Stress management

Stress is present in our lives every day. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic most people are experiencing

an increased level of stress. Some of the reasons for this increased stress include:

Uncertainty about being safe, will I or someone I love contract COVID-19. If so will they die or have long term effects.
Uncertainty about the future: will I lose my job, will my children be able to return to school, when will I be able to see my family and more.
Isolation due to quarantine.
Things are just harder than they used to be.
The political situation may be a source of stress.
Increased demands at work.
Working at home can have it's own challenges
And many more things

There are strategies that people can use to manage stress:

Connection with other people
Exercise
Sleep
Good diet

Another way to manage stress is Mindfulness. According to Mindfulness org. mindfulness is:

"basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us."

I have put together a brief guide to Mindfulness. I have gathered information from:

A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Handbook, Stahl and Goldstein, 2010

Mindful.org: https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/

Summit Mindfulness: http://summitmindfulness.com/2020/01/loving-kindness-meditation-for-oneself/

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/gratitude

Kaiser Permanente: https://wa-health.kaiserpermanente.org/best-meditation-apps/

Therapist Aid: therapistaid.com

Here are several individual handouts that can be downloaded. I also include a packet of all the handouts

together.

What is Mindfulness

Mindfulness and your body

Developing a Mindfulness practice