Things I'm loving lately.

 Hello and happy spring!

I've felt a good sort of electric energy lately. The kind that makes me realize I've been spending more of my time doing things that bring me joy. So I am sharing here! (Will also be sharing a list of things that are confusing me lately.)

But first:  Things I'm loving:

1) Solutions Focused Brief Therapy. I have been learning this therapeutic modality pretty intensely over the past month or so. I have a new role at work as a counselor and have a caseload of about 5 right now. This therapy approach is REVOLUTIONIZING the way I think about therapy in general. The first question they teach you to ask is "what are your best hopes for this session today?" or "what do you hope is different in your life after this session?" And the next question is: "what difference would it make in your life if you could experience this best hope?" Essentially everything is focused on the OUTCOME that the client wants for his or herself. Some therapy modalities are client-led. Some are therapist-led. SFBT is outcome led, and I love that. As the name suggests, conversation is focused on solutions and not on the problems. If I am not using my 50-60 minutes I have with a client to instill HOPE into their lives, I am really not helping them get to a solution. If I've only helped them articulate the problem more, they may leave just more aware of how the problem is showing up in their life, and may become more biased to seeing the problem rather than their capacity for change. If you can't tell, I get really excited talking about SFBT.

2) The Body Electric NPR podcast:  I am 31 and am starting to experience some back pain. I know, I know. I am very very young. And at the same time, I am starting to realize that my sedentary Western lifestyle is, in fact, adversely affecting my body. I found this podcast, which is a 6 part investigative look at what it takes to reverse the negative effects of sitting for large chunks of the day. It turns out that it takes quite a bit to reverse the negative affects of long-term sitting. And, unfortunately, a stand-up desk is not the answer :/ (Unless you are ALSO shuffling back and forward or marching while you are standing!) The antidote is 5 minutes of light movement for every 25 minutes of sitting. Yep, that's a lot. But from what I'm hearing in this podcast series, this practice can substantially improve your systemic health (lower blood pressure by as much as 40 -50%, lower blood sugar) AND your mental health (people reported significantly improved moods). I am really interested in this work because I consistently experience any afternoon crash in my physical energy AND my mood on days where I am working. To sum it all up, I am not loving that we have normalized our sedentary lifestyles so much (especially in office environments), but I AM loving that we are recognizing that something needs to change. And it always helps to have research and data to back it up. :)

3) Instagram breaks:  Similarly to number #2, I feel like collectively as a society we are realizing the negative aspects of social media more. I gave up Instagram for a bit recently. It was hard but I also discovered that I didn't really miss hourly updates about people's thoughts, feelings, and life circumstances. I don't think people missed me too much either. Hah!! (not in a bad way, just an "out of sight out of mind" way). It also forced me to actually text or call people to stay in touch. Tapping the "heart" icon on their Insta story wasn't an option. (and let's be real- it doesn't actually foster a ton of real connection). I still like Instagram and I still like seeing what people are up to in my life. But I am loving normalizing long breaks which forces me to seek connection with others in more substantial ways.

4) Our record player!  This is such a satisfaction in picking out the record from our growing stack, manually placing it on the player, and listening to music with NO phone or internet connection needed. Some of our favorites recently are:  Johnny Cash, Lily Hiatt, John Denver, and Keith Green. 

And that's it for now. Till next time. :)