Hold Your Center | Dr. Jill Baron

This month’s newsletter focuses on how to “Hold Your Center” during times of significant stress.

As a human being, you have invariably experienced major stress in your life, be it the loss of a loved one, losing a job, having financial issues, relationship stress, etc.

It’s during these stressful periods when our healthy lifestyle routines can go awry and we may not eat as well, we stop exercising, we don’t get enough sleep, and we may indulge in unhealthy behaviors.

To help cope with these challenging times, I believe it is important to “Hold Your Center.”

“Holding Your Center” refers to the calm, centered, way of being that informs your life. These times require us to have more energy to withstand the stressors we are up against. To get to yourstable “Center” requires mental, emotional, and physical stamina.

Here are a few suggestions to help bring you back to your “Center:”

Stick with healthy habits and adhere to a routine to help anchor and ground you emotionally and physically to be your best self during these times and shore up your resilience and strength.
If it is too overwhelming to do all of the Don’t Mess with Stress™ foundational steps of Diet, Meditate, Walk (exercise, dance, move), and Sleep, just start with one of them, such as diet—try eating more leafy greens and drink more water, ideally boiled or room temperature water, as they can help ground you. Or pick a bedtime and consistently go to sleep at that time.

Listen to Music that soothes you:

Baroque music that induces Alpha Waves in the brain for deep concentration and focus, such as composers Bach, Handel or Telemann.¹ Check out Pachebel’s Canon or Handel’s Concerto Grosso Op.6 N.12 – Aria Larghetto.

and/or

Romantic music – by Debussy

Walk in nature, which I have discussed in a previous newsletter, and can also put you in an alpha state.

Develop “Wise Mind” thinking. “Wise Mind” is the term that connects the “rational” and the “emotional” minds. “Wise Mind” is one of the core concepts of DBT, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, founded by Dr. Marsha Linehan. Ask yourself, how would your “Wise Mind” approach your problem or issue. And see what bubbles up inside of you.
A good reference for DBT is “The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation & Distress Tolerance”.

It is not always easy to manage one’s health and well-being under stressful situations. I hope that the above tips can make your life a little more comfortable during your trying times.

Please enjoy the beauty that spring brings.

With warmest regards,

Dr. Jill

(1) Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom.