Self-Care
Self-Care
Relevant Discussions
(Psychology and Social Change) Module Seven Journal Activity
The Module Seven Journal Activity required me to consider my own workplace leadership style, including what motivates me to lead and what skills I use to lead. Understanding this helps me understand more of my identity, including core beliefs that explore ideas of right and wrong within a professional setting. This relates to both my workplace, my future workplace, and self-care as a form of identity exploration.
How Has Your Self-Esteem Changed Over the Course of Your Life?
My self esteem has been vastly different throughout my life. As a little kid, I was very outspoken and comfortable within myself. As I was shaped by my parents, home life, and society, I learned to hate myself. How I looked, my identity, who I loved, what I loved, all of it became a nightmare I wanted no part of. As I grew into adulthood, however, something changed. I actually had a friend ask me recently about this and I didn't know what to tell them- one day, it just clicked. Years of psychological abuse, abandonment, petty criticisms, and the lies my depression and anxiety told me morphed me into a person I hid from the world.
I got away from my abusers, though, and I started doing the things social media influencers tell you to do. Drink a gallon of lemon water a day, say "everyone loves me" in the mirror three times, and put my alarm across my room in order to get up in the morning. What I expected to happen just didn't, however. I got out of bed, sure, but then I threw myself right back into it immediately after turning the sound off.
I thought I would be able to love myself if I was around only people who loved me. This ideology is how I retraumatized myself again and again. Putting distance between my father and me did nothing if I continued to choose men just like him. Deleting social media solved nothing if I obsessed over other outlets. Marrying my best friend would only cause pain if I didn't choose to let go of how I was treated previously. It is an ongoing journey. A few ways I encourage self-esteem are: messing up watercolor paintings that I was really excited about; dressing as a model to go to the grocery store, and sweatpants to Carrabbas; recognizing when my "wisdom" is actually valued or not; making it a point to wear my favorite clothes home alone with the lights off; and dancing- I used to never dance.
I couldn't describe what changed externally. Maybe it really was the lemon water. What I know is that, internally, I realized how long I would be waiting if I continued to chase my ideal self. Myself is fine how they are, especially considering how far they've come.
Managing Anxiety and Fear with Emotional Intelligence
Anxiety and fear run rampant in a world favoring speed. It's crucial in these fast-paced environments we live in to slow down and manage our stress. Stress, which runs alongside anxiety and fear, occurs in the sympathetic system. This is our fight-or-flight response. When we are relaxed, however the parasympathetic response occurs. Ideally, these systems work in harmony. We need the parasympathetic system to digest, sleep, and for our heart rates to slow. Many important bodily functions occur during this time. Adrenaline increases, however, as the sympathetic response turns on. This allows us to appropriately react in times of stress, fear, disorganization, or speed. When only one system or the other is always on, our bodies can't work properly.
Although the body responds similarly to fear and anxiety, the psychological reactions are different. When faced with anticipation from generalized anxiety (my personal diagnosis and thus my favorite topic), an individual will be avoidant and future-oriented. The fight-or-flight response is ready, but not activated (Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N., page 163). When a phobia is challenged, though, the fight-or-flight response turns on. The individual is focused entirely on the present situation and wants to get out as soon as possible (Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N., page 163).
Anxiety disorder affects an individual's emotional intelligence. When anxiety is present, consideration for other people or situations is far harder to focus on. Emotional intelligence slips as logical explanations and reactions seem further out of grasp. No matter how much I personally learn about my emotions and how to handle them, anxiety still takes over even when I try to be prepared for it. This is why I believe therapy, mindfulness, and other coping strategies are incredibly important yet not the entire solution to anxiety. Medication sometimes is necessary for an individual to access their emotional intelligence and rational thinking.
Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2019). Abnormal Psychology (18th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780135191033