6 Things to Do During A Social Media Detox | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

6 Things to Do During A Social Media Detox

November 15, 2020
If you've been following along with my articles, you've been working really hard to de-stress your life. In the past few months, you've - Practiced using mindfulness to reduce anxiety - Purchased a weighted blanket - Started silencing your inner critic - Developed a night-time self-care routine - Created a gratitude journal habit, and -Picked up some new stress-relief activities Now, you're ready for another challenge. Time to detox from social media. In this week’s article, discover - Why you need a social media detox - Why it's so hard to do - What to do during your social media detox
6 Research-Proven Stress Relief Activities | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

6 Research-Proven Stress Relief Activities

November 8, 2020
Last week, you got your gratitude journal started with a month's worth of gratitude journal prompts. You've also been working on your night-time self-care routine. Now, it's time for even more stress relief activities. In this week's article, discover the two-part formula for relieving stress and 6 research-proven strategies for stress relief. In this week’s article, discover The two-part formula to relieving stress 6 research-proven strategies for stress relief Resources for putting them into practice
1-Hour Step-By-Step Self-Care Night Routine | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

1-Hour Step-By-Step Self-Care Night Routine

October 25, 2020
A couple of months ago, I gave you some ideas for non-cliche ways to take care of yourself -- out with the face masks, in with more creative ideas. Most of you are probably already convinced that a little more self-care would be good for you. But it’s hard to know where to start. To take some of the guesswork out of self-care, I’m here today to present a night time self-care routine. Just follow step by step. In this week’s article, discover: - Step by step what to do tonight to start taking care of yourself - How much time to spend on each step - Ideas about what to do in each step - What time to start your routine - How to modify the routine to fit your life Dive in here!

8 Non-Cliche Ways to Practice Self-Care (for teachers, nurses, stay-at-home moms, students, and others who are drowning in stress)

August 16, 2020

Many of my clients are convinced that some “me time” is important for their mental health, and sometimes they’re even able to carve out a few minutes for that purpose.  But then, I hear some of them say they’re not really sure what to do with their “me time.”  What’s the best way to practice self-care?  If time is limited, what gives you the biggest bang for your buck?  In this week’s article, I’m bringing you 8 proven self-care strategies that don’t include cliche things like getting a facial or a manicure.  If you’re ready to actually start taking care of yourself, this article is for you.

 

In this week’s article, I’ll share with you 

  • Why self-care is important
  • How to fit self-care into your life
  • 8 evidence-based techniques to actually take care of yourself, without cliche things like bubble baths
  • Links to resources to put those strategies into practice

10 Ways to Fall Asleep Fast

August 2, 2020

When you don’t sleep well, it makes it so much harder to get anything done...including manage your feelings.  When we’re tired, we’re more irritable, more anxious, and more depressed.  Last week, I shared with you 12 things that make it harder to sleep.  This week, it’s time to replace those 12 sleep disruptions with 10 strategies to help you fall asleep faster.  

 

In this week’s article, I’ll share with you 

  • 10 strategies to help you fall asleep faster
  • Resources for implementing those strategies in your life
  • The reasons these 10 strategies work

12 Things Making It Hard for You to Sleep

July 26, 2020

Disrupted sleep is one of the most common symptoms of just about every mental health condition.  The more anxious you are, for example, the worse you sleep.  But the frustrating thing is that it just perpetuates itself: the worse you sleep, the more anxious you get.  You can really get stuck.  But it’s possible to reverse this spiral.  This week, let’s take a look at 12 things that are making it harder for you to fall asleep.  Are you making any of these mistakes??  

 

In this week’s article, I’ll share with you 

  • 12 things you might be doing that are actually making it harder for you to sleep
  • The reasons these 12 simple things interfere with your sleep

How to Unwind After Work: 7 Proven Strategies

July 12, 2020

Whether you’re working from home or you’re back in the office, chances are you are spent at the end of the day.  Tension builds throughout the day, and we end up carrying it home with us.  You want to relax, but it’s almost impossible -- like you’re too stressed to de-stress.  Or maybe the only way you can unwind is with alcohol.  If this is you, I’m here with 7 proven (non-alcoholic) strategies to help you unwind after work.  

 

In this week’s article, I’ll share with you 

  • 7 proven strategies for unwinding after work
  • The reasons the strategies work
  • Ideas for how to incorporate them into your life
  • A checklist to make sure you’re implementing the strategies in your life -- after all, they don’t work if you don’t do them!

5 Ways to Get Motivated After Work

May 10, 2020

There’s more to do than can ever be done, and sometimes that reality really sinks in and can be paralyzing.  We realize we can’t actually fit everything in, so we just end up doing almost nothing at all.  Plus, we’re just so tired by the end of the day that it doesn’t seem like we really can do anything.  Maybe it’s true that you can’t do it all, but I’m here today with 5 ways to get yourself motivated after work so at least you can do some of it.  

15 Coping Mechanisms That Are Keeping You Stuck

April 26, 2020

Hey, we’re all doing our absolute best to just get from day to day and from week to week.  And over the years, we develop coping mechanisms to help us do just that. Sure, not all of those coping mechanisms are healthy, and we know it.  Of course smoking and drinking and spending too much are helping us feel “better,” and we know they’re not actually fixing the problem. But today, we’re diving deep into 15 coping mechanisms that you might not even realize are keeping you stuck.  Have you adopted any of these habits?

The Secret to Living a Balanced Life

March 1, 2020

Psychological health and relieving stress, anxiety, and depression are all about balance.  It’s so cliche that I roll my eyes at myself when I say it to my clients. When we’re stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, that’s an emotional cue that something is out of balance in our lives.  So we respond by shifting things around. Mental health problems arise (in part) from things being too far out of balance for too long. We’ll rebalance but we too quickly go back to the old patterns that got us out of balance in the first place.  Today, I’ll tell you the piece you’re missing to help you actually get things balanced in the long term.