The 2 activities for lifting my mood both involved stepping away from responsibility. When my mind is wondering and I am not being as productive as I should be I have trouble keeping my mood positive, For example, the longer I work on homework and don’t week to be getting anything done, it puts me in a bad mood. This past week I was

feeling overwhelmed and took part in the 2 following activities.

            The first activity was isolating myself from any thought of responsibility. I took a hot bath, turned the lights off and had the radio on my favorite country station. As soon as I got into the water I felt my mood life simply by having the mind set that I have nothing to do but enjoy the moment.

            The second mood lifting activity also took place because of stress about completing homework. By simply removing myself from the house and my current talk I felt better, but this time I spent time with my boyfriend. We went to a hole in the wall, relatively non-stimulating bar and played a couple games of pool. By taking part in a dramatic change in atmosphere, company and activity I felt my frustration quickly dissolve.

After both of these activities I found that going back to my homework was much easier and after the “time outs” I was in a much better mood that lasted the remainder of the day, at least, not matter what the day brought my way. The heightened mood allowed me to better focus and be more productive which continued to bring a more positive mood because I was proud of the accomplishments I was making.

For the third activity for limiting rumination, I took part in an activity that I frequently find helpful. My ongoing self-talk frequently tells me what I have frown up believing…that I am emotionally weak and unable to handle pain and disappointment. This leaves me scared for bad events to occur. When I begin feeling this was I take out my written poetry and read through old poems…this acts as a reminder of whet I have been strong enough to live through and reminds me of how much I have grown and developed emotionally. Since there was a particular event that was stimulating the self-talk, I wrote a new poem and put it in my book. Once I shut the book the event feels more like an external occurrence and I can remove myself from it and it no longer has to run through my mind.

For the fourth activity of slowing cognitive processes and physiological arousal, I took fart in a process that is useful at night. I have trouble slowing sown my gears after a busy or stressful day or when I have had a high level of physical activity. To help slow myself down I practice “square breathing”, to do this one breaths in for 4 counts, holds the breath for 4 counts, breaths out for 4 counts and holds the breath for 4 counts. I usually complete the square 5 or 6 times then quickly fall asleep afterwards. This process focuses the mind, not on the worries of the day, but on breath and slows breathing too, which relaxes the physical body as well. This exercise works better when two people are holding each other with synchronized square breathing. This also works to slow myself down at any point throughout the day when I am becoming to flustered with activities of the day.

Activity 2: “Do Unto Others”

            For this activity I invested time in a project in am attempt to raise the subjective well-being of a very special woman in my life, the paternal grandmother to my daughter.

Because of my belief in the medicinally healing properties of stone, I spent time researching various stones to find an appropriate match for what ails her. 

            First I visited with her about her life, paying close attention to circumstances, symptoms and how she feels about herself and her life. Areas that were in need of improvement were; low self-esteem, mood regulation, highly pessimistic, low energy, high blood pressure, internal fluid retention problems, little pride for accomplishments, and low levels of hope for the future. When I asked her how her day went, anytime, it was always a list of things that didn’t go right or that upset her mood. 

            I found her most powerful match to be smoky quartz, which aids in the healing of each of her symptoms and evaluations of life. It provides the capacity to live with an overall acceptance of life circumstances, and influences one to find the usefulness of hard times, to emotionally and psychologically grow productively. 

            I went through many smoky quartz until I found the one that felt perfect. I put together a chain and wrapped the stone, my first attempt at wrapping. I amazed myself at the success of my first try. My sister told me that it was better than any that she had done and she has been wrapping for years…it’s amazing how something can seem so effortless when it is being done out of love for self or someone else. After I finished I wrote up a two-page letter on my reasoning for the gift and the potential for healing from smoky quarts.

            When I presented the necklace to her she held it close and cried. Once we had hugged for quite a while she held my hand while reading what I had written. It was such a beautiful and powerful time that we shared. I could feel how much the gift and the thought and love behind it was touching her. Each time I have talked to her since then and I ask how her day was the first replies are happy feelings and positive events.  I can really see the positive impact on her life.

Almost daily the thought of her wearing the stone close and benefiting from its power brings a smile to my face. There are many other things that make me smile in a day but simply the thought of aiding in the healing of someone I love so dearly has a lasting effect of joy in my life as well as hers.