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Blast from the Past: my Pechakucha on negative thinking

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I was in the shower after a class of outdoor yoga, when I got the idea of documenting my mental health's journey in a blog. Rewiring My Mind for Joy and Growth documents my attempts to reclaim joy, letting go of limiting beliefs and choosing growth over fear.  It is a personal reflection on the power of mindset. Through changes in thought patterns, daily habits and self-awareness, this blog explores how embracing positivity and resilience can help achieve serenity and a renewed sense of purpose.  Let's go back to 2017, when I spoke publicly about my mental health through a Pechakucha called Blame the Brain. I decided to improvise to face my fear of public speaking with courage (and I was lazy too). I gave a lot of talks in front of audiences after that and did two more Pechakuchas. Click  here to hear/see the presentation Did you know that we have 50,000 thoughts in a day and in most people 70% of these are negative? I share my journey towards positive thinking, discardin...
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Mindfulness: can it help?

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I attended a group yesterday to practise my listening skills. We were talking about small actions that can change deeply ingrained habits we want to challenge. Through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) I discovered the power of Mindfulness. I had heard of it and of meditation before but felt they were not for me. I am restless, energetic and have a lot of thoughts. However with CBT you want to change behaviours, hopefully rewire your brain a little bit... Through CBT and a stress-mindfulness course I recently completed, I found out about Jon Kabat-Zinn, who defines Mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally". We live our lives on automatic pilot, ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Mindfulness does not erase negative thinking, it makes you accept it and move on. You can practise mindfulness when you wash the dishes, brush your teeth or, even better, in nature. You focus on the moment, wh...
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Volunteering: good for you, good for others

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  I find keeping busy helps to manage negative thinking. I have volunteered for so many different causes and it always made me feel better. When not in employment or waiting for the next freelance contract, I volunteered. I now work part time and volunteer. When working full time I also volunteered. One of my 'jobs' is to lead walks for newcomers to my city. Walking also benefits my health and it's lovely to share history, anedoctes and beautiful places with people. If you want to try and see if it works for you, find a charity or non profit organisation and share your skills. You might even acquire new ones. This happened to me a lot, I managed to get paid jobs using those skills.
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