Hi and welcome to our brand-new blog, The Therapy Brew!
We are Rachel and Jue Ann, partners at Daylight Creative Therapies and we are chuffed to have this blog up and running as it’s been in the pipeline for what feels like many months!
Our initial thoughts for this blog were to provide more mental health information and address frequently asked questions by some of our clients, friends, and family. However, through many cups of tea and coffee ( ok and some other beverages!), long conversations that often veered off topic, some tears and lots of laughter, we have decided to make this blog a place to celebrate all things that make us intrinsically human. As such, we aim to include information about our profession as art therapists and topics surrounding mental health and art. We hope to also include topics that cover intentional living via the food and drink we consume, the literature we read, and the activities that keep our bodies active as well as everything else that helps us live, grow and thrive each day.
Each month we aim to bring you 2 posts that we hope will help you navigate through the challenges of life with humility, humour and compassion for yourself and those around you. While we aim to inform and provide information, these posts are not meant to be prescriptive nor a stand-in for therapy. If you are struggling or are in need of support, please contact us directly, or your therapeutic provider or reach out to any of the following resources.
As the first week of the new year has come and gone, we want to highlight the importance of making time for yourself. We know this is easier said than done especially when we live in one of the world’s busiest cities, in a hyper connected period and with the constant rising cost of living and the unending need for bigger, better and more! Making time for yourself can help you feel less anxious, more grounded and enable you to manage each day as it comes.
These are just some of the tools we use and advocate for to inculcate into your day to day living:
1. Carve out a few minutes each day to meditate.
Start with 2 minutes and slowly build your way up to 15 minutes. Meditation can help calm both the mind and body. Meditation teaches us to become more present, slow down and helps us to manage our internal world. There are several apps available, many of which have trial periods so you can test out before committing to purchase. Additionally, if reading is your thing, there are several books on the subject. A book that we recommend is The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body by Richard Goleman and Daniel Davidson. They explore how the practice of meditation can help shift and change negative traits and even impact our genomes.
2. Make some art.
Use what you have available to you. There’s no need to go out and buy a bunch of expensive materials. Just start where you are and with what you have. Find an old notebook, a pen or pencil and just begin.
Slowly make some lines with your non-dominant hand around a piece of paper, slowly crisscrossing and swirling the lines on the page.
Then fill in the gaps with lines, shapes, and colours.
Allow your mind to wander and imagine what each space might be filled with.
3. Movement.
The benefits of exercise have long been documented and researched. But many of us still find it difficult to carve out time to exercise. This can sometimes be followed by a sense of guilt for not doing enough. Try to inculcate small changes in your day-to-day routine. Instead of taking the elevator, walk up the stairs when possible; take a longer walk after work to stretch your legs and be outdoors; dance and you’re your body when no one is looking; even small changes help us build healthier habits without making the task feel daunting.
4. Naps.
We are big advocates for a quick nap in the afternoon when possible. Ideally, nothing more than 20 minutes as a longer nap will tend to make you feel more groggy and tired. The benefits of napping according to the Sleep Foundation are increased sense of being alert, better moods and memory and naps can help with reducing stress levels.
So there you have it!
4 small ways in which to give yourself some love and care each day. We would love to hear if any of these tips have helped you and also hear about some of the small things you do each day to take care of yourself. Tag us in your socials @daylight_creative_therapies or get in touch with us on our website.
Remember, with any practice, take one small step at a time, be gentle with yourself and practice regularly. Till our next post where we talk about time blocking, productivity apps and managing our energy levels!
