Jul 20, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
Hopefully you’ll forgive my “maybe it’s still too soon” subject line, because this week’s conversation topic is another great one and it even builds on our discussion last week.
That’s right: *emotions* are contagious. I say that’s a “good thing,” but the reality is that emotional contagion can be detrimental to our well-being, too. I guess it’s not really bad or good…it just is.
We’ll watch a brief video (https://youtu.be/TqRYpEDDCrg) on the subject that, while tailored to a business audience, is just as relevant to us outside of work and volunteer roles. It makes you think really hard a out the emotions you pass on to others, as well as what you allow yourself to receive from others. Our warm-up question for this week:
If you could only eat at one restaurant again for the rest of your life, but you could eat there as many times as you wished, what restaurant would it be and why?
See you soon,
Alex
Jul 14, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
Have you ever wanted to yell at someone to “stop being so emotional!” Perhaps someone has said something similar to you? Or maybe sometimes you feel overtaken by emotion, and you wonder how other people are able to keep them at bay?
It turns out that a lot of what we think is happening with our emotions is closer to mythology than fact. Worse yet, our own brain will trick us into thinking emotions are something other than what they really are. What should we do about this to support strong mental well-being?
As always, we need to start with awareness and education. This week we’re going to watch a helpful video to get better educated about emotions and debunk some commonly-held myths. This learning can go a long way to helping us not just understand our own emotions better, but also turning them into a tool for personal growth.
Our warm-up question for this week:
Who is the most “emotional” character you can think of from a movie or TV show, and what makes them “emotional”?
See you soon,
Alex
Jun 1, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
The first line of our shared article for this week sums up the oft-experienced frustration perfectly:
One of the hardest things for me in the aftermath of a conflict is getting out of my head and accepting that what happened, happened.
Why can’t we just summon up a little bit of Elsa magic and “let it go”? Why do we keep playing and replaying the situation in our minds, analyzing every word we said or should have said, even though there’s nothing to do about any of it?
In this week’s discussion we’ll talk through three practical strategies to reduce these “negative ruminations.” We’ll also watch a very brief video on ways to set better boundaries, which as you’ll see in the article is central to reducing the number of times we find ourselves in the types of conflict that lead to negative ruminations
Our warm-up question for this week:
Which Disney princesses are your most and least favorite? Yes, you read that right.
See you soon,
Alex
May 24, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
One of the best parts about the return of springtime is all the songbirds that once again find their way to the feeders we have placed around our back porch. Just this weekend my oldest son even remarked at how loud the birds were, which was both funny and delightful!
So what do birds and mental health have to do with each other? That’s part of what we’re going to explore together in our conversation this week, but really we’re talking about something much bigger than birds. It’s more about crisis, mental well-being, and ultimately love. Please take a few minutes to read this opinion piece in WaPo to learn more.
At the same time, we are talking about birds this week. In fact, we’ll spend a few minutes listening together to the sounds of birds as we reflect on the impact these sounds have on our mental state. You’ll surely enjoy reading the entire interactive article on the subject, again from WaPo.
Our warm-up question for this week:<
What is your favorite songbird? What does it make you think about and why?
See you soon,
Alex
May 18, 2023 | Mental Health Ministry, Stronger Together Support Group
Hello friends,
Whether you call it “overwhelmed” or “anxious,” we all know what it feels like: your mind becomes preoccupied with worrying thoughts, you probably tense up a bit, minutes begin to feel like hours, and so on. It’s not a pleasant state, but it’s also a normal part of the human experience. Of course there’s also a point at which these feelings become so persistent and intense that we classify it as a form of mental illness.
So how can we respond in healthy, effective ways when we feel overwhelmed? And what should we not do? In our conversation this week we’ll go through “5 Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed,” which also gives us insight into what we can do instead to prevent overwhelming feelings from not becoming so…overwhelming.
We’ll also watch a brief personal testimony from Florence Mukangenzi, a medical student who describes in wonderful clarity how she has developed strategies and tactics to manage her chronic anxiety.
Our warm-up question for this week:
What activities allow your mind to wander in healthy ways?
See you soon,
Alex
