HALT or Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

There is a lot of preparation leading up to the holidays. The list of things that need to be taken care of can seem endless. Although you might be caught up in the frenzy of the season, remember to take time to care for yourself. The four primary signs to watch out for during the stress of the holidays can be remembered by the acronym HALT. This stands for hungry, angry, lonely and tired. Having any one of these symptoms is a sign of stress. If you notice that several of these symptoms are occurring, you can stop the downward spiral and reverse the course. The best way to avoid HALT’s and the destructive behavior that occurs with it is to continue with self care. Make sure that you are eating well, avoiding resentment and anger, you are not isolating yourself from others or trying to do it all yourself and you are getting enough rest.

Some things we cannot change. The past has already happened and cannot be changed. As much as we might like to change some things about our families, that is not possible. Other people’s actions, what they say or how they feel cannot be controlled by you. Going to the traditional family dinner expecting your family to be different this year, probably is not realistic. This will only set you up for disappointment. Accepting what you cannot control will help you to relax and reduce some of your stress.

Read more by Loren Fogelman at http://www.kolpiacounseling.com/

Holiday Blues

The kids are back in school. The leaves are beginning to turn and the air is becoming crisper in the morning. Costco has had their Christmas stock on display since September. The holidays are here. The change in the season can bring joy as well as sadness as the holidays arrive. The holidays can be rich in ritual and tradition. The holidays can also be filled with anticipation and stress, known as the holiday blues.

Storybooks and Christmas specials on TV inform us about the “standards” for the holidays. Most of us have specific beliefs about what to expect during the holidays. We dream of the ideal holiday gatherings. When you and your family do not meet those expectations, depression and feelings of overwhelm might occur.

Three main areas to be aware of that could contribute to holiday stress include expectations you might have about yourself or your family during the holidays, expectations family and friends might have that affect you and not spending the holidays with others due to distance, death in the family or divorce.

I do results based therapy using the Emotional Freedom Technique and Law of Attraction. Specialities include reaching peak potential, addictions, chronic pain and post traumatic stress disorder. I live, work & play in Ashland, Or For more articles written by Loren Fogelman go to http://www.kolpiacounseling.com/

What Is It You Wish For?

How many times have you heard someone tell you "be careful of what you wish for because it might come true?" If you are familiar with the Law of Attraction that is a truth. You will manifest what you are focusing on. If you are focusing on the negative, then you get negative. On the other hand, if you are focusing on something positive then you get positive. The only time when that would not be true is if you are focusing on something positive because you feel so bad and are coming from a place of lacking.

An example of focusing on something positive from a place of negativity would be "I am 25 pounds overweight and I don't want to be this heavy anymore." Your brain does not "hear" the words "no", "not", "can't", "don't" or any other negative word of that nature. Therefore when you say that you are 25 pounds overweight and don't want to be this heavy anymore, your brain will tune into the verb and the noun. It will hear 25 pounds overweight and heavy. No matter how hard you try to lose weight, it won't work for the long run.

What should you say then? Find a way to state your goal from the positive and in the present. Describe how you will feel when you are at your ideal weight. How the clothes feel, how light you feel and how proud you are at what you have accomplished. "I love weighing ____________ (put in your ideal weight). I feel so light and my clothes look great on me." What are some other positive things that you might feel at your ideal weight? Include those. Be as descriptive as you can. As you focus on the positive you are more likely to act in ways that will allow you to reach your ideal weight.

If you are not familiar with the Emotional Freedom Technique go to this article on my website at http://www.kolpiacounseling.com/article-eft.html

Use the Emotional Freedom Technique to help you reach your goal
Set up: Even though I don't feel that I can reach my ideal goal of ____________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself
Even though no matter how hard I try things don't really seem to change, I deeply and completely love and accept myself
Even though things have been this way for a long time and I am not sure that I can reach this goal, I deeply and completely love and accept all parts of myself
Eyebrows: I don't feel I can reach my ideal goal of __________________
Side of Eye: I have tried to make changes, but they are too difficult
Under Eye: Even when I make changes they never last
Under Nose: I don't want to work that hard
Under Lips: There are some things I don't want to stop doing
Collarbone: Maybe a part of me wants to make this change
Under Arms: I know that I can do things differently if I really wanted to
Top of Head: Maybe I can make this change if I choose to and know that I will feel better about things once I get started
Take a deep breath

Remember, focus on the positive and you will begin to see amazing things happen

Tapping for Health

I am excited to finally have a blog. This has been a goal I have been working toward for the past year. As with most goals, it started out as an idea. There were pros and cons to this idea as well as stumbling blocks that I had to overcome. Since this blog was something I felt strongly about, I realized that I had to learn what was needed for a blog. I started to do research and the idea began to develop.

With most long term goals, there are parts you are excited about and areas where there might be resistance. Finding the obstacles were easy and I needed to address my resistance in order to avoid sabotaging this goal. Around that point I used the Law of Attraction to remove the negative thoughts. According to Carol Look, EFT Master, “The Law of Attraction means: "Like attracts like". Negative thoughts and feelings attract negative experiences. Positive, joyful thoughts and feelings attract more joyful experiences. Simple. But, not always easy!”

To avoid sabotage I had to replace my negative thoughts with a positive focus. In order to move forward with thisr plan I needed to be honest about my feelings concerning this project. I knew that any resistance or negative thinking had the ability to keep me from reaching this goal. Myr biggest barrier was the thoughts that I had about writing on a regular basis. I discussed the barriers to having a blog, having a schedule and began to reframe those thoughts into positive outlooks. Instead of having areas of resistance for writing I developed small steps toward goals and challenges that I could rise up to and overcome.

I feel this blog is about learning. I had an original idea and saw that as a starting place. The plan was a living document that was flexible and fluid. The idea continued to progress as I learned more and the goal became clearer. I will continue to learn things about myself as I develop articles and the blog grows. I hope to give you useful information that will be helpful for your personal growth as well. I am open to suggestions and feedback, please feel free to email me at contact@kolpiacounseling.com

I am excited to share my thoughts with you,
Loren Fogelman