Author: khateam

How many hours of sleep are you achieving per night? Getting a good night’s sleep is vital for physical and emotional health, mental focus, concentration, and memory. You may already suspect this if you’re frequently feeling tired, have low energy, are irritable, anxious, and unable to wind down. When we sleep, all the things that we have observed during the day get stored away and our brain is ready to process new information for the next day. Our bodies restore themselves so that we can heal from workouts, injuries, and obtain a stronger immune system. Stress can affect sleep, however, not getting the efficient hours of sleep can make it even
more difficult to cope with the stress.

Narrative therapy is a form of cognitive restructuring. You can change your story to change your behavior and emotion. –Dr Kat

As you may already know, therapy comes in many forms. Whether you’re into more traditional therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or more out-there styles like art therapy or hypnotherapy, the best part of is that there are vast and varying options out there to fit everyone’s styles and needs.

I’m a recent Master’s grad, and I am still constantly discovering and learning about new therapies in the psychology world that are available. So I’m taking time today to discuss a new one for me, narrative therapy. “What is narrative therapy?” You likely ask yourself, as I, too, ask myself that same question. Narrative therapy is honestly pretty on par with what you might assume it is, based on its name. Essentially, narrative therapy is a form of therapy that places focus on storytelling, to allow people to separate themselves from their story or their narrative. People’s personal experiences become their stories and they have meaning and importance in their lives. Narrative therapy uses the power of these stories to help people separate themselves from their narrative, by becoming the “narrator.”

Narrative therapy was developed by two Kiwi therapists, Michael White and David Epston, in the ‘80s. They believed that in order for successful treatment, a person needed to be able to separate themselves from their problematic or destructive behaviors. Seems straight forward enough, yeah?

White and Epston’s therapeutic model includes three main ideas: (1) narrative therapy is respectful—the agency and dignity of each client are to be maintained and respected; (2) narrative therapy is non-blaming—clients are not to be blamed for their problems and are encouraged not to blame others either; (3) narrative therapy views the client as the expert—it is to be understood that clients are experts on their own lives and their own narratives. These points lay the foundation for narrative therapy, allowing for a beneficial therapeutic relationship, in which the therapist guides the client to growth and healing through separation.

The keyword here that should be underlined, italicised, and emboldened is separation. Narrative therapy really roots itself in the personal narrative, of course. And by doing so, by allowing someone to play narrator, to express their story, which may include problems and stressors, they are separating themselves—the person—from their story, or their problem.

With narrative therapy, it’s crucial to make the distinction between “I’m somebody who has problems” versus “I’m a problematic person.” And we do this through distancing ourselves through storytelling. By separating yourself from your problem, you may then externalize that said problem as opposed to internalizing it. In telling your story, you inherently distance yourself from your issue, and you instead see the story from a new perspective. And with a new perspective, you’re likely to feel more motivated to make a change in your life, with your thoughts and with your behaviors, guiding you towards healing and personal growth and development. Through narrative therapy, you’re given an opportunity to rewrite your story.

Our own Dr. Kat uses narrative therapy techniques, among others, here at Insight Wellness Center. She uses narrative therapy to help people understand new perspectives through storytelling. This helps people change realities based on the stories that they’re telling themselves in their head. If you’re interested in narrative therapy at Insight Wellness Center, call us (925) 216-3510 or visit our Book a Telehealth Appointment tab to register for a telehealth appointment.

Looking back, 2019 has been a depressing, anxiety-filled, and anger-provoking year. Daily events and happenings have occurred with varied intensity and impact on our personal lives. A sharply divided political climate, numerous wildfires, and an increase in mass shootings and terror events around the country and the world have directly impacted our feelings of security and safety within our homes, local communities, our country, and the world. The news headlines in our city, state, and country are also filled with age-old topics such as serving the mentally ill, caring for the homeless, and the housing crisis. In addition, we have our own personal headlines and stories, such as the death of a parent, child, other family member, or good friend, oneself or a loved one being diagnosed with cancer, an incident of domestic assault, a verbal fight with a friend or family member, divorce, diagnosis of a medical or mental health disorder, personal or familial substance abuse or dependence, or arrest. Even the wonderful moments such as weddings, young love, graduations, or a long-planned holiday have their stressful moments. These all lead us to feel overwhelmed. Our stressors are at an all-time high, and thus the subsequent anxiety, depression, and anger we experience lead us to our breaking points. Amidst life stressors, it may seem like a challenge itself to find he resources to help us cope with it all. Deciding to be more conscious about our lives and taking charge of our personal mental health is a priority if we want to continue to move forward with a healthy mindset. The biggest conflict is frequently our own self-defeating patterns, such as our habits, immediate negative thoughts (or thinking errors), and our core beliefs that drive our responses to life events.

The benefits of CBD aren’t limited to humans. Studies and anecdotal evidence have shown that our pets too can often make use of its relieving effects. And the primary motivation is the same as well: pharmaceuticals can have unwelcome side effects. However, it’s important to note that the research for CBD in animals is still in its early stages and we recommend consulting your veterinarian before you start administering the herbal remedy, whether you get it from a Danville CBD Dispensary or somewhere else. Especially if your pet is already on some form of medication. But whether Fido or Felix is already taking something to treat their anxiety, arthritis, pain, seizures, digestive problems, or separation issues, CBD with its natural properties is likely worth considering as an alternative.

BrainTap does a lot of things for people:

BY HOLLY LUCILLE

As a growing number of people are turning to integrative medicine to address their health concerns, many individuals are being introduced to the world of dietary supplements. If you have taken or been prescribed a supplement, you may have asked yourself this question: “I’m taking supplements. Why don’t I feel different?” In order to address this common question, we must first highlight the difference between conventional and integrative approaches to medicine.

From CW Hemp Blog written January 31, 2018

Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale*

(*A bit of inspiration from the Five-Minute Journal, which is one of the reasons we love using it.)

We created the Rebalance Toolkit to support you in creating positive change for Mind, Body and Spirit. While we feature our CBD tinctures, capsules and topical balm in our Rebalance Bundles, the Five-Minute Journal is also a valuable piece of the wellness equation because we know that change happens step by step, and those steps can include the daily process of gratitude-based journalling, or a daily CBD supplement. Or, as we suggest, both. 😉

Why we love the Five-Minute Journal (heading)

The Five-Minute Journal has been celebrated as a helpful agent in shifting mindset and actions, both of which can contribute to some seriously positive personal change. Some of us at Charlotte’s Web are long-time fans of the journal and can attest to the ways in which it supports goal-setting and generates a gentle action plan to help you move in the direction of your desires.

That’s because -in just five minutes, you really can:

• Celebrate the good in your day.
• Get rooted in gratitude.
• Remind yourself of all the good you’re doing.
• Keep focused on all that you want to accomplish.
• Sketch out a plan to make it happen based on actionable steps.

Factor in daily repetition, and all the good and gratitude compounds.

Whatever you’ve got on your To-Do List (Organize home, Get more sleep, Eat better food, Write that book, Be a better parent, Deepen personal relationships, etc…) is a lot. And in the middle of all that, our biggest dreams might get sidelined for no other reason than life gets busy and the days fly by.

We like the Five-Minute Journal because it keeps you working towards goals, big or small. Step-by-step, you’ll move into the next positive version of yourself.

And before we go, we’ll leave you with one other inspirational tidbit from the Five-Minute Journal.
Everything you can imagine is real. – Pablo Picasso

Truth. Now get started!

by Kathryn Drury Wagner from spiritualityhealth.com

If you toss at night, glowering at the clock in frustration, you’re not alone. About 60 percent of Americans have insomnia a few nights per week, if not more often. This can be caused by stress, illness, medicines or other factors, and is more likely to affect females and those aged 65 and older. While there are many ways to treat insomnia, some people are turning to CBD oil for relief. You may have wondered if it’s worth a try, so for this week’s Healthy Habit, let’s take a look at CBD for insomnia.

Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t tend to make people overly sleepy, which is a good thing, according to some researchers. In a 2006 study, CBD was shown to have some interesting waking properties, and the researchers concluded, “It might be considered to treat sleep disorders such as excessive somnolence. This common sleep disturbance is defined as trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. It can cause sleepiness or fatigue during the day, may affect mood and result in trouble focusing on tasks… We now could consider the use of CBD, the non‐psychoactive constituent of C. sativa, to treat somnolence.”