Inspirations

Week of September 27th

BALANCE

In DBT we focus much of our attention on balancing dialectically opposed views. Some common pairs we visit include acceptance and change, being and doing, and reasonable and emotional. Observing dialectics and accepting the validity in their polarities allows us to walk the middle path and manage extreme emotions and circumstances that come our way.

Dialectics appear in our natural world as well. The fall equinox marks the start of when daytime and nighttime start to balance out, thus sharing equal amounts of time over a 24-hour period. This act of balancing invites change. In some climates, leaves will start to fall from their trees since functionally they are no longer necessary to protect from the heat of the summer. In this time that nature changes and moves towards balance, we invite you to consider what balance means to you.

What changes are you undergoing currently? What do you need to either shed or cultivate in order to achieve a sense of balance?

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
How has suicide impacted your life?

Please send us your creative writings, drawings and creations that have captured your efforts to build a life worth living.

Please send to cdiamond@metronydbt.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE ENTRIES

Take your photo with #metronydbt or send DMs @metronydbt

PODCAST
Dr. Jud Brewer | Cultivating an Open Awareness

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY
How to Make a Garden Sundial by DIYNetwork.com

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of September 20th

MOVEMENT

Being active is hard when someone is suffering with suicide ideation and taking the first step is even harder. In an effort to further raise awareness for suicide prevention, we want people to recognize the benefits of physical movement knowing it’s positive impact on an individual’s overall mental health.

If you or someone you know has been struggling with depression or suicide ideation, you may be familiar with the vicious cycle of a sedentary lifestyle and mood dependant behavior. Basically, when a person feels down or hopeless, they are not motivated to be active. Such lack of movement will typically increase urges to isolate and avoid. In order to stop this cycle, we want to encourage behavioral activation.

Behavioral activation is an important intervention utilized to help people understand the influence of behavior on emotions. Movement and exercise can produce “good chemicals” in the brain that lift our mood. To get started, behavioral activation asks us to set goals, for instance, sitting up in bed instead of laying down, walking around the block instead of standing still outside, or doing yoga instead of sitting on the couch.

What are some things that you do to be physically active? Do you find them helpful in changing your mood, or inspiring you to do more? What could you do to help someone else slowly get more active? Let us know! We would love to hear what you or your loved ones do to get active.

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
How has suicide impacted your life?

Please send us your creative writings, drawings and creations that have captured your efforts to build a life worth living.

Please send to cdiamond@metronydbt.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE ENTRIES

Take your photo with #metronydbt or send DMs @metronydbt

PODCAST
Benefits of Exercise on Mental Health by ahealthiermichigan.org

TED TALK
I’m Fine Learning to Live with Depression by Jake Tyler

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of September 13th

GRIT

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. All month, Metro NY DBT along with other mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies, and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. It is an awesome endeavor and collaboration. As one large community we are bringing awareness to vulnerabilities, resiliency factors and resources to help prevent suicide.

Preventing suicide is an ambitious goal for families, clients and therapists. There is no one simple solution. Preventing suicide requires empirically validated interventions, support, proper assessments, and repetitive effort. Have you ever stopped to think about this effort, which is commonly known as grit. Grit is defined as ones propensity to persistently and effortfully pursue long-term aspirations when faced with adversity.

Can we start to observe and describe characteristics of grit when in distress? Can you see it in yourselves? Do you notice it on your consultation team? Do you reinforce it in your clients, or in your therapists? This week try to notice your grit. Try to understand your grit. Mindfully pause to appreciate the characteristics you possess and that enable you to persist in your effort to prevent suicide.

WORDS OF WISDOM

words of wisdom

MEME OF THE WEEK

meme

COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
How has suicide impacted your life?

Please send us your creative writings, drawings and creations that have captured your efforts to build a life worth living.

Please send to cdiamond@metronydbt.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE ENTRIES

Take your photo with #metronydbt or send DMs @metronydbt

PODCAST
Growth Mindset by Apple Podcast

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY
Word Puzzle

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of September 6th

SUICIDE PREVENTION

National Suicide Prevention Week begins this week on Sunday, September 5th. The challenges over the past year and a half continue to raise significant concern for many at large. Data reveals that in 2020, approximately 950,000 lives were lost by suicide, and 10.3% of the US population has thought about suicide. It is evident, that the current social, political and environmental climate has intensified an individual’s vulnerability to suicide ideation.

As we say goodbye to Summer and approach Fall, here at Metro we are reminded of the importance our community has on the impact of one another’s wellness. As a DBT focused practice, our Metro community stresses the vital role an individual can play in providing support, validation, comfort and/or encouragement. We believe strongly that learning DBT as a treatment and more importantly a way of life, can reduce suicidal thinking, behavior and build a life worth living.

This week, to honor and bring awareness to National Suicide Prevention week, we want to call attention to vital DBT skills that help reduce vulnerability to suicide ideation, as well as highlight the warning sighs, triggers and supports available to those who may be struggling with suicidal thinking. The more we are able to come together as a community, the more we are able to lend a nonjudgmental, warm and welcoming hear or shoulder to an individual in need. We believe strongly that a supportive and safe environment is crucial in helping an individual build a life worth living and stay connected. If you are looking for support, crisis counselors are available 24/7: 1-800 273-TALK, Text TALK to 741741, or 1-800-273-8255.

In planning the newsletter for September, Suicide Awareness Month, we are eager to hear from those of you have been fighting to make a life worth living. Our staff wants to bring special attention to the creativity of our readers. In an effort to celebrate our community of clients’ and therapists’ progress and continued efforts, we want to invite you to submit creative work of your own to be displayed on our website this month. We invite you to draw, write a brief essay, a poem, that honors your efforts to building a life worth living. Submissions can be sent to cdiamond@metronydbt.com. Submissions will be reviewed and only three will be published per week. Authors of each submission will be published anonymously.

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

PODCAST
Suicide n’ stuff by Dave Jobes

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY

Gratitude Activities for Kids by rhythmsofplay.com

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of August 30th

TURN THE MIND

Turning the mind and accepting reality in the face of painful circumstances is of the most challenging behavioral skill sets we are encouraged to practice. We are told that this practice will reduce our suffering and increase happiness. Here’s the thing… What if we are not ready? What if turning the mind and accepting reality is a process of pain in and of itself? We are currently transitioning away from summertime and it’s bountiful sun, frozen treats, and late night pool parties. Kids were prompted to say goodbye to their summertime friends and turn their mind toward the reality of going back to school. Vacations are winding down, and the sun is setting sooner and sooner each day.

Transitions are hard and saying goodbye is sad. Losing something you enjoy justifies sadness, and it makes sense to grieve that a bit. The point is not to immediately jump to thinking about what is next to look forward to – although that is perfectly acceptable.

We are encouraging you to take a mindful pause this week to reflect on this period of transition. What is it like to turn your attention away from summertime? What are you saying goodbye to?

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Optional listening for you all, this is the greatest song for this blurb:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0VwXh1YBoNjNZUw4acW3nF?si=WJ8Jvt3hT9-YqgrDq35Txg&dl_branch=1

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

PODCAST
Managing Back to School Anxiety by Weillcornell.org

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY

Pencil Holder Crafts for Kids by easy-crafts-for-kids.com

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of August 23rd

SUMMER GRATITUDE

The summer is quickly winding down which likely brings a variety of different emotional and physical changes. Can you slow down to reflect and appreciate the impacts that summer brings us?

Longer sunlit days seem to afford us more time outdoors. Sunlight and outdoor activities has positive impacts on our emotional well-being. Participating in outdoor activities (running, walking or other exercising), spending time outside with friends and family or working outdoors around the house (planting flowers, mowing the lawn, or growing a garden) all have a tremendous impact on our mood and attitude.

Further, summer, specifically sunlight, also has positive impacts on our physical being, from our skin to our bones to our immune systems, as it provides a significant source of Vitamin D and calcium.

We hope your summer has provided you with beautiful moments too. Have you been outdoors with others? Have you had a special opportunity to connect with nature? We hope this week you can stop to mindfully appreciate your summer of 2021.

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

PODCAST
3 Ways to Grow Your Passion Even with a Full Time Job by Jay Shetty

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY
Ocean Science for Kids by naturalbeachliving.com

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of August 9th

MINDFULNESS OF THE MOMENT

As we start to settle into the last month of summer, we’re aware of the pace of life increasing, an eagerness to socialize, anticipation of returning to school, the ending of camp, and many other transitions. Compared to 2020, we’ve gained so much this summer in our ability to enjoy abundance through celebrations and plans. When noticing the speed of events and time, the hustle and bustle of this year reminds us to ground ourselves into the mindfulness of a moment.

Slowing down and bringing awareness to the current moment helps us build success and resilience in the long term. Not only do we benefit from productivity when we make the intentional choice to slow down, we also notice an increase in pleasure and fulfillment. Practicing the fundamental mindfulness skills of DBT helps us to gain clarity on our goals, the sensations we feel, and our personal limitations. Taking time to reflect, pause, and gather information (even if only for a moment) allows us to harness more of the moment and live more fully.

In what ways are you allowing yourself to slow down? Have you noticed a personal limit with the pace in which you have been moving? Can you find time this week, even one minute of stillness? We look forward to hearing from you all the ways in which you are practicing mindfulness of the moment as we end the summer months.

WORDS OF WISDOM

MEME OF THE WEEK

PODCAST
Brain and Neuroscience by Onbeing.org

TED TALK

BOOK OF THE WEEK
(Click below to Purchase Book)

ACTIVITY
Get Coloring Pages

RECIPES FOR THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTE

Week of August 2nd

COURAGE

Recently, Simone Biles chose to prioritize her mental health over her competitive spirit when deciding to compete in some Olympic Events. In response to her decision, many of us have been thinking about the courage it took her to opt-out of events. Simone expressed that making this hard decision and receiving support from the public has helped her see that she is more than her gymnastic accomplishments.

The definition of courage is, “a mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”. It can also mean having the capacity to step outside the bounds of convention. Simone Biles made it clear that she made her decision to honor her own mental health needs at the time. Unfortunately, our society still has trouble understanding the importance of taking care of our mental health. Simone Biles was courageous because she did what was best for her, while knowing she might not be fully understood for it.

In DBT we learn about the states of mind. There is the Emotion Mind, in which we are controlled by intense emotions. In this state, we may not be able to think rationally at all. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the Reasonable Mind. Reasonable Mind is the state in which we follow only the facts, and do not take feelings into consideration. In the center, where the Emotion and Reasonable Mind overlap, is the Wise Mind.

Wise Mind is where we are most balanced. It allows us to honor our feelings and needs, while also utilizing the facts of reality. Wise Mind allows us to make the most effective decisions without acting impulsively. Simone Biles, for example, used her Wise Mind to make an important decision. She may have had to balance her wants of competing in the games, with her safety and long term effects.

Can you think of a time when you had to balance your emotions with facts, and make a difficult decision? Do you have any examples of using your courage to make a decision? We would love to hear your experiences with courage!

WORDS OF WISDOM