By: Steve Hoover, PhD.
Earn 1 CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is listed as a Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
(The CEU is free for MGS members; $15 for non-members.)
NOTE: The webinar will be noon – 1 pm. A 30 minute optional mindfulness guided meditation will be conducted from 1 – 1:30 for those who choose to participate.
Handout – Mindful Presence in Stressful and Uncertain Times
With all the challenges and uncertainties we are currently experiencing, it is easy to become overwhelmed and to experience high degrees of stress. We are being bombarded daily with information, stories and what feels like restrictions to the point that we feel as though we have been uprooted from our lives. Unless we are proactive, this can lead us to feel as though we have less and less control. While there are many things we simply cannot control, we do have the capacity to choose how we act versus react to these events. There are strategies and practices we can engage in that allow us to not only take control over ourselves, but also provide for our mental, physical and emotional health in times of change and uncertainty.
This webinar is designed to provide number of strategies that can be used to mindfully manage stress during these times, and to be more mindfully present to others in our lives. Not all of these are best for everyone. However, in working with individuals across the lifespan, I have found that everyone can find some of these effective. Additionally, one thing we know from the research on stress is that the more we feel that we have control over a situation, the less stress we feel. Most of these strategies are things we can actually do, and being proactive rather than reactive helps all of us to feel more in charge of those things we can control.
Objectives:
- Identify ways in which (negative) stress may be impacting them.
- Recognize how stress is impacting those with whom they interact.
- Identify 3 – 4 self-care strategies which they can implement in their lives.
- Create a Self-Care Plan for themselves and for others in their lives.
Steve Hoover, PhD, retired after 29 years as a professor at St. Cloud State University (SCSU). He currently works part-time as the Healthy Aging Coordinator at the Central Minnesota Council on Aging as a program developer for the Juniper Program. While at St. Cloud State University his teaching experiences were primarily in lifespan development, stress management, research and educational psychology. Steve has also taught the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program for the past ten years on campus, in the community and at the Whitney Senior Center. Dr. Hoover has developed the concept of Mindful Presence as an outgrowth of his work in stress management and has presented on the concept numerous times, including schools and corporations.