Change and How it Can Affect Your State of Mind

INSHAPE NEWS MIND MATTERS

Jaime Parnell – Clinical Psychologist

Today, I have felt so many feelings: stress as I lost my car keys, happiness when I found them, surprise when I found $20 in my wallet, satisfaction when I bought a coffee with my newfound money, and worry that I might be late for work. If I held onto all of those feelings, it would be very hard for me to start my day productively.

What are Feelings?

Our feelings come and go like waves, if we hold onto those feelings it affects our ability to start daily tasks: we become stuck with the feeling. If we are trying to make changes in our lives, managing our feelings is critical to stay focused and create lasting change. It is important to live in the moment and acknowledge feelings as they come and go to help manage our state of mind. Mindfulness is a technique that is used to help people become aware of their feelings and state of mind. Smiling Mind is a free app that helps to teach people this skill. This app can be used each morning when you wake, during the day when you notice peaks in your feelings, or at night before you go to sleep.

Understanding Your Feelings

It is also important to track our feelings across the day and notice our associated state of mind. Being able to achieve daily goals and manage changes in life, it is also important to make sure we are picking the right time of day to implement the change process. Often morning routines have a state of mind associated with stress and this time of the day is not optimal to try to make changes. However, by tracking the times of the day, we can identify our peak times to pay attention and focus on tasks, and the low times when we should spend more time relaxing and unwinding. Alternatively, during the low times, we can implement strategies to help us increase our attention and focus.

How Change and Your Feelings Work Together

The key to changing your state of mind is to notice and track the different feelings that you have throughout the day and recognise any patterns that occur. You can then refocus your mind onto the tasks that you are wanting to achieve and things that make you happy. By incorporating a deeper insight into the feeling states by using mindfulness techniques, and linking these states with activities will increase our daily productivity.

Jaime Parnell has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and has a strong interest in working with anxiety and difficult behaviours in children, adolescents and young adults. Having previously worked with children who have suffered trauma; and with an extensive history in working with children and teenagers with difficult behaviours, Jaime provides assessment, individual and group counselling tailored to individual needs.

Located in the Central Queensland region, Jaime is particularly involved in working with clients who have complex presentations, and offers several outreach services, and skype consultations for the regional area. Jaime’s skills lie in providing a thorough assessment and being able to tailor interventions in a way that is solution focused. Jaime encourages using feedback informed services with clients to ensure that services are meeting clients’ needs. Jaime uses technology in her sessions and has recently released two apps — 30 days of gratitude, an app to appreciate the world around you, and Jacob the Frog, a guided breathing app for managing stress, worry and anxiety. Both, of which can be downloaded from the iTunes store.

Disclaimer: The information published in this column is based on each of the author’s own professional and personal knowledge and opinion. This information and opinion is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any manner. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition and consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional or exercise program. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on InShape News.

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