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The Attitude of Gratitude: Health Benefits

The Attitude of Gratitude: Health Benefits

by | Nov 1, 2020

For years there has been much deliberation on the topic of gratitude and the benefit it has on a person’s emotional and physical wellbeing.  However, recent research has revealed when consistently practicing gratitude steps, a person exhibits a happier affect in addition to many other benefits.  This positive outcome is being noted in a person’s emotional, social, career, personality, and overall health.  

What is gratitude?  Gratitude is taking time out of each day to have positive thoughts.  It sounds quite simple and yet many people find it difficult. Life is busy. The noise around us causes chaos and chaos often brings confusion and an over-stimulated mind.   

How do we engage in gratitude? 

  • The first step is carving out time each day to practice gratitude. 
  • Find at least five to ten minutes each day to take a deep breath and reflect on the things near and far that you are thankful for. 
  • If you are having difficulty reflecting on gratitude find someone who you trust to help you begin to develop these positive thoughts.  This may be a counselor, friend, or family member.  
  • Say a prayer of gratitude. There are gratitude prayers that you can read, or you can simply pray to share your own genuine thoughts of thankfulness.  
  • Write a gratitude list on Monday and review it each day that week.  
  • Journal more about each word on your list exploring your thankfulness in a deeper way. 
  • Create a gratitude jar and add a thought of thankfulness on a new slip of paper each day. (Children love to do this activity with their family.) Share yours at dinner that night.  
  • Gratitude Post-Its are a wonderful way to place reminders in places that you will see throughout your day.  Add one in your car, bathroom mirror, refrigerator, and workspace. 
  • Gratitude walks are another activity that families love to do together.  As you walk alone or with others take time to look at the things around you and verbally share your thankfulness.   
  • Listening to songs written with a focus on gratitude and thankfulness is a wonderful way to process the words of a songwriter on this very important topic.  See one example below.  

 

Enjoy this beautiful rendition of Josh Groban’s song Thankful sung by Rise Up Children’s Choir.   

“Thankful” by Josh Groban  (An excerpt from the lyrics) 

Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can’t see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we hope for
What we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more 

There’s so much to be thankful for. 

What are the health benefits?  

  • A reduction in depression 
  • Healthier social relationships 
  • Less aches and pains reported 
  • An increase in empathy and sensitivity toward others 
  • Improved duration and quality of sleep 
  • Increased self esteem 
  • Increased level of resistance when faced with challenging situations 

For more information on the health benefits visit https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-gratitude/ 

Music Therapy for Children with Chronic Pain

Music Therapy for Children with Chronic Pain

Nov 2, 2021

Blog written by Katie Pistilli, MT-BC Chronic pain impacts an individual's entire life. Not only are there physical symptoms to cope with, but there is the emotional struggle of accepting that the pain is indefinite. While chronic pain is a tragedy for anyone going...

Sounds That Scare Our Children

Sounds That Scare Our Children

Oct 24, 2021

,It can be common to see children plug their ears or show displeasure toward an unexpected, loud, high pitched or popping sound. However, how do we know when it is time to get professional help for our child whose responses appear severe?  A quick reaction to a sound...

Recognizing Parent Anxiety in the New School Year

Recognizing Parent Anxiety in the New School Year

Sep 21, 2021

March 2019, one and a half years ago, parents began to scramble to figure out how best to handle school closings all over the country. For the first time in our lifetime moms, dads, guardians, and grandparents navigated uncharted territory. Their children would not go...

Five Stress Cushions for Children and Teens

Five Stress Cushions for Children and Teens

by | Oct 9, 2020

All children and teens react to life circumstances in different ways. The key is to recognize if a child or teen is showing new or accelerated reactions needing supports put in place.  These supports can be referred to as cushions to stop stress from accelerating into traumatic events. With the recent pandemic, stress is one of the top buzz words.  

Some parents report that their child is calmer and doing better since starting school at home during the pandemic and believe their stress would drastically increase if needing to go back. Others report that their child is engaging in new concerning behaviors they have never seen prior to March 2020.  There are also families who are seeing an increased level of anxiety their child has previously been suffering with and attribute this due to the loss of a parent’s job, social isolation from peers, or concern over their family members becoming ill and possibly dying.     

“Our natural response to scary things is biologically to release stress hormones,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician and surgeon general of the state of California, and the author of “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity.”  

The release of stress hormones activates our fight or flight response. Our bodies, in responding with the release of stress hormones, are doing exactly what they should be doing.  The video below is helpful for families to watch.  It can assist them in better understanding stress and the effect on the mind and body.  Gaining knowledge about anxiety is an important first step.  

 

 

Younger children may show their stress through suddenly experiencing, temper tantrums, bed-wetting, or separation anxiety. Teens may show their’ s through withdrawing or moodiness.  Music has been proven to be an important tool when individuals are experiencing stress. Music therapists use songs and music with children and teens for processing new information and self-expression.  When working with a child who is experiencing anxiety the therapist observes the way they play the offered instruments, the instruments they choose, the words they say in relation to the lyrics of the song, or the tempo or volume they play. When working with a teen the therapist is watching body language, song lyrics they write or gravitate to, and the style and mood of the music they request.  Songs can be written using the child or teens suggested words to create a shared experience between the therapist and client.  Bringing the family or a chosen family member into this experience is another way to allow the parent to better understand how their child is feeling.  

In some cases, stressful events can leave a child or teen feeling traumatized, but this can be mitigated with the hope of preventing increased levels of stress and potential trauma.   

         * Watch closely for new behaviors or intensity in behaviors.  Write them down and speak with a professional to gain insight.  

          * Recognize that a child that was not at risk for coping with stress may now show signs and that children who were already at risk and have lost the supports will need to be watched carefully and new supports put in place. 

          * Do not assume that your child or teen is struggling with the changes, as not all will.  Keep an open dialogue and be cautious to limit your conversation about your own personal feelings in the earshot of your child.  Create the time and space where you can work through the challenges you are experiencing with another adult or trained listener.   

          * Create cushions between your child and the stress.  

Below are 5 cushion strategies:  

1) Teach your child that they can be a helper in situations, which creates a feeling of empowerment when otherwise feeling helpless.   

2) Brainstorm creative ways to socialize with others through technology and outdoor spaces. 

3) Provide a structured routine with flexibility for change as needed.  Children crave routine.  In addition, it is a wonderful practice to model how to go with the flow when a planned activity suddenly needs to change.  

4) Engage in exercise.  Physical activity can reduce anxiety and depression, improve mood, boost self-esteem, minimize stress, and enhance cognitive functioning.  Find fun ways to get their bodies moving.   

5) Contact a Music Therapist for consultation or services to create a cushion using music to reduce stress and create a non-threatening avenue for self-expression. 

CONTACT US
8 Strategies For Quality Sleep

8 Strategies For Quality Sleep

by | Aug 14, 2020

Getting less than the required amount of sleep can affect your health, your mood, and your brain’s ability to function.  This is true for children and adults. The longer you go without the sleep you need, the more the harmful effects compound.  The recommended hours of sleep fall between 7-8 hours.  So, it pays to make sleep a priority every night of the week, even if you need to cut back on some of your current evening activities. 

If this is hard for you or your family, you are not alone.  We know that more than one-third of adults are sleep deprived.  https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html

10% of children in the United States have a sleep issue. The percentage rises to 50% to 75% in children with mental health and neurologic/developmental disorders.  In addition, children need even more sleep than adults. Children ages 5 to 10 need 10 to 11 hours of sleep; those ages 10 to 17 require 8.5 to 9.25 hours. Children are getting enough rest if they can fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes after going to bed, wake up easily at the correct time, and are awake and alert all day without napping.

 

What happens when you sleep?

Blood pressure drops

Breathing becomes slower

Muscles are relaxed

Blood supply to muscles increases

Tissue growth and repair occurs

Energy is restored

Immune system is strengthened

Hormones are released, such as: Growth hormone, essential for growth and development, including muscle development

For these reasons and more we want to be sure to make sleep a priority. Sleep’s most obvious benefit is energy. With a good night’s sleep, your mind is alert, and your body is responsive and resilient. You can learn more quickly and better remember what you learned. Your judgment is more likely to be on target, and your reaction time optimized. On the other hand, lack of sleep can negatively affect your mood and your ability to think and function. Your productivity and your creativity are likely to be compromised as a result.

Over time, lack of sleep can have consequences on your physical health. Heart disease, high blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, depression, and anxiety are among the many conditions that have been linked to insufficient sleep.

8 Strategies for Sound & Sustained Sleep

  1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
  2. Dim the lights after dusk.
  3. Get blackout curtains if very sensitive to the light.
  4. Put electronic devices away 60 minutes prior to laying down.
  5. Get thirty minutes of exercise each day.
  6. Watch what you eat in the evening including, avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol & hard to digest food.
  7. Set the temperature in the room around 65 degrees.
  8. Practice relaxation such as mindfulness, deep breathing, and music listening.

 

We suggest the following music for relaxation and sleep.  Each one is unique in its composition.  Try all of them to determine if one is more helpful than another.  

August Book: Hands to Heart

August Book: Hands to Heart

by | Aug 7, 2020

Blog post written by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC

Song performed and recorded by Jamie Swieringa, MT-BC

 

Stress. Stress of the unknown, stress of responsibilities. Now more than ever, we find ourselves in a time full of uncertainty. With schools announcing their plans for reopening, these times ahead are sure to be full of anxiety and worry. As adults, we have a better understanding of how to handle the stressors of everyday life. However, young children may not know how to express how they are feeling or how to regulate their bodies to bring them back to a state of calm. But, with Alex Bauermesiter’s book Hands to Heart: Breathe and Bend with Animal Friends, children will be able to relate their emotions with animals in the book and learn how to use yoga poses (demonstrated by the animals in the book) to calm themselves down and relax.

 

As a music therapy agency, we at UMTC find it extremely important to address the mental health of children through the use of music. One of our therapists, Jamie Swieringa, has written a melody to use along with this book in order to bring in the element of music to assist relaxation.

 

 

In order to get the most out of all this book has to offer, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

Deep breathing

This book focuses a lot on simple yoga poses. However, your child will benefit more from the poses if they pair them with deep breathing. Encourage your child to breath from their belly while keeping their shoulders down. This type of breathing through the diaphragm will force our bodies to slow down and focus.

Adjust the poses as necessary

Most of the yoga poses in this book are straightforward, but some do involve laying on the floor. If your child is unable to lay on the floor for any reason, they can still do the poses! Everyone has different abilities, so it is perfectly acceptable to adjust the poses as necessary in order to help your child be most successful.

Zones of regulation

For those students that are older, you can use this book to identify the different zones of regulation. If you are not familiar with the zones of regulation, click here to learn more. It is a system in which emotions are put into colored categories: red, blue, green, and yellow. Encourage your child to identify how they are feeling, what zone that feeling is in, and what they can do to get themselves back to the “green zone” or a state of calm.

We hope you enjoy using this book in your homeschooling adventures! For more resources and activities to use with your children, please visit our “Resources” tab located at the top of the page.

 

If you are interested in purchasing Hands to Heart: Breathe and Bend with Animal Friends, click here.

 

Happy reading!

Emotional Wellbeing in Our Children: What Should We Look For?

Emotional Wellbeing in Our Children: What Should We Look For?

by | Jul 31, 2020

One of our top priorities since the middle of March has been to carefully watch for the emotional wellbeing of our students, and their families once we began remote therapy sessions.  As children were approved by each school district to receive music therapy through a teleconferencing platform, according to their IEP, one of our first priorities was observing for any cues during the teleconferencing session that the student or family were experiencing social-emotional challenges due to the stay at home order.  Since then we have worked diligently to reach families who have been less responsive to explore if there is another level in which we can support them, even if teleconferencing is not an option.  This has included phone calls, emails and sending packets of digital and printed music opportunities for the parent to participate in with their child.  Music has offered the child and family a refreshing escape from some of the day to day challenges they have been experiencing.  Families have at times sought out continuing music therapy over other services for the summer because of the positive effect it has had.

Uncertainty for the Fall

As school district administrations watch for direction from the state governors for guidelines, they are surveying the families.  The intent is to determine what type of school attendance the parents are thinking is best for their children and family circumstances, however, in some cases the preferred choice is not available.  One of the most popular preferred choices that have not been an option on the surveys is reopening schools fully for all students and allowing families to decide if they would like to participate.  Instead, there appear to be hybrid models being proposed combining online learning and school attendance, to spread out the children during bussing and within the facility.  Regardless of what each school district decides they will be offering the students and their families; it has become clear that the anxiety over what the new school year will look like is rising. 

Parents are sharing the following concerns and questions:

  • Will my child be safe if attending school?
  • What are the potential health issues of my child wearing a mask all day in school?
  • My child is showing depression over not being able to go back to school. What should I do?
  • My children are not making progress using remote learning.
  • We have a child with special needs, and she is falling further and further behind. How will she ever catch up?
  • Are pandemic pods a safe way to go to help my child socialize and learn in a group?
  • I need to go back to work however cannot do so unless my children can go back to school fulltime.
  • My son has been experiencing increased anxiety when I am not around, something that we have never observed before.

Parents are wise to watch their children’s reactions to the changes they are experiencing.  Here are some of the symptoms that might be observed:

4 to 7-Year Old

In children ages 4 to 7 years, children tend to express stress through regression and separation anxiety.  They may begin bedwetting or cling to a parent when they attempt to leave the home.  This is where routine comes in. It does not need to be the same routine from Pre-Covid19, it simply needs to be realistic for the current situation. This age group also struggles with social distancing which makes getting together with other children more difficult.  

7-10-Year Old

In the 7 through 10 age group, children can pick up on stress and may become fearful for their own health.  At this age, they are not typically capable of expressing their own emotions.  The parent may see an increase in irritability or crying.  Limiting how much news and adult conversation is conducted about the pandemic around these children is important.  Instead, create opportunities for the child to talk with an adult and ask questions they have about what is going on as well as share how it is impacting their life, including their own health fears.

10-13-Year Old

In ages 10 to 13 years, children tend to struggle with academics. At this age, they work well with structure, which is why they need routine.  They generally have not developed self-regulation at this age which makes schooling with much less instruction and guidance especially challenging.  Parents should focus on the effort of the child and not necessarily the completed tasks.  Providing them with an organized space and helping them create a structure that works best for them is most helpful for children in this age bracket. 

14-17-Year Old

At ages 14 to 17, social distancing can have a devastating effect on them, resulting in an increase in depressive symptoms such as listlessness and lack of motivation.  This age group is heavily impacted by the loss of sporting games, social gatherings like proms, clubs, and other regular or annual events.  They can express their emotions and will do so when feeling safe and supported, so offer those natural times to open the door for honest conversation.  Seek out someone outside of the family if they are not willing to talk to a family member.  Assist your child in finding acceptable online social opportunities like yoga classes, gaming, and Zoom parties with their friends. 

Creating a New Normal

All children can benefit from learned breathing exercises, mindfulness, regular weekly social gatherings online or in a pod, and scheduled weekly family activities that the child enjoys. Creating a new normal for this time is important while watching your children for emotional wellbeing concerns.

If your child is experiencing a difficult time with the many changes COVID-19 has created feel free to scroll down and send us a message in the Contact Us portion.  We have many services including, counseling, creative arts therapy, and music therapy that might be helpful.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Benefits of Drumming

Health Benefits of Drumming

by | Jul 24, 2020

For years we have seen the research that music, singing, playing an instrument, and even listening to specific music can increase the capabilities of the brain. These activities result in the brain being stimulated on both sides an occurrence called hemispheric synchronization.   It is astounding to see brain imaging of a person in the presence of music compared with when they are not.   Look at the image below.  The brain’s reaction to music shows the dramatic increase in areas that are stimulated, accessed, and can be altered by the musical sound & rhythm.

From the release of dopamine, a feel-good chemical, our attention is focused away from a negative stimulus to something pleasant and engaging. Music has a huge impact on the brain and our emotions.  Music can alter our breathing and heart rate as well as improve our state of mind.  This helps keep things like depression and anxiety at bay.  Music can reduce the perception of pain and even alter patterns of pain, depression, and disability.  Music occupies the mind with something familiar and soothing.  This creates an environment of comfort and a sense of safety.

As we explore the specific health benefits of drumming, you might be surprised at the vast areas within the brain that drumming can impact.  It has been determined that drumming synchronizes the right and left hemispheres. We have learned that when the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere of your brain begin to pulsate together, your inner guidance system, or intuition, becomes stronger.

Drumming also appears to synchronize the lower areas of the brain (non-verbal) with the frontal cortex (language and reasoning). This integration produces feelings of insight and certainty.  For these reasons, therapeutic drumming may be a powerful tool in helping retrain the brains of people who have some level of damage or impairment.  Those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), have suffered a stroke, or have a neurological disease such as Parkinson’s are appropriate candidates for therapeutic drumming.

Finally, music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves.  Slow beats create the slow brain waves that are associated with hypnotic or meditative states.  Faster beats may increase more alert and concentrated thinking.  When Beta waves used for concentration change to Alpha waves your body and mind will begin to calm and feel more relaxed.  This may be helpful to individuals suffering from depression and anxiety.

Professional drummer Alex Rüdinger has faced and battled depression. Drumming has been an integral part of his recovery.  His story is quite powerful and worth the read. https://audient.com/2019/04/02/rudi_drums/

What about those who are not professional drummers? Can drumming be helpful to untrained musicians?  There have been some comprehensive studies done with individuals suffering from anxiety and depression who have no musical training that has shown very nice results.

The study, Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response (2016), explored whether a music-making intervention, specifically group drumming, could improve mental health over several weeks. Additionally, in order to ascertain the physiological effects of drumming, the study explored whether psychological responses were found in parallel with a reduction in pro-inflammatory response.

Their hypothesis was that across ten-weeks of group drumming there would be a decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and improvements in social resilience and mental wellbeing.  It was determined that ten weeks or more of group drumming for 90 minutes each session did decrease anxiety and depression as opposed to the control group who did not receive group drumming.  In addition, they were thrilled to document that these participants also maintained decreased levels of anxiety and depression at the 3-month follow-up.

Considering the many health benefits of drumming it is an excellent option for those experiencing mental health challenges.  Are you interested in getting involved in a group this Fall? Send us a message by using our Contact Us link.  We would love to speak with you more.

Works Cited

Fancourt, D., Perkins, R., Ascenso, S., Carvalho, L. A., Steptoe, A., & Williamon, A. (2016). Effects of group drumming interventions on anxiety, depression, social resilience and inflammatory immune response among mental health service users. PloS one, 11(3), e0151136.