Dear College of Education Community,
Recharging through self-care activities is critically important to maintain well-being. It’s important that we recognize the signs that we have reached a level of exhaustion and stress. If we understand these signs when they first appear, we can engage in actions to restore balance. In a Psychology Today blog, Dr. Beth Kurland describes below how to keep in balance and recharge in a few minutes:
1. First, we can begin to pay attention to signals of dysregulation and imbalance. When you notice any of these signs below, pause and ask yourself, What is one small thing you might do to invite in more ease? This may sound obvious and simple, but often we miss both the noticing and the asking. Also, just in the act of pausing, you are attending to yourself, and this small act of self-care can help to dial down your stress response.
Body:
- Fatigue
- Feeling run down
- Digestion off
- Running on adrenaline for long periods of time
- Feeling of pressure in one’s chest and chronic muscle tension
Emotions:
- Overwhelm
- High stress, worry, anxiety
- Pressured feeling, feeling driven, or frenetic
Thoughts:
- Scattered
- Hyper-focused, narrow, tunnel vision—unable to see the big picture
Behaviors:
- Overindulgence in food, electronics, or social media
- More irritable and snappy toward others
- Can’t slow down or difficult to mobilize
2. Second, we can do things on a regular basis to help ourselves recharge. Daily maintenance can include:
- Be mindful of what are real threats in your day versus what are more minor nuisances or glitches that may not require as much energy. When we can titrate our energy expenditure to better match what the situation calls for, this helps to preserve inner resources.
- Be intentional about allocating time to reset. Find what is most helpful for you (a short walk, a meditation, a quick phone call to a friend, etc.). Chances are that five or ten minutes placed intentionally in your day won’t greatly affect what you are able to accomplish in the grand scheme, but may make a big difference in terms of your well-being.
- Be intentional about finding sources of nourishment. Below is one example of how to recharge called the 2 minute meditation:
- Rest (minute one): Rest your eyes, rest and soften your muscles, rest your mind—think surrender, floating, ease, giving into the support underneath you while at the same time remaining alert and aware.
- Connect (minute two): Connect with something you care about, something meaningful, something you value. It could be a person, a place, or a small moment of gratitude. Call that thing to mind and notice how it feels in your body to do so. Let any renewing emotions (e.g., ease, comfort, calm, peace) fill you up, as if you could breathe those emotions in.
To read more about the benefits of recharging, go to https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-well-being-toolkit/202302/how-to-recharge-in-a-few-minutes-a-day
For a list of other self-care options, please go to our COE self-care website for resources for faculty, staff, students, and the community at
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care/articles-information-self-care
May we all take time to recharge regularly!
Warmly,
Shari