Feb 28

Feb 28 Box Breathing

“Just breathe.” Depending on how stressed you might be, hearing those words may not be well received. Enter box breathing! It's a proactive breathing exercise aimed to help you regulate your nervous system.

Box breathing is a common breathing technique used by Navy Seals, mindfulness practitioners, and recovery programs. During my time as the lead facilitator of the mindfulness group at the Veterans Administration, I would lead the group through box breathing.

If you can envision drawing a box in your mind, and follow your breath to the count of four, then you can do box breathing.

This week's podcast episode outlines what box breathing is, and I'll walk you through a brief box breathing exercise toward the end of the episode.

LISTEN HERE.

Feb 14

Feb 14 The Just World Belief

Todd Brossart

Mental Health, Emotional Health, Trauma, Mindfulness

Do good things only happen to good people? Do bad things only happen to bad people? And are all honorable actions eventually rewarded? The Just World Belief states that your actions are inclined to bring morally fair and just consequences to you, or others. But what happens when something unexpected and traumatic happens to you? To be honest, I'm not so sure where I fall with this belief/hypothesis? Nonetheless, in this episode I try and make sense of the Just World hypothesis, while leaving you with a few thoughts to ponder.

Jan 31

Jan 31 Natural and Manufactured Emotion

Todd Brossart

Mindfulness, Mental Health, Emotional Health

There are two kinds of emotions. The first kind of emotions are those that happen naturally. We often experience natural emotions as they unfold after something happens. The second kind of emotions are the manufactured type. They're not based on the facts of an event, but on your interpretations of it. Push play to learn more about how you might be manufacturing emotions, and how to stop adding kindling to the fire!

Jan 3

Jan 3 Setting Expectations for the New Year | Recalibrating Mindfully

Todd Brossart

Mental Health, Mindfulness

New Year’s tends to bring about a newfound motivation for change. After a taxing 2020, I think we're all ready to turn the page! When making New Years resolutions we tend to hope for the best. Behind our desire for change there's a hope for the quick fix. Unfortunately, (myself included) we set ourselves up for disappointment, forgetting to update our expectations. With mindful living, we realize there are no quick fixes, only ways to simplify the over-complicated.

Dec 14

Dec 14 2020 in a word

Todd Brossart

Mental Health, Mindfulness

What word would you use to describe the past year? I asked 70 people that very question and received many different responses. But I also asked a second question. What did you learn to value about the experience from the pandemic? Tune in to hear how the two questions elicited different responses, and why it's vital to reflect on difficult experiences. After all, you may not realize how the things you're saying to yourself could be impacting your mood and behavior!

Dec 7

Dec 7 The Ready-to-Experience Mind | Paying Attention with Perspective

Todd Brossart

Emotional Health, Mental Health, Mindfulness

You have the ability to focus your attention on just about anything! Yet sometimes we become so close to our worries that we struggle to see what’s beyond the thinking mind. This week I talk about our ready-to-experience mind, and three simple ways to pay attention more mindfully.

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Looking to further your mindfulness practice? Check out the Mental Events mindfulness journal. It’s dedicated to examining the workability of the mind’s proposed solutions to problems, and offers an opportunity to step back from giving over your life to negative thoughts.

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Wanting to integrate mindfulness into your life? Sign up to receive my six-day At Ease: Mobilizing Mindfulness mini-course for FREE

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Watch this video to learn more about Mental Events Therapy.

Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of online therapy with Mental Events.

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As always, we’d like to hear from you. Send your questions via email - hello@mentalevents.com. Connect with Mental Events on social media and share your comments about the show on Instagram @mentalevents, and on Facebook @mentaleventstherapy.