Dealing with psychological trauma and chronic stress can be overwhelming, especially in this fast-paced world. But there are ways to move beyond the negative and find the positive in the moment.
Rapid City’s Youth and Family Services group is joining with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine to provide a free Self-Care Workshop. Their pioneering approach combines psychological self-care, mind-body techniques, and group support to relieve symptoms of profound psychological trauma and significant stress.
Patrick Powers is a mental health counselor who has taken part in the workshop himself. Powers says physicians, psychologists and yoga instructors will offer participants a variety of options for handling stress.
“The premise of the program…a lot of the premise is…they cite research saying how much stress contributes to ill-health…ill bodily health,” explains Powers. “So a lot of it is de-stressing exercises. And amongst those are exercise, self-awareness, relaxation, prayer, meditation and nutrition.“
Breaking off into small groups to discuss issues is also an aspect of the Mind-Body Medicine Self-Care Workshop, adds Powers. Another is addressing genetic stress and historical trauma.
Charlotte Brave Heart has lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation for 33 years. Whether referencing someone like her husband - a military veteran who suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or the Lakota people as a whole, Brave Heart says staying centered and in the moment is the key to being calm.
“Whenever you have PTSD you get triggered by smells or sounds or memories and then you’re more in the trauma than you are in the present moment,” Brave Heart comments.
Brave Heart adds that the workshop is also beneficial for those whose family members or spouses suffer with profound psychological trauma or significant stress.
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The free Self-Care Workshop is scheduled for today, Thursday, at Rapid City Youth and Family Services, at 120 East Adams Street from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.