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Many individuals experience anxiety-induced panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden, unexpected episodes of intense fear or terror. Individuals who experience reoccurring panic attacks may have Panic Disorder, a DSM anxiety disorder that affects around 6 million adults in the United States. Panic attacks are often sudden and reach their peak within minutes. They can occur spontaneously or be triggered by a situation or feared object. An individual experiencing a panic attack may develop a fear of future attacks, increasing their anxiety and causing them to avoid situations or locations where they experienced the attack. Some symptoms that occur during a panic attack include:

• Chest pain, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath
• Sweating, trembling, and dizziness or light-headed
• Numbness or tingling
• Chills or hot flashes
• Nausea or abdominal pain
• Feelings of impending doom, detachment, losing control or dying

What causes panic attacks?

When faced with danger, real or imagined, your brain kicks into gear with a fight-or-flight response. Chemicals like adrenaline flood your body and cause hormonal reactions, such as increased heart rate and heavy breathing. Panic attacks happen when you have the hormonal response of fight or flight, but there’s no immediate danger.

There are different factors thought to play a role in causing panic attacks:

• chronic and ongoing stress
• experiencing a sudden traumatic event
• a change in environment (like walking into a crowded store)
• too much caffeine
• being a person who’s sensitive to stress or negative emotions
• illness (like inner-ear problems or diabetes)
• genetics i.e., if a close family member has suffered from panic attacks in the past

Panic attacks are jarring and terrifying, so here are some tips on how to cope with them:

1. Educate yourself about panic and anxiety.Knowing the causes of panic and the fight-or-flight response can help you understand that unexplained panic is generally a false alarm. It is a trigger that lets you know you are uncomfortable, either because of the physical sensations you are experiencing or your situation; there is nothing worse than that.
2. Notice the sensations.Identify what is happening in your body by nonjudgmentally labeling your physical experiences. Observing calmly, “I am experiencing a faster heartbeat and feeling warm in my face and neck,” can be helpful for slowing down what is happening without jumping to conclusions like, “I must be having a heart attack.”
3. Recognize panic for what it is.When you recognize that you are having a panic attack, you can remind yourself that it is temporary and will pass. Take away the fear that something worse is happening.
4. Take deep breaths.Breathing in deeply through your nose for a count of 4, holding for 1-2 seconds, and breathing out for a count of 5 not only can start to slow your breathing but also gives you something else to focus on that you have some control over. Diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the relaxation response and turns off the fight-or-flight response.
5. Relax your muscles.A muscle relaxing technique called Progressive Muscle Relaxation involves squeezing or tensing a specific muscle group and then releasing that area. One option is to start at your toes and, after tensing and relaxing there, gradually move up your body until you reach your neck and head.
6. Ground yourself in the present moment.Using a strategy called mindfulness can help focus your mind on something specific other than your panic. One exercise involves noticing and experiencing 5 things around you that you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Don’t just name the things; immerse yourself in the experience using each of your senses.
7. Close your eyes.Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the multitude of things happening around us. Closing your eyes can reduce much of the input, making it easier to think clearly or work on relaxation strategies.
8. Repeat a calming phrase.By focusing on something like a mantra or statement, you can help focus your mind, but also remind yourself that you are thinking clearly and that everything will be okay. It could be something like, “this will be over soon” or whatever phrase speaks to you. Pick your phrase before you are panicking, however, as it will be much harder to choose when stressed.
9. Go to your happy place in your mind.Visualize a safe, comfortable, or calm place (real or imaginary). Maybe you start with what you see but be sure to explore and experience the place using all five of your senses. If you are imagining swinging in a hammock between trees, also take note of sounds (e.g., birds chirping, water running nearby), smells (e.g., sap from pine trees), feelings (e.g., the breeze as you rock back and forth), and tastes (e.g., a lemonade with ice and a sprig of mint).
10. Drink cold water.Take a drink of water and feel the coolness radiate down your throat, through your chest, and throughout your body. When you feel anxious, you may feel warm, so drinking cold water, running your hands under cold water, or putting a cool washcloth on your neck can help.

Talk Therapy Can Help

Talk therapy (CBT) can help you understand and manage panic episodes. In therapy, you will learn how to:

• Understand and manage skewed perceptions of life stresses, including other people’s conduct or life circumstances.
• Recognize and replace panic-inducing ideas to reduce feelings of powerlessness.
• When symptoms appear, manage tension and relax.
• Consider the sources of your anxiety, beginning with the least concerning to the most anxiety-provoking.
• Conquer your anxiety by practicing gradual exposure to real-life scenarios that typically trigger your anxiety.

You don’t have to live with constant fear of panic or avoid situations where you feel anxious. Therapy can help you overcome panic and anxiety and escape its constricting grasp. Anxiety treatment works. You can feel better.

 

What Can Therapy Do?  By Douglas Newton, LMFT

The Idea:  Diminish your anxiety to let your goals grow up together 

Many of my clients experience anxiety because the goals and objectives they have in their lives have been put off.  “I’ll get to dating as soon as I lose some weight,” or “I have to move out of this apartment before I think about getting a new job.”  This kind of thinking places artificial barriers in front of the flow of one’s life.  It is common among many of us and I have entitled the placement of hurdles as artificial sequencing.  Artificial sequencing establishes priority that favors one objective arbitrarily over another.  Is it reasonable to begin dating while also working on getting into shape?  How does moving out of an apartment become a reason not to look for a more satisfying job?  Understanding why we sometimes think this way helps to identify the pattern and then look for ways to use our awareness to let our goals grow up together.

What is going on here?  The brain acts to protect you from challenges that increase anxiety

Artificial sequencing is a way of placing obstacles in your path.  The adaptive reason to do this comes from our brain’s need to insulate us from anxiety.  If there is something that we want that involves risk, our brain can often exaggerate that risk and stop us in our tracks.  This intuitive reaction warps the way we understand our experiences.  We miss out on a more grounded understanding of calculated risk.  Would your supervisor actually fire you if you asked for a promotion?  She likely wouldn’t.  But your brain exaggerates the risk, possibly because of childhood experiences that made you feel unsafe in some way.  Maybe asking mom or dad for a privilege as a child was met with put-downs or harsh words.  This could lead you to fear confrontation with authority figures as an adult, even if the stakes are low.  Such trepidation may be totally off your radar.  And yet this unconscious protective instinct influences what you see as acceptable risk as an adult.  You might think, “I will see if I can ace my next project.  If it is flawless, maybe my supervisor will give me a promotion.”  The project and the need for perfection may be exaggerated because imperfection opened you to criticism or derision as a kid.  The thinking may be delusional as an adult, but the roots are strong that inform your way of perceiving potential conflict.  Asking directly may feel like an untenable risk due to deeply entrenched fear.  That pit in your stomach tells you to wait until the right time, and that it is safer to defer your needs, maybe even indefinitely.

What to do?  Navigate your patterns with Forgiveness and Mindfulness 

Forgiveness can sound like letting someone off the hook.  But forgiveness has more to do with how we process emotions from difficult experiences rather than accountability. Forgiveness offers a way to let go of things that are weighing us down.  We may not even know these things exist until we use our awareness to scan our mind for what we might be carrying.

Search your heart for resentment or unresolved emotions from your past.  Maybe you are still angry about something that happened when you were young or hurt from unkind remarks people made in high school or college.  Your awareness can locate these moments and then bring self-compassion into service aimed at your painful memory.  Imagine how hard it is for a kid to stand up to an adult.  The person you may need to forgive could be that confused 6 year old you used to be.  Write a letter to your former self and think about how you did the best you could with what you knew at the time.  This shift in thinking can change the way you see your upsetting experience.  Invest yourself fully into how good it feels to forgive yourself or someone else.  Then you can harvest what you learned, such as your ability to overcome challenges or how tough experiences have helped you become independent minded.  Take a moment to take in the usefulness of those qualities and how you value them in yourself.  Then use your awareness to let go.  Imagine taking resentment and folding it into a paper boat that you place into a river.  You wave goodbye to it, with love and gratitude for your new understanding of yourself, as you watch that paper boat head to the sea.

This is not to imagine there are truly traumatic experiences that require further processing and more advanced techniques.  But for many of our resentments and wounds, reframing can give you a different perspective and allow you a newfound presence in your life.

Your therapist can help you explore this kind of tool and many others to help you reframe your past and put painful memories into perspective–what I sometimes call “a smaller box.”  Using your ability to be mindful (observation without judgment) can help you eventually see these experiences as patterns.  Thinking in patterns can reduce feelings of shame, blame and judgment.  This is hard work!  But eventually, with the stewardship of therapy, you can free yourself from the eclipsing power of difficult memories and use this footing to advocate for yourself, embrace the opportunities as they come, contextualize challenges and absorb them with grace, and find more compassion for yourself and others in your life.

Once you encounter less situationally-driven anxiety, you can open your heart to those goals and objectives that will nourish your life without getting in your own way.  There is so much to explore when we feel a new sense of purpose and self-efficacy.  Finding your footing through mindfulness and forgiveness can expand your sense of safety to allow more breathing room for all your agenda.  It’s hard enough to work into a place where we get much of what we want.  But the path is made easier when we clear our own hurdles out of the way.

If you don’t yet have a therapist, consider employing the experts at SF Stress & Anxiety Center.  Clear the fog.  Find and expand your center. Get the help that makes a concrete difference in your life and how you relate to yourself, others and the world.  Click the button below to schedule a time to speak to a Care-Coordinator.

 

The Idea:  Map Your Strengths to Moments That Cause Anxiety

How can we use our strengths to help us?  When you stop to think about it, are you clear on what your strengths are?  When you identify strengths you already have, you become more aware of what is working well in your life (perhaps shifting your focus from what you feel isn’t working).  Your strengths represent tools already available to you–not new habits that you have to learn to deal with stress and pressure when it comes.  To quote Rick Hansen, “Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is not.”

Awareness is the ocean and thoughts are the fish.

When you list your strengths, you are inviting them forward into your awareness where you can call them into service.  Are you often generous?  Can you step into a room with confidence?  Is your mind creative enough to help you contemplate different facets of a situation or problem?  Perhaps you are deliberate, or loyal, or strong-willed.

How to identify and leverage your strengths

To identify your strengths, take a sheet of paper and number one to five on the left side, with a few lines of space in between.  Then list five qualities that describe your character.  If this seems daunting, imagine laying this out in a job interview. Once you have identified five, enrich your understanding of your strengths by adding aspects that magnetically adhere to those core qualities.  For example, you might write “detail oriented.”  Next to that, list other strengths that nourish your capacity to be detail oriented.  This might include “deliberate” or “able to sustain focused attention” or “methodical.”

Keep asking yourself questions like this until your strengths feel more defined and authentic.  (Let’s leave aside for the moment the question of how others see us and how we interpret that for another time).   Onward.

On the right side of the page, list five situations that typically cause you to feel stress or anxiety.  They could be general, such as “social situations,” or specific, such as “presenting research conclusions to my colleagues,”  or “talking with my in-laws about whether my partner and I are planning to start a family.”

Once you have populated your page with strengths and situational stressors, you can start exploring how strengths you already possess can be applied to specific situations to support you and lower your stress and anxiety level.

This may feel awkward or inexact at first.  That means you’re a human.  It’s okay to add items to your list or recall other strengths that may have been off your radar and add them later.  It’s not a test of urgency or recall.  Expanding your list over time is up to you, according to how broadly you can elaborate your onboard support system.

What’s the difference between my strengths and areas of growth?

How does using your already existing strengths contrast with adding “coping skills” that may feel novel or hard to adopt?  It feels organic–less of a stretch–to use strengths you already have.

The act of writing down your strengths plants these ideas into your awareness.  Stay with me on this one.  If you are aware of a strength and clearly identify it as such on paper, you feel an increased sense of ownership.   You can use your strengths intentionally, with activated, conscious thinking.  While you may have to get used to calling your strengths into action at first, repeated efforts to do so in trying moments becomes easier over time.  Practice makes progress. . .

If you already have a therapist to help you enrich your experience and unpack what you have learned, you can gather other insights in session.  Was it difficult to own your strengths?  Anything holding you back?  Were there surprises writing things down on paper?  A therapist can help you articulate your success to own your increased sense of control over stress and anxiety.  Your therapist can add context and help expand your insights and point to how to leverage your strengths elsewhere in your life.

If you don’t yet have a therapist, consider employing the experts at SF Stress & Anxiety Center.  Clear the fog.  Find and expand your center. Get the help that makes a concrete difference in your life and how you relate to yourself, others and the world.  Click the button below to schedule a time to speak to a Care-Coordinator.

 

How is your concentration? Have you found it hard to focus on what is important because you feel scattered? You’re not alone!

We live in unprecedented times where being pulled in many directions while being bombarded with information and stimulation is common.

Gone are the days when you could just focus on one thing at a time. Now, there is a constant interruption from your phone, which makes it hard to stay focused and know what’s most important in life.

The secret is to be in control of what you focus on. While it’s impossible to avoid distractions, you can learn how to focus your attention back on the things that matter most to you.

There is A LOT Battling for Your Attention 

It’s hard to get through the day without a series of alerts letting you know you’ve got mail, a voice message, an urgent text, or something else vying for your attention. And if you’re like most people, you can’t resist the urge to check right away – and this behavior seriously interrupts your focus.

If you don’t know how to say no, or respond without getting sucked in, it’s easy to lose your sense of control.

Living in a world where contact is easier than ever, also has its setbacks. Each time someone tries to connect with you, they don’t realize everything else you’ve got going on.

We live in a time where busyness is a badge of honor, and multi-tasking is considered a top-tier skill, but the pressure to respond and connect can keep you from being focused on one thing at a time.

Some people are so tuned into what’s going on that it’s challenging to find time to focus on themselves. They feel they don’t have the luxury of slowing down or prioritizing their own needs.

How to Manage Your Scattered Mind

Managing scatter-brainedness is about finding balance with everything vying for your attention. It starts with taking good care of yourself, so you have the energy to concentrate on what matters.

Here are some strategies to help you manage your scattered mind:

1. Create FOCUS Time:

Schedule an hour or two each day for activities that require focused attention. Whether studying for a test, working on a project, brainstorming ideas with a colleague, or simply reading a book, carving out this time each day helps keep you focused and engaged.

Scheduling FOCUS Time is essential for managing your scattered mind because it forces you to engage in activities that require concentration. Your mind can’t wander if your schedule says you’re focusing on X between 9-11 AM every day. It’s a great strategy for staying present and productive throughout your day.

2. Take Notes:

Taking notes is an excellent way to stay focused on what you’re learning and studying, but it can also help manage your scattered thoughts. When we take notes, we engage different parts of the brain and muscle memory, which helps us focus more intently on the task at hand.

Taking notes also helps us retain information better, primarily when written down. Of course, with the advent of smartphones, taking physical notes isn’t always an option, but there are many apps available to help you take digital notes on your phone or tablet. Some even allow you to record lectures and upload them to your notes, which is super helpful for capturing information and staying focused.

3. Reduce Overstimulation:

Removing overstimulating triggers can help you manage scatter-brainedness by removing distractions and giving you the chance to calm your mind. So whether it’s turning off electronics, getting outside, or listening to relaxing music, find a few things that help you relax and focus on what’s most important.

Over-stimming can overtax your mind and make it harder to concentrate. When we’re overstimulated, we become distracted by everything around us—including ideas for other things we’d rather be doing—instead of focusing on one activity at a time. For some people, it can be helpful to remove themselves from overstimulating environments and put their energies toward more fulfilling things.

4. Manage Your Time:

Everyone’s schedule is different, but most of us have the same blocks of time in our day. So challenge yourself to use your time wisely and prioritize activities that help you meet your goals, such as studying, exercising, and socializing.

Prioritizing activities that help us be productive and effective is important for staying focused throughout the day. It’s not always easy to manage your time so you can study for an exam, work on a project, or meet with friends. But scheduling these things helps you stay focused—and it’s more productive than letting distractions and last-minute rushes rule your day.

5. Exercise:

Getting your heart rate up can help you manage your scattered mind, whether it’s a quick walk around the block or going for a jog. Exercise helps release endorphins that improve mood, energy levels, and mental focus. It also helps you sleep better at night, which can help manage your mind’s tendency to race when it should be winding down.

Moving your body helps release feel-good endorphins that boost energy levels and mood, which is why it’s so helpful for managing mental fatigue. And exercise—even just a quick walk around the block or jogging in place—can help lull you to sleep. It also helps manage stress, a significant cause of mental fatigue and scattered thinking.

6. Meditate:

Many people turn to meditation to calm their minds and relax. For those with ADHD or ADD, it can be especially useful to focus the mind and remain present at the moment. If you’re new to meditation, it might be helpful to take a class or watch videos online that teach you the basic techniques and provide guided exercises for managing your scattered mind.

7. Practice Mindfulness:

Mindfulness is about focusing on what’s happening right now rather than letting the past or future dictate how we experience life. It can help manage distractedness by slowing down the racing thoughts that keep us from staying focused on one task at a time. Practicing mindfulness allows you to stay in the moment and block out distractions.

Staying in the moment helps manage scattered thinking because it takes your mind off things outside of what you’re doing. Of course, it doesn’t mean you can’t consider the past or future, but it does require you to stay focused in this moment.

8. Take a Deep Breath, It’s Time to Get Focused

Feeling scattered can make it hard to know where to put your emphasis. It’s best to start by stopping anything that is not vital. Taking a deep breath and realizing you can’t do it all right now can help. Realizing you feel scattered but aren’t sure where to start for your focus can help you stop and evaluate your next steps. From there, you can start to narrow your focus and boost your production.

 

There are many reasons to celebrate in the month of May-   May Day, Cinco de Mayo, Graduations, and Mother’s Day.  All of these are significant holidays, people talk about them, make plans, throw parties and celebrate.  But there is one other important event in the month of May. Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May by reaching millions of people in the United States through the media, local events, and screenings.

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Why Does It Matter?

Mental health issues used to be associated with the stigma of “being crazy.” However, that stigma is quickly slipping away, and now more than ever people are embracing the benefits of good mental health and mind-body wellness. Today, it’s common for people to see a therapist for a variety of reasons, from anxiety and depression, to dealing with relationship issues, healing from past traumas, grieving the loss of a loved one, or to simply stay on top of a healthy state of mind.

Of course, there are still those who think seeing a therapist shows weakness, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Asking for help is a sign of strength, if anything!

To dispel the common myths about therapeutic support, here are 5 facts that our therapists want you to know about mental health:

1. Mental health is as important as physical health. The mind and body are connected—one will always affect the other. For instance, if you are in good physical shape but have anxieties which cause stress to your body, you could have a deficient immune system and get sick more easily than others. Or if you suffer from depression it may lead you to stay indoors more often and potentially get less exercise, resulting in physical ailments. Mental and physical health affect each other equally, and need to be treated as equally important entities
2. Mental illnesses are not permanent, and are treatable.Don’t think that, just because you’ve lived with poor mental health for a while, you can’t resolve it. Effective treatment includes talk therapy, EMDR, CBT or DBT therapy, exercise, light therapy, medication and supplements, being in nature, and more. Effective treatment can help you feel like a whole new person!
3. Mental illnesses are common.An estimated 17.3 million adults in the United States have had at least one major depressive episode at some point in their lives; this is 7.1% of all U.S. adults. Then there are anxiety disorders, which are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults, or 18.1% of people every year. It’s far more common that you might have expected.
4. There are ways to help with mental illness besides prescription medication.Medications can treat some mental health disorders, but that isn’t the only option by a long shot. Therapists may recommend EMDR, CBT therapy, exercise, art therapy, acupuncture, or light therapy to treat certain disorders. There are many holistic treatments for mental health that will effectively supplement the counseling you’re receiving.
5. All types of people suffer from mental health issues.In the past, the stigma was that only those who are violent or “crazy” suffer from a mental health disorder. We imagine, like the movies, where “crazy” people are locked up in asylums, unable to function in society. This is a wholly inaccurate portrayal of what it looks like to suffer from a mental health disorder—mental health disorders can manifest in anyone, and oftentimes look very normal from the outside looking in. Those who have mental health struggles are well-functioning folks doing everyday work, living an everyday life.

Taking care of your mental health, just as you would your physical health, can change your life for the better in ways we can’t imagine until we experience the shift. If you are looking for a therapist, San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center is here for you. Our counselors help individuals just like you with a variety of mental health struggles, from finding gratitude and happiness to mourning the loss of a loved one, relationship woes to overcoming past abuse, neglect or simply managing anxiety and depression…and everything in between. Request a free phone consultation today and get started on your journey to happiness and fulfillment.

Here are 14 ways you can promote mental wellness this month:

• Maintain uninterrupted sleep for 8 hours each night.
• Avoid sugars, greasy foods, salts, processed foods, and saturated fats.
• Consume more whole grains, greens, unprocessed foods, lean meats, and unsaturated fats.
• Eat 2-3 well-balanced meals per day.
• Drink at least 3 liters of water per day.
• Engage in a physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day.
• Stay away from toxic thoughts, toxic people, and toxic conversations.
• Engage in positive thoughts and conversations.
• Practice mindfulness or meditation on a daily basis.
• Learn how to manage your stress.
• Stay present in your daily relationships.
• Pickup a new skill or hobby.
• Avoid “screen time” and engage in more “in person time”.
• Take time for yourself every day.

For the month of May, we challenge you to make 1 small positive change in your life that can benefit your mind and your body. You may be surprised by how much positive impact one small change can have on your life.

If you’re ready to work with a therapist, schedule a call with out Care-Coordinator to get started.

 

11 Hobbies That Can Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Hobbies are a great way for a person to reduce stress. They help you focus on the present moment and not worry about tomorrow. Hobbies also push you to take a break and unwind while being productive.

Having a hobby doesn’t necessarily decrease a person’s stress levels. Rather, it promotes positive stress or eustress.

Hobbies help a person get to know themselves better. Not only does having a hobby promote stress relief; it is also generally good for a person’s overall health and self-confidence.

How to Choose a Stress-Relieving Hobby

There are many management strategies for chronic stress; but, lifestyle change is still the best strategy for stress management. The best way to start changing your lifestyle is by engaging in a hobby, as nervous energy is bad for your emotional health.

After a long and busy workday, it would be nice to engage in hobbies that are easily accessible, easy to do, and pleasurable. Avoid hobbies or stressful tasks that are complicated and time-consuming, as this will add more stress rather than pleasure.

If you are the type who likes making things, an excellent hobby would be something that will produce an end result. You will feel a sense of accomplishment if you can create something tangible like a knitted sweater or the harvest from your edible garden.

Your brain has been functioning a lot throughout the day. It would be nice to have a hobby that could also engage it in a relaxing manner. There will be less tension when you focus on something different other than work. Examples of hobbies that relax the brain are reading something light but interesting, playing games that are scientifically designed to enhance different brain functions, and solving crossword puzzles.

Have a hobby that is totally different from your work. For example, if you are a doctor by profession, you can do knitting as a hobby, which is different from what you usually do day in and day out.

Try hobbies that can be done alone or with the company of others. There are a lot of hobbies that can be done individually, such as painting and DIY projects. Group hobbies are also encouraged for those who are finding it difficult to start on their own. Group hobbies are also a good way to socialize or meet new friends outside work.

Also, consider where you want to do your hobbies. If you are working from home, you might prefer engaging in hobbies that will require you to go outside and enjoy some fresh air. If your work is office-based, you might want to engage in individual hobbies that you can do in the comfort of your home.

There are so many stress-relieving hobbies available for you to choose from. You might have chosen a few ideas already that you want to start right away.

Stress-Relieving Hobbies

It is very common for people to grab a snack and binge-watch their favorite show as a form of after-work relaxation. This is not entirely wrong, but doing healthier activities can be a better diffuser of stress.

There are so many great hobbies that you can enjoy throughout the week. The list of fun, health-boosting hobbies below can help relieve stress.

11 Fun Hobbies and Activities to Reduce Stress

1. Journaling
Writing in a journal allows you to record your thoughts and feelings in an effort to better understand them. And if you’re struggling with anxiety, maintaining a journal can be a great hobby that will help you gain control of your feelings and improve your mental wellbeing.

Journaling is a great outlet to help you face your overwhelming emotions and express yourself. Journaling can help you:

• Cope with stress
• Manage your anxiety
• Create order in your world of chaos
• Prioritize your concerns and problems
• Track your daily symptoms to help you recognize and control triggers
• Identify negative self-talk and behaviors
• Help you get to know yourself by focusing on your inner thoughts and feelings
• Narrow down the causes of your anxiety so you can create a plan to reduce those issues

Make it easy for yourself to get started with your journaling practice by keeping a pen and paper with you all the time, so when a thought or idea hits you, you can record it. And your journal certainly doesn’t need to follow any type of set structure. You should consider your journal to be your personal space to write about whatever feels right to you.

Try to write in your journal regularly by setting aside some time each day to sit with your thoughts and get them down on paper. Look at this time as being a time for you to wind down from the day and relax a bit. Find a soothing and comfortable place to write, which will help reduce feelings of stress, make you feel less overwhelmed with your everyday life, and definitely reduce feelings of anxiety.

2. Practice Yoga

Yoga is a great hobby for those who are looking for a free activity that can be done at home at your convenience. All you need is a yoga mat and some comfortable, loose clothing that you probably already have on hand in order to get started.

This ancient exercise has a wide range of mental and physical health benefits, among which include increasing your ability to cope with anxiety. Practicing yoga can also help you handle the negative symptoms that often come along with anxiety such as an inability to sleep, depression, chronic pain, and digestive issues.

Yoga practices have been shown to reduce the impact that exaggerated stress responses can have on your body such as increased heart rate and respiration. This means that practicing yoga can have similar benefits to other self-soothing practices such as deep breathing, exercising, and spending time with loved ones.

If you’re a beginner, there are a lot of different types of yoga that you can try to find what works best for you. Youtube offers plenty of guided videos that can help you with your yoga practice–with some as short as ten minutes and others lasting over an hour.

3. Do Puzzles

If you really want to get your mind off of something, do a puzzle. You’ll quickly become laser-focused and forget about whatever may be ailing you at the time. Looking for the matching pieces of a jigsaw puzzle helps take your mind off anxious thoughts, which makes it a great distraction.

This is a great activity to do alone, or you can do it with company if you want to have people around without doing an activity that requires a lot of talking or interaction.

And, one of the great things about puzzles is that you can walk away from them at any time and pick up wherever you left off when it works best for you. So, if you’re feeling particularly anxious at one point, you can just go back to the puzzle you’re working on and spend some time on it.

Doing a puzzle requires you to put everything else aside while you search for (and find) the satisfaction of locating two pieces that fit perfectly together, making it a great hobby for people with anxiety.

4. Swimming 

This form of exercise is a great anxiety-reducer that can also lower your risk of depression (swimming releases endorphins, which naturally make you feel good) and improve your sleep. Many swimmers refer to this sport as being healing because it’s an invigorating, yet relaxing type of exercise that’s meditative due to its repetitive nature.

Swimming is a great anxiety-reducer that can also lower your risk of depression and improve your sleep.

Being in water is relaxing, and studies have shown that swimming for just half an hour three times per week can reduce stress levels, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. And while any exercise can help manage stress, swimming in particular has been found to be an especially helpful activity for improving mental health.

5. Cooking

And studies have shown the soothing effects of cooking, with experts claiming that cooking can provide people with an immersive activity that involves all five senses, offering respite from feelings of perceived dangers in one’s life (i.e. feelings of anxiety). When you’re preparing a meal, it’s easy to get caught up in that moment of creativity, which can be both calming and a mood booster.

Many people find joy in creating a unique meal, especially when it can be shared with loved ones. Plus, making and eating healthy food is a great way to make sure you’re feeding your body and mind with the necessary nutrition to maintain cognitive health.  So, in addition to being meditative and reducing anxiety, cooking can help you keep your body healthy as well.

6. Coloring

Coloring isn’t just for kids. There are a ton of budget-friendly coloring books on the market geared toward adults to help relieve stress and anxiety.

The act of coloring can be relaxing and the finished product offers a sense of reward. Studies have found that there are a few reasons why coloring is an effective way to stave off anxiety and improve emotional outcomes. First, it may arouse a nostalgic feeling of creating art as a child, which can make you feel good.

Coloring is also a creative outlet that can help break up your everyday routine. Finally, you can practice mindfulness as you disconnect from the chaos of life and reconnect to the present moment as you fill the pages with various designs.

7. Photography

Having anxiety can be limiting, but practicing photography certainly is not. One of the best things about picking up photography as a hobby is that there are limitless things you can choose to photograph.

You certainly don’t have to be social if that’s not your thing, but if you do want to photograph people, you’ll probably end up with a sense of confidence when you’re behind the camera. If you choose to photograph landscapes or nature instead, that means you’ll be getting out in nature, taking some long walks in natural light and fresh air, which is great for your mental health.

And, no matter what, you can definitely use your creativity skills when taking pictures. According to studies, those who spend time daily engaging in a creative activity have an improved sense of psychological well-being than those who don’t incorporate creative rituals into their routine.

8. Walking

This hobby has almost no barriers to get started, as all you need is some walking shoes and a safe place to walk.

When you couple walking with meditation, you can do even more to combat your anxiety. Walking meditation is an effective method for reducing stress, as it helps you focus and center your mind, especially if you’re going through a tough time. This meditation in action is easy because the walking part of it comes automatically, so your mind is free to wander.

Studies show that spending time in nature while you’re hiking or walking can reduce feelings of anxiety.

Walking for just ten minutes at a time can boost your mood and ease symptoms of anxiety. In fact, a 10-minute walk may be equally as beneficial as a 45-minute vigorous workout when it comes to reducing anxiety. Although the effects of walking or other forms of exercise may be temporary, research shows that a brisk walk can offer several hours of relief from anxiety, which is comparable to taking ibuprofen to treat a headache.

9. Reading

There are so many benefits you can get from reading, and reducing anxiety is one of them. Reading informs, teaches, entertains, and brings you to faraway places you’ve never experienced.

Studies have shown that reading can decrease stress and anxiety by 60-70%. Reading helps you relax by reducing your heart rate and relaxing muscle tension. As you give your mind a break from anxious thoughts by getting caught up in a book, you’ll often find yourself wrapped up in another world through the story that you’re picturing in your head.

Reading allows you to go to other places where you can “meet” people and learn about different problems that others are facing that will help take your mind off of your own anxiety.

10. Gardening

If you’re looking for something to distract you from your anxiety, try your hand at gardening. Not only can gardening help put a stop to your ruminating thoughts, it can also reduce the severity of other symptoms of anxiety.

Gardening helps people connect with nature, which has positive psychological benefits, and if you choose to grow your own fruits and vegetables, you can provide yourself with healthy foods that can further nurture your psychological well-being.

If you don’t have a yard, you can grow indoor plants or volunteer at a community garden to reap the benefits of this hobby. You’ll find it extremely satisfying to watch your plants grow after nurturing, feeding, and watering them.

11. Go Hiking 

If ruminating thoughts are the basis of your anxiety, hiking can be an especially helpful hobby to adopt. Some doctors have turned to writing “nature prescriptions” that urge patients to put their smartphones aside and benefit from the mental and physical rewards of connecting with nature.

Studies show that spending time in nature while you’re hiking can reduce feelings of anxiety. Our modern lifestyles have changed radically from those of our ancestors, but our cognitive function has pretty much stayed the same. We maintain a deep connection with nature, and research shows that if we neglect our bond with the great outdoors in favor of technological advancements, our mental health can be negatively impacted.

The physical benefits coupled with the chance to get out in nature makes hiking a great hobby to take up for people who want to reduce their anxiety.

 

At San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center you are more than just a client, you are a valued individual. We understand how difficult it can be to reach out and ask for help.

Our treatment is customized to you. Your history, challenges, goals and ambitions are completely unique – and our approach is as well. We specialize in rolling up our sleeves and working one-on-one to develop a plan that works at your pace and in tune with your needs.

WHO WE ARE

San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center is a group of experts who are licensed in their professional field to help you overcome issues and to lead a healthier, happier, stress-free life.

Each professional is educated in their field and have come together to work as a team to wrap around clients in the field of counseling and psychiatry. We offer face to face as well as online resources so that you do not have to go without getting treatment because of a busy schedule.

We offer appointments within 48 hours (sometimes same or next day!)

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

With 50 highly qualified clinicians we are sure to match you with the best therapist for your needs. Whether engaging in individual therapy, couples work, long- or short-term therapy, our clients discover quickly the value of working with experts whose hearts are in the game.

Our Care-Coordinators are sure to match you with a clinician that would be the best fit for you.

Over 98% of our clients have been matched with a clinician that they want to continue working with.

If you are unsatisfied with you first session, or think your clinician isn’t the best match, we will set you up with someone else free of charge.

We Are An Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence Based Psychotherapy is a set of research-tested therapy interventions that are proven to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.

Qualities of Evidence-Based Treatments:

• Scientific data supports its effectiveness. If a specific treatment is classified as “evidence-based,” it means that researchers have conducted well-designed studies showing its true success. Results in the lab and the real-world show that the underlying methods in these evidence-based therapies significantly reduce illness symptoms or cure them altogether. These studies, published in peer-reviewed journals, usually feature a relatively large sample population, pre- and post-treatment analyses, and statistically significant results.
• They are highly structured. Clinicians who administer these treatments follow a well-defined protocol. They don’t just “make it up” as they go along or take guesses on how to proceed session by session. Therapists follow a treatment manual which dictates the number of sessions to offer, what to talk about and teach, and what techniques to use.
• They are goal-directed. Evidence-based treatments are well-defined; they aren’t designed to be open-ended. Since they focus on solutions instead of problems, evidence-based treatments usually end when the client meets the goals of therapy.

What Kind of Treatments Do We Offer?

We offer in person and online therapy for:

• Adult Anxiety
• Children and Teen Anxiety
• Work Anxiety Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Mindfulness Based Therapy
• Couples Counseling
• Sex Therapy
• Trauma

We also provide organizational support through professional coaching, stress management-training and consulting, grief counseling and support, and onsite therapy.

Advantages of SF Stress VS Other Online Platforms

With the rise in technology-based software and applications in last few years it’s no wonder, there has been a surge in provisions of services online. One of the areas that has seen the most rise is the provision of therapy services. We are all looking for the flexibility and convenience of doing more things from home and therapy is no different. While there are a variety of online therapy platforms to choose from it is important to remember that they not all created equal.

Online therapy platforms (like Talkspace and BetterHelp) were developed by entrepreneurs in technology who created their own proprietary software that connects therapists with clients.  Many of these entrepreneurs describe themselves as technology providers rather than providers of mental health services. Many of these platforms have no real way to train therapists or ensure that they are capable and competent.

Some platforms use email and text as their only form of communication between client and therapist, while others offer access to a therapist via videoconferencing or phone.  Those live phone or video contacts are often limited and cost a lot more per month for subscribers.

Many online therapy platforms say that they are offering “unlimited” access to a therapist. What they often provide is the option of texting, emailing or using a chat-bot rather than a real-time conversation with a therapist.

At SF Stress you know exactly what you are getting. We handpick our clinicians because we know they are aligned with our philosophy and mission. Our highly trained staff is qualified and care deeply about the growth and progress of all our clients. Our therapists have master’s degrees or higher in social work, psychology, counseling, and/or marriage and family therapy.

Can Therapy Help Me?

Sadly, there is still a lot of stigma associated with seeking professional help (therapy). Many people think that in order to see a therapist, things have to be “really bad” or that it suggests severe mental illness. The truth is, even very successful people embrace therapy for its benefits as being able to talk to an impartial listener who can help offer guidance can be a real benefit to your life. Life does not have to get out of control before you reach out for help.

Some of the most common benefits of therapy are:

• Being more able to identify problems and unhelpful patterns in your life
• Becoming more confident in your ability to make positive changes or respond to problems differently
• Increases in your communication skills as well as in your interpersonal skills
• Decreases in your symptoms which originally brought you to counseling
• Clarity on your goals, values, and self-worth
• Improving your overall quality of life

No matter what you’re going through, no matter what you need, a therapist can partner with you and help you find the healing you’re looking for. If therapy sounds like something that is for you, we have trained professionals who would love to meet with you.

 

If you are considering therapy, and you have health insurance coverage, it makes sense that you’d prefer to use that coverage.

But there are a few good reasons to consider an Out Of Network (OON) provider, like SFStress.

1. Get a therapist who is the best fit for you. If you’re trying to find an in network provider, you may have to call several–even dozens–of therapists before you find one who can see you. This almost inevitably means settling for a therapist who is not the ideal fit for you. You wouldn’t choose a hair stylist, or an attorney, from some random list. So why would you choose a therapist that way? Opting for OON means you can choose your best provider.
2. Freedom to get ALL the care you need. Insurance companies often restrict your frequency of care (one of them authorizes therapy visits only once a month). This means you’ll see results much more slowly–if at all. Good, effective care often requires a short, focused period of regular sessions. This can often only be done via OON care.
3. Freedom from insurance company hassles. If you’ve ever had to deal with your insurance company, you can appreciate how difficult it can be. Robotic phone menus, long wait times, no clear point of contact or accountability. It can be time consuming and frustrating, and sometimes impossible, to get your care authorized and reimbursed.
4. Privacy and confidentiality. Insurance companies frequently subject providers to clinical reviews, in which they access all your clinical records. So if you discuss a sensitive topic in therapy, someone at the insurance company could be reading your therapist’s notes about it.
5. Insurance companies require your therapist to assign you a clinical diagnosis, which is then communicated to them and held in their records. This can impact things such as life insurance premiums, even many years later.
6. It may be your only option. The sad fact is that many insurance companies don’t have nearly enough therapists to serve their members’ needs. Or, they maintain “ghost networks” of inaccessible providers. They sell coverage based on the expectation–and the legal requirement–that they provide adequate care. But despite class action lawsuits, and action at the state and local levels, many insurance companies continue to keep their networks too small. So while, technically, you may have coverage, you practically may not.

If you are ready to work with the best therapist for you, click the button below to reach out.

 

Grounding techniques are designed to help a person cope with traumatic memories or strong emotions and can be used to pull your attention away from painful emotions so that you can focus on the present moment. Of course, anyone can use grounding techniques as a tool to help calm distressing feelings, but they’re especially beneficial for people dealing with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorder (PD).

With anxiety disorders ranking as the most common mental health concern in the United States, millions struggle with anxiety every day. Intense anxiety can cause a significant amount of psychological and physical distress that’s only heightened when you don’t take the proper steps to ease the painful feelings. Daily life can be filled with all sorts of negative emotions, but grounding techniques can help you break free from distressing thoughts, so you can focus on what matters.

While grounding techniques are a great short-term coping strategy to use when struggling, they do not replace professional mental healthcare. Instead, they should be considered a supplement to professional treatment.

WHAT IS GROUNDING?

Grounding is a type of meditation that helps put you back in touch with the present moment by focusing attention on the physical world around you. Grounding exercises are quick and easy to try for yourself, and you can use them as a coping strategy in lots of different situations. They can be particularly helpful if you are feeling very worried, stressed out, distracted, or overwhelmed. Most grounding exercises draw your attention to the present by focusing on one or more of your 5 senses. Often, grounding aims to help you reconnect with your body. Your mind can often live in the past or the future, but focusing your attention on the physical sensations in your body can be a powerful way to return to the present.

WHAT CAN GROUNDING HELP WITH?

People find grounding exercises useful for supporting their wellbeing in lots of different ways. You can think of grounding as a tool that you can add to your self-care toolkit, no two people will use it in exactly the same way or for the same reasons. Here are some of the things grounding can help with.

Managing worries

Grounding exercises can be a great temporary support if you’re feeling worried or anxious. Worrying never feels good, but it can sometimes be useful because it can help you to solve problems or make a change. However, if you find yourself worrying about things that are out of your control, this isn’t helpful and you can use grounding to take your mind off the worry and refocus on the present.

Coping in stressful situations

Experiencing stress is a normal and understandable reaction when you’re navigating a challenging situation. While it happens to everyone from time to time, it’s distressing to find yourself stuck in an environment where you feel your stress levels become overwhelming. In situations like this, a quick grounding exercise can help you manage your emotional reaction and feel more calm and in control.

Combating overthinking

Grounding can be helpful for overthinking. If you find yourself continuously thinking the same thoughts about the past or future that are upsetting you, you can use grounding exercises to help guide your attention away from those thoughts and towards the here and now.

Improving your focus

Lots of people use grounding to help their focus and concentration. If you’re struggling to complete a task because your head is muddled, grounding techniques can help clear your mind and help you concentrate. This can be useful if you’re doing homework or coursework, getting ready for an exam. Athletes can also use grounding exercises to get into the zone before a game, race, or performance.

Practicing mindfulness

Grounding exercises are often used as part of mindfulness meditation. If you get home after a long stressful day, meditating can feel like the last thing you want to do, even if you know it would help you unwind. When your state of mind is distracted and unfocused, grounding can pull you back to earth and help you to enter a mindful headspace.

9 GROUNDING TECHNIQUES FOR ANXIETY

There are many techniques you can practice, but these 10 are a great place to start. The first five focus on physical grounding techniques, while the last five focus on mental/cognitive grounding techniques.

1. Breathing exercises

There are many different types of breathing exercises that help you to focus and lower anxiety. One activity, diaphragmatic breathing, has been scientifically shown to help those who practice it improve their concentration and mood and lower cortisol levels (a marker for stress). For this, you will breathe deeply, allowing your belly to swell, and focus on how your body expands with each inhale and contracts with each exhale.

2. Physical exercise

Try a few exercises or a bit of yoga. You can also do jumping jacks, skip rope, jog in place, or clench and stretch different muscle groups one by one. Pay attention to how your body feels with each movement. How does it feel when your hands or feet touch the floor or move through the air?

3. Dance

Put on your favorite music, and dance like no one else is there. Feel the strength in your limbs as you move with and against gravity. Feel the rhythm and percussion of the music. Grounding is a key concept in dance and movement therapy.

4. Engage the senses

Try the 5-4-3-2-1 technique to list items around you that you notice with your senses. For example, notice five things you see, four things you hear, three things you can touch from where you’re sitting, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Try to pick out the little things you might not always pay attention to, such as the hum of your computer or a speck of color in the carpet.

5. Notice your surroundings

Make it a point to notice the feeling of the air against your skin as you move, the grass beneath your feet, the sound of nearby traffic, or any other objects in your immediate area. Intentionally noticing your surroundings has been shown to help decrease feelings of dissociation and improve the quality of life for those with post-traumatic stress disorder.

6. Distraction activities

Pick a favorite activity that requires a little bit of concentration. You can read a book, watch a TV show, play a game on your phone, or work on a puzzle. Try to focus entirely on that activity instead of your feelings of anxiety or the situations causing them.

7. Talk with someone

Connecting with the people around you is a great way to stay present. You can talk about anything, not necessarily just what’s bothering you (but that helps too). Alternatively, if no one is around, you could call someone, send a text or email, send a card, or write a letter.

8. Mindfulness practices

Mindfulness is the non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. This means noticing things as they are without labeling them as good or bad. You can be mindfully aware of your sensations, thoughts, bodily states, consciousness, and the environment. Mindfulness practices such as sitting meditation, body scans, and yoga can help you focus on and accept your body’s sensations.

9. Use an anchoring phrase

Anchoring phrases or cognitive updates are statements of known facts that you can recite to help calm down. This might be something like, “I’m Full Name. I’m X years old. I live in City, State. Today is Friday, March 3. It’s 10:04 in the morning.” Keep adding as many factual details as you need. You can also write these on an index card to help with dissociative episodes or nightmares. These facts can ground you in reality.

These techniques are useful tools to help cope with distressing thoughts, situations or emotions in the moment. They provide relief, however, it’s generally temporary.  If anxiety, stress or feeling overwhelmed are things that you struggle with regularly and you continue to have trouble coping with these feelings, please call us today at (415) 799 – 3688 to schedule a session with one of our qualified clinicians today!

 

What Is Time Management? 

You’ve probably heard that time management is about maximizing your schedule so you can get more done in less time. Or maybe it’s about striving for work-life balance. But let’s take it a step further: The true goal of time management is to spend your time doing what’s most important to you.

You see, too many of us live with a gap between what we care about and what we spend our time on. We say our family is top priority, but our work calendar sure doesn’t show it. We say we want to get into shape, but we fail to plan even one run or workout for the week. Time management is about aligning the way we spend our time with what we care about the most.

Why Is Time Management Important? 

Time management is important because, if we’re not careful, we all end up going from one type of busyness to another. It’s a never-ending hamster wheel of activity. And the problem is, we end up missing the true joy and meaning and beauty of our lives—ignoring the people and the purposes that make our lives fulfilling. By trying to do too much, we end up not doing much that even matters to us.

But practicing time management will help you:

Enjoy your time and live intentionally

The problem isn’t the amount of time we have—the problem is how we use it. We all have a set amount of time: seven days a week, 24 hours a day. And yet we still can’t figure out how to fit everything in.

We make the same mistake with our calendars. We think we just need more time. But the reality is, time management is about choosing what’s most important and being willing to cut out what’s not. Then, once you’ve made time for what’s important, you need to be present for it. You can have the most perfect schedule in the world, but if you’re always focused on where you’re not, you miss it. When you’re at work, be at work. When you’re going on a walk with your kids, be all there. When you’re on the phone with a friend, lean in and listen. Wherever you are, be there. You’ll not only spend your time on what was important to you, but you’ll actually get to experience and enjoy it.

Be efficient

When you set boundaries around your time, you force yourself to spend your time better. The quality of your work increases when you’re spending your time on purpose. So, scheduling out your time will help you be more efficient in the long run.

Reduce stress

Have you ever woken up with all sorts of lists and aspirations and goals, and almost every evening you put your head on the pillow with an even longer list. Chasing a finish line that’s always moving gets pretty exhausting. Being overcommitted, scattered and rushed will create unnecessary stress in your life. Your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will all take a toll. And if you’re not careful, it will eventually lead to burnout.

On the flip side, though, managing your time well can lead to higher productivity, more focus and less stress about being overcommitted because you’ve learned how to say no and protect your time.

6 Time-Management Tips to Help Improve Your Life 

We all want to live an intentional, efficient and low-stress life. But how do we actually get there? Here are six time-management tips that will help you spend your life doing what’s most important to you.

1. Positive self-talk

As cheesy as it may sound, good time management skills start from within. Psychologists have discovered that the way we perceive ourselves has a profound impact on how we act—if you label yourself as “having poor self-control” or being “bad at time management,” that can function as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In fact, self-perception makes such a big difference that sometimes identity precedes behavior. This applies to many domains in life. Want to read more books? Start calling yourself a reader. Want to boost your physical fitness? Start referring to yourself as an athlete. If you begin to start thinking of yourself as “organized” or “good at managing your time,” chances are, you’ll start to act like someone who has good time management skills.

2. Self-knowledge 

It can be hard to know how to improve your time management skills if you can’t identify what your problem areas are. If you’re unsure of where to start, we recommend trying an experiment: For a week, log every hour you spend at work, school, or whatever area of life you are trying to manage. You can do this in a dedicated time tracking app, or simply in a spreadsheet or notebook. For each block of time you spend working on a task, make note of what you were doing and any distractions or interruptions that arose. Don’t try to change your behavior or routine just yet—simply observe what happens. At the end of the week, review your log. How did it go? What issues did you notice? Review the other skills on this list and see if there’s anything you can work on improving.

This will make it easier to slip into a deep work state more easily when you’re there. And once you leave that space, your brain will register the shift as permission to relax into your evening or weekend, making it easier to power down and resist the urge to overwork.

3. Prioritization

Feel like you never make progress on your to-do list? You’re not alone. Writing a to-do list might make you feel organized, but it’s probably less helpful than you think. That’s because a list provides an overview of everything you have to accomplish, but doesn’t force you to make a plan on how you’re going to achieve it. Without a game plan, it’s easy to feel unsure of where to start, or fall into common productivity pitfalls like focusing primarily on your most urgent tasks and neglecting non-urgent but important ones.

Instead of creating a to-do list, sort all your tasks into the four boxes based on their urgency and importance. Focus the majority of your attention on the urgent and important box, but don’t forget to schedule time to complete non-urgent but important tasks—ideally sooner rather than later.

4. Organization

Being able to prioritize your tasks is a great first step, but your projects don’t exist in a vacuum. Learning to prioritize can help you know what to work on, but it doesn’t help you with when. You have lots of things vying for your attention and without that context, it can be difficult to make meaningful progress on important tasks. That’s where your need to put your organization skills into practice.

Many people find it helpful to keep a daily timeboxed schedule to organize their work. Timeboxing is the act of assigning specific blocks of time on your calendar to different tasks. This strategy is effective because it puts your work in context of deadlines and other commitments, forces you to think critically about which tasks to prioritize, and most importantly, helps you set an implementation intention—a plan for how and when you’ll complete your most important tasks.

5. Healthy boundaries

Practice saying no to the things that steal your time or don’t align with your goals. And actually practice saying no—like, “No, I will not watch Netflix because I’m choosing to finish these house chores.” Or “No, I can’t take on this extra project at work because it’s important to be home in time for dinner so I can spend time with my kids.”

Say it out loud and practice in front of your mirror or dog or friend. Really, try it! You don’t have to sign up for every potluck or volunteer opportunity or have a coffee date with a friend every day of the week.

6. Mindfulness

While it may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to good time management skills, mindfulness plays a huge role in managing distraction. People with strong mindfulness skills are able to pay attention to their thoughts, recognize when they’re veering off-task, and gently pull their attention back. Practice meditation or try this simple mindfulness exercise to help you get better at managing distraction.

• Pause and notice your emotions. When you notice yourself feeling distracted, pause and take a moment to consider what preceded this feeling. Often, distraction is a reaction to discomfort. You might be feeling anxious about a deadline, worrying about your skill level, or simply craving a snack.
• Write down the trigger. Make note of the time of day, what you were doing, and how you felt when you noticed the internal trigger that led to feeling distracted.
• Explore your sensations. How did you feel before you got the urge to give into a distraction? Did you notice any physical symptoms, like a tightening in your chest? Make note of these as well.
• Surf the urge. Try sitting with the discomfort using the “ten-minute rule”: Tell yourself you can give in to the distraction (if you still want it) in ten minutes. This allows you to grow accustomed to the discomfort and see if it will pass. Often it will disappear, but if it persists, it may be a sign that you need to pay closer attention to the discomfort. Maybe you feel an anxious pull to do more reading because you haven’t completed enough research before starting a new project. Either way, sitting with the urge for a few minutes provides you with valuable internal intel.