Wellness with Dr. Denis'

Probably the biggest reason cited for why wellness is difficult is time. Wellness can be quick. It has to be. This episode gives you some ideas for how to include more  micro wellness to nourish and refresh yourself.#drdenisthomaswww.denisthomas.comWellnessWithDr.Denis@gmail.comMusic: The song “Get Well” is part of the creative commons work and can be found at www.freemusicarchive.org

Why don't we do the thing we most need to do when we know we need it? There are several reasons. In this episode Dr. Denis' shares 10 reasons why wellness is so challenging.#drdenisthomaswww.denisthomas.comWellnessWithDr.Denis@gmail.comMusic: The song “Get Well” is part of the creative commons work and can be found at www.freemusicarchive.org.

Season 3: If you are new to the podcast, I'm glad you found it. Just jump in where you are. You can go back and listen from the beginning, but you aren't catching up. You are right where you need to be. This episode is about what to do with the information from the previous 30 episodes before transitioning to something a little different for Season 4..

So how do you learn about your wellness habits and where do you find motivation?Books, blogs and web sites give you pages and pages of information to read and Ted Talks, documentaries and university lectures offer additional ways to learn through hearing . In one hour a week – that's less than 10 minutes a day – you'd have more than 50 hours of learning in a year, more time than sitting in an entire university course. 

You can learn from people all over the world through the internet, books and podcasts. You can join a group for social accountability or learn from a distance. Get lots of ideas for community resources to help you with your wellness habits.

It's helpful to share your good wellness intentions with safe and trustworthy people for gentle accountability and encouragement. But some people will sabotage your best efforts because it makes it uncomfortable for them. Knowing the difference is part of your wellness. This episode is about gaining support from friends and family.

If you dig down deep enough into mental and physical issues, you will likely uncover one  (or more) of these core needs: 1) Safety and Security, 2) Power and Control, 3) Inner Self, and 4) Relationship.  You are probably doing things to meet these needs, even if your attempts are hurting you in other ways. It might even begin to make sense when you understand it.

This might be my favorite wellness topic: self-compassion. How do you  talk to yourself?  We all have inner-dialogues. Some of us have an inner critic that berates constantly. I've got five ways to notice your mental chatter and three steps to help you begin to change it with self-compassion.

Here are five ideas to help you come up with your own ways to hold on to successes to review on days that feel like failures. Do it digitally, with paper, and with keepsakes.

Evidence that you have helped is important on dark days or after making mistakes. You need reminders of the differences you've made because you tend to forget.

In this episode, I've got five tips to help you nourish yourself with the best evening and all-day routines.

In today's podcast, evaluate whether what seemed like a good idea for wellness really would contribute to an ideal day. I have four questions to ask yourself. Then, I'll share some thoughts on a morning routine.The music is a song called, "Get Well." Learn more here. 

In this episode, I explore the challenge of time, including where you spend the most of your weekly hours, your work. Then, I   suggest adding more of what you want and subtracting what you don't want.  After this episode, I'm taking a wellness break, but I'll be back soon with Season 3. 

You have challenges that are yours just because of who you are. You don't get to pick your family members, experiences or genetics. You may have unwanted medical issues, family drama or painful hurts. You were born with characteristics that mean some things are just more difficult for you. That's what we are talking about in this episode.

One way to make your wellness plan easier is to create a block or two of focus time, especially for reflective habits. For five or maybe 15 minutes, shut the door, shut off the devices and give yourself the gift of no distractions.Here is the link to the video I reference:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfKb47NOB3M

Make your wellness plan less instead of more.  Less time, less effort, less reason to skip it. 

Let's talk about how to put yourself back together quickly when you need to get back to work, face the family or keep it together for your kids when you need wellness, but can't stop for long.  These aren't magic solutions to make the problem go away, but I'll share strategies to help you cope in the immediate fallout.

You need strategies to cope in the moment, process what you feel, externalize intense emotion, and put yourself back together. Many times, you have to cope quickly.  How do you take care of yourself in only 10 minutes while maintaining professionalism?

You've got enough to do, so you don't need an elaborate plan for wellness, but you do need to stay attuned to it. That's what we are talking about today.

My suggestion for the best, most sustainable wellness plan is to cultivate a few small, easy-to-do wellness habits with intention, and supplement that with restorative wellness, emergency wellness and supportive wellness when you need it. There's no magical schedule, but since our Gregorian calendar is divided into 12 months in the Western world, the changing of the calendar month is a good time to introduce a new wellness habit.

When thinking about your recovery wellness, you need to know what works for you and what doesn't. In this episode, I want to give you some practical ideas for that restorative wellness.

Let's talk about restorative wellness! I've got some suggestions to help you identify regularly occurring times of stress so you can cushion stressful times with a little extra wellness to help you recover.

Here are a couple more ideas to keep you motivated. 

If the new has worn off, the initial burst of excitement has fizzled, and you are  wondering if it is even worth the effort, this episode is all about mental motivation.

In this episode, I talk about how to add more of the nourishing stuff, and a better option for getting rid of bad habits. Then, I want to share a couple of reasons why you may be struggling with finding time for your good intentions.

In this episode, I share my thoughts about what you really need right now and what to expect in the phases of habit formation. Healthful habits form the first layer of your wellness plan so consistently add to your watering bucket. If you are doing the 100-day plan, this is establishing your first habit. Keep your wellness habits easy and quick, especially at the beginning!

You have a plan, and hopefully you've scheduled it, created reminders, paired it with anchor habits and set up a routine to increase your chances of success. Now, consider adding some social accountability and prepare yourself to be flexible with your expectations.

I've got four suggestions to turn ideas for wellness into intentional habits:  habit tracking, reminders, anchor habits, and routines. 

If you were your ideal healthy and well person, what things would you be doing consistently? This episode is about deciding the ten things you would to do consistently... but don't worry. We'll narrow it down to three and cultivate those one at a time.

Learn how to use the metaphor of a focusing tree to help you decide what to include in your wellness plan right now. I've got an additional six strategies to help you. Let's get well together.

Join me for an overview of total wellness. Check  out to see it explained with a visual. https://www.denisthomas.com/blog/total-wellness

I want to share with you how I conceptualize total wellness,  the big picture of a great wellness plan. Imagine a pyramid floating in a sphere...Learn more at www.denisthomas.com.

I've got two things to share with you today: the metaphor of a wellness watering bucket and a suggestion for a baby wellness plan to get you started. The baby wellness plan has two parts. Get the content and take a walk without distractions. Learn more from the blog at www. denisthomas.com

Wellness with Dr. Denis' is a new podcast for those who work in helping professions: counselors, therapists, nurses, social workers, doctors, and parents. If you spend most of your workweek helping hurting people, then you must replenish yourself. It needs to be part of your job description. I'll walk you through how and encourage you every step of the way.If having the book to read and review would be helpful to you, then click below:Wellness That Works: How to Create a Wellness Plan