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Elements of fun, surprise, and questions connected to our PERMAH

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A scientifically-backed model was introduced in 1998 by Dr. Martin Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology movement. The PERMAH model shifts the focus of interest from mental illness to wellness and flourishing. It aims to answer questions like "What constitutes a Good Life?" and "What makes Life worth living?"

P - Pleasant Emotions

E - Engagement, and Flow

R - Relationships

M - Meaning, or remembering or rediscovering Purpose in your life. Using your character strengths and talents to create a difference.

A - Accomplishments, or things that make you say "YESSSS! I/We did it!!"

H - Health, of the body, of the heart, of the mind. Remember, physical health and mental health are interconnected.

Mental Health IS Health!

For more information on activities in Positive Psychology, see https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/files/pik/files/activitiesforflourishing_jppw.pdf

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It's not uncommon to feel disorganized and forgetful when you're under a lot of stress. But over the long term, stress may actually change your brain in ways that affect your memory.

The amount of stress we experience, in combination with the supports we have available to help us cope, determine how that stress might affect our brains and bodies (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2014).

Positive Stress: characterized by a mild stress response, including brief increases in heart rate and mild elevations in stress hormone levels. This type of stress alerts and prepares us – it can benefit us in situations where we need to be focused and energized. This type of stress actually builds healthy response systems to cope with future stress.

Tolerable Stress: characterized by a more serious but temporary physical stress response, consistently buffered by supportive relationships. These experiences would have the potential to negatively affect development, but with support from trusting relationships, they do not have long-term impact on the brain and body.

Toxic Stress: characterized by an intense, frequent, or chronic activation of the stress response system, in the absence of protective relationships. It is this type of stress that can change the way a child’s brain and body develop.

For all children, positive relationships and environments buffer the effects of stress and promote healthy development.

excerpted from https://turnaroundusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Stress-and-the-Brain_Turnaround-for-Children-032420.pdf

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Focus Time: When we closely focus on tasks in a goal-oriented way, we take on challenges that make deep connections in the brain.

Play Time When we allow ourselves to be spontaneous or creative, playfully enjoying novel experiences, we help make new connections in the brain.

Connecting Time When we connect with other people, ideally in person, and when we take

time to appreciate our connection to the natural world around us, we activate and reinforce the brain's relational circuitry.

Physical Time When we move our bodies, aerobically if medically possible, we strengthen the brain in many ways.

Time In When we quietly reflect internally, focusing on sensations, images, feelings and thoughts, we help to better integrate the brain.

Down Time When we are non-focused, without any specific goal, and let our mind wander or simply relax, we help the brain recharge

Sleep Time When we give the brain the rest it needs, we consolidate learning and

recover from the experiences of the day.

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For Stress: try this technique from Therapy in a Nutshell:

"Feeling overwhelmed literally makes parts of your brain shut down. You might experience cognitive fatigue, sensory overload, burnout, physical exhaustion, a flood of thoughts, confusion, or the stress response, you may feel anxious, sweaty, teary, or panicky alternating in quick succession with wanting to give up, shut down, curl up into a ball, procrastinate and avoid everything.

So here’s what to do instead. Slow it down. Take a deep breath, and grab a large piece of paper and a pen.

Now do a brain dump, take everything in your head and write it down on paper, it doesn’t need to make sense, it doesn't need good handwriting or grammar, just put it on paper, make a list or a diagram if you want, just take all the things in your head and put them onto the paper.

Usually people feel better after that, but now we’re going to do one better… Cross off everything that’s not in your control - news stories, your bosses’ attitude, the weather, your mother in law’s opinions, your child’s mood…cross off anything that’s not in your realm of influence. Now if, for example, there’s something you need to do about your child’s behavior- like enforce a boundary or something- cross off- Tommy’s tantrums, you can’t control his feelings, instead write down “I need to enforce a boundary, and it’s so hard”.

After you’ve crossed off everything that you can’t control, and replaced a few of them with things in your control, it’s a terrible idea to try to do them all at once, so just take a deep breath, slow yourself down, and circle one action you’re going to take. Then set the paper aside and get back to life, do that one thing, or do what you need to be doing in the present moment. "

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Feeling overwhelmed literally makes parts of your brain shut down. Fortunately, there’s a quick technique for feeling overwhelmed.

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Connection, focus, fun, creativity in a simple movement

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Setting healthy boundaries requires self-awareness. We need to be clear about our expectations of ourselves and others, and what we are and are not comfortable with in specific situations.

Setting healthy boundaries requires good communication skills that convey assertiveness and clarity. Examples of poor communication?

1. When we hope that others will read our mind, and then when they don't, we give them the silent treatment. (passive)

2. Asking someone to do something, but if they don't do it immediately, we do it. When they ask why, we say, "It's just easier for me to do everything around here" (passive-aggressive)

3. Losing control, shouting, using "You" statements. (aggressive)

Assertive communication is an empowering tool to craft. Assertiveness involves expressing your feelings openly and respectfully. It means respecting both yourself AND the other person. It does not entail making demands, but it requires people to listen to you. Setting healthy boundaries requires you to assert your needs and priorities as a form of self-care.

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It's only embarrassing if you're embarrassed

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It's only embarrassing if you're embarrassed

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From the TED Talk "Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life" by Catherine Price

1. The secret to long-term happiness is just to have more everyday moment of fun.

2. Ingredients of fun:

- playfulness: having a lighthearted attitude of doing things for the sake of doing them and not care too much about the outcome.

- connection: shared, interact people.

- flow: the state that we so engaged and focused that we even lose track of time.

3. the most effective things you can do to have more fun is focus on its ingredients and fill your life with every moment of its:

- reduce distraction - ex : don’t constantly on your phone.

- try to connect more with people.

- finding oppoturnities to rebel - get yourself permission to kick out of your life.

- prioritize fun - carve out time for the activity or people often generate playful connected flow for you in your schedule

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Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life | Catherine Price | TED

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Connecting to each other in new ways. Asking what you are curious to know about them. What their “warning label” would say. What they would like to write a book or have a podcast about. And what makes them feel alive.
When do we ever have a chance to reflect on that?

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When your body, heart and mind need to expel some stress and get a reset

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Connecting, being playful, surprising each other

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Dancing - Brain Gym with pre-school teachers ❤️

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Dancing - Brain Gym with pre-school teachers ❤️

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Susan's Quick Tip: Calm Down with Breathing

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Susan's Quick Tip: Calm Down with Breathing

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Easy ideas to help regulate their emotions when BIG FEELINGS take over

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Susan's Quick Reminder: The Cycle of Strong Emotions

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Susan's Quick Reminder: The Cycle of Strong Emotions

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Our actions then generate a reaction, and around and around we go in the cycle

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Ready to visit the little ones with Elisabete, Anabela and Sandra

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Ready to visit the little ones with Elisabete, Anabela and Sandra

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What a wonderful experience!

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What kind of boundary is being pushed? What do you need to clarify in your communication?

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We created a circle by sharing something that was important to us. If another person shares that same special thing, they run over and link arms with us. We continue adding until we have formed a circle.
This activity can warm up the atmosphere and stimulate connection and curiosity.

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Sometimes we need to activate the body to free up the mind, and prepare ourselves for more collaboration and creativity

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What makes us feel alive? What topic would we love to write a book about? 

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What makes us feel alive? What topic would we love to write a book about? 

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Have we ever shared that with each other? And when we do, how does that affect our relationship? How do we feel when someone really listens to us talk about what’s important to us?

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Quiet reflection about where our energy goes

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Quiet reflection about where our energy goes

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And then asking ourselves, what sort of boundary is being invaded by the energy vampires? Time, material, emotional? How can I communicate more clearly about this boundary, respecting myself AND respecting the other person?
And how can I include more of the energy givers in my To Do list?

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We each chose the postcard that somehow represented us and our time together in this workshop. Closing activities which give participants a kind of creative summary of what they felt, thought, observed. Sharing it with others helps all of us learn more about each other AND think more deeply about what we’ve done.