BUILDING RESILIENCE AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

These are some of my favorite passages in “The Depression Relief Workbook: 6 Weeks To A Happier You.” by Melody R. Green.

 

— “It is your self-care techniques that will help support and build your resilience and emotional wellbeing. “

You are building an internal muscle in much the same way you may have built muscles and strengthened your core when working to physically improve your health. In some ways, this may be more important than your physical training because much of the success of your workout physically is impacted upon by your emotional and mental wellbeing.

See these exercises as necessary to build core mental and emotional well- being. If you see them as a chore, then they will lose their effectiveness. As a general rule, you will need about 5-6 techniques you can call on in any given moment. Some techniques will suit you better than others. There are 20 here, so you can choose what suits you, and it’s important to use them daily, so they become habitual.

Like learning anything, mental and emotional wellbeing needs to be practiced daily. This is why the weekly workbooks have been designed the way they have, with repetitive actions to help embed the habit in your lifestyle. Creating habits over the 6 weeks will help you elevate and maintain your mood.

1. The Power of Stopping

This is a superpower. You live in a fast-paced world where you have to multi-task and move quickly to simply keep in the game of life, or so it seems. But there is immeasurable power in slowing down or stopping, especially when it comes to the mind and the emotions.

2. The Power of Yawning

It was not until I started working with color healing that I realized whenever I worked with clients, I would move them to the next step and yawn. Initially, I apologized for seeming bored or sleepy but I was neither of those things, and finally, I could contain my curiosity no longer, so I asked my healing guides what was happening. They advised that to yawn is one of humanity’s greatest self-care measures because it has ‘magical’ properties.

Yawning, if done properly, can release stuck energy from the body and allow new energy to come into that space and clear up the problems, realigning the person being healed to their highest health possible at that moment.

3. The Power of Acceptance

“If what you resist persists then what you accept dissolves.”

This alone could make or break your newly-found practice of emotional and mental wellbeing. I was a late learner of this self-care technique. I wish I had come to it so much sooner! It’s so invaluable that I get my clients to try this in the top 5. Accepting what is in this moment is a real game-changer. It is your place of power. It releases you from the push-pull of the past and stops you racing to the future as a way of es- caping what is currently happening and... because you are only living in this moment, when you feel pushed by the past or pulled to the future through over-attachment to both, you lose your powerful NOW place. If you don’t find a way to be with the now, you are still going to find yourself in a similar difficult position tomorrow.

This is brain training 101. And while it’s a challenge, it is possible. I am living proof!

What’s required here is awareness. You need to slow the mind’s thoughts down so you can sift through them and catch your mind out when it goes on automatic pilot, whispering gibberish in your ear! The steps are to stop – slow down – listen – accept – let go. Remember, your mind is only trying to help and protect you. So acknowledge the good the mind is doing and then ask it to go count sheep for a few hours while you work through what you need to do without the mind trying to organize or self-sabotage you.

4. The Power of Deep Breathing

Most people do not breathe deeply so the lower part of the lungs tend not to get as much exercise as they should, and your breathing is shallow, making it harder to get the best results.

Deep breathing requires you breathe into the lower part of the lung, which naturally pushes out the diaphragm all around the body, stretching the muscles that hold the internal organs, pushing air to the blood- stream and cells and letting the organs know that new oxygen is coming in, which in turn reminds the cells to get ready to expel the poisons they are holding. Deep breathing is slow and steady. By consciously breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, trying to expel all the last drops of air, it makes you ready for the next big breath in. If you could work up to 5 minutes x 3 per day, you would see a great benefit from this in terms of mental clarity, emotional calm and creative problem-solving. It’s worth the effort!

5. The Power of Tiny Movements

One thing I’ve learned through all of this work with depression and anxiety is that big and grandiose doesn’t work and can’t be supported long term. The real trick to finding greater wellbeing is in consistent and committed small steps or even micro-steps taken every single day, and this superpower tip is about tiny movements.

6. The Power of the Body Scan

Imagine you can MRI scan your body with your mind’s eye and as you do, your body lights up or goes dark at different points on the body. This is a bit like what an energy healer does. If they’re using clairvoyant skills, they will see light, shadows and colors over the body. If they’re primarily clairaudient, they will hear sounds as they scan your body or spiritual guides will tell them what’s happening and what needs to be done. If your healer relies on their clairsentient feelings, they will use their hands to scan the body and feel the discomfort on their own bodies. Their bodies are literally relaying your body’s irregularities. And rarely, you will find a healer that can smell or taste the dis-ease in your body. By practicing this power, you will be strengthening the connection between you and your body, so you can read information and support it to.

7. The Power of the Check-In

While the Body Scan was a check-in of your physical energy, the Check- In is a check on your emotional, mental and physical body. You will often find that when you are busy, your energy levels can drop quickly. Maybe you worked through lunch, maybe you had a run-in with a work colleague or felt disappointed or unsupported by someone you had re- lied on.

These daily shifts and balances impact on your energy field, especially if you are a highly sensitive person or an empath, and so it is vital to Check-In at least 3 times a day as to whether your energy levels are still high or do they need a top-up.

8. The Power of Meditative Communication

This is a style of communication that you share with another person you can trust, like a good friend. Emotions are contagious. So if you’re feeling depressed or anxious and you speak to someone who’s also worried or anxious, you can create imaginative scenarios that your mind will think are real because you’ve spent time discussing it repeatedly. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point.

9. The Power to Self-Soothe

** In her book, Melody shows how self-soothing is done.

10. The Power of Laughter

Laughter is a superpower and a natural medicine and mood enhancer when dealing with any congested emotions. ** In the book, will you learn some of the ways you can do this.

11. The Power of Singing Nonsense

Another superpower is to speak in rhyme or sing nonsense songs. A nonsense song is a type of song written mainly for entertainment using nonsense syllables at least in the chorus. Usually, it has a simple melody and a quick (or fairly quick) tempo.[1]

12. The Power of Your Own Voice

Your own voice is the strongest superpower you have. Let me say that again... Your own voice is the strongest superpower you have.

When you were a baby, you used the sounds your body made to communicate with others and to know you existed. You found out very quickly that when you cried, you got attention. As you grew into a toddler, you also learned you had to please others to receive love and being quiet was one of the ways you did that. Children who have been overtly censored by parents, careers or teachers to be quiet often have blocked emotions, poor self-esteem and lack confidence in some or all aspects of their lives.

Many of my clients have to learn to speak up, to let their voices out, to express who they are, be that in sound or the written word. Humanity suffers from having people who have a blocked Throat Chakra. Much of the anger and aggression that can be seen in the world is as a result of not being heard, validated, or recognized for who they are.

13. The Power of Transcription - using your voice.

Your inner voices, and in particular, your inner critic is often responsible for you feeling unhappy with yourself. One of the ways to give yourself strong, positive and amplified self-talk that supports your wellbeing is to take the meditation transcript and record the meditation in your voice and then upload on your listening device. You will find a selection of meditation scripts included in this workbook. Until recently, I would record these and add them as MP3’s, but recently, I realized it would be far more effective if you read and recorded them in your own voice so you can get the full benefit of listening to your voice in a loving, positive way rather than as the negative, inner critic. (See Chapter 11 for details.)

14. The Power of your Inner Cheerleader

“One of the problems humans have is the Inner Critic has had far too much airtime, while your Inner Cheerleader has been silenced.”

To help strengthen your Inner Cheerleader’s ability to claim airtime, you make a recording of your voice telling you how fabulous you are or a list of personal affirmations you can listen to daily. You will, over time, completely change the power of your inner critic, not by trying to eliminate it, but by building the voice of your Inner Cheerleader with positive emotions and directives.

15. The Power of Gratitude and Thankfulness

There is much that has been made of this superpower and many techniques to help you find the things you are grateful for. But the fastest way I know to get into the gratitude and thankfulness superpower is to thank or bless everything that passes your way. And I mean everything. The good, the bad and the downright horrible! Find a way of doing it in each moment and give thanks with a simple “thank you and bless you”. It is such a powerful mood changer.

You can’t be depressed when you’re focused on thanking people, because you’re interacting with people, you are not in yourself. Having said that, I tend to thank every part of me, even those parts that are in pain or criticizing me. My favorite thank you is to my inner critic.

The inner critic always speaks in absolutes. So, when it’s made a statement I say, “I absolutely thank you for pointing that out to me. I know you’re only trying to help, BUT I’m going to try something different and I’d appreciate if you would give me a few minutes to try this ________ (whatever it is that you’re trying to do). Go take a rest and I’ll call you back if I need you, ok?”

And if I can’t find a positive statement or my self-awareness goes AWOL then simply saying “thank you” three times seems to do the trick. Re- member, a lack of gratitude is often because we’re running at life rather than taking time to “smell the roses”.

16. The Power of Writing a Journal

Again, there are many ways this can be done and there are as many books and blog posts out there to show you how it can be done. The Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron is one of the best for creative types. But, before you rush to learn this new method, start with something simple. Ask yourself if you like to write things down. Are you a note-taker? A list maker? A writer of any kind? If you are – go ahead.

This superpower is yours. BUT if it’s a trial, a chore, worse than having your fingernails pulled out with pliers and no anesthetic, then let this go. It isn’t your superpower and its ok. There will be something else you can do instead.

17. The Power of Commitment to a Daily Practice

Especially when you are beginning something new or challenging, it may take a while for you to master it. I studied singing for 15 years, and while I was more than proficient at it – practiced even, in certain situations, as I had been a professional performer – it took many years of dedicated commitment to the daily practice of singing, scales, correct breathing techniques, body warm-ups, physical exercise, learning new roles, languages and movement before I could say I was proficient.

18. The Power of Meditation

Meditations are an excellent way to realign your soul, etheric bodies and your physical self. They help you build a self-awareness and mindfulness practice, both of which can help with managing your emotional wellbeing. There are many options on YouTube or phone apps.

19. The Power of the 7-Step Ground-In

This is such a useful superpower to have. It keeps you grounded and present in your body and is so simple to use that it is worth the effort to make it a “go-to habit” for emotional and mental self-care.

Place one hand on your head and the other on your heart and say aloud:

GROUND – ALIGN – CONNECT – PROTECT – SEAL – ENERGISE – BALANCE

Take a deep breath and release out. Remove your hands.

You will notice a clearer vision and a feeling of being more in your body.

NB: Once you have done this a few times speaking aloud, your body will recognize this instruction and you will be able to give the command – GROUND – and the body, mind, heart and spirit will come into alignment instantly.

20. The Power of the Body Wake-up

This is a tapping process that awakens and aligns the body. It’s effective on waking as we come in from the dream state or as a reminder to the body to become more present during the day, especially after a shock or emotional disturbance. The body goes offline, so to speak, when you sleep or when you are forced to by a shocking event, emotional reactions or mental overload. This is to protect your soul from danger. From your soul’s perspective, your physical body is like a coat. It can be replaced if it is no longer able to function for the soul’s use (this is what death is).

** In her book, Melody shows how this exercise is done.

21. The Power of Tapping Away Anxiety

Anxiety will block the connection between heart, mind and body, so having a tapping point you can use to help regulate your anxiety is an essential tool.

** In her book, Melody shows how this exercise is done.

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