Responding with Resilience

As part of a private intervention addressing trauma in a company during the riots, our programme includes: 

Dialogue inspired by Poetry

Poems tell stories in a powerful way and encourage us to look deeper at our own stories and experiences and how we affect each other in communities. We have found this true even in groups where there is no previous appreciation for poetry. We use poems as a catalyst to facilitate a process of self-reflection and sense-making, as we connect with each other in shared experiences that could prevent us from flourishing in home and work environments. In this particular dialogue we will present poetry about the experience of trauma and pain from different perspectives. Expect a heart-to-heart session on where we presently find ourselves – necessary before we can move forward meaningfully towards any possible solutions. This session will also forge a sense of connection as a community.

Our Response to Trauma

During this session we will look at the different ways that people react or respond to trauma. This will cover some teaching about the way our nervous systems are designed and the way this affects our bodies, how we think about trauma and how this influences whether we react or are able to respond in a more resilient way. We will explore where we find ourselves in our own experience of our bodies, thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

Practical skills for anxiety management

These skills will include different ways of controlling anxiety and regulating ones’ nervous system. There will be time allocated to practicing the skills in a non-threatening environment so that they will be available for people to use and share with others when they leave the course. The skills we will focus on in this session will be short effective exercises that can be immediately used in anxiety-provoking situations without preparation, new resources or changes in routine.

Practical skills for Resilience

The skills we will focus on in the second session on practical skills will be regular practices that help reduce anxiety and increase our ability to respond with resilience. Here we will focus on practices that need a little more planning and preparation to include our daily routines.

Think Tank – From potential to practice

This is a group coaching session which will involve people developing solutions around implementing some of their learnings from the previous process. During this group process, we come up with a picture of the positive and what these new possibilities could actually look like. And how each person can contribute to achieving the potential we have identified in practical ways by working together and starting new projects that will support them during the weeks and months to come. We also explore the resources needed to begin the journey.

There are regular comfort breaks throughout the sessions in consideration of the emotionally loaded content and the online environment.

 

Responding with Resilience

As part of a private intervention addressing trauma in a company during the riots, our programme includes: 

Dialogue inspired by Poetry

Poems tell stories in a powerful way and encourage us to look deeper at our own stories and experiences and how we affect each other in communities. We have found this true even in groups where there is no previous appreciation for poetry. We use poems as a catalyst to facilitate a process of self-reflection and sense-making, as we connect with each other in shared experiences that could prevent us from flourishing in home and work environments. In this particular dialogue we will present poetry about the experience of trauma and pain from different perspectives. Expect a heart-to-heart session on where we presently find ourselves – necessary before we can move forward meaningfully towards any possible solutions. This session will also forge a sense of connection as a community.

Our Response to Trauma

During this session we will look at the different ways that people react or respond to trauma. This will cover some teaching about the way our nervous systems are designed and the way this affects our bodies, how we think about trauma and how this influences whether we react or are able to respond in a more resilient way. We will explore where we find ourselves in our own experience of our bodies, thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

Practical skills for anxiety management

These skills will include different ways of controlling anxiety and regulating ones’ nervous system. There will be time allocated to practicing the skills in a non-threatening environment so that they will be available for people to use and share with others when they leave the course. The skills we will focus on in this session will be short effective exercises that can be immediately used in anxiety-provoking situations without preparation, new resources or changes in routine.

Practical skills for Resilience

The skills we will focus on in the second session on practical skills will be regular practices that help reduce anxiety and increase our ability to respond with resilience. Here we will focus on practices that need a little more planning and preparation to include our daily routines.

Think Tank – From potential to practice

This is a group coaching session which will involve people developing solutions around implementing some of their learnings from the previous process. During this group process, we come up with a picture of the positive and what these new possibilities could actually look like. And how each person can contribute to achieving the potential we have identified in practical ways by working together and starting new projects that will support them during the weeks and months to come. We also explore the resources needed to begin the journey.

There are regular comfort breaks throughout the sessions in consideration of the emotionally loaded content and the online environment.

 

Can we respond, rather than react?

In the midst of a very challenging time in our country, there is a turmoil of emotions swirling round in each of us – disbelief, horror, sorrow, sadness, anger, growing anxiety, for some, fear. Things feel very much beyond our own control – in fact completely out of control in some places. The stress hormone cortisol builds up in our bodies, activates our sympathetic nervous system and we are ready to fight in word and deed, or fly as fast as we can. Every fibre of our bodies is on high alert. In the last few days, many lives have probably been saved by the body’s design to readily react to circumstances.

Our ability to react to what is going on around us is rooted in what is going on within our own bodies, minds and hearts. It is linked to the levels of our own hormones, to our own emotions, to meeting our own needs.

Read More

Stress management for busy moms

Treat yourself to an outdoors’ day of rejuvenation, relaxation and practical stress management skill building in this picturesque setting close to Magaliesburg. Leave the kids with their dad or another family member, and spoil yourself with a luxurious break in the beauty of nature.

This package also includes one individual coaching session of 1 hour (to be booked at a time convenient to you – online or in person) to follow through with you personally so that there is real and practical progress in your ability to manage your stress.

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.

There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.

All that is needed for some stress-free me-time will be provided on this day away: your needs will be catered for with refreshing drinks, treats and a sumptuous (but healthy!) individually-packed picnic lunch. A workbook and a goody bag is included.

Our course content for the day covers:

  • exploring your stressors and the effect they have on you
  • how our emotions can run away with us
  • how our beliefs can keep us from positive change
  • our perceptions of how we use our time, recognising our beliefs about time and a look at some practical ideas for time management
  • an evaluation of our habits, both good and bad, and how we can build on the good and develop healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul
  • the inclusion of daily rhythms into our routines as a way of changing us and coping with stress. These will include contemplation, silence, solitude, rest, restoration, renewing of your mind, journaling, contentment and simplicity.
  • most of our time, however, will be spent in applying these different practices and experiencing exercises so that you can make them authentically your own. These will then be more accessible to you in stressful situations.

Package Cost: R1500 (10% discount if you pay by 15 March)

Date for the in-person course: Monday 22 March

Time: 9.00 – 16.00

Book your place with vera@tt-tt.co.za.

More details after registration.

We will adhere to Covid-19 protocols. The venue is covered, but open to the outside. Weather permitting, there should be opportunities for walks and the joy of sitting in the splendour of creation.

We are committed to keeping our environmental footprint as small as possible – no one-use plastic to be found at our course.

If you are interested but cannot participate in March, vote for a time that suits you here.

Working outside

It has become increasingly obvious that the vaccine is not going to be the instant solution to our covid-shaped problem. “It is axiomatic that only the people can overcome a pandemic, as observed throughout history” [1] I read in an article in October last year. This means that we need to reclaim our agency and find different ways of doing the same things we used to do before – to stop the virus from spreading through us to others.

I am one of the fortunate few who have been able to work on-line in individual and group coaching sessions. This is obviously the safest way to work, but has become increasingly unsatisfying between the effects of zoom-fatigue and the challenges of reading body language expressed through facial expression or tone of voice. We are relational beings and long for face-to-face interaction, but the dangers of not complying with covid measures and thinking that it just won’t affect us are obvious in the increase of numbers we are seeing during this second wave. As the WHO Director-General stated at a media briefing 8 January 2021, “The problem is that before you know it, not complying a bit becomes a habit, people you know mimic the behaviour and the whole system breaks down.” [2]

So we need to explore other ways of working safely. We cannot just go back to the old normal.

Read More

Online Stress Management Course

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and  we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.
There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.

Join this online stress management course for 4 weeks to explore your stressors, the effect they have on you, the thought processes that keep us from positive change, your emotions and their roots. Develop your problem-solving and coping skills as well as healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul. Discover how daily rhythms that include contemplation, silence, solitude, rest, restoration, renewing of your mind, journaling, contentment and simplicity can change you and help you cope in times of stress.

Time for practical implementation and growth inbetween sessions.

Covid special of R999,00 includes one individual coaching session.
Email vera@tt-tt.co.za to book your place. Numbers limited to 8.

Online Stress Management Course

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and  we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.
There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.
Join this online stress management course for 4 weeks to explore your stressors, the effect they have on you, the thought processes that keep us from positive change, your emotions and their roots. Develop your problem-solving and coping skills as well as healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul.Discover how daily rhythms that include contemplation, silence, solitude, rest, restoration, renewing of your mind, journaling, contentment and simplicity can change you and help you cope in times of stress.

Time for practical implementation and growth inbetween sessions.

Covid special of R999,00 includes one individual coaching session.
Email vera@tt-tt.co.za to book your place. Numbers limited to 8.

Online Stress Management Course

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and  we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.
There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.

Join this online stress management course for 4 weeks to explore your stressors, the effect they have on you, the thought processes that keep us from positive change, your emotions and their roots. Develop your problem-solving and coping skills as well as healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul. Discover how daily rhythms that include contemplation, silence, solitude, rest, restoration, renewing of your mind, journaling, contentment and simplicity can change you and help you cope in times of stress.

Time for practical implementation and growth inbetween sessions.

Covid special of R999,00 includes one individual coaching session.
Email vera@tt-tt.co.za to book your place. Numbers limited to 8.

Online Stress Management Course

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and  we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.
There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.
Join this online stress management course for 4 weeks to explore your stressors, the effect they have on you, the thought processes that keep us from positive change, your emotions and their roots. Develop your problem-solving and coping skills as well as healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul. Time for practical implementation and growth inbetween sessions.
Covid special of R999,00 includes one individual coaching session.
Email vera@tt-tt.co.za to book your place. Numbers limited to 8.

Online Stress Management Course

When we experience stressful circumstances, we often struggle with strong emotions like anger, pain, anxiety and fear. It feels like they are taking over our lives, and  we try to avoid dealing with them for as long as possible. However, suppressing them often results in an uncontrolled pressure-cooker effect: the pot boils over or even explodes, often when it is most inconvenient.
There is an alternative. By integrating those strong emotions into our lives, learning what lessons we can from them, and harnessing the motivation and energy they give us, we can implement real change in our circumstances or grow in our ability to deal with them. This journey will feel uncomfortable at times, but the reward of reaching the destination – a more unified, integrated, cohesive personality and way of living – is well worth it.
Join this online stress management course for 4 weeks to explore your stressors, the effect they have on you, the thought processes that keep us from positive change, your emotions and their roots. Develop your problem-solving and coping skills as well as healthy habits for self-care of body, mind and soul. Time for practical implementation and growth inbetween sessions.
Covid special of R999,00 includes one individual coaching session.
Email vera@tt-tt.co.za to book your place. Numbers limited to 8.
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