#feelgoodflyer

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

The Essential Self - What is it?

The Essential Self is our essential meaning-making processes in relation to life, self, and others.

Key concepts include spirituality, gender identity, culture identity, and self-care.

Spirituality - Personal beliefs and behaviors that are practiced as part of the recognition that we are more than the material aspects of mind and body. Dimensions include belief in a higher power; hope and optimism, worship, prayer, and/or meditation; purpose in life, love (compassion for others); moral values; and transcendence, or a sense of oneness with the universe.

Gender Identity - Satisfaction with one's gender; feeling supported in one's gender.

Cultural Identity - Satisfaction with one's cultural identity; feeling supported in one's cultural identity; transcendence of one's cultural identity (i.e., cultural assimilation).

Self-Care - Taking responsibility for one's wellness through self-care and safety habits that are preventive in nature; such habits include obtaining timely medical care, wearing a seat belt; limiting the use of prescribed drugs and avoiding the use of illegal drugs; avoiding the use of tobacco; abstaining from or very moderately using alcohol; getting adequate sleep; minimizing the harmful effects of pollution in your environment.

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

Fulfill your creative self with this challenge!

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

[feelgoodflyer]

This week, we’re focusing on: The Coping Self. 

**Please note, the links are not available on this PNG format.

[feelgoodflyer]

Growth Mindset for Coping

[feelgoodflyer]

The Coping Self - What Is It?

The coping self combines elements that regulate our response to life events. It provides means for transcending negative effects back to homeostasis, or even to transcend into a positive affective state! 

Some of the key concepts that make up “Coping Self” are activities and practices that foster (a) Stress Management, (b) Self-Worth, (c) Realistic Beliefs, and (d) Leisure Time. 

Stress Management: It’s so easy to see failures as disappointments and setbacks. However, this point is saying that it is important and healthy for our wellbeing to see stressful events as growing opportunities. This also incorporates fostering on-going self-monitoring and assessment of coping resources,  the ability to organize and manage time, energy, setting limits, and need for structure.

Self-Worth: This encompasses accepting who and what one is, positive qualities along with imperfections; Acceptance of one's physical appearance; Affirming the value of one's existence; Valuing oneself as a unique individual.

Realistic Beliefs: Understanding that perfection or being loved by everyone are impossible goals, and having the courage to be imperfect; The ability to perceive reality accurately, not as one might want or desire it to be; Separating that which is logical and rational from that which is distorted, irrational, or wishful thinking; Controlling the "shoulds," "oughts," dos, and "don't" which tend to rule one's life; avoiding unrealistic expectations or wishful thinking.

Leisure Time: This is your satisfaction: your leisurely activities and time. It is important to have positive feelings associated with your down time. If not, this can foster and harbor negative feelings and stress. It is important to have at least one activity in which "I lose myself and time stands still”. Work life balance is key. It’s so easy to feel guilty or become a work-a-holic because guilt may make us feel like we didn’t earn the time. Well, in order to actually be more productive, engaging in an intentional leisure activity will help foster your coping self and creative a healthier balance between work and your leisure time.

[feelgoodflyer]

WE’RE ON INSTAGRAM! 

Follow us @ FeelGoodFlyer 

[feelgoodflyer]

The Social Self - What is it?

The Social Self is the social support through connections with others in our friendships and intimate relationships, including family ties.

Key elements include friendship and love.

Friendship - Social relationships that involve a connection with others individually or in community, but which do not have a marital, sexual, or familial commitment; having friends in whom one can trust and who can provide emotional, material, or informational support when needed; not being lonely; being comfortable in social situations; having a capacity to trust others; having empathy for others; feeling understood by others; having relationships in which non-judgmental caring is experienced; being comfortable with one's social skills for interacting with others; being involved in one or more community groups.

Love - The ability to be intimate, trusting, and self-disclosing with another person; the ability to give as well as express affection with significant others; the ability to accept others without conditions, to convey non-possessive caring which respects the uniqueness of another; having at least one relationship that is secure, lasting, and for which there is a mutual commitment; having concern for the nurturance and growth of others; experiencing physical and emotional satisfaction with one's sexual life; having a family or family-like support system characterized by shared spiritual values, the ability to solve conflict in a mutually respectful way, the ability to solve problems together, commitment to one another, healthy communication styles, shared time together, the ability to cope with stress, and mutual appreciation.

[feelgoodflyer]

Volunteering

Among older adults Volunteering at least 200 hours per year (around 4 hours per week) was associated with greater psychological well-being, increased physical activity, decreased likelihood of hypertension (Sneed and Cohen, 2017). It has also shown to improve attentional control (Carlson, 2009).

Sneed, R. S., & Cohen, S. (2013). A prospective study of volunteerism and hypertension risk in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 28(2), 578–586. https://0-doi-org.library.wofford.edu/10.1037/a0032718

Carlson,  M. C., Erickson,  K. I., Kramer,  A. F., Voss,  M. W., Bolea,  N., Mielke,  M.,…Fried,  L. P. (2009). Evidence for neurocognitive plasticity in at-risk older adults: The experience corps program. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 64, 1275–1282. doi:10.1093/gerona/glp117