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What I did was during the week of March 14th, I went to Utah and went to five and below. During that time I bought myself some items with the 25 dollars Kippi gave us. I got myself a calendar along with some cups for my pens and markers to keep organized. Even a pencil sharpener, and other note books as well. To have at my desk, at our drop in space. When I came back from my trip, and went into our drop in center I started my calendar and also added new times and dates for new events. That was going to be happening, I also started to decorate my office room. Because before I had a desk and it didn't feel right. So I took time to decorate it and make it a safe place for me and others to be at. I love the way it came out! It's very beautiful and calm. I learned that it's always great to take time away, to do things you love but also change something you didn't like before. To do something better, even though it may have taken some time to do. It wasn't going anywhere and if you put your mind to it then you're going to achieve it and what your goal was! I am very proud of myself but also my site lead was happy for me as well. I have an article, I read that is on how being organized helps you in your personal life and your work life as well. https://www.lifewithlessmess.com/why-being-organized-is-important/

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Here is a picture of what my Office looks like at our drop in space now. I really love it and everything it came out too!

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For my activity, I focused on drawing a basic face. The 25 dollars I got from Kippi was more than enough to get the needed materials. For basic art stuff, you don’t need to get crazy with the materials you use. So all I got were some mechanical pencils and a small sketchbook. Usually, when I want to draw and need references, I use resources such as YouTube, TikTok, and Clip Studio.

The next two posts will show a step-by-step of my drawing process

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My takeaway from this little life skill learning journey is that there will always be room for improvement when it comes to art. And I truly believe anyone can draw a face if they take the time to practice and apply patience. So hey, give drawing a try! Who knows, you might be a mini Picasso lol

Resources

https://youtu.be/rb3rGFCYvEg?si=rGrGCpTUYhgXa5JS

https://youtu.be/0IKqYDMcE1o?si=qPjhqQzx45PROnp_

https://www.tiktok.com/@sketchycore/video/7473551933710535958?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

P.S.: everyone has their own drawing style, so it’s okay if your art doesn’t turn out like the ones in the tutorial videos.

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For my life skill activity for myself I bought a small coin jar to help me start saving money and a calendar planner. I have been struggling a bit to save and conserve when I need to lately. I always think what is the point of money if you don't spend it before you pass away. You always need money to do some fun things usually and I have been wanting to do more social events.

This coin jar is shaped like a baseball, it gave me an idea to save some money to go watch a Rockies Game for the first time this year. I will try my hardest to save up for a ticket and go on a Friday when they have weekend fireworks. Also I can write in my bills on the calendar so I can see how far I need to save for what bill or what activity I want to do by that date.

"Take-Aways"/ Learned from this:

I have to give myself time and space to actually save money. I can't think all the time in the present moment, I have to think about the future and what I need to be stable in the future, also how much items cost. The economy isn't really getting any better for the foreseeable future. Planning ahead of time what to do with money I get will save me some stress not to deal with.

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I decided to share a sheet (see below photos) that I recently collected from my mental health classes. The sheet teaches individuals how to manage stress that stems from various stressful events, or stressors, in their lives. The extent to which someone can manage this stress is known as their level of distress tolerance.

There are four main strategies for increasing distress tolerance, as highlighted by the sheet displayed. For example, the self-soothing section of the sheet offers several activities that allow people to exercise their five senses and thus take attention away from any sources of stress. Then there's the "tip" sheet, which offers strategies for using extremes to manage the body's stress levels. For example, exposing the body to very cold water can help relieve physical tension. The other two main strategies, the stop skill and the body scan meditation, heavily emphasize pausing and making observation's about one's own body to manage emotions such as stress.

My main takeaway from all this is that it is important to exercise different parts of the brain when feeling stressed. During my mental health classes, I learned that the amygdala, the brain's "alarm system", causes stress hormones to be released when it perceives a threat or source of stress, thus causing us to feel overwhelmed. In doing so, the amygdala causes other parts of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for logic and reasoning), to shrink. Activities that help us exercise the prefrontal cortex can help us neutralize the amygdala when it is active or even hyperactive, thus meaning that these activities can cause an effective stress response.

To learn more about distress tolerance, visit the following links!

Sunrise Residential Treatment Center guide: https://sunrisertc.com/distress-tolerance-skills/

DBT guide: https://dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com/distress-tolerance/