Recently, I attended a 4 week workshop on Mindfulness Self Compassion. MSC to me is a combination of essential mindfulness skills- here and now but the predominant focus is on self compassion. There were many meditations throughout the 4 weeks- it almost felt like all we did was meditate. But as the weeks progressed, I began to notice something. Perhaps it was the timing of the workshop which coincided with personal struggles. Or perhaps it was an internal need to begin processing the personal struggles, and the universe was sending me a message to take the workshop. Regardless of how I got there, the point is, I got there; and I began understanding how powerful MSC can really be! I teach clients mindfulness based skills yet, never really practiced any formal exercises in my own life. Once I began implementing the skills taught in the workshop in my daily practices, self compassion became a tad bit easier. Initially, I found it difficult to show myself compassion, almost as if I did not deserve it, BUT others did. I questioned this double standard thought process and finally came to terms with the ideology that if I cannot show and give myself compassion, the compassion reserve for others will only run out. When you think about it, it makes sense. A direct proportional relationship. In order to give out compassion, you must give yourself the same amount so that the reserve is always in balance. When this finally registered, the personal struggles I was working through at the time became easier. The challenging meditations also became less challenging. And although I was in the right place at the right time, I was not ready mentally and emotionally to allow myself to open that chest locked deep away in the pits of my heart. But I was able to observe it. Scan it. And even entertain the thought that perhaps, one day, maybe someday I will open it. This is what mindfulness self-compassion has done for me, what can it do for you?

Recently, I have begun to notice how important it is to network and meet professionals within the field who are practicing in different areas. My expertise- rather, the area that I feel most comfortable working in is individuals experiencing anxiety. Recently, I got a case where the individual was going through multiple mental health concerns; emotional, anxiety, eating disorders, potential bariatric surgery, interrelationships, mood swings and all the internalizing that comes with this gamut. It was notably overwhelming for the patient and very quickly became overwhelming for me. Normally, I prefer to break the concerns down, focus on one area and as the patient begins learning new strategies to cope and manage, this will allow for a transfer of skills to the other areas that require attention. My hope was that as one area was worked on, it would also alleviate some concerns in other areas. However, with this particular case, I quickly realized that I would need to refer this patient to another professional to target areas of concern that were out of my competence. The patient expressed having great difficulty with change, and did not want to entertain the thought of meeting another professional. I felt that referring her out could do more harm than good. The patient, however, refused all ideas of being referred to another professional, even after explaining the purpose behind it. I knew I had to do something so that this patient could get the best care. I discussed with the patient, her doctor and my executive director. Everyone agreed that it would be best to bring in the professional onsite instead. This was not only outside the box thinking, but a first for our clinic. Essentially, we’re still following typical protocol of referring a patient to a professional, but we’re meeting the needs of the patient and where she is at right now. She was vocal in saying she will not be able to go to the other professional. In order to meet all the criteria, I discussed with the referring professional, and he agreed to come to the clinic and work with the patient. What does this mean? This means that the patient will be able to get her services in a place that she has deemed safe for her. It means that I will be able to focus my energy on her anxiety and areas that I am competent in working with. By spreading the blanket of services I am also alleviating stress which in turn means better self-care. It allows for an alliance to be built between two organizations as well. The most important factor that I feel this idea allows for is the intention behind it; well- being of a patient. This was only able to happen because professionals of different disciplines were able to come together and agree that a new approach would be needed in order to support this patient. At the end of it all, isn’t that the sole point of such services?

Sleep- why do we need it? I mean other than the fact that it means you won’t have to witness a very cranky Bhavna when I’ve not had much sleep. There’s got to be more to it than a happy functioning individual. There have been multiple studies on the purpose of sleep and with multiple studies, comes multiple theories. So, let’s explore some of the proposed theories! 1. Inactivity Theoryà also known as adaptive or evolutionary theory, a survival of the fittest tactic allowing animals to stay awake at night so that they would not be killed by predators. 2. Energy Conservation Theoryà reduce the amount of energy reserve so that it is available during necessary times. 3. Restorative Theoryà to replenish during sleep what was used while awake. Sleep allows for the body to rejuvenate itself. Deprived sleep will result in loss of immune function and even death in a matter of weeks. This is because the body is unable to restore major muscle groups, protein synthesis and release growth hormones which occur during sleep. Restorative theory also finds that rejuvenation allows for cognitive functioning; adenosine produced as a by-product of cells’ activities determines the body’s want for sleep. 4. Brain Plasticity Theoryà not entirely understood but critical for brain development amongst infants and young children. The restorative theory is one which I can relate to. As I mentioned, when I am sleep deprived I am easily irritable and can be very cranky. Lack of sleep impedes in my ability to remain in the moment with my clients and also proves to be a challenge when I am trying to find the words to explain a concept or express myself. Other factors such as sleep quality and amount of sleep one gets in a night are also important to sleep. Without exploring these in much detail, the essential point I would like to drive home is that sleep is critical for self-care amongst all, but particularly for counsellors. Our role requires us to be vigilant, present in the moment, alert, and mentally focused while in session. Our response- verbal and nonverbal may be the difference between life and death for some clients. Therefore, it is imperative that we begin to create a sleep regimen and give importance to our sleep not only so that we can stay alert and away from potential threat and give our minds and bodies the break it needs to be able to prepare for the next day; but also to be able to provide the best service possible to our clients.

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep

By Bhavna Verma