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Activities that Serve as Healthy Distractions

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Activities that Serve as Healthy Distractions

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Reading books (usually romance is my go-to), one-player games such as Sudoku, the Spelling Bee and creating spreads in my junk journal.

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Although I typically enjoy playing Sudoku on my phone, I find that I can get stuck in the unhealthy cycle of playing game after game. To ensure that this activity can serve as a healthy distraction, this platform provides one puzzle to complete per day at various difficulty levels.

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This popular logic puzzle is a numbers game, minus the math.

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As a child, I grew up fascinated by the Spelling Bee, participating in it and found that it was a healthy distraction that engaged my mind. As an adult, I find that I have a tendency to mindlessly scroll through social media but using this platform and completing a daily activity has been a great alternative and helps me reconnect with happiness in my childhood.

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How many words can you make with 7 letters?

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As defined in the references provided and from personal understanding, the concept of radical acceptance is full acceptance of reality and embracing the present moment, without attempting to alter or manage it despite any discomforts and challenges. Radical acceptance involves acknowledging unchangeable factors, such as past experiences, current situations, or the actions of others. It emphasizes the understanding that certain aspects of life are out of our control, and resisting acceptance can only result in more suffering.

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Relevance of Radical Acceptance in Nursing

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Relevance of Radical Acceptance in Nursing

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Radical acceptance is relevant in nursing as we care for unique populations with complex situations while managing constantly changing circumstances. This approach can help manage the stressors that we encounter in this profession and ensures that we can be present in patient care. In the beginning of my nursing career, I struggled with accepting that situations would not result in the ways I intended which created a negative and stressful mindset. Once I started to practice radical acceptance (although I had not learned the term at this point), it helped me face the changes as they came and created a supportive mindset alternatively.

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Radical acceptance has been incorporated in my daily life and practice by:

being aware of what sparks resistance and reflection on what I am struggling to accept,

ensuring safety and allowing myself to feel emotions that are present, and

coping affirmations, for example, “I cannot change the situation, but I can control how I respond to it.”

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When attending a book festival in Toronto, I met a poet who worked for a company that specializes in creating personalized poems on the spot. I hold this poem closely to my heart and it serves as constant inspiration to focus on gratitude, especially when life gets 'rainy'. I also included a photo of one of my favourite sunsets as it was an inspiration in creating this poem. Sunsets contribute to my well-being as they are my peace and allow intentional time for myself to reflect each day.

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One Tree Hill has always been and continues to be a television show that provides comfort and inspiration. In season three, episode fifteen, the shared time capsule entry of Coach Whitey Durham, who was widely known for his wisdom and life lessons, resonated with me through my childhood, adolescence and adult years thus far.

"Learn to let go of the past. And recognize that every day won't be sunny, and when you find yourself lost in the darkness and despair, remember it's only in the black of night you see the stars. And those stars will lead you back home."

This quote contributes to my overall well-being by providing assurances that the difficulties experienced can lead to beautiful outcomes and inspires me to let go of the past.

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One Tree Hill - 315 - Quote Whitey - [Lk49]

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To benefit my overall well-being, daily affirmations have provided a foundation of positive beliefs and thoughts to start my day. These affirmations also inspire me to continue the work I am doing to heal for myself.

"I am safe to be authentically myself."

"I am worthy."

"I am enough."

"I am a magnet for positive experiences."

"I attract opportunities that align with my goals."

"I am the architect of my life and create my own destiny."

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A list of relaxation techniques that are beneficial to my daily life include:

meditation, and

nature walks.

Last month, I began participating in mediation classes weekly with others in my community. Meditation has improved my mental clarity and has provided me the opportunity to experience 'being grounded' for the first time in my life. A part of my self-care plan includes nature walks to ensure that I am priortizing physical activity and detachment from busy surroundings.

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Along with meditation classes, in my self-care plan, I have committed to include a form of meditation I can do daily at home.

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Breathing into the Body Guided Sleep Meditation (with Music)

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Breathing into the Body Guided Sleep Meditation (with Music)

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As provided by Anxiety Canada, two mindfulness exercises I can implement into my self-care plan include:

1. Come Back - when I am caught up in regret, guilt and stress, taking a deep breath and saying "come back" to centre myself and refocus on the present task.

2. Three Senses - to return to the present moment, I will take a few breaths and ask myself, "what are three things I can hear?", "what are three things I can see?" and "what are three things I can feel?"

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A Few Simple Mindfulness Exercises

When you catch yourself being caught up in worries about the future or guilt and regret about the past, just notice that it is happening and simply and kindly say to yourself, "Come back." Then take a calming breath and focus on what you are doing right now.

Three Senses
Another helpful mindfulness trick is simply to notice what you are experiencing right now through three senses - sound, sight, touch. Take a few slow breaths and ask yourself:

What are three things I can hear? (clock on the wall, car going by, music in the next room, my breath)

What are three things I can see? (this table, that sign, that person walking by)

What are three things I can feel? (the chair under me, the floor under my feet, my phone in my pocket)

Think of these answers to yourself slowly, one sense at a time. It's impossible to do this exercise and not be present and mindful!

Body Scan
This meditation helps bring you more fully into the present moment, by simply noticing and allowing whatever physical sensations are present in your body.
Download the script.
Mindful Breathing
This meditation involves focusing on your breath to help settle your mind.
Download the script. Next: Other Helpful Tips To Stay Balanced

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A Few Simple Mindfulness Exercises When you catch yourself being caught up in worries about the future or guilt and regret about the past, just notice that it is happening and simply and kindly say to yourself, "Come back." Then take a calming breath and focus on what you are doing right now.

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I met my first therapist at age fifteen and since then, I have become an advocate for therapy and the benefits, especially in nursing. I have been seeing my current therapist for nearly four years and having the support has helped me navigate challenging life situations while teaching me how to cope when experiencing them. I integrate therapy into my self-care plan by attending at least every one to two months when life feels relatively stable but increasing the frequency to every two weeks when needing additional support.

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When experiencing stressful times, I plan to integrate these statements in my self-care plan to support my mental health.

"I am doing the best I can in this present moment."

"I can choose how to respond rather than react."

"I am fully capable and equipped to handle this situation."

"I am strong, resilient and I can handle this."

"I have made it through and survived challenging situations before, I can do it again."

"I am capable of understanding that more than one thing can be true at once."

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Development & Implementation: Reflection 

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Development & Implementation: Reflection 

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Creating the self-care plan has encouraged me to examine myself and to consider what would benefit my daily life and professional practice as a Registered Nurse.

When developing my self-care plan, I integrated activities and healthy distractions from my past and present that provided me happiness. As previously mentioned, I struggle with mindless scrolling and having healthy distractions such as reading, creating spreads in my junk journal, daily Sudoku and Spelling Bee, provide me with alternatives when needed. When curating and putting my inspirations together, I enjoyed having the opportunity to dig deeper into what inspires my soul and essentially, put it all in one place. Once school began to get busy and the pace quickened, the personalized poem has been my inspiration to continue this journey of going back to school. It serves a constant reminder to lean into my peace when everything becomes overwhelming. Another inspiration that I had the pleasure of sharing was from my all-time favourite television show. One Tree Hill (although a drama) has provided me with life lessons and although it sounds crazy, Coach Whitey Durham remains to be an inspiration in all different stages in my life. Including his character and quote in this assignment required vulnerability, yet as mentioned, his quote serves as a constant reminder that there is light within all the darkness, even when not obviously apparent. Another inspiration that motivates me daily are affirmations that focus on self-worth and self-esteem. Baseline, I am not a confident person, but with years of slowly implementing changes, daily affirmations inspire me to believe in my capabilities and in myself. When developing the relaxation part of my self-care plan, I found that leaning into what I already loved would be the most beneficial such as nature walks. I struggle with overthinking and anxiety, and meditation has been a new practice that I have implemented into my self-care plan which has produced many benefits thus far. My favourite aspect of developing this self-care plan was integrating coping skills such as therapy and coping statements, like affirmations, to use when feeling stress or overwhelm.

I plan to implement my self-care plan in various ways, depending on which topic. Upon reviewing my daily routine, I am implementing my daily affirmations when getting ready for the day. I am implementing nature walks in the morning (except for days that I am on campus, then I will walk in the afternoon) and will typically have therapy in the afternoon every two weeks to two months. Instead of scrolling on my phone for greater than one hour, I am implementing the healthy distractions such as the online games, reading and creating spreads in my junk journal. At night, before I go to bed, I am implementing a meditation practice to ensure a restful sleep. When needing inspiration, I will ensure to lean on the quotes, statements and affirmations included in my self-care plan. When encountering stressful situations in nursing, I am implementing mindfulness exercises when needing an intentional moment to centre myself. Overall, I plan to slowly implement my self-care plan to ensure that these practices become habits and routine.

After implementing my self-care plan, I hope to be experiencing personal benefits such as mental clarity, improved emotional regulation, the ability to be completely present, less physical tension, and the ability to manage stressors. In my professional practice, I hope to be a more patient, present and attentive provider. Overall, I hope that implementing my self-care plan will encourage being intentional in both personal and professional settings.