• Take breaks from the hospital when you can. If you have support from a partner, friend or family member, it can be beneficial to step out of your child’s room to walk around the hospital, get a cup of tea and get some natural sunlight to reset so you can show up as your best for your child.
• Eat regular meals and healthy snacks to have energy to maintain understanding of your child’s procedure and continued care. It can be easy to eat convenient food items that may not be the healthiest, so if possible, pack snacks and have a reusable water bottle to fill up with water to stay hydrated.
• Reach out for support to friends and family to discuss what is going on, your thoughts and feelings or to have them stop by the hospital to provide a break for you and to provide connection to your child while they are away from home. It can be helpful to identify 1-2 close support people to connect with regularly who can disseminate information to other loved ones so you are not inundated with text messages and phone calls for updates.
• Reach out to hospital support staff to assist you or your child to manage their hospital stay. Hospitals have chaplain services to provide a safe space to explore emotions or child life specialists who can provide toy rooms or developmentally appropriate toys for your child to allow them to have options to pass the time during an in-patient hospital stay.
• Pack comfortable clothes, blankets, and pillows to have while you are staying over at the hospital. Most rooms will have a pull out sofa bed but it can be helpful to bring some comforts of home to help your stay overnight be more relaxing and recharging to get a good night’s sleep.
• Pack items that can help you pass the time and be relaxing activities to assist – in managing your stress. These items can include: books, crafts, ear buds, magazines, puzzles, sudoku/word searches, knitting or crocheting, coloring books, and a tablet or kindle with downloaded content like your favorite movies or TV shows.
• Pack toiletries that can help to refresh yourself while you are staying away from home. These can include: toothpaste, toothbrush, mouth wash, soap, moisturizer and skin care routine, wash cloth, hand towel, soap, lip balm, and hair care items.

If you recognize that you are needing additional support due to the stress that you are experiencing because of your child’s medical condition, it could be helpful to reach out to a licensed therapist to meet with regularly to discuss this with. To set up an appointment with a licensed therapist you can contact our front office staff at 440-392-2222.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor, The Behavioral Wellness Group
8224 Mentor Ave #208 Mentor OH 44060
P: 440 392 2222 #404 F: 440 565 2349
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
www.behavioralwellnessgroup.com

The post Managing Stress During a Child’s Hospital Stay appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

Email: scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
Phone: 440-392-2222 opt. 1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebehavioralwellnessgroup
Instagram: @thebehavioralwellness

The post Getting to Know BWG: Stephanie Cerula, LPCC appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

Identify your emotions– Oftentimes the underlying emotion when politics are being discussed is fear. It can be validating to identify all of your emotions and to name them accordingly. For instance, after watching something on the news that is triggering it is normal to feel overwhelmed, anxious or even hopeless. By acknowledging that these feelings exist it can be the first step to regulating them. Also, this can be beneficial to connect with other people in that you can validate their emotions and remind them that they are not alone, which can create a bridge between you and them, even if you disagree on political issues. It can be helpful to find an emotion log or emotion tracking app that can provide you with different emotions to best choose based on the situation surrounding anger and how you are feeling.

Set boundaries around media consumption– Be mindful of how often or low long that you are watching the news and be mindful of how you can be triggered or that your emotions shift from the start and end of the newscast. If you notice that your mood has changed after watching the news, listening to the radio or being on social media, it could be helpful to limit your consumption to a certain amount of time per day or week or take a brief vacation from news consumption for a few days or weeks to reset and ground
yourself.

Prioritize Respectful Communication– Political beliefs are often linked closely to our personal values so it can be challenging to manage difficult relationships where others may disagree regarding personal issues. Below are some specific ways to prioritize communication during disagreements:

• Identify if this is a safe place and person for you to discuss your innermost
  thoughts. Sometimes it is most effective to have boundaries with someone rather
  than sharing vulnerable and personal information with them. An important first
  step for each individual is to decide if they feel comfortable opening up their inner
  world to someone else. Or if not, stating clearly to someone that you do not wish
  to discuss these issues and you are more than willing to connect on other things.

• Find common ground with someone even if you disagree with them. Many people
  share similar common values even if they have opposing views on different topics.
  It can be helpful to identify shared values to connect in a situation with differing
  view points.

• Accept others’ differences and try to adapt to situations as they come. Some people
  will want to isolate themselves due to potential triggers or hot button topics that
  come up around other people. It can be helpful to act opposite and not isolate and
  trust yourself in different situations to be able to identify if you are willing to chat
  about these issues or not. Radical acceptance can be a helpful skill to use to
  radically accept someone else while focusing on the whole person. This is one
  aspect of who they are but there are still other ways to connect to them in life
  outside of politics.

If you notice that political issues are becoming a persistent problem that you are
experiencing, it could be helpful to reach out to a licensed therapist to meet with regularly
to discuss this with. To set up an appointment with a licensed therapist you can contact
our front office staff at 440-392-2222.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor, The Behavioral Wellness Group
8224 Mentor Ave #208 Mentor OH 44060
P: 440 392 2222 #404 F: 440 565 2349
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
www.behavioralwellnessgroup.com

The post Managing Political Situations appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

Some warning signs to anger are:
○ sweating
○ becoming argumentative
○ clenched fists
○ using verbal insults,
○ temperature changes in your body
○ pacing

If you notice that anger is a persistent problem that you are experiencing, it could be
helpful to reach out to a licensed therapist to meet with regularly to discuss your
emotions and what triggers are causing your anger to occur. To set up an appointment
with a licensed therapist you can contact our front office staff at 440-392-2222.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor
The Behavioral Wellness Group
8224 Mentor Ave #208 Mentor OH 44060
P: 440 392 2222 #404 F: 440 565 2349
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
www.behavioralwellnessgroup.com

The post Managing Anger appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

How do you feel about yourself? Do you ever take the time to be mindful of your self
thoughts? A way that you can do this is to take a mental inventory of your thoughts you
have about yourself throughout the day and jot them down in a notebook or on your
phone. At the end of the day, review the information that you wrote down. Are you kind
and compassionate toward yourself? Or can you be unforgiving for making mistakes and
judge yourself that you are not enough based on comparisons to others?

Below is a list of ways to improve your self love, compassion and kindness toward
yourself that can positively impact your mood based on Louise Hay’s work, “You Can
Heal Your Life.”
● Stop Criticism – Criticism is defined as the expression of disapproval of someone
or something based on perceived faults or mistakes. No one is perfect. Be mindful
of falling into a trap of all or nothing thinking and beliefs that you are not allowed
to make a mistake or that your physical appearance needs to be a certain way.
Whenever a criticism arises try to not spend time and energy focusing on it.
Instead, come back to the present, forgive yourself for the criticism and choose
another thought that is kinder and more compassionate.
● Forgive yourself– If you have past situations that you wish you could do over
again and end up replaying them in your mind and judging yourself, try to practice
self compassion and forgiveness. We all do the best we can to make choices in our
lives based on the information that we have at the time. By holding on to past
regret, it allows our suffering to continue and impacts our mood in the present and
prevents us from moving forward in our lives. Practice radically accepting the
situation and learning from the mistake rather than punishing yourself for it.
● Praise yourself– Celebrate yourself for the positive things that you are doing
throughout your day. We can often be encouraging and the kindest cheerleaders to
our friends and family but hold ourselves to a different standard. Whenever you
are living your values and doing activities and tasks that align with your character
and intuition, praise yourself for it. Positive affirmations can be as simple as “I
am” statements. Here are some below to start with to see how they work for you:
●“I am”: successful, intelligent, positive, kind, loving, compassionate, attractive, wise, strong, joyful, happy, beautiful, calm, brave, motivated
● Practice mirror affirmations– People can find it difficult to look at themselves in
the mirror. This tip is to be practiced when you are in the mirror in the morning
while getting ready for the day or throughout the day to pause and think and/or say
positive messages about yourself. This may be uncomfortable to try but the more
open you are to it you can start to see the positive results of creating a supportive
internal dialogue. You can start by using the I am affirmations from above or
write them on post it notes and put around a mirror in your home.
● Have fun-As children, we often took time daily for recess or fun and creative play.
Through the years as we get older, that creative outlet lessens. Try new activities
to have fun in nature or reconnect to your inner child through art, dance or sports
to add joy into your life.

Try adding in one or all of the above tips to help improve your self love. If you feel like
you are wanting to work on self esteem or self love it can be helpful to reach out to set up
an appointment with a licensed therapist by contacting our front office line at
440-392-2222.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor, The Behavioral Wellness Group
8224 Mentor Ave #208 Mentor OH 44060
P: 440 392 2222 #404 F: 440 565 2349
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
www.behavioralwellnessgroup.com

The post Improving Self Love appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

The fourth trimester is the 12-week period after your baby is born. It is made up of emotional and physical changes as you adjust to being a parent. During the fourth trimester, it can be helpful to be mindful and aware of how you are feeling so you can best show up for yourself and your new baby. Below are some tips that can help you manage the fourth trimester after your child is born:

● Create a routine as best as you can. Your baby will be adjusting to sleeping and eating so you will more than likely be awake fairly frequently and become sleep deprived. In this stage, it can help to have a semi-structured routine which allows you to take care of yourself by showering, eating healthy meals, napping and trying to leave the house. Leaving the house may mean stepping outside of where you reside for a few minutes, going to the mall to go for a walk indoors or for a walk around the block or in your neighborhood to get fresh air, if you feel comfortable doing so.
● Create a support network of people who you feel comfortable asking for help. This may be limited to a small number of people but it can be important to find a few trusted friends or family members who you can ask for help. When you are asking for help, be specific about what you are needing. Some things that you may need during the fourth trimester may include:
○ watching your baby for a few hours so you can nap, run some errands or have some self-care
○ bringing a meal to your home
○ cleaning your house or doing laundry
○ going grocery shopping
● Create a movement routine in which you move around your house, do simple stretching or walk around your block. Start off slow and be sure to get cleared from your doctor before starting any exercise routine or vigorous working out.
● Work with your doctor and/or nutritionist to create a meal plan that is appropriate for your changing body during the fourth trimester which includes certain vitamins for yourself and plenty of water if you decide to breastfeed your baby
● If you decide to breastfeed, reach out to a lactation specialist to discuss any challenges that you are experiencing. A lactation specialist is able to weigh your baby pre and post feeding to ensure your baby is getting the right amount of breastmilk that they need to thrive.
● Explore different websites/apps/podcasts that can help to learn information about becoming a mother. Find resources within your community to connect with other moms. It can be helpful to have other people who understand and relate and can provide you with additional resources so you feel less alone as you adjust to the fourth trimester. Some ways to find Mom groups include: Meetup.com, Facebook groups, or by googling Mom groups in your community.
● Connect with Help Me Grow, a nonprofit organization in Ohio that is a system of support for pregnant women, caregivers with new babies and families with young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Services and support are provided through Home Visiting and Early Intervention. To connect to Help Me Grow follow the link to their website: https://www.helpmegrow.org/.
● Check with your Primary Care Doctor, Psychiatric Medication Prescriber and OBGYN regarding current medications you are taking to ensure that you can take them during breastfeeding.
● Being mindful of your emotions. This may mean mood swings which include feeling: joy, elation, anxiety, overwhelm, sadness or depression and could turn into postpartum anxiety or depression. It can be helpful to reach out to a licensed therapist to meet with regularly to discuss your emotions and support in your
transition into becoming a parent.

To set up an appointment with a licensed therapist you can contact our front office staff at 888-996-9374.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor, The Behavioral Wellness Group
8224 Mentor Ave #208 Mentor OH 44060
P: 888 996 9374 #404 F: 440 565 2349
scerula@behavioralwellnessgroup.com
www.behavioralwellnessgroup.com

The post Managing the Fourth Trimester appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.

• Attend childbirth and/or parenting education classes at your local hospital or online which can help reduce some of your nerves that come with parenting
  • Safety classes like CPR/First aid for children can be particularly helpful to have the skills necessary to care for your child
• Create a support network of people who you feel comfortable sharing your pregnancy news with. This may be limited to a small number of people at first until you feel comfortable sharing with a larger network of family and friends. This way you can have a trusted support network early on to ask for help or guidance throughout your pregnancy.
• Create an exercise routine that can help with hormonal changes that come up throughout your pregnancy. Be sure to check with your doctor continuously regarding your exercise routine and trust your instincts if you feel as though your body is changing and is limiting your previous work outs. Give yourself permission to take a break or adjust your routine to add in yoga, walking or swimming which can be easier on your body as your pregnancy progresses.
• Work with your doctor and/or nutritionist to create a meal plan that is appropriate for your changing body during pregnancy which includes prenatal vitamins to ensure your baby is getting the supplements they need as they are growing.
• Explore different websites/apps/podcasts that can help to learn information about the stages of your pregnancy. Some pregnancy resources are: TheBump.com, Baby Center, Web MD Pregnancy App, What to Expect, Sprout, Expectful
• Find meditations or a hypnobirthing class to learn relaxation and imagery techniques that can help you during pregnancy and your upcoming labor. Some meditation resources are: Mind the Bump, Expectful, Headspace, Insight Timer, Sanity and Self, Calm, Calm Birth, Sway, and Simple Habit.
• Join a group of expecting Moms to have support from others who are goingthrough similar situations as you. Some ways to connect to others within your community is through Facebook groups, Meetup.com, your by googling Mom groups in your community.
• Connect with a doula who can provide support throughout pregnancy and delivery. Doulas provide educational information about birth and pregnancy and give emotional and physical support to you and your partner throughout the process.
• Check with your Primary Care Doctor, Psychiatric Medication Prescriber and OBGYN regarding current medications you are taking to ensure that you can take them during pregnancy.

It can be helpful during your pregnancy journey to set up an appointment with a licensed therapist who can provide additional resources and support during your 10 months of pregnancy. To set up an appointment with a licensed therapist you can contact our front office staff at 440-392-2222.

Stephanie Cerula, LPCC
Clinical Counselor
The Behavioral Wellness Group

The post Self Care During Pregnancy appeared first on Behavioral Wellness Group.