Take the plunge and explore three popular ways that will help you navigate through difficult times:
Why does talking to someone about our problems make us feel better? Therapy sessions are growing in popularity around the world. In order for it to work, people need to stick to regular sessions for a few months before they can see an improvement in their mental state and well-being. The longer we commit, the longer we can benefit from the results. Yet, it is still not known why therapy works.
CBT, DBT, NLP, Gestalt existential schema, Psychoanalysis, Family therapy, to name just a few. Each approach constructs its unique take on the human mind and is addressing issues and illness. Studies have been curious about which is the most effective. As a result, many experiments were conducted to see which produces the best results. The conclusion was that various therapies are very similar in effectiveness. Some seem to work better for certain problems: for example, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) seems to be better for anxiety and understanding mental patterns in order to make practical changes; NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) creates an excellent basis for personal development making it easier for people to change their thoughts and actions. It’s important to add though that consistency seems to matter more than modality. Having that one person whom you can rely on and who listens with interest, the context and the environment, sorting yourself out in front of that someone is what matters.
In the words of Mark Manson, why does writing down our crazy thoughts make us feel better? Franklin, Darwin, Da Vinci, Curie are some of the famous journalers who used journaling to help structure their thoughts and think better. In the 1960s and 1970s, it became clear that journaling has therapeutic benefits. The mental benefits of journaling are close to the benefits of talk therapy. There is something powerful about verbalising and writing down your thoughts and feelings. It makes them have less of a grip on us and that’s empowering. Journaling allows you to verbalise thoughts and feelings, and respond to everything that is going on non-judgementally. You can use journaling in the following ways:
- calming and clearing your mind;
- releasing stress;
- exploring your experiences with anxiety;
- writing about your struggles and your successes;
- enhancing your self-awareness and teaching you about your triggers;
- tracking your progress as you undergo treatment;
- keeping a gratitude journal.
Why does sitting on the floor and observing our breath make us feel better? Seen first as an Eastern mysterious practice, meditation has been into the spotlight for the past 10 – 15 years, practiced by celebrities, introduced by psychologists into clinical work and widely adopted by the world in its variety of cultures and religions. Meditation works the same way as therapy or journaling, just that it skips the verbalising or putting everything into words, thus allowing time for disconnecting from our senses and thinking. With meditation, one can:
- lengthen the attention span and concentration;
- reduce anxiety;
- prevent age related memory loss;
- improve sleep;
- fight addiction;
- maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
In order to navigate through difficult times, therapy, journaling, and meditation are three tools for building self-awareness and looking head-on at our ego. While therapy does this in a safe environment, with a thoughtful person inviting us to express our thoughts and feelings, journaling does it by bringing out our thoughts and feelings while looking inwards. Meditation teaches us to observe our thoughts and feelings, as if they were separate from ourselves. We shift the internal into external, move from subjective to objective. Once our thoughts, feelings and impulses are separated from the “I”, we can choose if we wish to keep them, integrate them or simply work on letting them go.
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"Kujaribu kufanya hivyo, utapata njia tatu ambazo zinaweza kukusaidia kukabiliana na matatizo yako: ""Kwa nini kuzungumza na mtu kuhusu matatizo yako hufanya iwe rahisi zaidi?" Mikutano ya matibabu inazidi kupendwa ulimwenguni pote. Ili iweze kufanya kazi, watu wanahitaji kushikamana na vikao vya kawaida kwa miezi michache kabla ya kuona uboreshaji katika hali yao ya akili na ustawi. Kadiri tunavyojitolea, ndivyo tunavyoweza kufaidika na matokeo. Hata hivyo, bado haijulikani ni kwa nini tiba hiyo inafanya kazi. CBT, DBT, NLP, Gestalt, Schema ya Uwepo, Psychoanalysis, Tiba ya Familia, na zaidi. Kila mbinu inajenga mtazamo wake wa kipekee juu ya akili ya binadamu na inashughulikia masuala na magonjwa. Uchunguzi umekuwa na hamu ya kujua ni ipi inayofaa zaidi. Kwa sababu hiyo, majaribio mengi yalifanywa ili kuona ni ipi inayotoa matokeo bora zaidi. Uhitimisho ulikuwa kwamba tiba mbalimbali zina ufanisi unaofanana sana. Baadhi ya matibabu ya kawaida ya kawaida hufanya kazi vizuri zaidi kwa matatizo fulani: kwa mfano, CBT (Tiba ya Utendaji ya Utambuzi) inaonekana kuwa bora kwa wasiwasi na kuelewa mifumo ya akili ili kufanya mabadiliko ya vitendo; NLP (Programu ya Neuro-Linguistic) huunda msingi mzuri wa maendeleo ya kibinafsi, na kuifanya iwe rahisi kwa watu kubadilisha mawazo na vitendo vyao. Ni muhimu kuongeza ingawa kwamba uthabiti inaonekana kuwa muhimu zaidi kuliko njia. Kuwa na mtu mmoja ambaye unaweza kutegemea na ambaye anasikiliza kwa nia, muktadha na mazingira, kujipanga mbele ya mtu huyo ni nini muhimu. "Mark Manson aliuliza: ""Kwa nini kuandika mawazo yetu ya wazimu hufanya tujihisi vizuri zaidi?""" Franklin, Darwin, Da Vinci, na Curie walikuwa waandishi wa habari mashuhuri ambao walitumia kuandika katika jarida ili kusaidia kuunda mawazo yao na kufikiri vizuri. Katika miaka ya 1960 na 1970, ilionekana wazi kwamba kuandika katika jarida kuna faida za kitiba. Faida za kiakili za kuandika katika jarida ni karibu na faida za matibabu ya mazungumzo. Kuna jambo lenye nguvu kuhusu kueleza na kuandika mawazo na hisia zako. Inawafanya wawe na udhibiti mdogo juu yetu na hiyo ni kuwezesha. Kuandika katika jarida hukuruhusu kueleza mawazo na hisia zako, na kujibu kila kitu kinachotokea bila kuhukumu. Unaweza kutumia kitabu cha kumbukumbu kwa njia zifuatazo: - kutuliza na kusafisha akili yako; - kuondoa mkazo; - kuchunguza uzoefu wako na wasiwasi; - kuandika juu ya mapambano yako na mafanikio yako; - kuongeza ufahamu wako wa kibinafsi na kukufundisha juu ya vichocheo vyako; - kufuatilia maendeleo yako wakati wa matibabu; - kuweka jarida la shukrani. Kwa nini kukaa chini na kutazama pumzi yako kunatufanya tujihisi vizuri zaidi? Kwa kuwa kwanza ilionekana kama zoea la kimuujiza la Mashariki, kutafakari kumekuwa katika mwangaza kwa miaka ya 10, 15 iliyopita, ikifanywa na watu mashuhuri, kuanzishwa na wanasaikolojia katika kazi ya kliniki na kupitishwa sana na ulimwengu katika tamaduni na dini zake mbalimbali. Kutafakari hufanya kazi sawa na matibabu au kuandika jarida, tu kwamba hupita maneno au kuweka kila kitu katika maneno, hivyo kuruhusu muda kwa ajili ya kuunganisha kutoka hisia zetu na kufikiri. Kwa kutafakari, mtu anaweza: - kuongeza muda wa kukazia fikira na kukaza fikira; - kupunguza wasiwasi; - kuzuia kupoteza kumbukumbu kunakohusiana na umri; - kuboresha usingizi; - kupambana na uraibu; - kudumisha utaratibu wa maisha wenye afya. Ili kuweza kuepuka nyakati ngumu, matibabu, kuandika, na kutafakari ni zana tatu za kujenga ufahamu wa kibinafsi na kuangalia ego yetu. Wakati matibabu hufanya hivyo katika mazingira salama, na mtu mwenye kufikiri akitualika kuelezea mawazo na hisia zetu, kuandika kitabu hufanya hivyo kwa kuleta mawazo na hisia zetu wakati wa kuangalia ndani. Kutafakari kunatufundisha kuchunguza mawazo na hisia zetu, kana kwamba zimetenganishwa na sisi wenyewe. Tunabadilisha mambo ya ndani kuwa ya nje, tukihama kutoka kwa mambo ya kibinafsi kuwa mambo ya kimakusudi. Mara tu mawazo yetu, hisia na msukumo zimetenganishwa na'mimi', tunaweza kuchagua ikiwa tunataka kuzihifadhi, kuziunganisha au tu kufanya kazi juu ya kuziacha ziende. Chanzo cha picha: Unsplash