What Are Mindset Minisodes?
I’ve been hosting the Phoenix Helix Podcast for over 8 years, and there are now over 200 episodes in the archives! The long-form interviews you know and love will continue every 4 weeks. In between, I’ll be sharing short episodes inspired by my book: Healing Mindset – A Guide to the Mind-Body Connection for People With Autoimmune Disease. Stress is a powerful trigger of inflammation and autoimmune activity, and most of us have experienced stress-induced autoimmune flares. That’s the power of the mind-body connection working against us. However, we can also make the mind-body connection work for us! Simple techniques can help us relieve stress and send an anti-inflammatory cascade through our bodies instead. That’s my goal with these episodes. In each one, I’ll teach a simple technique you can start using right away.
Listen to the Show
- Subscribe to my podcast through your favorite podcast app: iTunes, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn, Spotify, Amazon, etc.
- You can also listen to the episode right here through the player below, and if you subscribe to my newsletter you’ll get notified of future episodes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Navigating Challenging Emotions
Emotions are part of the human experience, and when life is hard, challenging emotions often arise alongside – feelings like grief, anger, anxiety, resentment, guilt, and shame. They’re not fun to feel, and sometimes these emotions can be overwhelming. Many of us try to ignore them, pushing them down and focusing on other things. We might try to “stay busy” and not feel at all. Or we might dismiss these emotions as “bad” and try to focus 100% on positive feelings instead. Believe me, I’ve tried both of these things! This backfires. Research shows that suppressed emotions don’t go away. They get stronger. They can also come out sideways in the form of physical symptoms, addictive behaviors, or lashing out at others. If we want to live a healthy life with autoimmune disease, we need to find a way to feel all of our emotions, including the challenging ones. Today, I’m sharing a technique designed to do just that. It can take you from overwhelm to calm in just a few minutes.
RAIN Practice
This technique was created by meditation teacher, Michelle McDonald, and popularized by Tara Brach. Tara fell in love with the method during her own experience with chronic illness.
- R = Recognize what is happening. So often we run on auto-pilot, acting and reacting in the world without really paying attention to the emotions driving much of our behavior. The first step of RAIN is to start noticing. What emotion are you feeling right now?
- A = Allow the experience to be there, just as it is. Suppress the urge to judge how you’re feeling or immediately try to “fix” it. Instead, allow this moment to simply be. Give yourself permission to feel.
- I = Investigate with gentle curiosity. This is where you ask yourself questions. How does this emotion feel in my body? What thoughts and beliefs are going through my mind? What impulses and behaviors are being triggered?
- N = Nurture with self-compassion. Sometimes the investigation step awakens the inner critic. Here, you call on your inner friend instead. What do you need right now to feel safe and cared for? What words can you give yourself? What kindness can you do for yourself?
- When you finish this practice, pay attention to how you feel. Is there less tension? More peace? Less overwhelm? More self-acceptance? Even if it’s just a subtle change, that’s worthwhile.
My Book: Healing Mindset
You May Also Be Interested In
Spreading the Word
If you like the podcast, please leave a positive review in iTunes. It would mean the world to me, and also helps others find the podcast. Here are some quick instructions using your iPhone:
- If you are already subscribed to my podcast: (1) Click the purple podcast icon. (2) At the bottom of the screen, click Library. (3) At the top of the screen, click Shows. (4) Click the Phoenix Helix podcast image. (5) Scroll down the page, and you’ll see Ratings and Reviews. Scroll down a little bit more and click on Write a Review. This will bring up the review screen. Tap 5 stars (if you love the podcast), and then click in the title box, and it will bring up the keyboard. Enter a title and short review. (6) Click Send in the upper right corner. (7) Thank you! Positive reviews give the podcast a higher search ranking in iTunes, helping people find it and letting them know it’s a quality podcast and worth their time to listen.
- If you haven’t subscribed to my podcast: (1) Click the purple podcast icon. (2) In the lower right corner, click the magnifying class. (3) Type Phoenix Helix in the search box. (4) Click the podcast cover in the Show list. (5) If you’d like to subscribe, click the + sign at the top of the screen. (6) To write a review, scroll down the page, and you’ll see Ratings and Reviews. Scroll down a little bit more and click on Write a Review. This will bring up the review screen. Tap 5 stars (if you love the podcast), and then click in the title box, and it will bring up the keyboard. Enter a title and short review. (7) Click Send in the upper right corner. (8) Thank you! Positive reviews give the podcast a higher search ranking in iTunes, helping people find it and letting them know it’s a quality podcast and worth their time to listen.
