Self Care for Caring Adults

Empowered4WellBeing

Una Wright, Founder, YouthSpeak Charity shares her personal story with challenges related to mental health within her family and the researched-backed coping tools she uses which have enabled her to maintain a strong spirit, positive mental health and overall well-being through very difficult life circumstances.

Presenters

Una Wright
Una Wright brings a wealth of experience related to mental health within her family. She is the Founder / Executive Director of YouthSpeak Performance Charity (www.youthspeak.ca) that was inspired by her lived experience. Over the past 18 years since its inception in 2003, her team of trained youth leaders have reached over 318,000 throughout southern Ontario sharing their personal stories and coping strategies. Built on a B.A. in Social Development Studies, a certificate in Social Work, Una is trained in a number of modalities related to mental health, neurobiology, trauma and equity. She includes researched-backed coping tools and learning components in all of her work to support positive mental health and overall well-being.

Key takeaways

  • Breaking down the mindset
    • Attention – what things do we focus on
    • Intention – where we’re coming from
    • Connotation – the meaning we attach to our experiences
  • Mindset tools
    • Mindfulness – tuning into our thoughts, feeling, resting face throughout the day
      • Can be more formal through meditation
      • Take a few deep breaths and realign as needed
      • “A deep breath will take an edge off the stress”
    • De-catastrophizing – slowly assessing each of the “big” thoughts so you can effectively address the current situation
      • Catastrophizing is usually based on past experiences, the brain automatically responds based on what you’ve previously experienced
    • Anchoring – sitting through thoughts of anger and fear and scanning for the one that anchors you to a feeling of hope
      • Used when there is an actual big citation to be addressed and there’s a genuine worry where the situation is out of your hands
    • Hand it over – stepping aside and trust that handing off a responsibility to someone else will still allow for the best result
      • Most helpful during times of overwhelm
    • Gratitude – generating the feeling of gratitude for small and large things and being present in the current moment
      • Want to experience a body-brain connection to the thought of gratitude
  • Trying to create new neural pathways in the brain
    • Build slowly: focus on repetition over time
    • Using the right tool for the job
  • “Changing the meaning of our thoughts will ultimately change our story”

Key Learning Objectives (defined by presenters)

In a fun and engaging workshop, participants will learn:

  1. Tools for keeping balance and coping with everyday stress
  2. Tips to increase personal well-being
  3. How to fast-track to mental clarity and inner peace during challenging times
  4. Equity and trauma-informed content 

Key Themes

  1. Self-care and well-being
  2. “How do I see myself in my own story”

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