it feels more like a year worth of activity as opposed to only a week. Whether its wildfires, partisan politics, Covid, or school challenges, many of us are finding ourselves navigating tremendous distress. It’s difficult to feel peaceful in this stressful environment.
Most of us are prioritizing our mental and physical health, attempting to make wise-minded decisions. However, it is normal to doubt our capacity to bear the discomfort and stress caused by the current environment. Sometimes we tend to forget, the help we need exists in implementing our distress tolerance skills. In particular, if we remember to stop, and choose our TIPP skills, in order, to best bear the discomfort until comfort comes. TIPP skills remind us that while we can’t calm our surroundings, we can turn the mind to calm oneself.
This week we want to hear how you have tried to bear distress until your storm passes. How have you creatively customized TIPP skills for yourself? What are your favorite ways to practice TIPP in your busy lives?
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Please send your creative ideas for TIPP.
Show us images of how you made TIPP your own.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
Mastering Your Breath, Body and Mind
by Lewis Howes
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Click below to see full instructions on this DIY Ice Facial that is so easy to do and so relaxing
CONTRIBUTE
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Week of September 28th
This year has brought on many challenges, both individually and as a society. Amidst current news, 2020 may continue to feel everlasting. Each day we encounter a variety of emotions that can bring painful and uncomfortable sensations. However, how we interact with these feelings can impact our mindset and overall emotional health. When we experience negative emotions, it is within our biology to treat the discomfort as a feared response, push it away, or reject it quickly. Practicing to experience our emotions through awareness is a part of learning to be mindful of our current emotions. When we allow ourselves the opportunity to observe our emotions, we come to learn that the sensations are temporary. At the height of a powerful emotion, it is common for all or nothing thinking to creep in and to convince ourselves that the experience is permanent. We may start to use judgments, question reality, deny the sensations, or engage in harmful urges. What we know about emotions is that as human beings these feelings, sensations, and urges are temporary and subside over time.
There are several ways we can practice this philosophy and embrace the temporary experiences. Two important and useful skills are the use of encouragement and self-validation. Using encouragement and self-validation during these moments can help us remind ourselves of the short-term nature of our emotions. Try practicing a mantra like “this too shall pass”, or “I have survived 100 percent of my previous painful emotions”, to help move through the emotion. Feelings come in waves, and although some are stronger and more painful than others, they do pass. This week we want to hear about how you practice encouragement or self validation to help manage difficult emotions and cope through the waves of our emotions.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MEME OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Please send photos of passing of time.
Show us your images that capture the temporary nature of 2020.
PODCAST OF THE WEEK:
Understanding Humans in the Wild
by Sam Harris
BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to purchase the book)
ACTIVITY
Click on the diagram below to see full instructions on how to create a ninja warrior course!
CONTRIBUTE
Our latest candle, ‘Your Wisest Mind’ was created in honor of Suicide Prevention Month (September) and World Mental Health Day (October 10). 50% of all proceeds from the sale of this candle will be donated (split evenly) to two mental health organizations: NAMI and the Trevor Project!
(CLICK BELOW TO PURCHASE)