Wellness Week 2020 at Heart Creative

  • 15 min.
  • By Heart Creative

2020 has been a difficult year. For everyone.

This year has presented the world with unforeseen challenges and obstacles, seemingly one after another. Between the pandemic, civil unrest, the cataclysmic weather, and the upcoming Presidential election—it’s difficult not to feel like you’re already running on empty—and election week isn’t even here yet.

We at Heart Creative wanted to intentionally pause. We want to take time to acknowledge how difficult this year has been and hold space for all of the emotions that we’ve had to collectively experience and process this year.

PSA: It’s okay to not be okay right now.

You might not be feeling 100% right now, and that’s 100% normal. We could all use a little extra self-care and prioritize our own mental and physical wellness over the next few weeks. We’re not talking about mani-pedi self-care—we are talking about mental wellness self-care. Taking the time to check in with yourself and making sure that your own needs are met.

In response to the challenges this year has presented, we want to reclaim and reframe election week into Wellness Week 2020 and use this time as an opportunity to give back to our employees by providing a little relief during these stressful times.

 

What is Wellness Week?

Wellness Week is a time to recognize our employees and their significant contributions during an unprecedented year of challenges. We are acknowledging the significant amount of mental and physical energy that has been required of each of them in 2020 by caring for them with paid time off and other wellness goodies throughout the week.

Why did we decide to promote Wellness Week during the week of the election?

Employees throughout the U.S. are experiencing stress and anxiety at a far higher rate than a typical year when you take into account everything they are being asked to juggle in their lives from COVID-19 worries, supporting school-age children with remote learning, social justice climate and unrest, extreme weather conditions, and a tense election season coming to a close in two weeks.

With 68% of people reporting being significantly stressed by the election, we felt there was no better time as an employer to step back and decide how we can support our employees.

What are the Employee Benefits for Wellness Week? What does the Program Include?

Heart Creative is starting the week off by hosting a virtual yoga session on Monday, November 2nd. We will close operations beginning at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on election day, November 3rd.

This will allow employees to complete and drop off their ballots if they have not done so already. It will also allow them to get home and engage in following the election results with family and friends.

Employees will also receive a full day of paid time off on Wednesday, November 4th. This time off can be used to participate in an employer-sponsored, remote volunteer activity in the morning or simply take the time off to process the election by themselves in their own way, at their own pace.

 

We will also be providing the following throughout the week:

  • Writing and Art Therapy Prompts – designed to help you process intrusive anxiety and stress

  • Wellness Goodies Delivered to Employee Homes – We will be offering our employees the following goodies:
  • Internal Employee Raffle
    • Employees earn raffle tickets through donating to charitable organizations or volunteering during Wellness Week.
      • $1 = 1 raffle ticket and 1 hour = 3 tickets.
    • Prizes include three different Self-Care Packages valued from $50-100 each

  • Daily Mental Health & Wellness Tips (shared on our IG stories!)
    • How to make your own DIY Self-Soothe Kit
    • Sensory Grounding Techniques
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • How to actually succeed with a Mindfulness practice
    • Yoga Poses & Stretches to help relieve tension and stress

  • Spotify Playlist
    • Our employees put together a collaborative Spotify playlist.
    • We asked our team to add songs that soothe them, bring them joy, or simply brighten their day.

 

 

Writing (or Art) Prompts for Election Wellness Week 2020

Purpose: Writing is a way of thinking and processing during times when the mind can’t even figure out where the tightness or tears are coming from. It is a powerful tool to pull complex and hard-to-reach emotions outside of the body—to externalize it—so one can see it, process it, and better understand how to navigate it. The writing doesn’t need to be fancy. It’s an exercise to help us be open and be real. So find a quiet moment, a cozy corner, and the wellness week playlist, then see where it takes you.

Guidelines (from one of my favorite writing teachers, Natalie Goldberg):

  1. Keep your hand moving. Don’t pause to reread the line you have just written. That’s stalling and trying to get control of what you’re saying.
  2. Don’t cross out or delete. That is editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn’t mean to write, leave it.
  3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. Don’t even care about staying within the margins and lines on the page.
  4. Lose control. Trust yourself and stay present with whatever comes up.
  5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical. Just write the real stuff. Be honest and detailed.
  6. Go for the jugular. If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.

Prompts: Pick one and commit to at least 10 minutes.

Pick a word that has the most energy for you right now. Or choose your own. 

  • Change
  • Loneliness
  • Acceptance
  • Fear
  • Gratitude
  • Worthiness
  • Loss
  • Joy
  • Risk
  • Doubt
  • Pain
  • Hope

Write “_______ means…” 

OR “_______, I see you there. I hear/feel/see you when…” 

If you get stuck, ask it some questions and try responding back in its voice. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here? Why have you been so loud (quiet)? What are you telling me? Am I hearing you? What will happen if I embrace (let go of) you?

If you’re still feeling stuck, draw it!

Begin with “I remember…” Start by writing lots of small memories, whether they are from 5 minutes ago or 5 years ago. Try to be detailed and concrete, using all of your senses. If something comes up that has energy, follow that. Keep going.

If you get stuck (or want to keep going), try this exercise with the opposite, “I don’t remember…” 

If you’re still stuck, try another set. Here are some examples: “I’m thinking of… I’m not thinking of…” or “I can… I can’t…” or “I know… I don’t know…”

Online Wellness Resources 

Goodful Meditations

Yoga By Adrienne YouTube Channel

Portland Mental Health Community Resources

Mental Health Crisis Lines 

  • Multnomah County: 503-988-4888
  • Clackamas County: 503-655-8585
  • Washington County: 503-291-9111
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

ZOOMCare Mental Health Services

  • They’re on a mission to make Mental Health ultra-accessible.
  • Over 100 same-day, no wait mental health visits in your neighborhood.
  • Schedule a visit without a prior referral.
  • Open 365 days a year.
  • Available early mornings, late nights, and weekends.
  • On-site meds and labs.
  • Licensed ZOOM+Care Doctors practicing evidence-based medicine.
  • Fast and convenient scheduling online and with their iOS app.
  • Digital medical records on your phone.

Common Conditions  ZOOMCare Treats:

PDX ZOOMCare Locations: Mississippi, Hawthorne, Pearl District, Sellwood-Moreland

Low and Sliding Fee Counseling Services 

Paid Wellness Apps 

  • Talkspace Online Therapy: Can’t afford to visit a therapist but still wish you had one to talk to? Talkspace makes that possible. Starting at $65 per week, you can text message a trained professional as often as you need and receive responses daily. They also offer services for individuals and couples, so if your significant other want to learn how to support you through your depression, they can download the app too.  (Various plans available ranging from $65 to $99/week; iOS and Android)
  • Headspace: The Headspace app makes meditation simple. Learn the skills of mindfulness and meditation by using this app for just a few minutes per day. You gain access to hundreds of meditations on everything from stress and anxiety to sleep and focus. The app also has a handy “get some headspace” reminder to encourage you to keep practicing each day.  ($12.99/Month or $9.99/Year for students; iOS and Android)
  • Calm: Named by Apple as the 2017 iPhone App of the Year, Calm is quickly becoming regarded as one of the best mental health apps available. Calm provides people experiencing stress and anxiety with guided meditations, sleep stories, breathing programs, and relaxing music. This app is truly universal; whether you’ve never tried meditation before or regularly practice, you’ll find the perfect program for you. ($12.99/Month; iOS and Android)
  • Ten Percent Happier: Want to sleep better, find relaxation, be more mindful and, well, ten percent happier? This is the app for you. Ten Percent Happier has a library of 500+ guided meditations on topics ranging from anxiety and stress to parenting and sleep, as well as videos, bite-sized stories, and inspiration you can listen to on the go. New content is added weekly so you’ll never tire of having to do the same meditative practice again and again.  ($12.99/Month; iOS and Android)
  • MoodKit: This app uses the foundations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and provides users with over 200 different mood improvement activities. Created by two clinical psychologists, MoodKit helps you learn how to change how you think, and develop self-awareness and healthy attitudes. ($4.99; iOS)

Free Wellness Apps 

  • What’s Up: Amazing free app that uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) methods to help you cope with depression, anxiety, stress, and more. Offers a positive/negative habit tracker to help maintain good habits and break ones that are counterproductive. (Free; iOS and Android)
  • Self-Help for Anxiety Management (SAM): SAM might be perfect for you if you’re interested in self-help, but meditation isn’t your thing. Users are prompted to build their own 24-hour anxiety toolkit that allows you to track anxious thoughts and behavior over time, and learn 25 different self-help techniques. You can also use SAM’s “Social Cloud” feature to confidentially connect with other users in an online community for additional support. (Free; iOS and Android)
  • Happify: Need a happy fix? With its psychologist-approved mood-training program, the Happify app is your fast-track to a good mood. Try various engaging games, activity suggestions, gratitude prompts and more to train your brain as if it were a muscle, to overcome negative thoughts. The best part? Its free!  (Free; iOS and Android)
  • MY3: Design to help people stay safe while having thoughts of suicide or self-harm. MY3 is free and lets you customize your own personal safety plan by noting your warning signs, listing coping strategies, and connecting you to helpful resources. Provides a direct contact button (24/7) with a trained counselor from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.  (Free; iOS and Android)
  • Breathe2Relax: Sometimes you just need to breathe and remind yourself you are okay. Breathe2Relax is made for just that. Created by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, this app is a portable stress management tool that teaches users a skill called diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe2Relax works by decreasing the body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ stress response, making it a great option for people suffering from PTSD. (Free; iOS and Android)
Tags:
Heart Creative

Archives

Categories