Becca Odom Wellness
  • Home
  • About
  • Offerings
    • Level 1: Ethics of Trauma Informed Care
    • Level 2: Ethics of Trauma Informed Care
    • Self Care for Social Workers
    • Sleep Support Mini Course
    • Yoga Nidra Recordings
    • Conferences
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Free Resources
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Offerings
    • Level 1: Ethics of Trauma Informed Care
    • Level 2: Ethics of Trauma Informed Care
    • Self Care for Social Workers
    • Sleep Support Mini Course
    • Yoga Nidra Recordings
    • Conferences
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Free Resources
  • Contact

Sneaky Self Care Tip 4: Discharge Tension

10/26/2020

0 Comments

 
A common misconception about self-care is that when we feel stressed, we need to just calm down. I truly believe that before we can calm down, we must first discharge the tension. 
The principle I follow is that we must first meet the tension to release the tension and then we are able to calm or decrease the stress/threat response. To tell ourselves (or someone else) just to calm down can not only be invalidating, it can also be harmful. 

Some common ways to discharge tension are: 
  • Practice an Energy Bath (click here for video)
  • Shake the hands and feet like you are shaking off water
  • Bounce and sway the body
  • Go on a vigorous walk or run
  • Dance to your favorite song
  • Gently tap your hands up and down your legs or arms
  • Sigh or exaggerate your exhales

Once you have released some of the tension, then you can begin to calm or ground the nervous system. What is calming can look different for every person so it's important to explore different practices to find what works for you. 

Some common ways to calm the nervous system are:
  • Legs Up The Wall pose (click here for video)
  • Compassion Meditation (click here for video)
  • Ocean Breathing (click here for video)
  • Warm water - drink herbal tea, take a long shower or bath
  • Weighted items - lay down with Palm Pillows, a weighted blanket, etc. and practice deep breathing. 
    • Click here to learn more about my weighted Palm Pillows. 

If you found these tools helpful, feel free to check out my online course with lots of tips and tricks for increasing self-care and building resilience. To learn more, please visit: https://www.beccaodomwellness.com/self-care-for-social-workers.html

May we all love the life we live…
Warmly, 
Becca

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    March 2023
    November 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.