What is A Life Coach?

A life coach encourages conversations that promote reflection and answers from within. They also assist through necessary steps to achieve a client’s personal goal. Life coaches are a type of wellness professionals who help people attain greater fulfillment through communication and mentorship.

The estimated that there were approximately 71,000 coach practitioners in 2019 globally. This was a 33% increase compared to the 2015 estimate, as coach services gain popularity around the world.

The Difference Between Coaching and Counseling

Similar to coaching is the term counseling. The two have elements that overlap, although coaching is action-oriented while counseling is coping-oriented.

What Kind of People Benefit From A Life Coach?

A life coach can lead us to answers and perspectives that we wouldn’t have found on our own. If you’re the following type of person, you can benefit from a personal life coach:

People Who Want Change

We all have different struggles; family, friends, romantic, career, academics, etc. If you’re looking for a change but don’t know where to start, a coach can be helpful. On the other hand, if you’re happy with life as it is and don’t need much change, a coach may feel like a waste of time.

People Facing Stressful Situations

Are you feeling stressed from work or school? A coach can set you on a more mentally sound path. One university study reports that coaching helps with stress reduction. A coach can guide you through finding the stress cause and advise the best approach. This helps set a better trajectory towards recovery and a healthier mental state.

Benefits of Having A Life Coach

A coach not only “teaches” you, but helps you recognize what YOU think. They help you take your own initiative towards making better decisions. The following are some of the benefits to having a life coach:

The Ability to Proactively Solve Problems

Coaching helps draw out answers that are deep within us. To do this, a coach will repeat dialogues focused on what possible blocks are, what to do, and how to plan towards a goal. A client can transform their mindset from passive to proactive through the repetitive exercises and learn how to face challenging circumstances.

Better Communication Skills

Excellent communication skills are vital in any kind of working environment. Repeated coaching sessions train clients to become better communicators. It also helps a client better understand the ‘intentions’ behind what others are trying to communicate. Communication skills gained through sessions will help anyone become a more proficient business person.

Entering ‘the Zone’ for Optimal Performance

A ‘zone’ describes a hyper-concentrated state where we become fully immersed in whatever we are doing. Anyone can ‘enter the zone’ through sports, business, academics, or hobbies.

Coaching sessions can help people gain clarity in how to visualize a path to success. The sessions help with continual positive thinking which makes it easier for a person to enter a flow state to give optimal performance. A positive mindset also combats negativity to keep our mental states calm.

How Can I Try A Life Coaching Session?

How can we take advantage of the benefits and enroll in a coaching session? It starts with finding a life coach that matches your goals. There are tons of organizations and websites that list coaches based on needs. Try to pick someone that you feel compelled to work with or someone who has the credentials and specialty for your challenges.

Differences like in-person or online sessions, price, and available time frames all will contribute to a decision.

Can an AI app provide coaching sessions? Try SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Self-Help Through Coaching Sessions

Although there are many proven benefits to having a life coach, every individual is different in what they can gain from it. Trying a few trial sessions could never hurt in seeing if it’s something you really want to proceed with.

Bottling your thoughts and feelings can lead to mental stress. Give life coaching a try to explore and transform parts of yourself you never knew.

Reference:

Matsuda, T., & Tsuda, A. (2014). Application of Coaching on Mental Health Care of Japanese Language Teachers. Kurume University Psychology Research, 13, 87–94. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120005704920/en

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How Stress Affects Your Eyes

As the saying “the eyes are the window to the soul” implies, there have always been speculations about the connection between the eye and our minds. It’s believed that stress causes the eye to either rapidly move or tense up.

Feeling Dizzy

According to one study targeting university students, when students were asked to do quick calculations continually, their eye movements increased in horizontal movement. This could imply that when we are concentrating on a fixed situation, we actually do feel dizzy. Rapid eye movement requires eye muscle activity, which in turn can strain the eyes.

Tense Eyes

The autonomic nervous system in our body greatly impacts our mental wellbeing. The sympathetic division keeps us active, preparing for fight or flight reactions, while the parasympathetic division restores the body to a state of calm. Our mental balance is sustained through these two divisions working in harmony. An off-balance state of an autonomic nervous system will affect the mental and physical in some way.

Continual long hours of work keeps the sympathetic nerves active over a long period of time. This creates a tense and nervous body.

It’s not rare to find ourselves staring into our smartphones or TV when we’re feeling down, yet we need to rest our eyes if they feel tense. Tense eyes are a sign of low blood circulation and this can lead to the eyes feeling more strained.

Looking for something that helps with stress? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

How to Recover From Eye Strain

Whether the cause is mental or physical, the best way to fix eye strain is to relax and not use the eyes. Reading a book or watching TV can be relaxing, but we recommend the following activities for eye strain issues:

1. Rest The Eyes

First and foremost, rest your eyes. Rest gives the strained eyes the ability to recover.

You can do this by getting adequate sleep at night. Sleep allows the eyes to physically rest while letting the parasympathetic nervous system work for the body to restore itself. Even if a huge load of stress disrupts our whole nervous system, sleeping should help recover both the mind and body.

Another method to try is limiting the usage of smartphones and TV. Screens on electronic devices emit “blue light” known to keep our eyes in hyper-focus while disrupting the body from going into a deep sleep state. It’s impossible to completely cut usage of electronic devices, but we can ease the harmful effects by limiting electronics one hour before bed or by using glasses that cut out the blue UV rays.

2. Look Far Away

Looking far out into the distance helps the eye muscles relax. If you’re constantly looking at a screen for work, make sure to look out the window from time to time. Some urban environments make it difficult to access long distant views, but just looking afar while walking will help with eye strain. A relaxing walk can help uplift our moods too!

3. Eye Hydration

Dry eyes can cause eye strain. When eye muscle movement becomes strenuous, our eyes become dry and strained. An easy way to fix this is by hydrating the eyes with eye drops or pressing pressure points around the eyes.

Other methods to try:

• Set computer screens lower than eye level – looking down makes it easier for the eyes to blink which helps with eye hydration
• Use a humidifier in the room and set the humidity to 60%
• Try conscious blinking throughout the day – we forget to blink when we’re focused
• Drink lots of water and keep the body hydrated
• Watch movies or read books that make you cry

You don’t have to make drastic changes to hydrate your eyes. Small conscious changes can make a big difference.

Fixing Strained Eyes Fixes Other Issues

If your eyes feel strained, it could be because of your mental state. Our physical and mental response to any given situation can be complex, so fixing a simple eye strain issue can lead to solving other issues surrounding us.
If our eyes are the window to the soul, let’s make sure we keep them healthy to reflect our beautiful souls!

References:

MATSUDA, N., OKADA, A., & YAMASHITA, K. (2007). Visual Task and Mental Load Influence on Eye Movement. The Japanese Journal of Ergonomics, 43, 334–335. https://doi.org/10.5100/jje.43.2Supplement_334

Tamura, A., & Ostuka, H. (1989). Urban Greenery and It’s Effects on Mental Wellbeing. Technical Report on Noise Pollution, 13(5), 12–16. https://doi.org/10.11372/souonseigyo1977.13.252

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Poetry in Psychotherapy

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.

Rita Dove, American Poet

A powerful poem that shakes the reader’s senses can transform our cognition, which psychologically benefits both the reader and writer.

According to a poetry therapy researcher, the best poems to prescribe in psychotherapy are those that have somber and sad beginnings that end with a sense of hope and optimism.

By reading, memorizing, and quoting such poems, a person can feel that he or she is not the only one with those experiences. Subsequently, seeing the recovery of others can lead to therapeutic effects.

Mental Health Benefits of Reading Poetry

Effect 1: Reading Poetry Nurtures Your Creativity and Expressiveness

When we read novels and stories, we “read between the lines” using our imagination. We try to understand the implications of what is written and what is not written. Poems are shorter, so there is more room for imagination. As an example, let’s take a look at this poem by American poet Langston Hughes.

With the sun in my hand
Gonna throw the sun
Way across the land-
Cause I’m tired,
Tired as I can be

So Tired Blues – Langston Hughes

At first glance, the poem may seem simple and unremarkable. However, because it does not say much, it is fun to let your imagination run wild. In my personal opinion, the shortness of the poem conveys the speaker’s weariness and exhaustion, using the very last of his remaining strength to “throw the sun across the land”, so that night would fall and he would finally be able to rest. But there are many other ways to perceive poetry. Is the speaker simply sleepy from using his energy? Or is there a deeper meaning to the cause of his fatigue? What you feel is up to you.

Poetry is also a good way to train your imagination, as it allows you to imagine and think about scenes and psychology from textual information. Planning and developing ideas are important skills for active work, so reading poetry can be an effective way to hone your imagination.

On the other hand, it is also a good idea to try writing poetry.

Since poetry needs to evoke various scenes in a few simple words, the writer needs to be able to express himself lyrically and multilaterally. It requires a depth in perspective and various understandings of values, experiences, and sensitivities. In addition to reading poetry, writing poetry is also a great way to improve mental health.

Effect 2: Reading Poetry Increases Your Ability to Empathize

A study across 274 Japanese university students showed that reading and getting emotionally involved in the text can have a positive psychological effect.

A questionnaire was given to these students, intended to measure empathy levels. The results found that there was a strong correlation between students who read books, and students who have a higher sense of empathy. Specifically, students who read relevant books when feeling depressed and empathized with the way the characters live and think, were more likely to also respond that they are “good at reading people’s feelings and subtle changes in facial expressions” and “have a good understanding of my own personality”.

In social life, many people feel lonely because they are unable to fit in with their surroundings, and feel that they are alone. However, even in such a situation, people who read books with a sense of empathy tend to have a higher understanding of other people’s psychology, making greater attempts to understand others.

Effect 3: Reading Poetry Creates a Feeling of Relaxation

One study at a Japanese university found that silent reading and recitation of poetry have a positive effect on mental health.

It is also said that silently reading a poem with positive content can make you feel relaxed and at ease. This is thought to be due to the “mood-congruency effect“, where reading positive poetry makes you feel positive.

On the contrary, data shows that if you read a poem with negative content, you are likely to feel negative yourself. Therefore, if you are thinking of reading poetry to calm your upsetting feelings, it is better to know the content and theme of the poem before you dive in.

Effect 4: Reading Poetry Takes Your Mind off Everyday Stress

Reading poetry expands your imagination, directs your focus away from unwanted emotions, and allows your mind to focus on the poem. This temporarily steers your thoughts away from whatever is troubling you, which can be distracting and refreshing.

An important aspect of distraction is whether or not you can cover up your current negative state of mind with more positive feelings. Therefore, if you are trying to distract yourself with poetry, it is important to make sure that the poem has positive content.

3 Poets for Beginners in Poetry

There are many poets out there, both classic and modern, so it’s hard to know what kind of poems you should start with first. So, here are three poets I recommend for first-time readers.

1. Billy Collins

This poet is recommended for: Readers who enjoy witty and playful reads

Billy Collins is commonly regarded as one of the most popular American poets of the 21st century. He combines self-deprecating humor, mischief, and irony to create illustrative works that will likely give you a chuckle. Furthermore, the language Collins uses is very accessible and straightforward, unlike many poets who may use flowery and vague language.

Incidentally, Collins has a poem titled Introduction to Poetry, which you can read here.

2. Margaret Atwood

This poet is recommended for: Readers who want to enjoy many different themes of poetry

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and novelist. Her works encompass many themes, such as gender, politics, religion, and climate change. Much of her writing, however, have common inspiration drawn from mythology and fairy tales, which Atwood mentions were an interest of hers from a young age.

The Moment is a poem that speaks on the relationship between human beings and the natural world and feels like an entire novel condensed into three short stanzas. You can read The Moment here.

3. Li-Young Lee

This poet is recommended for: Readers who enjoy storytelling and using their imagination

Li-Young Lee is an American poet, known for his simplistic language and use of “silence,” requiring the reader to fill in the gaps with their imagination. As a child of Chinese migrant parents, much of his works are inspired by his childhood, family history, and individuality. His poetry is highly influenced by classic Chinese poetry and frequently uses a narrative style. Lee’s poetry is passionate, evocative, and emotional.

Eating Together is one of the shorter poems by Lee, and evokes imagery of family sharing a meal at lunch. Try to see what you can feel by reading in between the lines. You can read Eating Together here

Enjoy Poetry for a Healthier Mind

There are not many people who read poetry on a daily basis. Many of us have lost touch with poetry, and therefore, it has gotten difficult to appreciate its beauty.

There are many benefits to reading poetry, and it’s clearly effective in maintaining and improving our mental health. If you are interested, try picking up a book of poetry sometime. There are also many online resources that have an archive of interesting poetry, such as the Poetry Foundation.

In addition, we now live in an age where we can use smartphone apps to take care of our mental health. There is an app that utilizes AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to enhance a person’s mental well-being. Through conversations, the AI records your daily health condition, learning more about you as you continue to use the app. The more you use it, the more accurate advice and suggestions the AI can provide. You can expect to reduce stress just by talking to the AI.

In addition to reading poetry, using something like this can certainly help you live a better life.
→ SELF MIND

References:

Aoyagi, Y., & Kaminaga, M. (2015). Reading and resilience in adolescence. Journal of the Faculty of Culture and Education at Saga-University, 20(1), 25-32.

Morita, H., & Sugamura, G. (2014). Reading poems to oneself affects emotional state and level of distraction. The Japanese Journal of Psychology, 85(5), 437-444. doi: 10.4992/jjpsy.85.13027

Sada, Y. (2000). Active Mental Rest(Oral Reading): Effect on Perceptual-Motor Learning. The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 48(2), 138-144.

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The Challenges After a Stress Leave

A common pitfall is to treat all career breaks equally. Paternity or maternity leave is very different from leaves due to mental health issues and should be treated accordingly. Research claims that long durations of stress leaves taken more than 3 times increase difficulties for a healthy return.

Let’s look at some of the challenges that come after a stress leave.

Mental Recovery Is Difficult to Measure

Mental recovery is usually assessed by a doctor, but that doctor’s assessment still relies on their personal subjective opinion in the end. Unlike physical wellness, mental well-being is difficult to measure recovery by definitive numbers.

One might seem healthy and well, yet have a high tendency to suppress depression whether conscious or unconscious. This makes assessments of a person more complicated, even for mental health professionals.

Returning to work before full recovery should be avoided. If a person ends up acting okay when they’re not, it risks more harm.

Mental Health Is a Constant Journey

Full recovery from depression and other serious mental illnesses is known to be difficult. While things could seem all better, oftentimes it can just be a state of temporary remission. It’s not rare for an incident or flashback to trigger symptoms to re-emerge.

For example, if constant harassment from a boss leads to enough mental health issues for a person to take a break from work, this person can struggle or be triggered easily through their relationships with future bosses when they return to work again.

We should understand that mental health recovery can be a long journey that requires patience and coping skills.

Rushing Back to Work After Stress Leave

People who are vulnerable to mental health pitfalls can be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) or have the tendency to prioritize others before themselves. This tendency makes them worry about their job or co-workers before themselves and pushes them back to work earlier to prioritize others. This results in an unsuccessful return as the person never took the time to adequately recover.

Any plans of returning to work should be given generous time. Most times, it’s more time than we ‘think’ we need.

Career Blanks Can Affect Our Self-Esteem

A career blank can affect our self-esteem and create worries about our future job prospects. For many, it can be a challenge to see their break in a positive light when they are ready to return to work. People who already struggle with mental health issues tend to fall into the belief that they had to “downgrade” or that they are “unwanted.”

Tips for Smooth Work Transitions

As mentioned above, there are many challenges in returning to work after extended mental health leave. It’s more unlikely we have everything perfectly figured out before going back to work, so the focus should be on mitigating these challenges.

Here are some tips on how to make a smooth transition back to work:

Create Relationships Outside of Work

If the work environment is a big factor for mental stress, create relationships outside of work. Joining communities outside of work can be a great outlet when you’re feeling down. The more we have family, friends, and romantic partners that support us, the more we can share our feelings and focus on other fun activities. An escape community from ‘work thoughts’ is always great to have and will help mental recovery.

Don’t Rush to Get Back to Work

As mentioned above, rushing back to work is not a good idea, as it can lead to needing a break again soon. It’s normal to want to go back to work due to financial concerns, societal pressure to work, or from worries of leaving work for long durations.

It’s hard to expect a full recovery of our mental health right away. Even if when you feel ready, stop for a minute and ask for a second opinion. Take slow steps to assure a healthy return to work.

Create Distance From Triggers

Every person has a different reason why they might have needed a stress leave. It can be anything from work relationships, unfit job positions, to harsh working environments, etc. If you understand the initial cause, try to create a distance from your possible triggers. Psychological triggers can be avoided if we set proper boundaries from the potential cause.

Take Slow Gradual Steps Back to Work

In our stressful modern society, it’s not uncommon to need a break from work due to mental health issues. If you’ve already taken a career break and feel ready to go back to work, try to keep these challenges and tips in mind as you make decisions moving forward.

After a long career break, the best way to get back into the groove of work is through slow and gradual steps.

Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References：

Kashiwagi, Y., Taguchi, F., Monou, H., Ebana, S., & Ashihara, M. (2006). INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCH ON SUPPORT FOR RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE FOR PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED MENTAL HEALTH—QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF RELATED PERSONS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE WORKPLACE. Japanese Journal of Occupational Medicine and Traumatology, 54(3), 113–118. http://www.jsomt.jp/journal/pdf/054030113.pdf

Kashiwagi, Y. (2006). THE ISSUES OF RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE FOR PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED MENTAL HEALTH. Japanese Journal of Occupational Medicine and Traumatology, 54(2), 49–53. http://www.jsomt.jp/journal/pdf/054020049.pdf

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What is a Routine?

A routine is “a mode of behavior acquired through repeated experiences, readily reproduced in similar situations, and a way of feeling and thinking that prepares for those actions”. In other words, it’s the capability to work on a particular action persistently without strain.

Why Are We Resistant to Routine Changes?

If we’ve never played soccer before, there are many obstacles to overcome before it becomes a part of our routine. We need to first learn the skills, prepare equipment, and find an appropriate playfield. It’s difficult to make a habit of something that requires a certain set of conditions like this.

There are several other factors that make daily routines and habits difficult to stick to.

• Lack of enjoyment
• Having trouble concentrating and getting distracted
• Lack of motivation to continue because there’s no goal or end in sight
• Feeling as if there’s little return for the time and effort you put in

Once any of the above points are felt, most people struggle to continue with their new routine, resulting in failure.

Mental Health Benefits of A Routine Walk

Walking is a great way to get started without the need for equipment or space. It’s an activity that anyone can get into, at any time. The following are the benefits of making daily walks a part of your life.

1. A Change of Pace

Daily walks can serve as a change of pace in your day. According to one study, members of all ages and genders recognize exercise as being fun, helpful in relieving mental stress, and increasing concentration. Try to enjoy the scenery of the walk and avoid looking at your phone during walks. It could lead to new discoveries in your own neighborhood and bring mental clarity to some thoughts.

2. Making Friends

A walk can be a great opportunity to create connections with others. Once daily walks become a habit, you might find people who appear around your route at a similar time. You may end up forming friendships and more acquaintances by saying “hi” along the way. This will raise our spirits and sense of community, creating a positive effect on our mental health.

3. Getting in Shape

Routine walks create confidence. Walking is a form of exercise; inevitably, regular walks will help us get in better shape. As society becomes more convenient giving us fewer excuses to leave the house, it’s much easier to gain weight. This can lead to stress and a decrease in self-confidence. Regular walks can help burn calories, form healthier muscles, and boost self-confidence, all aiding to better health.

How to Make Walking a Habit

Even after we understand the positive benefits, it’s still a challenge to create healthy habits. This is especially true for people who do not already exercise on a regular basis. Here are some tips on how to make walking a habit.

1. Never Push Too Hard

Try to find a “purpose”, but don’t set too many strict “goals.” To form any routine habit, it is important to hold a purpose. The purpose will determine the walking course, speed, and method of walking. A person who wants to experience joy through new discoveries within their neighborhood and interacting with people would have a different kind of walk from someone who wants to get in shape and work on self-confidence.

Be mindful not to set goals that are too specific. For example, committing to goals like setting how many “hours/miles every day” can actually be counterproductive. High goals set from the beginning can lead to high pressure, stress, and failure to form a habit. Start small in setting specific goals. For instance, a goal like, “I will enjoy my walk every day,” is a great simple place to start.

2. Have a Walking Buddy

The best way to make walking a habit is to work on it with a friend. One of the appeals of walking is that we can start on our own right away. However, for some people, walking alone is not enjoyable enough to form a habit.

Try forming a group of friends to walk with or find a walking buddy. When we have someone walk together with us, it becomes a more social habit that’s easier to adapt without a struggle. Additionally, communicating with others while exercising brightens our mood and will excite us towards the next walking session!

Regular Walks for a Healthy Mind

If you are in a mental rut, regular walks are excellent in turning your mental health around. Adaptation of the habit may not be immediate and challenging if we don’t exercise regularly. The key is to have a solid purpose and to work with buddies to make it an enjoyable habit.

Go for a walk today and see if you can make it part of a self-care routine!

Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References:
Izumi, T. (2001). Application of Behavior Analysis to Lifestyle Improvement: A Study on Habit Formation of Walking Exercise. The Bulletin of the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies Nihon University (2), 212-221.

Miyamoto, M. (2016). Mental Health and Life Habits: Lifestyle-Related Diseases as a Mental Dysfunction. Journal of the Japan Academy for Health Behavioral Science, 31(1), 13-21.

Ohara, S., & Matsushita, T. (2015). Research on Habituation and Continuation of Exercise and Sports. Bulletin of Aichi Institute of Technology (50), 58-70.

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What is Masked Depression?

What’s your first thought when you hear the word “depression”? Most people think of sadness, avoidance, and low motivation. Yes, those are typical symptoms of depression. However, there are people who have no obvious mental symptoms like that who carry physical symptoms like headaches, burnout, and shoulder pain. These are signs of masked depression.

Masked depression is where all the symptoms manifest physical rather than mental. The headache, fatigue, or shoulder pain suddenly shows up one day and starts to affect the everyday. Usually, doctor examinations won’t show any apparent results or causes, but the physical symptoms will sometimes worsen to a point where it’s difficult to continue a healthy life.

In other words, masked depression tends to be “masked” with physical symptoms, that it’s hard to even recognize the possibility of “depression.”

Who Is Prone to Masked Depression?

Typical signs of masked depression:

• Headache
• Burnout
• Shoulder pain
• Constant fatigue
• Stomachache and loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Fever

These are just a few examples of the physical symptoms depression can cause. This leads to some doctors diagnosing masked depression as a sign of onset early depression.

The problem with masked depression is that most people don’t feel any kind of mental symptoms while the physical symptoms start to appear. People usually think that they’re ‘just tired’ or ‘have a cold’ at the moment and leave it at that. When depression is left undiagnosed, the symptoms tend to drag on.

People who are always busy or have high standards will continue to push while they ignore their physical signs thinking, “this is not a good enough excuse to rest or go seek help.” This can lead to risks of more serious symptoms if they are in fact going through masked depression.

Prevent Masked Depression Through Stress Recognition

Masked depression, similarly to other types of depression, is primarily caused by stress. Therefore, the preventative measures for it are consistent with the other types of depression.

To prevent masked depression, it’s important that we don’t hold onto stress. Healthy wake-sleep cycles and adequate rest will allow a person to stay aware of the slightest changes in their stress levels. Make sure that you don’t miss the signs of stress.

When we are aware of our own stress levels, we have a better ability to suspect the physical symptoms as possible early-onset depression.

It’s a good idea to find ways that allow you to relieve stress daily.

Can an AI app provide support for stress management? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial.

How To Become Self-Aware of Your Stress

Keep A Diary
Diary keeping is a basic method known to help depression in cognitive behavior therapy. You can understand what kind of stress you’re exposed to, by looking back and reflecting upon your day. Additionally, verbalizing and writing out your thoughts and feelings is an activity that helps reduce stress.

Intervention Bracelet
This is a method that allows you to recognize and bring awareness to your daily stressors. You wear a ring or a bracelet on one side and move it to the other side every time you feel stress. Researchers at the University of Texas revealed that this method helps with stress reduction and improves self-esteem. Check out the post below for more details on this.

Don’t Self-Diagnose Your Symptoms

When our bodies feel sluggish or there’s shoulder pain, most of us associate it with a mild cold, tiredness, or aging. However, our beliefs and experiences aren’t always right. You should never leave physical symptoms unattended. We recommend that you rethink and suspect the possibilities of masked depression if you’re under a lot of stress.

There is no way to recognize the possibilities of masked depression if you’re not aware that you’re feeling stressed. The best preventative measure is to build self-awareness towards the stress that you’re exposed to every day.

Think You Might Have Masked Depression?

Masked depression is a subtype of depression that sometimes can’t be fixed by just obtaining healthy lifestyle choices. Some cases require medication and therapy. If you feel that there is a possibility of masked depression, try to seek professional help.

Reference:

Hasegawa, K., & Watanabe, N. (1989). Depression and Psychosomatic medicine. The Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine, 29(5), 427–435. https://doi.org/10.15064/jjpm.29.5_427

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Have You Watched the Inside Out movie?

Inside Out (2015) is an animation film produced by Disney, with an accessible insight into our mental process of emotions. Developed under the guidance of psychologist Dacher Keltner, the film contains a lot of scientific basis in how the brain processes emotions. There are 5 anthropomorphic characters that represent our core emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. In the Inside Out movie, all humans have a version of these emotions inside of their brain. The story, however, follows a human character named Riley and her emotion characters.

The Inside Out movie may seem like a children’s film at first glance. However, the story can teach anyone at any age about the complexity of emotions and the fundamentals of emotional intelligence. The film is surprisingly accurate about our emotional developments from a cognitive, developmental, and clinical psychology aspect. It was perceived so well in the field of mental health, some journals have even been published on the topic. (See: Why patients and doctors should watch Inside Out.)

Below we’ll discuss some lessons we can learn from watching the Inside Out movie and how we can apply them to better regulate our own emotions. Furthermore, we will explore how to reduce stress through incorporating different understandings of our emotions.

Emotional Regulation Lessons from The Inside Out Movie

Anthropomorphic Thinking

A research inspired by the Inside Out movie explored anthropomorphic thinking – thinking of emotions as their own people – and how it influences our behavior. Scientists asked all participants in a study to recall their saddest moments in life. The group was then split into two, where one group was asked to write down what their sadness would be like if it were a person, while the other was asked to write the emotional impact and effects of this sadness. The group that anthropomorphized their sadness reported lower levels of sadness after the writing exercise. They then asked all the participants to make consumer choices for a meal and a computer for themselves. The group that anthropomorphized their sadness was able to make healthier choices for food and more practical choices for their computers instead of an indulgent choice.

Researchers believe that decreased sadness leads to better self-control when making decisions. Furthermore, they believe this leads to healthier choices when looking for how to reduce stress. The study suggests that “anthropomorphizing sadness may be a new way to regulate emotion”, as it makes us feel better and helps us resist temptation. On the other hand, when researchers asked participants to anthropomorphize happiness, it actually lead to lower levels of happiness. Therefore, not all emotions are recommended for this method.

Clashing Emotions in the Inside Out Movie

We all have moments where we want to block certain inconvenient and less pleasant emotions. At one point in the Inside Out movie, the emotion character Joy tries to block Sadness. This leads to the main character, Riley, completely shutting down emotionally. The film not only addresses sadness, but also other discomforting emotions such as disgust, fear, and anger. It then goes onto highlight the important roles these emotions play as an integral part of our life experience. For example, disgust keeps us safe by avoiding potential harm (poison, etc.), fear allows us to take precautions, and anger acts as a means to express frustrations and defend ourselves. These negative emotions can be hard to embrace because we associate them with being negative. However, the Inside Out movie teaches us to embrace these emotions too.

Mindfully Embrace ALL Emotions

When we’re developing emotions, it can be hard to understand healthy coping methods or how to reduce stress. This can be especially true in our teenage phase of development. A common regulation strategy is “emotional suppression”, which is to suppress certain unwanted emotions. However, experts believe this can lead to anxiety and depression. Instead, we need to learn how to validate all emotions, the good and the bad. For example in the Inside Out movie, after trying to block Sadness, Joy tries to shift the brain’s emotional responses to exclusively positive ones. Research actually finds this method to sometimes increase depressive feelings. In the end, the film shows the acceptance of sadness as an emotion that is also as important as other positive feelings.

Experts describe this acceptance as “mindfully embracing” an emotion. This means to objectively observe our own emotions without judgment nor dramatic reaction. This allows us to create space for a healthy response to better deal with our situation. Once we embrace even the seemingly negative, we can fuel those emotions towards positive growth. For example, recognizing sadness can help us develop empathy and strengthen relationships. It can even provide us with insights on how to reduce stress, if we understand how to embrace our feelings properly. For example, in the Inside Out movie, Joy learns to recognize that Sadness is behind feelings of empathy and regret. Both of these feelings prove to be very important throughout Riley’s emotional journey in the Inside Out movie.

Understanding Emodiversity Through the Inside Out Movie

Emodiversity – emotional diversity – is our ability to experience a diverse range of emotions in fairly equal measures. Once we start embracing all of our emotions, we become capable of experiencing emodiversity. The Inside Out movie shows this as the character Joy learns to accept that all emotions, positive or negative, have an important role in Riley’s life. By the end of the Inside Out movie, all emotions are working in harmony. A 2014 study with 37,000 respondents revealed that people who experience “emodiversity”, or a rich array of both positive and negative emotions, demonstrate better mental and physical health. An appropriate emotional journey, as well as finding how to reduce stress in a healthy manner, are what we need to achieve higher levels of happiness. Just as the saying goes, “variety is the spice of life.”

According to this study, the more emotions we feel for a particular situation, the more detailed understanding and perspectives we gain. As a result, this leads to better behavioral choices and potential greater happiness. Researchers also found that people high in emodiversity were less likely to be depressed than people high in positive emotion alone. In terms of physical health, a second study pointed out that emodiversity leads to less medication use, lower health care costs, fewer doctor visits, better diet, more exercise, and better smoking habits. Surprisingly, the effect of emodiversity on physical health is proven strong.

As we can see, enriched emotions are vital to our well-being and seeking how to reduce stress in a healthy manner. If you’d like to know where you stand on the scale of emodiversity, you can try a test at Emodiversity.org to see where you’re at.

Watching the Inside Out Movie from a New Perspective

Cultivating self-awareness regarding our emotions is vital for emotional regulation and finding how to reduce stress appropriately. The Inside Out movie teaches us a few important tips on how we can better regulate these emotions. First, anthropomorphizing our emotions helps our negative emotions feel less intense and give us better self-control. Second, mindfully embracing all of our emotions, even the negative, allows us to avoid emotional suppression and helps us grow and deal with situations in a healthier manner. Third, fully feeling our authentic emotions through emodiversity can be beneficial for us both mentally and physically. Understanding and embracing these lessons will help us become a better version of ourselves, as well as finding healthy ways to relieve stress regularly, leading to a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Never considered Inside Out as more than a children’s movie? It’s time to watch or rewatch it again from a mental regulation standpoint. You might be pleasantly surprised to find more insights and tips that go beyond what this article covers!

Image: Unsplash
Reference:

A new strategy to alleviate sadness: Bring the emotion to life: Researchers show how characters from the movie “Inside Out” hold the key to regulating emotions and behavior. (2019, October 3). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191003103515.htm


Chen, F., Chen, R. P., & Yang, L. (2019). When Sadness Comes Alive, Will It Be Less Painful? The Effects of Anthropomorphic Thinking on Sadness Regulation and Consumption. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 30(2), 277–295. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1137


Docter, Pete. (Director). (2015). Inside Out [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation Studios


Four Lessons from “Inside Out” to Discuss With Kids. (2015, July 14). Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_lessons_from_inside_out_to_discuss_with_kids


How the GGSC Helped Turn Pixar “Inside Out.” (2015, June 19). Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_ggsc_turned_pixar_inside_out


Keltner, D., Oatley, K., & Jenkins, J. M. (2018). Understanding Emotions (4th ed.). Wiley.


Quoidbach, J., Gruber, J., Mikolajczak, M., Kogan, A., Kotsou, I., & Norton, M. I. (2014). Emodiversity and the emotional ecosystem. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(6), 2057–2066. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038025


Variety is the Spice of Emotional Life. (2014, December 22). Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/variety_is_the_spice_of_emotional_life

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Negative Experiences are a Part of Life

A Japanese university experimented to see how people socially share their experiences when they see images that evoke unpleasant feelings. When participants were left alone in a waiting room with a friend after seeing the unpleasant images, 95.3% of them told their friends about the images. Even when they were told not to disclose, 53% of them ended up talking about their experience a week later. Our desire to share bad experiences with others is so strong, and we struggle to keep it to ourselves.

In clinical psychology, verbalization of emotions is believed to have a cathartic effect that removes anxiety and tensions. Verbalizing emotions is also linked to better mental health, as it has significant implications for depression recovery. People seem to derive these effects from “cognitive” and “interpersonal” aspects of this behavior, which we will discuss below.

Emotional Support Stabilizes Our Feelings

Tough times can make us feel frustrated and anxious. When these experiences occur, our trust, self-image, perception of others, and the world can be shaken. We all desire to sort out what happened, why it happened, and know what kind of social support we can get. When there’s something out of our control, we feel the need to discuss it with peers so that we can restore our faith again. Receiving the emotional support from our peers makes us feel better about the mistakes we made. These are the “cognitive” reasons we vent our feelings to others.

Staying Connected to Society

When we’re upset, we tend to focus on ourselves and our negative experiences. As a result, we tend to forget about the rest of the world. We try to recover from the loneliness we experience during these times by sharing our negative experiences with friends and family. Our desire to communicate stems from wanting society to know how we’re feeling and to feel accepted through emotional support. This is the “interpersonal” reason why we talk about painful things.

Do We Want to Share Our Embarrassment?

It’s not rare to share the little embarrassing things that we experience. Like when we mess up during a presentation or trip on a flat surface. A Japanese university set to find out if and when students would talk to others about their saddest, angriest, and most embarrassing experiences. Researchers expected results to show that participants seldom shared their embarrassing experiences. However, 71.4 % of participants claimed to share their most embarrassing experiences with others. Also, more than half shared their experience almost immediately after it happened.

Everybody Shares Their Feelings with Others

Sharing feelings is part of our universal behavior. A social study of shared emotional behavior across six countries, including Belgium and Suriname, found no differences by country, age, or gender, in the way that humans shared emotions. Talking about embarrassing or upsetting occurrences seems to be a common phenomenon for men and women of all ages and backgrounds worldwide.

Nevertheless, it can be somewhat stressful for a listener to hear someone’s negative experience, as well as to provide undivided emotional support. It’s wiser to spread your venting among several people rather than dumping everything onto just one person.

Sharing difficult or embarrassing experiences is natural. We should always support our circle of family and friends to help each other get through these experiences.

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If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Image: Unsplash

Reference:
Kawase, T. (2000). Why We Talk About Our Emotions: Why Do People Talk About Negative Emotions to Others? Bulletin of Miyazaki Municipal University Faculty of Humanities 7(1), 135-149.

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What is Emotional Differentiation?

One helpful technique in regulating our negative emotions is called emotional differentiation. In short, this refers to our ability to identify and label our emotions. Ph.D. at Harvard University, Erik Nook explains, “Some people are very specific in making sense of what they’re feeling, whereas other people might just say they feel bad, but can’t be more specific than that.”

Nook says our ability to differentiate emotions score high as a child. This is because we only start with very straight-forward single emotions to identify with. However, from childhood to adolescence, our emotional differentiation skills decrease to an all-time low. This is due to the shifting developments we deal with to understand complex emotions. This is part of the reason why we struggle to make sense of emotions during our teen phase. Then, as we grow into adulthood and gain more experience with complex emotions, our emotional differentiation skills tend to improve again. In other words, you learn how to control your emotions as you grow older. Emotional differentiation skills are also crucial in building our future emotional intelligence.

Why is Emotional Differentiation Important?

We Can’t Fix What We Don’t Understand

As adults, we all vary in our levels of emotional differentiation skills. For instance, a 2012 study at Michigan University asked participants to identify and note their emotions throughout the day for a week. As a result, emotional differentiation skills widely differed between depressed and healthy individuals.

• People vulnerable to stress have a vague understanding of how they feel and have more trouble differentiating their negative emotions.
• People resilient to stress are skilled at differentiating their negative emotions.

In other words, mentally healthy people put labels such as “anxiety” or “sadness” to their negative emotions. In contrast, people prone to stress tend to leave them unarticulated in one pile as “bad”. Therefore, unless we can clearly identify the core of our negative emotions, it becomes a challenge to help ourselves or reduce stress. Overall, the more you learn how to identify your emotions, the more you learn how to control your emotions in a healthy way.

Emotional Control and Coping Skills

Another 2015 joint study by George Mason University and Northeastern University found that emotional differentiation correlated with how well we could cope in intensely stressful situations.

• People with LOW emotional differentiation skills were up to 50% more likely to resort to unhealthy coping methods such as binge drinking, aggression, and self-injurious behaviors.
• People with HIGH emotional differentiation skills naturally down-regulated their neural reactivity in the brain regions that formed negative feelings. Thus, they experienced less anxiety and depressive disorders.

According to these findings, the experience of a negative emotion widely varies depending on our skills. Thus, this is an essential developmental processing skill that reduces our psychological problems and increases our sense of wellbeing.

How to Control Your Emotions Using Emotional Differentiation

Identify Negative Emotions

All of the above research teaches us that we should never over-simplify our negative emotions. Moreover, carrying a vague sense of terrible feelings will not help us in any way. Instead, let’s try to ask questions that assess these negative emotions. For example, are you feeling angry? If so, what’s one of the root emotions that’s causing this anger? In effect, focusing on identifying these feelings can instantly steal our attention away from experiencing the damaging effects of negativity. Consequently, you will have a better grasp on how to control your emotions and reduce stress in an appropriate manner.

The Negative Emotion List

However, it’s not easy to immediately identify our feelings in the heat of the moment. In this case, a reference list of negative emotions comes in handy. According to psychologist and California State University professor Tom G. Stevens, our primary negative emotions can be grouped into three main groups of anxiety, anger, and depression.

Emotional Control Takes Practice

Of course, there are many more emotions, and complex emotions can have more than one label. The lines between the emotion groups can also be blurry, as some emotions may overlap groups. In essence, try to create group categories and labels that work best for you. Write them down on a piece of paper or on post-its. Whenever you need to reduce stress, take a look at the list of words and try to see if you can identify and organize the source of your feelings. Above all, ientifying and understanding feelings is the cathartic step towards better understanding how to control your emotions.

Overall, if we want to help ourselves, we must first allow ourselves to understand how we feel. Although it may seem unpleasant to explore negative emotions, this is an essential step in developing our emotional intelligence skills. Next time you feel “bad” don’t discard it so quickly. Instead, pull out your chart of feelings to find better coping methods and figure out how best to control your emotions.

Looking to improve your mental health?

Try the SELF MIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Images: Unsplash
Reference:

Demiralp, E., Thompson, R. J., Mata, J., Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Barrett, L. F., Ellsworth, P. C., Demiralp, M., Hernandez-Garcia, L., Deldin, P. J., Gotlib, I. H., & Jonides, J. (2012). Feeling Blue or Turquoise? Emotional Differentiation in Major Depressive Disorder. Psychological Science, 23(11), 1410–1416. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612444903


Kashdan, T. B., Barrett, L. F., & McKnight, P. E. (2015). Unpacking Emotion Differentiation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414550708


Reuell, P. (2018, September 21). Harvard researchers examine evolution of emotion differentiation. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/09/harvard-researchers-examine-evolution-of-emotion-differentiation/


Stevens, T. G. (n.d.). Choose To Be Happy and Overcome Negative Emotions such as anxiety, anger, or depression. You Can Choose To Be Happy. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://web.csulb.edu/%7Etstevens/anxiety,_anger,_and_depression.htm

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How to Use an Intervention Bracelet

The “intervention bracelet” method was devised at the University of Texas. According to their research, students with high tendencies of anxiety found this method to reduce stress and improve self-esteem.

The intervention bracelet method is extremely easy in practice.

1. Prepare a bracelet that’s easy to put on and remove. (Rings, wristwatches or elastic bands are also acceptable)
   
2. Go about your day as usual with the bracelet on one of your wrists.
   
3. Whenever you feel any negative emotions arise, remove the bracelet, and put it on the opposite hand.

Repeat step #3 every time you feel any kind of stress. The importance is in the predetermined action we take whenever negative emotions arise. This helps us acknowledge our stress in a rational manner. According to the study, subjects who practiced this method for three weeks developed awareness towards stress, and also successfully reduced their chronic discomfort.

The Importance of Noticing Stress

Whether it’s going on vacation, enjoying hobbies, or exercise, different people have different ways of getting rid of their stress. Of course, we should be practicing self-care methods suitable to our needs, but in order for that to work, we need to first ‘notice’ when we feel stress. When stress impacts, it’s only natural to get caught in the emotional reaction of irritation or exhaustion. Moreso than our reaction, we need to acknowledge and focus on the fact that we’re feeling ‘stress’.

Noticing stress is a crucial step in treating it. Of course, you could deal with the vague feelings of stress by, let’s say, dancing it out. But the later you precisely acknowledge your stress, the harder it becomes to accurately determine the level and cause. At this point, it would be difficult to feel completely refreshed no matter what we do, and unexplained stress will continue to accumulate.

In order to efficiently and appropriately relieve stress, we need to notice it the moment it happens. This process helps us figure the intensity and causes of our stress. The intervention bracelet is a technique that creates an opportunity for us to recognize this stress moment.

Throw Away the Negative, Turn to the Positive

The intervention bracelet effectively increases our awareness of stress. It’s also a great stress relief practice in itself. It’s recommended for people who feel unexplained, vague sources of stress.

Having a coping mechanism on hand, such as the intervention bracelet method, keeps our mental health in check. This is just one of the many easy stress-care techniques you can try. Figure out what works for you and get into the habit of practicing. One of the keys to living a healthy and happy life is to properly cope with stress.

Image：Unsplash
Reference：
Elke Smeets, Kristin Neff, Hugo Alberts, and Madelon Peters
MeetingSuffering WithKindness: Effectsofa BriefSelf-Compassion Intervention for FemaleCollegeStudents（JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. xx(x), 1–15 , 2014)

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