How not to let it bring you down
Someone made a comment to me today that they guessed everyone I talk to must be pretty down about what’s going on in the world right now. I replied that no, actually, people have their own worries and troubles, for the most part. Some people who work in the financial sector are stressed about the volatile markets, and those who work in the non-profit sector are worried about funding cuts. But on average, people coming in for counseling aren’t spending a lot of time worrying about what’s happening politically or economically.Continue Reading How not to let it bring you down
Here are some great relaxation and meditation resources, and they’re free!
I have often wished for a handy compendium of relaxation and meditation exercises to give to clients for use between sessions. In the old days, we used to record our own and give them out on tape cassettes. Later, we used CD’s. We could also recommend books with relaxation scripts and ask clients to tape record themselves or a family member reading them.
Thanks to the Internet and some helpful organizations, I can share a list of links that can be used anytime you have a computer and Internet connection. You can try them out to see which ones help you the most with stress reduction and relaxation. Here they are:
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Relaxation Exercises (mp3 files, scripts and suggestions):
http://hws.edu/studentlife/counseling_relax.aspx
Arizona State University Virtual Counseling Center Relaxation Exercises:
http://vcc.asu.edu/relax/index.shtml
The Meditation Room (Various meditation scripts in the form of streaming audio files):
http://www.learningmeditation.com/room.htm
Self-Help Magazine Stress Reduction & Meditation Center (Various audio, video, ald slideshow presentations for relaxation and meditation:
http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/stress-reduction.php
Vipanassā Fellowship – Buddhist Mindfulness and Meditation Audio Recordings:
http://www.vipassana.com/audio_files/index.php
These and additional links for relaxation, breathing, mindfulness, and stress reduction can be found at the Loyola University Maryland Counseling Center’s “Relaxation Room”:
http://www.loyola.edu/campuslife/healthservices/counselingcenter/relaxation.html