A message to the team from Patrick:

Confirming Our Practices

• All clients are screened thoroughly upon intake to keep you safe especially during this time.
• The office has ongoing communication to clients and families to ensure proper protocols are being followed, especially with the upcoming holidays.
• Guided Living will continue to provide PPE ongoing. As a reminder that when in a clients home masks are mandatory at all times, if you are low on any PPE, please contact the office or complete the form here: Guided Living PPE Request Form

And as a reminder, it is always a good practice to:

• Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• When soap and running water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Practice good respiratory etiquette, including covering coughs and sneezes.
• And always, if you feel any signs or symptoms of illness, please let the office know right away.

While we’re enduring the losses, threats, and deprivations of the pandemic and the disturbance and challenges of political division and a necessary reckoning with racism, we can embrace this time of trauma as a teacher. If we do, it can make us more healthy and whole, wiser and stronger than we’ve ever been, kinder and more committed to creating a world in which we care for ourselves and love one another.

James S. Gordon, MD ~ Founder ~ The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Tips to Manage Caregiver Stress

You can ease your stress with a few simple techniques that don’t take a lot of time. Try these methods to ratchet down the tension. Two-minute relaxation. Switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Then do a mental scan of your body to find which areas feel tense or cramped. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can…

Emergency Responders: Tips for taking care of yourself

Responding to disasters is both rewarding and challenging work. Sources of stress for emergency responders may include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Stress prevention and management is critical for responders to stay well and to continue to help in the situation. There are important steps responders should take before, during, and after an event. To take care of others, responders must be feeling well and thinking clearly.

You Can Take Care of Yourself in Coronavirus Quarantine or Isolation, Starting Right Now

Six things you can do right at this moment, along with some simple exercise equipment to get for your house.

Taking Care of Your Emotional Health

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during and after a disaster. Everyone reacts differently, and your own feelings will change over time. Notice and accept how you feel. Taking care of your emotional health during an emergency will help you think clearly and react to the urgent needs to protect yourself and your family. Self-care during an emergency will help your long-term healing.

Helping Children Cope with Emergencies

Regardless of your child’s age, he or she may feel upset or have other strong emotions after an emergency. Some children react right away, while others may show signs of difficulty much later. How a child reacts and the common signs of distress can vary according to the child’s age, previous experiences, and how the child typically copes with stress.

151 Self Care Ideas to Increase Mindfulness and Avoid Burnout

The best self-care ideas are self-care activities that resonate with you on a personal level. The best way to come up with a complete self care plan is to make a list of all the things you enjoy doing best for self care. However, many of us have forgotten what it is like to take care of yourself first.