April 24, 2023 in Blog by Dee

5 Ways to Boost your Productivity

By: Centerstone

It is next to impossible for anyone to be 100% productive or motivated at all times. Most people need to find ways to prioritize their daily tasks. Though productivity looks different for every person, it is important to learn ways to adapt to your work style that influences your motivation. One useful tool to help yourself might be to ask yourself questions like, What motivates me? When am I excited to work on something? Self-reflection and self-awareness are key components of creating a productive work environment for yourself, but you can also try these five ways to boost your productivity and help you stay motivated:

• Make checklists. Organizing your work into lists is a great way to start managing your time and goals. “Checklists are extremely helpful, and you start to feel good about completing a task and marking it out,” says Julie Bailey, Clinical Manager for Centerstone. Try avoiding overwhelming yourself by being too organized or by being too rigid with your lists.
• Balance responsibilities. Managing time is already challenging enough, so you should also try to manage your tasks by prioritizing urgent items versus optional items. “Always remember to be kind to yourself, not completing the checklists the way that you anticipate can short-circuit your motivation. Even if a task wasn’t on your checklist, add it to the list of things you DID get done and check them off!” says Jenna Farmer-Brackett, Clinical Manager for Centerstone. To avoid losing stamina, schedule yourself breaks throughout the day.
• Do challenging work first. People tend to procrastinate when there is more challenging work to complete. Do the challenging or even less exciting items first to get them done. Learn tools of self-discipline to get tasks done without avoiding them.
• Limit yourself. There is not enough time in a day to complete all of the tasks you might anticipate getting done, and it is important to separate the workload. “Try completing the task, delegating the task, scheduling it, or even deleting it to avoid overworking yourself,” says Bailey.
• Try new things. “Think outside the box and try to find ways to help you get through lower productivity time,” says Farmer-Brackett. Try to pay attention to the times of day that you feel the most engaged, and plan around your most active brain time. Use different methods like music, streaming a podcast, or opening a window to change up the routine and recharge your brain!

Finding the time and tools to create an environment that is specifically suited for you is the first step to boosting your motivation. Try to use your list when you can to make sure you are on task at the right times, and remember to give your brain a rest every once in a while.

April 24, 2023 in Blog by Dee

School-Based Therapy Is Helpful to Children

By: Centerstone

Child and adolescent years are filled with significant changes that can often impact one’s mental and physical health. Young people experience new feelings they may not know how to process, which could result in behavioral, emotional, or social problems if left unaddressed. An increasingly common service to address these issues is school-based therapy.

School-based therapists work within elementary, middle, and high school facilities to help students overcome matters that interfere with success at school and at home. They can offer individual and family counseling, risk assessments, specialized training for teachers and parents, collaboration with other community providers, and more.

“Our job is to provide extra care and support to students on-site at school,” says Karen Hasselman, a school-based therapist with Centerstone. “This approach removes scheduling difficulties for parents and results in less learning time lost for students,”

When there are needs that exceed what a guidance counselor is there to provide, a school-based therapist can further help with advocating for a child’s needs and communicating with the family or guardian. Common issues they address include aggression, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

“School-based therapists work very closely with students and their families. We provide students with individual therapy and family therapy with and without the client. If a family member needs individual therapy for themselves we can refer them to services and we offer support and education to the families and students we serve,” says Hasselman, “We provide full comprehensive mental health services to students who might need extra help with various issues, for example, new adjustments, isolation or issues with substance use.”

The benefits of students receiving therapy at school often include improved self-esteem, access to care, less interruption in learning, increased quality of everyday life and relationships, strengthening the use of their emotions, and increased self-awareness.

Here are several positive ways to spread the word about school-based therapy:

• Share experiences. “Be honest about your experiences with therapy. It’s okay to say that you or your child have received therapy and to share your positive outcomes,” says Hasselman. Encourage people in need to try a few sessions and see how it works for them.
• Ask for help. There are plenty of life-changing moments that can happen to families, and it can be hard to help yourself or your children. Reach out if you or your child need extra support.
• Express concerns. If you feel like a student or someone might need some more one-on-one support, let them know that this might be beneficial to them. Parents and students should also share their concerns as well by asking questions and learning about the process.

School-based therapy is available to improve skills and offer extra support to families and students who are in need.

April 24, 2023 in Blog by Dee

How Stress and Burnout Are Bad For Your Mental Health

By: Centerstone

For many people, there is not enough time to devote to everything they want to accomplish in a given day. Because of this, it is easy to overcommit and invest a lot of our energy into attempting to get as much done as we possibly can. As a result, it’s easy to experience a buildup of stress that may lead to burnout.

Burnout is an accumulation of unaddressed emotions and a symptom of extreme stress, which is the body’s response to expected or unexpected loss or change. The most significant difference between stress and burnout is that there is an end date with stress if it is managed, but you cannot experience burnout without stress. Symptoms of burnout can vary but it is typically a more emotional reaction. Some symptoms include feeling stuck, overwhelmed, unmotivated, disengaged, detached, disconnected, or a depressive sign of feeling hopeless.

Suppose burnout and stress begin impacting your daily life function. In that case, it poses risks of both mental health and physical health issues such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression, chronic fatigue, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and more. It is important to notice how you feel and know the signs of stress and burnout to help you better manage it in the future.

• Time management. As devoted students, employees, friends, or family members, we tend to overcommit and invest a lot of our time to make everything perfect. Consider your time, see where you might be overdoing it and make some adjustments. Set boundaries and learn to value your time to be with yourself.
• Reflective journaling. Use this tool to identify and recognize your stress and notice the areas in your life that might need a change. You might see places that need more attention, like your sleep schedule or other obligations.
• Mindfulness. Practice relaxation and deep breathing techniques to help you maintain peace. Mindfulness is not limited to meditation, and it can be a healing time for your mental health. Utilize mindfulness to focus your energy on the present. When stressed, we tend to focus on the past and future more than we do on the present.
• Seeking support. Find a support system through friends or family to help maintain your awareness. Ask for help in the areas where you might be experiencing burnout, such as asking your supervisor for help at work or setting boundaries with family members. Talk with a therapist to help you manage your feelings and strengthen your skills.

Once you identify your stressors and where your burnout is coming from, you can learn to set boundaries and make yourself a priority. Setting aside time for yourself is necessary to be healthy and do well in other areas of your life. If you have tried to minimize your stress or motivate yourself but are still struggling, it may be time to reach out to a mental health professional. They can provide more tools to manage your time, cope with your feelings and empower you to set boundaries.