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My first introduction to motivational interviewing didn't feel too uncommon, but I knew there was so much more to this topic that I didn't know about, and so I was very curious. While listening to what's being taught to me, without realizing I never knew how much I focused on trying to fix and heal people without actually prioritizing listening to them and motivating them. This made me look back at old conversations I had with friends where I could've been more of a listening ear, offering less direction. It feels weird to try new things, but sometimes new is better, and in this case, I believe it is.

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This week we touched on OARS and expressive therapies. By using affirmations with a little more intention and not just compliments but actual affirmations, for example, acknowledging someone's strength and dedication or resilience, it made me realize how rarely we use affirmations on a regular day basis. I mentioned to my best friend how much I admired her consistency and strength and I saw how her eyes lit up. that showed me how healing words can be.

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Week 3: self-regulation, emotional regulation and mindfulness

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Week 3: self-regulation, emotional regulation and mindfulness

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We explored emotional regulation this week, and the concept of naming my emotions to tame really intrigued me. I've always suppressed my feelings of sadness and anger or frustration, but lately I've been naming them out loud. "THIS IS SADNESS" " THIS IS ANGER". It makes them feel less powerful and me more in control

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Learning about mindfulness theory made me realize how important it can be to have as part of my coping mechanism and everyday life routine. To me, it is more than just a stress relief technique. I started using mindfulness in everything that I do: washing the dishes, commuting to class, walking my dog. Instead of zoning, I push myself to feel, smell and hear what's around me. These little tricks bring me back to the present time.

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Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) gave me guidance on how to maneuver difficult and challenging thoughts. I tried the thought record technique this week when I caught myself being in my head about not being where I want to be, I wrote everything I was feeling down. Doing this helped me recognize that I'm okay, I'm just overwhelmed.

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Week 8: Reflection to  Behavioral activation & my anxiety

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Week 8: Reflection to  Behavioral activation & my anxiety

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Exposure therapy pushed me to face my social anxiety, I made a small list of exposures that usually trigger my anxiety. The first one is asking someone that I don't know how they're doing. Prof Tami, my heart was poundinggggg out of my chest, and to be honest I'm not even sure where this social anxiety even stems from. Anyways, I did it ! and nothing bad happened. I mean what can happen from checking in on someone's well-being... my opinion of Behavioral activation is that avoidance grows fear while exposure shrinks it.

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Week 8: Behavioral activation & exposure therapy 

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Week 8: Behavioral activation & exposure therapy 

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Behavioral activation felt personal to me this week. I was in deep procrastination with homework from school and a few content creation tasks I had given myself for my business. I couldn't stay in that slump, so I used behavioral activation to break out of it. I picked a small value-based action, which for me was posting a draft post I premade to make uploading easier. After posting, everything else became easy. I now remind myself that motivation doesn't always come before action, but it follows it.

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Week 9: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) 

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Week 9: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) 

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ACT felt like a hug and an easy gateway through small events that pop up throughout my day, I look at my intrusive thoughts as a "passenger in the car that came for a ride but has to get off soon enough". This metaphor is helps me gravitate towards my values when self doubt and worry appears.

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This week's class content introduced to me the concept of thinking before you speak, or in other words, a wise mind. Im raising my 14 year old sister due to not living with my parents and sometimes we have heated conversations and I half of the time I have some words i'd like to say but I have to hold myself because I don't want to hurt her feelings and that's when I included the DBT stop skills to ease the heavy emotions. I stopped, took a breath, observed the tension in my body and proceeded slowly. This reminds me that I can only control what is within my control, and not everything deserves my peace and energy.

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Narrative therapy honestly opened my mind, created another perception of how to navigate through life. Narrative therapy makes you understand that people are problems and that the problem is the problems, this isn't make me feel like I'm invincible. I've regained control of how I react to things and perceive things.

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As the course went by, it's crazy to realize how many tips and tricks I've collected in just a few weeks. I started this course curious, maybe a little bit confused, but now I feel enlightened, connected, like I actually know what to do and how to support others and myself. These are just theories to me, they're like a cheat sheet to living. Later on today I wrote a letter to my future self using everything I've understood, listening more deeply, being able to sit with the uncomfortable and more.. this course didn't just educate me on psychology, it taught me to be... me!

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Week 13: Mixing OARS in real conversations

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Week 13: Mixing OARS in real conversations

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This week I tried something different with my friends, I'm naturally the listener of my friend group, so I oftentimes put into practice what I learned from this course, and this week I did just that. My best friend was talking to me about boy issues and how she felt that her feelings were dismissed and invalidated, and I thought to myself was a better time than to apply OARS to this conversation. Instead of looking for solutions like I would normally do for her, I came to her with a few open-ended questions and reflections, which created a deeper level of insight into her feelings and the situation itself. She opened up more and more, and I was truly fascinated. Sometimes it is okay to just listen and affirm someone.

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I started to incorporate mindfulness in my everyday routines, journaling and praying when I wake up and before I leave my room,, mindfully cleaning my room or being sure to take deep breaths in between certain tasks throughout the day. It's a simple yet so meaningful action that allows me to feel more grounded and anchored throughout the day. Instead of looking at mindfulness as a task, I look at it as another way out. I tend to dissociate a lot, so mindfulness brings me back into my body.

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I can be very hard on myself at times, and on this day, I was overthinking and started to tell myself that I'm not doing enough, but instead of feeding into it, I used a CBT thought record to break it down. What I mean by that is that when I thought of everything I do for myself and others, that thought didn't hold any value. I challenged it with more balanced thinking and reminded myself of the facts. This one exercise saved my whole day from becoming a disaster. It finally felt good to be in control.

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Week 16: Behavioral  activations and a very lazy sunday

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Week 16: Behavioral  activations and a very lazy sunday

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Last sunday i woke up at 12 pm with no energy or motivation to complete any cleaning or task I had set for the day, my plan was to scroll my day way but then I remembered of behavioral activation I chose a small value activation which was cleaning my room that later than brought me to make breakfast which brought me to journal on my patio which created a new tone for my day. What I thought was going to be a lazy Sunday turned into a Sunday reset. It's interesting how a small action can just change the whole course of my day like that.

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This in particular i was seriously going through it, event after event a lot of things kept pilling up on each other.. during this time I had a very hard conversation that was quiet triggering and brought up a lot of doubt and fear. but instead of emotionally reacting I sat with it and reminded myself that it's okay to feel the emotions that I'm feeling and that'll be okay. That moment of honesty with myself helped me deal with the issue rather than avoid it.

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I am young and fortunately i am in love with my boyfriend of two years and we get along so well but we obviously have our down days, while this isn't about my boyfriend and I but this about how I cope during our arguments which tend to get me really upset. i like to use DBT Stop skill which consist of Stop, Take a breath, observe and proceed mindfully. using this helped me be more aware of my words and actions in times where I don't feel as happy instead of reacting I walked away. moments like these showed me the purpose of this course it's not just theory but actual emotional survival skills.

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I've had a lot of time to sit alone with my thoughts, especially at night, that's when I tend to do all of my thinking, but I have always carried this narrative about me being too aware or sensitive. Still, through the lens of narrative therapy, I have the power to rewrite it. My awareness and sensitivity aren't a flaw, it's a strength, and that's why I'm so strong and able to easily empathize with others and drawn into this field of psychology.

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The final week was a mix of memories and nostalgia for me. Looking back and thinking about how all these weeks flew by made me notice a lot of growth within myself. I am much more grateful and calm with myself and others. I speak less and listen more. I definitely regulate better and give myself more compassion. It's made more aware, awake maybe? grounded ye,s that the correct word. i hope to continue this way i'd like for it to become part of who I am.