Skills 4 Livin'

The guest on today's show is Jennifer Owens, the co-founder and Wellness Director of Bridge Counselling and Wellness, in Louisville, Kentucky. Bridge Counselling and Wellness is an Integrative Health Centre that provides individual therapy, yoga, fitness, cooking classes, meditation and workshops.  Jennifer is an Integrative Mental Health Therapist, a licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Personal Trainer and she specialises in the holistic treatment of anxiety.   Jennifer (Cobb) came across Jennifer's website and she became fascinated with all the different modalities that they use to promote wellness- all with the recognition of the interconnectedness of our mood and our bodies. They provide individual sessions in conjunction with other classes, to help people to restore balance and wellness within themselves.    Today, Jennifer, who really understands the connection between our bodies and our brains, talks about how you can view your physical and mental health in an interconnected way, as a whole

In part 2 of today’s topic, we are going to continue to submerge ourselves in the idea of regulating emotions. Today, we are going to focus specifically on emotion regulation in an everyday way to handle our emotions. Last week we explored 10 different emotions and the urges that may come along with those emotions. Let’s talk about a process to follow to give us guidance on acting on our emotions. Make sure you stick around for the end, I’m going to show you a special breathing technique!    What you’ll hear in this episode:   How to find out if the emotion you are feeling fits the facts of the situation  When it is right to feel fear When acting on fear is going to be affective How you can solve your problem of fear or another emotion  What you should do if the emotion doesn’t fit the facts What is opposite action? In what scenario should you approach the situation that is causing your emotion In what situation is anger justifiable  What is a pursed lip breathing exercise? Why cats purr  How breathing affec

Today we’re talking about emotion regulation! It’s a big topic so I’m breaking it into 2 parts. In this episode I’ll cover what the emotions are, and why we want to regulate emotions. We’ll talking about the function of the emotion, the physiology of the emotions and the urges that go with emotions to  give us insight into how they can be regulated.   My goal is to take a complicated topic and make it a bit less complicated.     Why? To decrease emotional suffering and make clear decisions in the moment.     Barriers to regulating emotions:    Biology Lack of skill       We’re covering these 10 common emotions today:     Fear Anger Disgust Sadness Shame  Guilt Jealousy Envy Love Happiness     Join us as we take a deeper dive into each of these emotions, so we can better understand the emotions and then we can better understand how to regulate these emotions. We’ll talk about that in part 2, so please come back next week for the conclusion.  

Do you ever find yourself reacting to stressful events in a way that makes them worse? Would you like to learn a technique to help you to accept unavoidable, unpleasant occurrences calmly and without losing to the situation? If this is you, join Jennifer Cobb on today's show and find out about the STOP Skill and how it can help you to cope when the tension is running high.    In today's episode, Jennifer talks about Distress Tolerance Skills- about when and why you would use them. She explains the ins and outs of the STOP skill and describes the type of situation that would call for the use of it. Listen in today and learn how you can empower yourself to deal with any situation, even if it's one that you'd rather avoid.   Today, Jennifer talks about:   Why she really likes the Distress Tolerance Skills. She explains how the Distress Tolerance Skills work. The 2 categories of skills in the Distress Tolerance Skills- Acceptance Skills and Change Skills. That Distress Tolerance Skills are either in the category

Today we’re going to be doing something little bit different. As you may have heard in Episode 1, I believe that self-compassion is an important part of us being comfortable with ourselves and is the first step to making changes in our lives.    Today, I invite you to join me to sit and participate in a loving kindness meditation. I heard from many people that sitting for a formal meditation is difficult for them, so I thought I might walk you through the steps.      What you’ll hear in this episode:   What is a loving kindness meditation Where this meditation originates from What the loving kindness meditation about What is the goal for this meditation What is your heart-center What posture you should use when meditating How you should breath when meditating  What to recite about yourself and others What to visualize when you are relaxing and meditating    Thank you so much for joining me today and participating in this loving kindness meditation. Anytime that you feel necessary please come back and medita

Welcome to today’s show with my guest, Dan Hyde. Dan is a licensed massage therapist and instructor in the martial arts of Tai Chi and Chi Kung. He practices in Greensboro, NC, at Move With Life Martial Healing. Dan centers his work around the art of relaxation. Do you truly know how to relax? Dan shares the relationship between life, tension, and relaxation. Join us! What you’ll hear in this episode: Dan’s path: karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and the Marines “How can I use what I have learned to help others?” How Dan’s physical martial arts practice transformed into something much deeper How Tai Chi helped Dan navigate through tough times and physical ailments The point of the physical practice: to learn to relax Foundational principles of Tai Chi: Invest in the loss Return to the root Putting your body in proper alignment by the basic principles of movement Dan’s car accident illustration of tension vs. relaxation Relax into your fear DBT: What is it? How does it align with Tai Chi? “The more you relax, the

My guest today is Doug Cook, a registered dietician who specializes in functional nutrition and its role in mental health. Doug lives and works in Toronto and is the author of The 175 Best Superfood Blender Recipes. Doug helps people identify dietary deficiencies and use food to improve their mood. Our conversation includes a checklist for your food plan and Doug’s #1 tip for health—which might surprise you. Join us now! What you’ll hear in this episode: Doug’s background: working with kidney and diabetes patients How dieticians and nutrition relate to mental health and metabolic health Doug’s philosophy: “Go for the lowest-hanging fruit”---make choices that bring the biggest impact Five keys to improve mental health: Get more Omega-3 fatty acids and avoid trans fats Eat regularly to maintain blood sugar levels Focus on plant products for maximum antioxidant benefit Improve the vitamin/mineral quality of your diet  to produce neurotransmitters (iodine, zinc, magnesium, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitami

Are you stressed out, always caring for others with little time for yourself? Would you really benefit from some self-care? If so, listen in to Jennifer Cobb, licensed social worker, and dialectical behavior therapist, interviewing Pam Ladetto, also a licensed clinical social worker and find out how you can go about creating some self-time, for your sanity.   Pam, a mother of two daughters, is a super specialist in self-care. She has been in the field for twenty years. She currently works in rural high schools as a LCSW, seeing about a hundred kids on a regular basis. Pam really relates to adolescents- they usually want to see her way more often than she is available. She has vast experience working with domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, mainly in tough areas.   Listen in as Pam talks to Jennifer about:   How her work with sexual abuse lead her to check out of the field for a while, just to be a mom and reflect. The need to give yourself permission to take care of yourself. Some tips to mak

  This week’s Skill for life is meditation. Meditation slows aging,  improves concentration, reduces stress, encourages a healthy lifestyle, increases happiness, and it delays death. Our guest, Jimmy Tunstall, is a counselor-therapist and a meditation expert. He teaches you how to meditate.  Show Notes  The practice prolongs life because it benefits cardiovascular and immune system health. How Jimmy helps those who want to recover from addiction How he uses meditation to The right way to meditate Tips on meditation His struggles and successes  You can meditate even when driving  The effects of meditation Benefits of regular meditation Breathing is the core of meditation The right length of meditation The background music or sounds to use during your meditation Altering diet and sleep patterns  Resources  Jennifer's website:  www.guilfordcounseling.com Jimmy's website:  www.full-life-counseling.com You can read the full show notes at www.guilfordcounseling.com.   Thank You for Listening   I know that our l

In today's episode Jennifer Cobb talks about self-compassion and gives us some tips for cultivating more. It's a concept that most of us are familiar with, but we tend to think that too much elf-compassion means that you just accept every flaw as acceptable, and nothing needs to change. Jennifer is quick to point out the 2 components of Self-Compassion: 1. Validation 2. Dialectics   Jennifer skillfully illustrates the difference between the 2 and how using them effectively can lay the groundwork for self-compassion. We can easily see in Jennifer's illustrations, that we would not be drawn to others that repeatedly judge, attack or condemn us. However, the behavior that we refuse to accept from others is the behavior that we tolerate from ourselves. What would happen if 60% of your thoughts each day were validating? What about 70%?  Join us in this episode to find out.   You can read the full show notes and access all the links and resources at www.guilfordcounseling.com     Thank You for Listening   I know th

This is the introductory episode of your podcast Skills for Life, hosted by Jennifer Cobb, MSW, LCSW, DBTC.  She founded and heads the Guilford Counseling, PLLC where she is a Clinical Social Work/Therapist and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) specialist.  Her DBT group is designed for adults who are struggling with behaviors that interfere with their quality of life, such as intense unmanaged emotions, self-harming behaviors, destructive social reactions, severe depression, and anxiety. DBT treatment uses the evidence-based treatment model of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) developed by Marsha Linehan, PhD. This skills training group will focus on teaching the individuals specific skills in the areas of mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. Jennifer also works with families wishing to address relationship, behavior, or discipline issues.    In this episode Jennifer also discusses the following:   Changing lifestyle and nutrition could help change the mood