WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:02.033 --> 00:00:06.143 Julia: Hello everyone and welcome to our webinar, how to Take Care of Your 00:00:06.143 --> 00:00:08.423 Mental Health When you're Unemployed. 00:00:08.673 --> 00:00:11.433 Losing a job comes with a heavy emotional toll. 00:00:11.753 --> 00:00:14.603 Experiencing things like shock and disbelief are normal, 00:00:14.783 --> 00:00:18.368 along with feeling frustrated, anxious, lost, uneven, hopeless. 00:00:19.018 --> 00:00:22.168 When you're thrown into an uncertain future, like being unemployed, it's 00:00:22.168 --> 00:00:25.918 easy for taking care of your mental health to fall by the wayside, 00:00:25.918 --> 00:00:29.338 but it's honestly one of the most important times to practice self-care. 00:00:29.708 --> 00:00:32.708 Today we're gonna be talking about the importance of self-compassion, 00:00:32.888 --> 00:00:36.218 how to have a positive mindset and tools to adjust to change. 00:00:36.878 --> 00:00:39.968 Before we begin, I wanna thank our financial sponsors for this 00:00:39.968 --> 00:00:42.008 webinar, the Rotary Club of Golden. 00:00:42.278 --> 00:00:45.698 Thank you so much for your commitment to mental health and to the community. 00:00:46.068 --> 00:00:48.618 Right after the webinar, we have clinicians that are gonna be 00:00:48.618 --> 00:00:50.358 available to talk one-on-one with you. 00:00:50.853 --> 00:00:55.203 If you would like to have some additional support or have additional questions. 00:00:55.473 --> 00:00:59.463 So if you're interested in talking individually with someone, please send us 00:00:59.463 --> 00:01:03.483 a message through the chat and we will get you connected right after this webinar. 00:01:03.973 --> 00:01:06.643 I'm pleased to introduce today's speaker, Heather Trish. 00:01:07.093 --> 00:01:11.393 Heather is the director of culturally relevant and trauma-informed services, 00:01:11.453 --> 00:01:14.963 and is also a licensed professional counselor here at Jefferson Center. 00:01:15.713 --> 00:01:19.193 Before I hand the mic over to Heather, I do have a few housekeeping items 00:01:19.193 --> 00:01:20.723 to cover about the presentation. 00:01:21.233 --> 00:01:24.623 First, this webinar will be available on demand after the live session, 00:01:24.623 --> 00:01:28.763 and we'll email that out to you along with additional resources, and we'll 00:01:28.763 --> 00:01:30.503 also have the slide deck available. 00:01:31.258 --> 00:01:34.978 I would also encourage you to visit our website at jcmh.org where you'll 00:01:34.978 --> 00:01:38.398 find more information about how to get started if you're interested in talking 00:01:38.398 --> 00:01:42.038 with a therapist, as well as blog posts and information about upcoming 00:01:42.078 --> 00:01:44.388 webinars on other mental health topics. 00:01:44.898 --> 00:01:48.918 During the presentation please keep your microphones muted and turn off your video. 00:01:49.503 --> 00:01:52.593 You'll also wanna change your zoom view to speaker mode for 00:01:52.593 --> 00:01:54.573 the best viewing experience. 00:01:54.913 --> 00:01:59.303 Finally if you wanna talk to somebody right after this presentation, message us. 00:01:59.303 --> 00:02:03.593 But also we'll be doing a short q and a session at the end. 00:02:03.593 --> 00:02:07.583 So if you have a question for Heather, please feel free to also send that through 00:02:07.583 --> 00:02:09.138 the chat at the bottom of your player. 00:02:11.003 --> 00:02:14.153 Last, we wanna encourage you to follow us on our social networks and share 00:02:14.153 --> 00:02:17.903 the recording of this webinar and other information about Jefferson Center. 00:02:18.243 --> 00:02:19.743 That's all I've got for housekeeping. 00:02:19.743 --> 00:02:22.983 So without further ado, Heather, I'll turn it over to you. 00:02:24.303 --> 00:02:25.413 Heather Trish: Thank you. 00:02:25.413 --> 00:02:29.363 I am excited to be here today to talk to you a little bit 00:02:29.363 --> 00:02:31.713 about taking care of yourself. 00:02:31.713 --> 00:02:36.093 This is something I think is important no matter what the circumstances, but 00:02:36.093 --> 00:02:41.313 certainly amidst our current world and our new normal for a bit here. 00:02:41.363 --> 00:02:47.233 I'm gonna be talking to you specifically about unemployment and taking care 00:02:47.233 --> 00:02:49.303 of yourself through that process. 00:02:49.303 --> 00:02:51.943 So thank you for joining today. 00:02:52.253 --> 00:02:56.123 Just wanna go over a little bit about Jefferson Center. 00:02:56.343 --> 00:03:02.443 Jefferson Center has been in our community for over 60 years, and I 00:03:02.443 --> 00:03:07.583 will say that we have a variety of different services that includes things 00:03:07.583 --> 00:03:13.393 like your traditional outpatient mental health, individual group supports. 00:03:13.393 --> 00:03:15.163 We have wellness programs. 00:03:15.163 --> 00:03:20.203 We have a team drop in program while we serve those folks who have 00:03:20.233 --> 00:03:25.423 insurance, private insurance, we serve those who have Medicaid and Medicare 00:03:25.423 --> 00:03:28.253 coverage, and no insurance at all. 00:03:28.603 --> 00:03:31.793 A really wide range of payer types. 00:03:32.273 --> 00:03:36.403 We have crisis services available, substance use services. 00:03:36.673 --> 00:03:42.313 We have specialized services like trauma supports and suicide prevention, as 00:03:42.313 --> 00:03:44.923 well as a bilingual clinic in Spanish. 00:03:45.253 --> 00:03:50.623 We serve kiddos, we serve adolescents, we serve adults, and we serve older adults. 00:03:50.903 --> 00:03:55.223 We just would love the opportunity to support you in whatever way 00:03:55.533 --> 00:03:57.613 you need mental health wise. 00:03:58.013 --> 00:04:02.303 I wanna just talk a little bit about what we'll be covering today. 00:04:02.673 --> 00:04:07.423 We will be focusing on unemployment and what that experience is like. 00:04:07.453 --> 00:04:09.883 I wanna mention a little bit about job search. 00:04:09.883 --> 00:04:14.183 Part of my background is mental health, but I also have done 00:04:14.183 --> 00:04:15.893 career counseling in my background. 00:04:15.893 --> 00:04:17.578 So I'll give you a couple basics. 00:04:17.918 --> 00:04:20.828 And just acknowledge that we have some specific vocational 00:04:20.828 --> 00:04:24.858 services and job search supports at Jefferson Center more specifically. 00:04:25.338 --> 00:04:30.108 I wanna talk about self-compassion, positive mindset, adjusting to change 00:04:30.468 --> 00:04:32.538 and the importance of self-care. 00:04:32.538 --> 00:04:37.378 Because throughout this entire process no matter what you're struggling with, 00:04:37.468 --> 00:04:40.378 whether that's straight unemployment, whether those are mental health 00:04:40.378 --> 00:04:45.738 challenges, or a combination of both, self-care is essential in navigating 00:04:45.768 --> 00:04:48.678 this time a little more comfortably. 00:04:49.378 --> 00:04:53.258 I want to start with this first slide and acknowledge where we're at. 00:04:53.298 --> 00:04:57.428 Unemployment right now in the US is a challenge. 00:04:57.478 --> 00:05:01.528 I know many people who have been laid off, who have lost their jobs as a 00:05:01.528 --> 00:05:06.958 result of businesses going out of business, having to downsize in some way. 00:05:07.298 --> 00:05:11.408 Things operating in a very different way than they ever have before, and 00:05:11.408 --> 00:05:14.318 needing to pivot to account for that. 00:05:14.913 --> 00:05:20.943 There are a lot of casualties amidst COVID on the unemployment side, and I just want 00:05:20.943 --> 00:05:27.133 to really focus on how things were going so well in the employment sector for so 00:05:27.133 --> 00:05:30.403 long and that has really, really changed. 00:05:30.403 --> 00:05:35.108 For those of you tuning in specifically about the unemployment aspect, 00:05:35.108 --> 00:05:39.148 you know, all too well what that means and what that looks like. 00:05:39.698 --> 00:05:43.598 I want to also just acknowledge that unemployment was not 00:05:43.598 --> 00:05:45.578 necessarily anticipated. 00:05:45.698 --> 00:05:46.058 Right? 00:05:46.058 --> 00:05:49.778 So in January, February, this was not necessarily something 00:05:50.198 --> 00:05:52.448 you may have been preparing for. 00:05:53.373 --> 00:05:59.533 So being taken off guard or being taken by surprise can create some challenges 00:05:59.573 --> 00:06:01.613 in the adjustment to your life. 00:06:01.613 --> 00:06:01.883 Right? 00:06:01.883 --> 00:06:07.203 There are some very real things like rent and insurance and supporting 00:06:07.203 --> 00:06:13.298 yourself or your family, or just even what you had planned to do in life or 00:06:13.298 --> 00:06:17.898 your financial obligations and obviously impacting mental health as well. 00:06:17.898 --> 00:06:22.318 So just wanna acknowledge that was incredibly significant and this 00:06:22.318 --> 00:06:28.588 slide outlines how that unemployment really changed in April and May. 00:06:28.588 --> 00:06:33.088 And here we are just in June and we continue to struggle in this way. 00:06:33.428 --> 00:06:35.798 I wanna talk a little bit about anxiety. 00:06:36.158 --> 00:06:37.238 What is anxiety? 00:06:37.238 --> 00:06:42.758 Anxiety is really this kind of sense of worry, nervousness, unease. 00:06:43.218 --> 00:06:47.548 Often about what may be coming or is probably coming and something 00:06:47.548 --> 00:06:49.168 with an uncertain outcome. 00:06:49.248 --> 00:06:55.048 I don't know about you, but that seems to fit the bill for unemployment completely. 00:06:55.298 --> 00:07:01.638 So it's really normal to have some anxiety about an uncertain future job 00:07:01.638 --> 00:07:04.268 wise and perhaps in other ways as well. 00:07:04.318 --> 00:07:10.768 That sense of anxiety that a lot of people are feeling right now is normal. 00:07:10.888 --> 00:07:11.848 Now, is it fun? 00:07:12.028 --> 00:07:19.298 Not necessarily, but it is very normal to feel anxious about this uncertain future. 00:07:19.578 --> 00:07:21.828 We've been in a pandemic a hundred years ago. 00:07:21.828 --> 00:07:23.938 None of us have weathered this before. 00:07:23.938 --> 00:07:26.608 Again, a very uncertain place to be. 00:07:27.028 --> 00:07:31.318 Wanted to just acknowledge some of the common reactions to anxiety 00:07:31.318 --> 00:07:34.588 or some common anxiety symptoms. 00:07:34.658 --> 00:07:39.958 Feeling on edge, feeling irritable, feeling like you tire really easily, your 00:07:39.958 --> 00:07:42.508 muscles feeling tense, excessive worry. 00:07:42.958 --> 00:07:47.278 Difficulty sleeping, that's a really common one that you may notice. 00:07:47.648 --> 00:07:52.028 Then there's some physical manifestations of anxiety as well, which can be 00:07:52.028 --> 00:07:58.068 things like heart palpitations, sweating, feeling short of breath in 00:07:58.068 --> 00:08:02.088 a way that you're really physically feeling affected by that anxiety. 00:08:02.428 --> 00:08:04.888 A sense of perhaps impending doom. 00:08:04.888 --> 00:08:06.928 Like no good can come of this. 00:08:07.288 --> 00:08:08.548 Feeling out of control. 00:08:08.548 --> 00:08:11.038 Humans don't like to feel out of control. 00:08:11.038 --> 00:08:14.688 So that sense of, I don't know what's gonna happen can be 00:08:14.688 --> 00:08:16.648 really distressing for people. 00:08:17.073 --> 00:08:25.898 It's normal often to avoid facing intense panic maybe to a really extended extent. 00:08:25.948 --> 00:08:31.928 Then even trembling or shaking some other physical manifestations of anxiety. 00:08:32.408 --> 00:08:36.918 So again, just wanting to acknowledge that feeling anxiety as a result 00:08:36.918 --> 00:08:41.488 of a job loss and not knowing what that job search is gonna be like, 00:08:41.488 --> 00:08:46.378 or what your future may look like as a result is completely normal. 00:08:46.378 --> 00:08:52.018 Sometimes people even feel like that loss of a job can be traumatic. 00:08:52.298 --> 00:08:56.878 To clarify the definition of trauma is when there's a really stressful 00:08:56.878 --> 00:09:00.898 life event that you experience and you feel like your sense of 00:09:00.898 --> 00:09:03.258 security was completely shattered. 00:09:03.538 --> 00:09:06.538 So as a result, you feel helpless and vulnerable. 00:09:06.878 --> 00:09:12.358 In a traumatic situation, often these things involve that threat to safety. 00:09:12.808 --> 00:09:17.458 But in terms of a job loss it can be traumatic because you're feeling 00:09:17.458 --> 00:09:20.428 overwhelmed and perhaps even alone. 00:09:20.678 --> 00:09:25.858 Some common reactions to trauma include those items listed on the screen here. 00:09:25.858 --> 00:09:29.968 You've got the emotional components to reacting to trauma. 00:09:30.298 --> 00:09:35.118 You'll see some of these really overlap with some of the anxiety symptoms, things 00:09:35.118 --> 00:09:41.408 like sleeplessness and irritability, fatigue and exhaustion, easily startled. 00:09:41.408 --> 00:09:45.168 Some of those seem very similar to anxiety. 00:09:45.598 --> 00:09:50.848 Then there are also things that are associated with trauma that aren't 00:09:50.848 --> 00:09:53.218 necessarily associated with anxiety. 00:09:53.528 --> 00:09:59.243 Those are things like feeling guilty, or helpless, or having flashbacks, or 00:09:59.243 --> 00:10:03.578 nightmares, things replaying in your mind over and over, and sometimes you feel 00:10:03.578 --> 00:10:06.578 like you can't really get those to stop. 00:10:07.148 --> 00:10:11.138 There are cognitive affectations of trauma, including difficulty 00:10:11.138 --> 00:10:14.168 concentrating, having a really difficult time making 00:10:14.168 --> 00:10:17.348 decisions or remembering things. 00:10:17.448 --> 00:10:21.078 There's something called dissociation and that really looks like people zoning 00:10:21.078 --> 00:10:26.338 out and just not being present, and not being able to focus and just tuning out. 00:10:26.868 --> 00:10:32.198 Some people experience headaches, social withdrawal or alcohol or drug use. 00:10:32.198 --> 00:10:34.448 Again, these are common reactions to trauma. 00:10:34.908 --> 00:10:39.858 I'm not saying that if you lose a job, these things are definitely ones 00:10:39.858 --> 00:10:44.498 that you will experience, but what I'm trying to do is just normalize 00:10:44.498 --> 00:10:49.568 some of the reactions you may have had as a result of losing your job and 00:10:49.568 --> 00:10:54.698 that there's probably a continuum of severity in what you're experiencing. 00:10:54.798 --> 00:10:57.798 Just wanna acknowledge the normalcy of that. 00:10:58.908 --> 00:11:04.008 So after your job loss, you then have to face a job search. 00:11:04.428 --> 00:11:04.788 Right? 00:11:04.828 --> 00:11:08.998 And some people have been through that several times and a lot of people 00:11:09.158 --> 00:11:12.698 that's a first time they're ever gonna have to search for a new job. 00:11:13.118 --> 00:11:13.508 Right? 00:11:13.838 --> 00:11:18.708 There's some supports at Jefferson Center that we can provide through a job search. 00:11:18.708 --> 00:11:22.548 I want to underscore that service that is available in our community. 00:11:23.068 --> 00:11:26.413 This is the short and sweet version of job search. 00:11:26.413 --> 00:11:30.373 This is an entire field, career counseling and job search support. 00:11:30.638 --> 00:11:33.493 So I don't wanna minimize all that's involved. 00:11:33.543 --> 00:11:38.253 Here are a couple points that you may wanna consider in your job search. 00:11:38.593 --> 00:11:44.393 I remember working with people who had been laid off working in New York City 00:11:44.683 --> 00:11:50.263 prior to and after 9/11, and it was a very interesting time in terms of unemployment, 00:11:50.483 --> 00:11:56.933 job search, and we often talked about making the job search your actual job. 00:11:57.273 --> 00:12:00.933 So getting up at a similar time and having that structure each 00:12:00.933 --> 00:12:04.683 day, showering, getting dressed as if you are going to a job because 00:12:04.683 --> 00:12:06.423 your job search is now your job. 00:12:06.793 --> 00:12:10.263 Organizing yourself in a way that you are prepared. 00:12:10.663 --> 00:12:15.643 To sit down and focus on that job search in a very specific way. 00:12:16.163 --> 00:12:20.333 Setting smart goals, that's capitalized for a reason. 00:12:20.333 --> 00:12:21.473 That's an acronym. 00:12:21.863 --> 00:12:27.198 Smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. 00:12:27.198 --> 00:12:30.308 So breaking larger things into smaller things that are 00:12:30.308 --> 00:12:32.778 very, attainable and doable. 00:12:33.028 --> 00:12:37.668 So your goal may be to get a job, but perhaps today's goal is to research a 00:12:37.668 --> 00:12:41.988 certain industry or a certain company and get more information in order 00:12:41.988 --> 00:12:45.648 to put together a resume, a cover letter, and prepare for an interview. 00:12:46.288 --> 00:12:47.968 You want to research your options. 00:12:48.018 --> 00:12:52.538 Sometimes the loss of a job can be an incredible opportunity. 00:12:52.538 --> 00:12:56.848 If you lost a job that you were not necessarily happy at and you wanted 00:12:56.848 --> 00:13:00.448 to venture in another way, you can identify some of those transferable 00:13:00.448 --> 00:13:05.338 skills that would be applicable in a different industry or in a different area. 00:13:05.648 --> 00:13:10.388 So you can research those options and see what the possibilities could be for you. 00:13:10.818 --> 00:13:12.768 You want to cast a wide net. 00:13:12.808 --> 00:13:17.038 You don't wanna hang your hat on just one specific option for a 00:13:17.038 --> 00:13:20.178 job that if you don't get that's gonna be pretty devastating. 00:13:20.178 --> 00:13:24.468 You wanna continue to cast a very wide net and continue to apply 00:13:24.468 --> 00:13:28.278 until you are sitting in that job and receiving a paycheck. 00:13:28.328 --> 00:13:33.548 That is the best strategy for going about getting your next job. 00:13:33.978 --> 00:13:37.068 In today's electronic world, you really want to tailor your 00:13:37.068 --> 00:13:39.918 applications and identify keywords. 00:13:40.258 --> 00:13:46.298 Some larger companies use different software to scroll through the stack 00:13:46.358 --> 00:13:48.548 of applications that they receive. 00:13:48.858 --> 00:13:53.758 So utilizing specific keywords that are contained in the job posting would 00:13:53.758 --> 00:13:56.188 be very important in today's world. 00:13:56.718 --> 00:13:59.598 You want to create your pitch, and what that means is how are you 00:13:59.598 --> 00:14:01.308 going to create your narrative? 00:14:01.308 --> 00:14:02.388 What is your narrative? 00:14:02.388 --> 00:14:07.233 Who are you, what do you wanna convey to this potential new employer. 00:14:07.563 --> 00:14:08.373 What do you want? 00:14:08.553 --> 00:14:10.263 What is your value to the company? 00:14:10.623 --> 00:14:12.093 And making it short and sweet. 00:14:12.143 --> 00:14:17.783 And practicing that over and over so that that comes across in a positive way, that 00:14:17.783 --> 00:14:24.378 you are perceived as a potential asset and how they really need you going forward. 00:14:24.378 --> 00:14:26.268 You wanna practice interviewing. 00:14:26.388 --> 00:14:30.890 I used to do this a lot with graduate school students in the business 00:14:30.890 --> 00:14:36.070 school at NYU and New York and practicing interviews is so essential. 00:14:36.070 --> 00:14:39.490 I used to do this over and over and over for eight hours a day sometimes. 00:14:40.150 --> 00:14:43.470 And get feedback about what that interview is like. 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:45.210 You can practice with a family member. 00:14:45.210 --> 00:14:46.860 You can practice with a friend. 00:14:47.230 --> 00:14:50.915 You can practice with a job coach or a job counselor. 00:14:51.345 --> 00:14:55.525 Because if you haven't interviewed for a while, you might be a little bit rusty. 00:14:55.775 --> 00:14:59.375 So practicing that process for when you do get that interview 00:14:59.375 --> 00:15:00.455 would be really important. 00:15:01.235 --> 00:15:05.385 Networking, I cannot underscore this enough, networking is 00:15:05.385 --> 00:15:07.705 essential to obtain a job. 00:15:08.035 --> 00:15:15.355 There are incredible pieces of research on how networking gets people jobs. 00:15:15.445 --> 00:15:19.105 It's an incredibly high percentage of folks who obtain 00:15:19.105 --> 00:15:21.475 their next role via networking. 00:15:21.775 --> 00:15:26.605 So please don't underestimate the value of making those social connections 00:15:26.815 --> 00:15:30.865 and connections to those connections and continuing to network in the field 00:15:30.865 --> 00:15:32.575 where you're trying to find a job. 00:15:33.715 --> 00:15:38.000 I want to make sure that while you're in this job search, you 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.100 really had some self-compassion. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:41.570 So what does that mean? 00:15:42.090 --> 00:15:47.190 You may be able to have a lot of compassion for other people, but 00:15:47.190 --> 00:15:51.610 when you are self-critical it's hard to look at yourself and have 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:55.510 the grace and understanding that you do for those other people. 00:15:55.560 --> 00:15:59.215 You want to make sure that you recognize you are not alone. 00:15:59.285 --> 00:16:02.855 You remember that slide I just showed about so many people going 00:16:02.855 --> 00:16:07.655 through this job search process at the same time, you are not alone. 00:16:08.135 --> 00:16:09.155 You really aren't. 00:16:09.205 --> 00:16:16.145 So recognizing that and having that understanding makes it so that you are 00:16:16.145 --> 00:16:20.390 not personalizing the job loss experience. 00:16:20.670 --> 00:16:23.700 Which does initially feel very personal. 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:25.980 You are the one that lost the job, right? 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:30.870 But you also in this process, want to be aware of all feelings and accept them. 00:16:31.695 --> 00:16:35.995 Try to avoid over identifying only with the negative. 00:16:35.995 --> 00:16:39.865 I was fired because I didn't do this, or I was a bad employee, 00:16:39.865 --> 00:16:41.155 or if I had just, right? 00:16:41.485 --> 00:16:45.825 If you focus on those things it's gonna be pretty difficult for you 00:16:45.825 --> 00:16:52.050 to portray yourself as a positive asset to a potential organization 00:16:52.410 --> 00:16:56.520 or even difficult to maintain hope through that job search process. 00:16:56.890 --> 00:17:02.560 So you really wanna have a little bit of space and grace for yourself 00:17:03.050 --> 00:17:04.490 as you're going through this. 00:17:04.520 --> 00:17:08.120 And just a little bit of compassion that's incredibly important. 00:17:09.090 --> 00:17:13.150 Another thing that's important is having that positive mindset. 00:17:13.510 --> 00:17:14.890 So what does that mean? 00:17:15.290 --> 00:17:20.990 A lot of you may have heard in the news or in literature about the importance of 00:17:20.990 --> 00:17:25.820 gratitude, and what we know from research is that gratitude has an incredibly 00:17:25.820 --> 00:17:29.315 positive impact on your mental health. 00:17:29.775 --> 00:17:33.585 So keeping a gratitude journal, you may have heard of doing this, 00:17:33.585 --> 00:17:35.085 that doesn't have to be fancy. 00:17:35.085 --> 00:17:39.615 Heck, you can put notes in your phone on a daily basis or start your day 00:17:39.615 --> 00:17:44.385 with a gratitude meditation or just even speaking to yourself in your head 00:17:44.385 --> 00:17:47.895 about some of the things that you're thankful for on a regular basis. 00:17:48.225 --> 00:17:50.625 Some people do like to start their day like that. 00:17:50.625 --> 00:17:52.905 Some people like to check in in the middle of the day. 00:17:53.165 --> 00:17:57.675 Some people like to tune in to those things right before bedtime. 00:17:57.725 --> 00:18:04.205 So adjusting your mental health via the gratitude and a perspective of abundance. 00:18:04.205 --> 00:18:05.825 Knowing there is always enough. 00:18:06.340 --> 00:18:11.320 It might be difficult, but there is enough resource, there is enough love, there is 00:18:11.320 --> 00:18:14.710 enough kindness, there is enough support. 00:18:14.810 --> 00:18:20.560 Not being fearful of a mentality of scarcity is not going to help 00:18:20.560 --> 00:18:23.410 you maintain that positive mindset. 00:18:24.595 --> 00:18:26.515 You do want to focus on the present. 00:18:26.845 --> 00:18:28.855 I'm not saying avoid the past. 00:18:28.855 --> 00:18:32.815 I'm not saying just don't think about the job loss and what that 00:18:32.815 --> 00:18:34.615 experience was like for you. 00:18:35.155 --> 00:18:39.945 There's real value in looking at that and feeling the feels and allowing yourself 00:18:39.945 --> 00:18:42.765 to be sad or have feelings of loss. 00:18:43.275 --> 00:18:47.895 But by focusing on the present and where you are now, you can tune into 00:18:47.895 --> 00:18:50.025 that thinking about opportunity. 00:18:50.165 --> 00:18:51.275 What do I want? 00:18:51.335 --> 00:18:52.535 I'm here now. 00:18:52.535 --> 00:18:56.155 What can I do now., That tends to allow people to feel more 00:18:56.155 --> 00:19:01.055 empowered and be able to see the opportunity in the current situation. 00:19:01.535 --> 00:19:07.845 I will say I have had several people that I work with clinically say to me. 00:19:08.835 --> 00:19:12.915 You know, COVID is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life. 00:19:13.545 --> 00:19:19.905 And that is not at all to downplay the seriousness of the health conditions and 00:19:19.905 --> 00:19:26.495 the loss that we have experienced in our lives as a result of the coronavirus and 00:19:26.495 --> 00:19:28.685 this current pandemic that we are in. 00:19:29.165 --> 00:19:37.730 However, those statements are made with a lens of opportunity to slow down, to 00:19:37.730 --> 00:19:45.110 check in, to see what's important, what's valuable to adjust your life in a way that 00:19:45.110 --> 00:19:48.350 maybe it's not as fast, it's not as busy. 00:19:48.570 --> 00:19:51.330 It's more focused on connection and health. 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:55.170 What you really wanna do in your life. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:59.210 trauma and change can give people the opportunity to see 00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:01.310 what is possible going forward. 00:20:01.710 --> 00:20:08.170 So all of those things can help with that idea of positive mindset as 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:10.510 you move forward in your job search. 00:20:11.815 --> 00:20:16.465 Also want to acknowledge it's really difficult to adjust to change. 00:20:16.685 --> 00:20:19.775 Change comes out of nowhere, just like this bowling ball. 00:20:19.775 --> 00:20:23.785 Comes outta nowhere and shatters that sense of normalcy. 00:20:24.155 --> 00:20:29.840 So adjusting to change sometimes you feel like you don't have a choice and all 00:20:29.840 --> 00:20:32.690 you have is the opportunity to adjust. 00:20:33.110 --> 00:20:37.610 Doing something that we call in the mental health field, reframing, 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:43.320 seeing the world in a different way than maybe you did before. 00:20:43.470 --> 00:20:45.180 Reframing that. 00:20:45.550 --> 00:20:50.220 As humans, we tend to take the information in our lives and it goes through our 00:20:50.310 --> 00:20:53.335 brain and we interpret that data. 00:20:54.095 --> 00:20:59.345 It creates a feeling and then we, as a result, do a behavior. 00:20:59.395 --> 00:21:05.245 We have the opportunity to reframe that information that's coming into our brains. 00:21:05.295 --> 00:21:10.245 We can see it through a different lens, so if you can adjust and reframe that 00:21:10.245 --> 00:21:15.800 information that is coming in from our environment it's gonna change the feeling 00:21:15.800 --> 00:21:20.820 that we experience and therefore the behaviors that will be linked to that. 00:21:21.340 --> 00:21:27.930 That reframing is an incredibly valuable tool, a cognitive tool, a mental health 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:34.120 tool, that is beneficial, I think in most circumstances, but certainly in this 00:21:34.120 --> 00:21:37.570 situation of a job loss and a job search. 00:21:38.750 --> 00:21:40.910 How else can you adjust to change? 00:21:40.910 --> 00:21:43.130 There has to be a sense of acceptance. 00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:47.900 If you continue to fight the reality that you are living in, there is 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:50.060 no possibility of accepting that. 00:21:50.220 --> 00:21:55.080 So if you can get to the point of acceptance of this change and how 00:21:55.110 --> 00:21:59.860 that's occurring you again are a little more empowered to be able 00:21:59.860 --> 00:22:01.900 to be in control of your presence. 00:22:03.225 --> 00:22:05.475 This next one, tuning into gratitude. 00:22:05.475 --> 00:22:07.245 I mentioned that a little bit earlier. 00:22:07.245 --> 00:22:10.625 This idea of gratitude is just essential. 00:22:10.925 --> 00:22:11.705 Little things. 00:22:11.705 --> 00:22:15.665 I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn how to adjust to change. 00:22:15.665 --> 00:22:20.525 I've never had to do that in my life before, and I see that probably for 00:22:20.525 --> 00:22:26.715 the next several decades that I have on this earth that perhaps the adjustment, 00:22:26.715 --> 00:22:29.025 learning how to adjust to change. 00:22:29.325 --> 00:22:34.100 That that's gonna be an opportunity for me to do this better the next time some 00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:36.120 sort of change in my life comes around. 00:22:36.850 --> 00:22:40.780 We have to adjust to a lot of different changes throughout our lives. 00:22:40.780 --> 00:22:46.970 Perhaps job search, perhaps relationship changes, location, geographic changes. 00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:50.690 That changes in the way we function, right electronically. 00:22:50.690 --> 00:22:53.930 There's always something new, electronically we need to adjust to. 00:22:54.260 --> 00:22:57.980 So there's so many opportunities for us to face change in a 00:22:57.980 --> 00:22:59.490 different way going forward. 00:22:59.490 --> 00:23:03.420 If you can be grateful for that opportunity and see that that 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:07.530 is a chance for you to learn different skills and grow. 00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:10.730 You're going to adjust to change much, much better. 00:23:10.830 --> 00:23:14.670 You wanna continue to make the effort and you might say, well that's 00:23:14.670 --> 00:23:17.740 really hard, and I validate that. 00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:21.640 That is very hard to continue to make the effort when you feel like 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:23.500 you don't have the energy to do so. 00:23:23.800 --> 00:23:28.280 But continuing to make that effort and get up over and over again. 00:23:28.280 --> 00:23:31.490 You get knocked down, you get back up again, you get knocked 00:23:31.490 --> 00:23:33.710 back down, you get back up again. 00:23:34.050 --> 00:23:36.660 That takes a lot of energy and I acknowledge that. 00:23:37.030 --> 00:23:42.040 When you continue to do that, you show yourself that you are resilient, 00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:44.080 you are capable of doing this. 00:23:44.085 --> 00:23:46.960 There is a possibility of a hopeful future. 00:23:47.010 --> 00:23:50.870 That is incredibly valuable to hold on to that possibility. 00:23:52.020 --> 00:23:55.620 It's also helpful to acknowledge the positivity of others. 00:23:55.620 --> 00:23:59.620 Sometimes we have people in our lives that aren't the most positive, and that 00:23:59.620 --> 00:24:03.770 could be family, that could be friends, but acknowledging the positivity of 00:24:03.770 --> 00:24:09.500 others, really getting inspired by coaches, by athletes, by friends, 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:13.820 by neighbors, by children that are doing amazing things in this world. 00:24:14.070 --> 00:24:17.390 Acknowledging that there are good things in this world, there are 00:24:17.390 --> 00:24:21.140 good people and that you would like to emulate them in certain ways. 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:26.420 Acknowledging that positivity that others can play in your life can also 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:29.270 allow you to adjust to that change. 00:24:31.020 --> 00:24:36.215 I would be a remiss as a clinician if I didn't focus on self-care, and 00:24:36.215 --> 00:24:40.295 I do feel like this is kind of a buzzword, but I use it anyway so that 00:24:40.295 --> 00:24:42.395 we can tune into what it actually is. 00:24:43.115 --> 00:24:47.585 Self-care really is the process of taking care of yourself in general. 00:24:47.915 --> 00:24:52.475 Now, today we're really talking about unemployment and job search and 00:24:52.475 --> 00:24:57.845 strategies and adjusting to what has happened and planning for the future. 00:24:58.045 --> 00:25:02.455 Self-care is important no matter what mental health challenge you are having or 00:25:02.455 --> 00:25:04.665 whatever life challenge you are having. 00:25:05.235 --> 00:25:09.615 So right here I'm outlining the importance of physical and behavioral 00:25:09.615 --> 00:25:11.565 self-care and what that looks like. 00:25:12.085 --> 00:25:15.845 It is important to have regular exercise. 00:25:15.845 --> 00:25:18.365 This is my saving grace personally. 00:25:18.365 --> 00:25:23.905 Exercise is the place where I lose my stress and it's lost off. 00:25:23.905 --> 00:25:28.825 Even if it's difficult to get there and do that intense exercise, I guarantee 00:25:28.915 --> 00:25:31.165 always afterwards I feel better. 00:25:31.215 --> 00:25:33.195 That stress has melted off of me. 00:25:33.655 --> 00:25:38.080 Sleep, again, with anxiety and trauma, sleep can be really difficult. 00:25:38.120 --> 00:25:41.690 Ideally, you're wanting to get eight to 10 hours every night. 00:25:42.020 --> 00:25:45.530 The reality of that might be that if you're struggling with sleep, all you're 00:25:45.530 --> 00:25:49.645 doing is seeking to increase that sleep that you're getting on a regular basis. 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:54.540 I will say in the midst of this COVID pandemic, a lot of us are 00:25:54.540 --> 00:26:01.240 watching a lot more screen time, tv, streaming services and binge watching. 00:26:01.290 --> 00:26:05.210 I just wanna acknowledge that that is, what a lot of people are doing and 00:26:05.210 --> 00:26:07.040 some of that can be really beneficial. 00:26:07.040 --> 00:26:11.490 You tune out, you get relaxed, you get to not think about your current 00:26:11.490 --> 00:26:15.540 circumstance for a bit of time, but what it can also do is really eat into that 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:17.680 amount of time that you're sleeping. 00:26:18.335 --> 00:26:22.355 Limit that screen time or exposure to certain media 00:26:22.355 --> 00:26:24.125 that might not be as helpful. 00:26:24.435 --> 00:26:26.355 Try to increase that sleep. 00:26:26.355 --> 00:26:30.745 If you're sleeping five hours of night a night, you might say, hey I wonder if I 00:26:30.745 --> 00:26:33.455 can get 30 more minutes, and adjust that. 00:26:33.825 --> 00:26:38.875 Something that is really helpful and reparative and necessary for us as 00:26:38.875 --> 00:26:44.805 humans to get enough sleep so it can regenerate those mood stabilizing aspects 00:26:44.835 --> 00:26:47.255 of our bodies that are so important. 00:26:47.635 --> 00:26:48.595 Eating healthy. 00:26:48.835 --> 00:26:51.750 I don't know about you, but when I go to the grocery store, there's a 00:26:51.750 --> 00:26:56.630 limit on the amount of flour and sugar and chocolate chips on the shelves. 00:26:56.630 --> 00:26:59.475 I think we're all doing a bit more cooking and baking these days. 00:27:00.600 --> 00:27:03.450 While we're staying home and stay home orders. 00:27:03.810 --> 00:27:08.460 Please make sure to look at what you're eating because what you put 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:13.730 into your body also helps stabilize mood and your physical feeling. 00:27:13.850 --> 00:27:15.380 That's something to think about. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.300 Limit the alcohol and smoking. 00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:21.590 That should go without saying, but some people see those as coping 00:27:21.590 --> 00:27:26.720 mechanisms and for healthy self-care, you really want to limit the 00:27:26.800 --> 00:27:28.970 ingestion of either of those items. 00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:29.910 Water. 00:27:30.040 --> 00:27:34.210 We live in Colorado, I feel like I don't usually meet a person who's not 00:27:34.210 --> 00:27:35.745 walking around with a water bottle. 00:27:35.945 --> 00:27:40.475 I feel like we do a decent job at ingesting water on a regular basis. 00:27:40.785 --> 00:27:41.925 But that is essential. 00:27:41.925 --> 00:27:45.055 We are mostly made up of water, so we really need that 00:27:45.055 --> 00:27:47.095 to maintain physical health. 00:27:47.605 --> 00:27:52.825 There might be some things that you enjoy, like a massage, hot tub, sauna, 00:27:52.855 --> 00:27:55.165 those kind of like body interventions. 00:27:55.165 --> 00:27:59.095 Some of those are available, some of them might not be amidst a pandemic. 00:27:59.840 --> 00:28:03.940 But just even thinking about stretching can be helpful, and some 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:06.460 people find yoga really helpful. 00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:08.780 I've never been able to get into it. 00:28:08.780 --> 00:28:13.310 I seem to, at this point in my life, really prefer the intensive 00:28:13.310 --> 00:28:15.350 cardiovascular activities. 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:20.720 As my body has gotten older and older that stretching that yoga, just the kind of 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:24.110 mindful practice is incredibly beneficial. 00:28:24.350 --> 00:28:27.740 So if that's something that works for you, I highly recommend 00:28:28.040 --> 00:28:31.490 that as a regular practice and as a regular part of your day. 00:28:32.235 --> 00:28:36.285 There are also emotional and relational aspects to self-care. 00:28:36.705 --> 00:28:43.095 Connecting with family, friends, people that you have worked with in the past. 00:28:43.215 --> 00:28:48.685 Therapy is a really valuable support that people find helpful 00:28:48.925 --> 00:28:53.095 in the midst of a job search in the midst a challenging time in life. 00:28:53.525 --> 00:28:58.925 For a lot of us, just as a regular piece of support, no matter what's going 00:28:58.925 --> 00:29:03.005 on in life, to have that therapeutic support on a regular basis allows 00:29:03.005 --> 00:29:07.505 us to check in and to leave things at that office and not have to hold 00:29:07.505 --> 00:29:09.125 onto things and circle around them. 00:29:09.485 --> 00:29:12.755 The value of receiving support and a different perspective 00:29:13.125 --> 00:29:14.415 can really be helpful. 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:19.960 Emotional relational self-care may include things like journaling. 00:29:20.560 --> 00:29:24.190 Some people are really into writing and it feels good to 00:29:24.190 --> 00:29:26.670 just pour things out onto a page. 00:29:27.040 --> 00:29:28.960 Some people like to reflect back on that. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.070 Some people do not. 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:34.130 Breathing exercises, you can do just very simple breathing 00:29:34.130 --> 00:29:37.850 exercises and people around you won't even know what you're doing. 00:29:37.850 --> 00:29:42.480 But really remembering the importance of breathing in through your nose and all the 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:48.240 way down through your abdomen and back, and not only breathing really kind of 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:51.060 short breaths only in your chest, right? 00:29:51.270 --> 00:29:54.870 You wanna do the deep breaths that really relax your body. 00:29:55.440 --> 00:30:00.130 Meditation works for a lot of people and some people have an aversion to 00:30:00.130 --> 00:30:06.690 that word or that idea of a meditative practice, but meditation can be as basic 00:30:06.690 --> 00:30:13.220 as having positive thoughts in your mind that you regularly remind yourself of. 00:30:13.270 --> 00:30:17.910 Or it can be as advanced as different mantras or meditations 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:18.670 that are gone through. 00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:24.350 There's a lot of free apps that will talk you through meditation visualizations. 00:30:24.660 --> 00:30:29.040 A lot of people have incorporated that into their regular practice. 00:30:29.520 --> 00:30:34.470 Other ideas for self care people like movies, tv, books, music, 00:30:34.470 --> 00:30:36.630 anything that really restores you. 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:41.360 I would encourage you to check in and just see is this something that is an asset 00:30:41.360 --> 00:30:43.880 to me or is this draining me in some way? 00:30:44.410 --> 00:30:46.420 Try to limit those draining activities. 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.300 It's life, this is reality. 00:30:48.300 --> 00:30:51.650 We're gonna have some activities and things that drain us. 00:30:52.010 --> 00:30:57.260 But if you can do a little more that rejuvenate you and fill that cut back up, 00:30:57.620 --> 00:30:59.240 you're gonna fare a little bit better. 00:31:00.620 --> 00:31:04.940 I will say self care in a spiritual way, the longer I've done this 00:31:04.940 --> 00:31:10.100 work, and at this point this is about 25 years that I do this work. 00:31:10.190 --> 00:31:16.525 I understand that if we do not look at the spiritual aspect of a human's 00:31:16.625 --> 00:31:22.965 existence on this earth, we're missing a huge piece of opportunity and health. 00:31:23.095 --> 00:31:27.865 For some people that may look like religiosity and for some people it 00:31:27.865 --> 00:31:34.365 may look like the connection to the larger world and what that meaning is. 00:31:34.605 --> 00:31:38.775 So there's a real large span of what that spirituality might 00:31:38.775 --> 00:31:40.815 look like for some somebody. 00:31:41.245 --> 00:31:45.625 It might look like prayer or meditation or specific readings. 00:31:45.995 --> 00:31:50.140 It might look like talking about things that really matter to you and 00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:52.060 having that connection in that way. 00:31:52.565 --> 00:31:53.975 Connecting to the outdoors. 00:31:53.975 --> 00:31:57.785 Again, I wanna acknowledge that we're in Colorado and for a lot 00:31:57.785 --> 00:32:02.815 of us that word outdoors is a huge piece of our spiritual connectivity. 00:32:02.815 --> 00:32:08.585 I know that I'm a skier, I'm a hiker, and every time I'm in the wilderness, I just 00:32:08.585 --> 00:32:11.980 take a deep breath and go uh, there I am. 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:12.220 Right. 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:15.570 It's incredibly healing for me personally, and I know a lot of 00:32:15.570 --> 00:32:17.430 Coloradans who feel similarly. 00:32:18.110 --> 00:32:19.610 Some people love to sing. 00:32:19.610 --> 00:32:23.055 I feel like sometimes we forget that, and maybe that's because we're 00:32:23.055 --> 00:32:27.625 driving less in our cars and singing it full volume with the windows up. 00:32:27.745 --> 00:32:31.585 Singing can be, and having a little dance party in your living room 00:32:31.645 --> 00:32:34.825 anytime you want can be a huge asset. 00:32:35.405 --> 00:32:36.515 Also solitude. 00:32:36.515 --> 00:32:40.205 You know that is certainly true for introverts, but solitude and 00:32:40.205 --> 00:32:45.635 being by yourself on occasion can be really really helpful. 00:32:45.915 --> 00:32:50.835 So some solitude, but definitely also remembering that it's important to 00:32:50.835 --> 00:32:55.665 connect to other humans, especially amidst things like stay at home orders. 00:32:56.385 --> 00:33:00.765 I wanted to take the opportunity to do a brief exercise with you, 00:33:01.075 --> 00:33:03.235 just because this is an easy one. 00:33:03.685 --> 00:33:09.715 That allows you to recognize the difference between tension and relaxation, 00:33:10.075 --> 00:33:14.695 and I feel like most people can do what is called progressive muscle relaxation. 00:33:15.405 --> 00:33:18.740 Or PMR is the shorthand. 00:33:18.810 --> 00:33:23.040 So I'm gonna talk you just through a very brief version of this, you can 00:33:23.040 --> 00:33:27.630 extend this if it's valuable to you and there's lots of PMR exercises, 00:33:27.630 --> 00:33:33.330 again, on free apps on your phone, or your tablet or online or YouTube. 00:33:33.750 --> 00:33:36.650 But you can also walk this through in your mind. 00:33:36.650 --> 00:33:41.030 So what we're gonna do right now is I want you to sit comfortably. 00:33:41.710 --> 00:33:45.380 Now you can do that relaxing in a chair sitting up. 00:33:45.530 --> 00:33:48.260 You could do this lying down as well. 00:33:48.710 --> 00:33:52.670 And what you're gonna do is just start from the top of your head, and we're 00:33:52.670 --> 00:33:56.960 gonna go all the way to the tip of our toes, but we're gonna go in order. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:34:01.990 So we're gonna start with the top of our heads and our jaws and our eyes, and 00:34:01.990 --> 00:34:09.715 just all of our facial muscles and just really tense those places on your body. 00:34:09.905 --> 00:34:15.755 You're gonna hold those for a few moments and notice your breathing 00:34:15.755 --> 00:34:18.185 while you are tensing those things. 00:34:19.095 --> 00:34:22.905 Then you're gonna suddenly release them and you're gonna notice the difference 00:34:22.905 --> 00:34:27.675 between the incredible tension you just experienced and now the incredible 00:34:27.675 --> 00:34:30.255 relaxation you feel in that way. 00:34:31.135 --> 00:34:32.725 Then you're gonna move down. 00:34:32.755 --> 00:34:35.725 You're going to tense your neck and your shoulders. 00:34:36.040 --> 00:34:36.130 Right 00:34:38.350 --> 00:34:43.600 top of your back, really, really tense, and you're still 00:34:43.600 --> 00:34:46.120 breathing slowly and calmly. 00:34:46.970 --> 00:34:51.590 Then you relax and again, feel the difference between that 00:34:51.590 --> 00:34:53.360 tension and the relaxation. 00:34:54.540 --> 00:34:57.610 Then you're gonna go all the way down your arms, your upper arms. 00:34:58.665 --> 00:35:02.625 All the way down to your fingers and your fist, and you're gonna ball your fists and 00:35:02.625 --> 00:35:07.365 you're going to tense your arms and just hold them incredibly, incredibly tensely. 00:35:08.985 --> 00:35:11.175 And again, you're breathing while you're doing this. 00:35:11.175 --> 00:35:12.915 You are not holding your breath. 00:35:14.235 --> 00:35:19.800 And then you're releasing that very suddenly so that you can feel that 00:35:19.800 --> 00:35:22.580 difference between tension and relaxation. 00:35:23.310 --> 00:35:27.780 Then you're gonna tense your chest and your stomach all the way down to your 00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:34.200 buttocks and just tense your core, your front and back, incredibly tense. 00:35:34.250 --> 00:35:35.960 You might notice that, huh? 00:35:36.200 --> 00:35:38.990 That's, that's affecting my breathing a little bit. 00:35:38.990 --> 00:35:42.740 I'm still breathing, but I really notice how that affects my breathing. 00:35:43.815 --> 00:35:46.515 Then you're going to suddenly release, 00:35:48.585 --> 00:35:53.115 and then you're going to tense down your thighs and your quads and your 00:35:53.115 --> 00:35:56.085 calves all the way to the tippy toes. 00:35:56.565 --> 00:36:00.375 So the whole bottom half of your body is incredibly tense. 00:36:01.305 --> 00:36:02.325 Very tense. 00:36:02.325 --> 00:36:05.475 As hard as you can tense that part of your body. 00:36:06.475 --> 00:36:08.575 You're just gonna hold that for another moment. 00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:12.590 Then you're gonna release. 00:36:14.100 --> 00:36:18.870 At that moment you're going to scan from the top of your head down to your 00:36:18.870 --> 00:36:24.500 fingertips, all the way down your core to your toes, and just notice what 00:36:24.500 --> 00:36:28.790 you've just done with your body and how you have more control over the 00:36:28.790 --> 00:36:35.725 tension and relaxation as your paying attention to your present and really 00:36:35.725 --> 00:36:38.365 focusing on where you're at currently. 00:36:39.950 --> 00:36:45.485 This is again a very short, very simple exercise that you can 00:36:45.485 --> 00:36:49.955 do on a regular basis if you're noticing yourself a little keyed up. 00:36:49.955 --> 00:36:53.945 If you're sitting at your computer monitor and you're noticing those 00:36:53.945 --> 00:36:57.335 shoulders have come up by your ears and you're feeling really tense. 00:36:57.585 --> 00:37:02.805 You can do this and this really forces your body to relax in a way that you can 00:37:02.805 --> 00:37:05.025 shake off some of that physical tension. 00:37:06.405 --> 00:37:09.495 I wanna share some resources with you. 00:37:09.865 --> 00:37:11.845 These are just a couple websites. 00:37:11.845 --> 00:37:17.135 I don't encourage people to get too far into websites to work them up 00:37:17.135 --> 00:37:20.315 about anxiety or trauma, but I wanna acknowledge there's some really 00:37:20.315 --> 00:37:25.055 valuable pieces of information at the National Institutes of Mental 00:37:25.055 --> 00:37:27.800 Health, the National Center for PTSD. 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:34.175 If you are needing crisis support we do have Colorado Crisis Services. 00:37:34.175 --> 00:37:40.775 There's a website listed there, but their telephone number is +1 00:37:40.775 --> 00:37:44.945 844-493-8255, and that's 24 7. 00:37:44.945 --> 00:37:48.335 They're available to help support you in the middle of the 00:37:48.335 --> 00:37:49.775 night, in the middle of the day. 00:37:49.775 --> 00:37:52.025 If you feel like you need mental health support. 00:37:52.475 --> 00:37:54.215 Jefferson Center for Mental Health. 00:37:54.755 --> 00:38:00.455 That's where I work and I've dedicated my last 14 years to and believe in strongly. 00:38:00.455 --> 00:38:06.095 We have an incredible group of individuals who are here to support 00:38:06.095 --> 00:38:10.985 you and are passionate about mental health, and our main number is (303) 00:38:13.235 --> 00:38:15.025 425-0300. 00:38:15.090 --> 00:38:18.750 This website outlines the variety of different services that we 00:38:18.750 --> 00:38:20.280 do provide to our community. 00:38:20.890 --> 00:38:25.600 I wanna share briefly my contact information if anyone needs to 00:38:25.600 --> 00:38:29.740 follow up individually about anything that I've presented today. 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:32.800 I am done with my presentation. 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:42.155 What I'm going to do is stop sharing my screen and allow our coordinator 00:38:42.155 --> 00:38:46.955 to take over and see if there are any questions in the chat. 00:38:47.435 --> 00:38:49.085 I'd be happy to answer any. 00:38:50.855 --> 00:38:51.635 Julia: Yes, Heather. 00:38:51.635 --> 00:38:53.735 We do have a couple of questions. 00:38:53.735 --> 00:38:58.215 The first one says, it's been two months since I lost my job and I 00:38:58.215 --> 00:39:00.195 started off feeling pretty positive. 00:39:00.195 --> 00:39:04.215 But as it's gone on longer and I keep getting job rejections, 00:39:04.215 --> 00:39:06.015 I'm feeling worse and worse. 00:39:06.425 --> 00:39:08.675 I don't feel like I'm ever going to get a job. 00:39:08.705 --> 00:39:10.415 I just keep getting rejected. 00:39:10.745 --> 00:39:12.395 What can I do to feel hopeful again? 00:39:14.030 --> 00:39:17.490 Heather Trish: You know that is such a great question because a 00:39:17.490 --> 00:39:18.990 lot of people feel that, right? 00:39:19.270 --> 00:39:22.000 They lose the job and they think, oh, okay, I'm gonna be able to 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:23.810 get a job, pretty immediately. 00:39:23.810 --> 00:39:27.830 And when that doesn't happen, that experience of the delayed 00:39:27.830 --> 00:39:31.940 next job can get to you and it can effect your mental health. 00:39:32.220 --> 00:39:36.280 That's a perfect example of considering doing something different. 00:39:36.610 --> 00:39:41.680 It may have nothing to do with you and the reason why you're not getting a job. 00:39:41.710 --> 00:39:43.750 We've got high unemployment rates. 00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:46.770 There are a lot of companies that have gone out of business. 00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:51.950 Maybe jobs aren't as available as they used to be, and a couple months in when 00:39:51.950 --> 00:39:55.580 you're noticing your mental health slide a little bit, that might be the perfect 00:39:55.580 --> 00:40:01.380 opportunity to connect to someone, like a career counselor or a mental health 00:40:01.380 --> 00:40:07.595 therapist who can support you and be a piece of the hope and support that you're 00:40:07.595 --> 00:40:10.475 gonna need to keep that positive mindset. 00:40:11.090 --> 00:40:13.520 Be compassionate towards yourself. 00:40:13.850 --> 00:40:16.190 Have that grateful mentality, right? 00:40:16.190 --> 00:40:18.560 It's difficult to do that on your own. 00:40:18.950 --> 00:40:23.080 So that might be a perfect opportunity to receive some support. 00:40:23.110 --> 00:40:26.740 Maybe that's not something you've done thus far, and so why not try that? 00:40:29.020 --> 00:40:29.380 Julia: Great. 00:40:29.380 --> 00:40:30.220 Thank you, Heather. 00:40:30.270 --> 00:40:33.600 That's a really good point too, of remembering that it's not personal. 00:40:33.810 --> 00:40:35.220 Heather Trish: Even though it feels personal. 00:40:35.220 --> 00:40:35.310 Yes 00:40:35.360 --> 00:40:37.930 Julia: It definitely feels personal, but that it's not. 00:40:37.980 --> 00:40:42.560 Also, I wanna remind everyone that if you are interested in speaking 00:40:42.560 --> 00:40:46.160 with a clinician here at Jefferson Center, there's still time that if 00:40:46.160 --> 00:40:48.920 you wanna talk to somebody right after we're done with this Q&A 00:40:49.200 --> 00:40:50.820 and speak to someone individually. 00:40:50.980 --> 00:40:54.400 Just send us a message in the chat and we will get you connected 00:40:54.400 --> 00:40:56.080 with somebody right after this. 00:40:56.570 --> 00:41:01.440 Heather, the next question we have is this person said, I feel really bad because 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:05.160 I find myself snapping at my wife and kids when they're just trying to help. 00:41:05.500 --> 00:41:08.980 In addition to feeling bad about the job loss, now I feel bad 00:41:08.980 --> 00:41:12.300 about how I'm treating my family because I don't mean to, and I know 00:41:12.300 --> 00:41:13.620 they're just trying to help me. 00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:17.270 How can I manage my irritability and be less angry? 00:41:17.900 --> 00:41:18.530 Heather Trish: Oh man. 00:41:19.190 --> 00:41:20.270 Man, I feel you. 00:41:20.300 --> 00:41:21.380 That's what I wanna say. 00:41:21.380 --> 00:41:24.560 When I get stressed, I get a little snappy too. 00:41:24.610 --> 00:41:27.440 I notice that my family sure doesn't like it. 00:41:27.720 --> 00:41:29.555 So I can really relate to that. 00:41:29.605 --> 00:41:34.285 I have found personally, when I increase my connection to the things 00:41:34.285 --> 00:41:39.145 that work for me, I tend to get a little less irritable personally. 00:41:39.195 --> 00:41:42.455 I come from that lens of knowing that that works for me. 00:41:42.755 --> 00:41:46.475 But I also have a lot of years of working with other people, 00:41:46.475 --> 00:41:48.035 knowing it works for them as well. 00:41:48.035 --> 00:41:49.565 So what I mean by that is. 00:41:50.135 --> 00:41:51.335 Are you exercising? 00:41:51.365 --> 00:41:52.475 Are you eating right? 00:41:52.505 --> 00:41:54.545 Are you getting enough time alone? 00:41:54.545 --> 00:42:00.305 I feel like a lot of us are working at home or staying at home, or not working 00:42:00.305 --> 00:42:04.385 at home, or trying to manage school from home and be a teacher, even though 00:42:04.385 --> 00:42:05.360 you're not trained to be a teacher. 00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:11.180 There's so many stressors, and then you add a job loss on top of that you're 00:42:11.180 --> 00:42:15.230 continuing to just be around your same people that you've quarantined with. 00:42:15.710 --> 00:42:19.430 I would encourage a little bit of regular time alone. 00:42:19.855 --> 00:42:24.225 Some people that I know have just scheduled a regular walk, listening 00:42:24.225 --> 00:42:26.685 to a podcast or their favorite music. 00:42:27.055 --> 00:42:31.225 Going to a park just for a little bit of time, not completely 00:42:31.435 --> 00:42:34.425 getting out of the house all the time and leaving the childcare 00:42:34.425 --> 00:42:36.105 to the other partner necessarily. 00:42:36.105 --> 00:42:37.705 But, go to a park. 00:42:37.965 --> 00:42:40.965 Take some deep breaths of the outdoors, change your scenery. 00:42:41.095 --> 00:42:46.555 Some of this safer at home adjustment that we have done means that maybe we don't 00:42:46.555 --> 00:42:48.235 only have to stay in our neighborhoods. 00:42:48.235 --> 00:42:51.865 Maybe we might be able to venture out to the other park that we 00:42:51.865 --> 00:42:53.455 haven't been to in three months. 00:42:53.505 --> 00:42:55.035 Change of scenery can help. 00:42:55.405 --> 00:43:00.925 Anything that you feel like is really helpful and stress reducing 00:43:00.925 --> 00:43:03.445 to you, I encourage you to do that. 00:43:03.805 --> 00:43:09.235 I would also venture to guess that part of that irritability is you being hard 00:43:09.235 --> 00:43:14.155 on yourself and being critical of what you are doing or what you're not doing. 00:43:14.710 --> 00:43:21.300 Or creating some sense of distorted value of the role that you're now playing in 00:43:21.300 --> 00:43:23.310 the lives of yourself and your family. 00:43:23.620 --> 00:43:28.390 So if you find yourself being really critical and negative about 00:43:28.520 --> 00:43:33.115 your situation, that's also gonna create some irritability as well. 00:43:33.115 --> 00:43:37.145 'Cause irritability is just saying I've had enough, I can't take 00:43:37.145 --> 00:43:39.785 anymore, like everybody back off. 00:43:39.835 --> 00:43:44.665 So if you listen to that and you can be proactive about being in a 00:43:44.715 --> 00:43:49.485 better mental health space, then your irritability and your snappiness 00:43:49.485 --> 00:43:51.975 towards others tends to be reduced. 00:43:52.285 --> 00:43:56.095 I hope those are a couple ideas that might get you thinking 00:43:56.095 --> 00:43:57.350 about what would work for you. 00:43:59.435 --> 00:44:00.155 Julia: That was great. 00:44:00.155 --> 00:44:00.665 Thank you. 00:44:00.665 --> 00:44:02.675 I think we have time for one more question. 00:44:02.985 --> 00:44:08.055 This one says, I'm just so sad all of the time and I don't have the 00:44:08.055 --> 00:44:13.865 energy to be doing these things that you've mentioned like self-care and 00:44:13.865 --> 00:44:15.755 even sometimes looking for a job. 00:44:16.085 --> 00:44:20.330 What can I do to motivate myself to do the things that I know I should be doing? 00:44:22.260 --> 00:44:25.710 Heather Trish: The word in that sentence that I'm gonna focus on is, should. 00:44:25.990 --> 00:44:28.000 We can, should ourselves to death. 00:44:28.030 --> 00:44:30.720 That is a difficult position to be in. 00:44:31.090 --> 00:44:35.200 I don't know the person that asked that question, but what I can say 00:44:35.200 --> 00:44:39.460 is that amidst that I hear a lot of depressive symptoms and again. 00:44:39.930 --> 00:44:41.640 Completely understandable. 00:44:41.640 --> 00:44:46.290 Whether that's a one time depressive episode as a result 00:44:46.290 --> 00:44:48.390 of a really difficult time. 00:44:48.750 --> 00:44:54.270 Or if that's a recurrent depressive symptom that kind of has come in and 00:44:54.270 --> 00:44:56.280 gone in your life at different points. 00:44:56.660 --> 00:45:01.320 But I definitely hear depressive symptoms and that is a real heads up 00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:06.270 to connect to a mental health therapist or even obtain medication because 00:45:06.270 --> 00:45:10.740 when you're in that depressed space as you described, it's really hard 00:45:10.740 --> 00:45:12.900 to pull yourself out of that place. 00:45:13.290 --> 00:45:18.210 If you're finding that you quote should be doing other things and you really 00:45:18.210 --> 00:45:23.370 cannot find the energy or the motivation to move forward and do those things, 00:45:23.610 --> 00:45:29.070 that's a perfect opportunity for you to look at connecting to mental health 00:45:29.070 --> 00:45:31.810 supports because there's a basic struggle. 00:45:32.365 --> 00:45:33.475 Oh, this is hard. 00:45:33.475 --> 00:45:37.345 I'm still able to kind of do the things that I need to do, and then it's a 00:45:37.345 --> 00:45:42.055 very different situation to say, I know what I should be doing and I 00:45:42.055 --> 00:45:44.755 literally cannot bring myself to them. 00:45:45.055 --> 00:45:49.115 That is the point at which you wanna connect with a mental health professional, 00:45:49.445 --> 00:45:52.385 and sometimes even consider medication. 00:45:52.410 --> 00:45:54.080 I just wanna say about medication. 00:45:54.080 --> 00:45:56.660 That's never something that I go to as a first step. 00:45:57.115 --> 00:46:03.115 However, a lot of people can benefit from even a short term medication intervention 00:46:03.445 --> 00:46:08.395 to get you back in the space where you are functioning and maybe that medication 00:46:08.465 --> 00:46:10.355 can even be pulled back at some point. 00:46:10.595 --> 00:46:12.485 So it doesn't have to be a forever thing. 00:46:12.485 --> 00:46:17.795 Neither does therapy, but that's a real hint to connect so that you can 00:46:17.795 --> 00:46:21.845 get the support you need and get out of that kind of depressive space. 00:46:22.345 --> 00:46:25.135 Work on your depressive management pieces. 00:46:25.135 --> 00:46:29.365 Get structure and stability back in your life so that you can 00:46:29.435 --> 00:46:31.115 continue with your job search. 00:46:32.810 --> 00:46:33.200 Julia: Great. 00:46:33.200 --> 00:46:33.980 Thanks Heather. 00:46:34.010 --> 00:46:36.950 I think that's a great point, that there's so many different options, 00:46:37.170 --> 00:46:41.000 with medication, with therapy, and just because you have to be on medication for 00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:44.630 a little while, that it can be temporary or not if it makes you feel better. 00:46:44.630 --> 00:46:47.420 There's just so many different options to get help. 00:46:47.420 --> 00:46:48.710 That's all the time we have. 00:46:48.710 --> 00:46:50.090 I'm gonna throw it out one more time. 00:46:50.090 --> 00:46:53.940 If anybody on this webinar wants to get help right now we are here. 00:46:53.940 --> 00:46:54.960 Just message us. 00:46:54.990 --> 00:46:56.730 Heather, thank you so much. 00:46:56.780 --> 00:46:58.310 Thank you everybody for attending. 00:46:58.580 --> 00:47:01.880 Everybody just remember that no matter what you're facing in life, if you're 00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:05.850 feeling overwhelmed, worried, or stressed Jefferson Center is here for you. 00:47:05.850 --> 00:47:10.590 We are open and accepting new clients and accessing care is easier than 00:47:10.590 --> 00:47:12.330 ever with virtual appointments. 00:47:12.540 --> 00:47:16.620 So you can visit our website at jcmh.org or follow us on Facebook 00:47:16.620 --> 00:47:20.100 for more resources and information, and you can also reach us by 00:47:20.100 --> 00:47:24.610 calling us at (303) 425-0300. 00:47:24.755 --> 00:47:25.625 Heather, thank you. 00:47:25.655 --> 00:47:29.255 Thanks for everybody to joining us today and have a wonderful day.