I’m afraid we’ve been too loosely using the term “self-care” in our discussions here, using a working definition something like “engaging in those activities and processes that make you physically and mentally better.” There’s a bit of meaning-shift in that definition, and I need to illuminate a point by tracing the term back to an [...]
David Rock, a blogger for Psychology Today, links your self-care to dopamine levels, but also has some concrete and simple suggestions for increasing yours. Once again, we are reminded the brain is a social organ. Recipe for maintaining inspiration: conversations, random people & big ideas | Psychology Today.
This is a found object, a concise and sensible guide to self-care from Thomas Denham of Georgia. In his view, it all boils down to three steps: Step back, take a breath and dive back in. Leave out any of those, and you’re in trouble. This is his advice: by THOMAS E. “Tom” DENHAM tom.denham@lovinghands.com [...]
By Kim Brown Campbell, LCPC, ATR Even from an early age, I’ve been no stranger to exposure to trauma. I thought long and hard about how to write this blog response alongside Dick Manning and Jim Caringi. I share similar sentiments to Dick and Jim via the long road taken towards learning to recognize the [...]
(Editor’s note: Following his post on self-care, we had several requests for Jim Caringi’s study of secondary trauma in people who work in protective services. Here it is) James C. Caringi, Ph.D, M.S.W. 2009 From “Secondary Traumatic Stress and Child Welfare” (under review): Findings The purpose of this study was to identify levels of secondary [...]
I’ve always thought of self-care as the gentle applied techniques many of us are familiar with—meditation, guided imagery, relaxed breathing, calming music, or energy awareness — tender acts aimed at re-fueling the self performed in safe, controlled environments. Rarely, though, have I thought of self care as any of the daily routines that I sometimes [...]
When Dick, Kim, and I started talking about adding a self-care section to “Good Works in Trauma” I have to say, I was quite excited about the possibilities of the conversation that could (and I hope) would develop. Without a lengthy introduction, I think it’s important to say that this is a topic that is [...]
A French word lies at the heart of what I do: “Jour,” is a day, so a “journal” is an account of a day. But a “journey” is a day’s travel. This new feature of “Good Works in Trauma,” covers both meanings, in that I am hoping to elicit a string of accounts of personal [...]