Camila Williams | Living Well CBT

Lifestyle Changes for Better Sleep

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Hopefully over the past two weeks you have been able to add one soothing activity to your bedtime routine and make one change to your sleep environment that is conducive to better sleep. The last area that really affects the quality of our sleep is our lifestyle. I saved this for last because making lifestyle changes is one of the hardest things to do. If it were easy then every one of us would eat healthier and exercise more just like our doctors have told us to! My hope is that you have a better understanding of how the things you typically do during the day affect your sleep at night. Here is a quick run down of the major lifestyle changes you can make for better sleep:

  • Gradually reduce and eliminate caffeine intake (coffee, soda, many teas, energy drinks, chocolate, some medicines)
      • No caffeine after 12pm
  • Stop drinking fluids an hour before sleeping
  • No smoking in the hours before sleeping
      • Quit smoking or cut back if possible
  • Go to sleep 100% sober; no alcohol before sleeping
  • Get some exercise (not right before bedtime, morning is best)
  • Avoid large meals before sleeping
  • Avoid heavy, spicy, or high-sugar foods before sleeping (or anything else that triggers stomach upset or heartburn)

…read more

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Maximize your sleep environment!

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How many things do you use for 8 hours every day? How many places do you go where you stay put for 8 hours straight? You might have said your clothes and work but there is probably not much else. If we are aiming for at least 8 hours of sleep a night though we spend about that much time in our bed. So it is very important that we invest time and energy into making our sleep environment as conducive to sleep as possible. Last week I talked about how our brain is a creature of habit and how a good bedtime routine prepares your brain to expect sleep to follow. Similarly, it is just as important to teach your brain that the only activity you do in your sleeping area is sleeping (sex is okay if that is a part of your life). The brain is a creature of habit, and if you do other activities in your sleeping area, your brain will start to associate it with those activities. 

Go through the following list and check off any of the activities that you do:…read more

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Bedtime Routine: It’s not just for Kids!

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Have you ever felt under the weather and didn’t go to a doctor because you knew they would just tell you to get some rest and drink lots of fluids? It can be frustrating because you want to feel better but the advice you’re being given doesn’t sound very helpful at first. However, rest and fluids are basic recommendations that set a good foundation for any other treatment. Well, in therapy we have a similar prescription that gets used so much that I have had patients roll their eyes when they hear it yet again: “How are you sleeping and have you been doing any self-care?” Whether you are suffering from depression, anxiety, or stress, your sleep sets the tone for your day and mood. Getting good sleep is a priority that unfortunately many of us ignore. Same for self-care, we get so caught up with the demands of life and others that we forget to prioritize our own self-care. In fact, healthy sleep is a good form of self-care. I will focus on other types of self care on a later day but lets talk about sleep. There are 3 areas that affect sleep: 1) Bedtime routine, 2) Sleep Environment, and 3) Lifestyle Habits. Today we will focus on our bedtime routine:…read more

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Mental Health First Aid Kit

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You probably have a first aid kit somewhere in your home, car, or work. You are ready for any mishap from a paper-cut to a gash. Are you as prepared for a mental health emergency? You know when you feel that panic attack coming on, or your anger is going through the roof, or your depression is nose diving into despair. It is just as important to be prepared with a mental health 1st Aid Kit to help you survive those intense moments on that emotional roller coaster. Below are some suggestions of things to include in your 1st Aid Kit but you can be as creative with this as your heart desires. It is supposed to be a personalized grab bag of things to help you slow down the intense reactions in order to think more clearly. I previously wrote about making a soothing kit for coping with symptoms of PTSD, this is the same concept. The goal here is to remove the thinking part out of the equation when you’re in panic mode or despair. The last thing your brain can do when emotions are riding high is think clearly. So prepare a 1st Aid Kit with pre-planned things to do to help settle your mind and get back in control of your emotions.…read more

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5 Step Conflict Resolution

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Communicating assertively is a skill that takes practice. When you are assertive you are not being passive, not being aggressive, but rather you are showing yourself and the other person the respect you deserve. Yes, aggression can get you the results you want right now, but it comes at the cost of your relationships later on. Yes, being passive is easier right now (you get to avoid conflict), but it comes at the cost of not resolving things. Being assertive is the healthy middle ground. The 5 Step Conflict Resolution model is one good way to start practicing being assertive.…read more

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When Your Brain Gets Its Wrong

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If you suffer from anxiety, you’ve probably had the experience where you noticed your heart beating faster. Your brain then automatically went “Uh oh! Why is my heart beating so fast!?” And because of the anxiety you carry, your brain probably answered that question with something catastrophic: “Because I’m having a heart attack,” or “I’m not safe here,” or “Something bad is about to happen!” Then of course, your heart really does start to beat faster, and now you’re breathing faster, and before you know it, you’re in panic. What is going on here? Your brain noticed a body function; jumped to conclusions about it being bad, and now you’re having a panic attack. This is why one of the primary treatment interventions for anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT aims to teach your brain not to jump to conclusions and catastrophize in order to stop the panic attack before it starts or to de-escalate it more quickly if it already has (of note, mindfulness and meditation are another great therapeutic route). It is so important to be aware of how our mind tends to automatically interpret things. There are 4 common emotions that tend to be misinterpreted the most often…read more

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Why Most People Don’t Need Long-term Therapy.

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Before you get your knickers in a bunch, hear me out. I’m not talking about people with severe mental illness (SMI), complex trauma, or personality disorders. Of course there are always exceptions and it always depends on each client’s unique situation. However, the most common reasons people seek out therapy for: depression, anxiety, stress, life adjustment/transitions, does not require long term individual therapy.

Long term, supportive therapy is like going to the Spa.

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Book Review: Designing Your Life

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Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Burnett and Evans is my new favorite book. I have been recommending it to clients, friends, and family. I love it when a book written for the general public takes principals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and shows you how to apply it to everyday situations. Designing Your Life was originally a class at Stanford University for college students trying to figure what to do after they graduate. The professors, Burnett and Evans, have taken that message and are sharing it with everyone through their book. This book is for anyone going through a life transition, anyone who is feeling stuck in their life, or anyone who often finds themselves asking “Is this it?” The book talks a lot about “Dysfunctional Beliefs” that keep us stuck and “Reframe” the healthy beliefs that help us move forward. This is the bread and butter of CBT. Identifying your dysfunctional beliefs, challenging them, and turning them into healthier alternative beliefs. Only here Burnett and Evans have done all the work for you…read more

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A Major Pitfall of Self-Medicating to Deal with Stress

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You’ve been there before: you have a long, stressful day at work, and you can’t wait until you get home to kick off your shoes and have a drink. It is a way to unwind from the cares of the day. There is nothing wrong with that, right? Or perhaps your family is very intense, you love them, but man the only way to survive a family dinner or backyard BBQ is with a cold one in your hands. After all, that is what keeps you from telling Aunt Sally what you really think or from getting into a political debate with Grandpa Joe. There is nothing inherently wrong with either of these scenarios. The problem begins when turning to alcohol to “unwind” or to “tolerate others” starts to become your go-to, your default mode of dealing with stress. This is the biggest pitfall of using alcohol to deal with stress:

It makes you LESS able to handle stress

…read more

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Why it is Important to Love Yourself

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Its cliche: “You have to love yourself before others can love you.” Motivational speakers, coaches, therapists all say some iteration of this phrase when teaching about self-esteem and self-worth. I recently had a client express their frustration with this cliche, “It’s simply not true!” he said, and then he proceeded to give examples of people struggling with self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness who are still loved by their friends, parents, spouse, kids, etc… I agreed with him and then challenged him to look at the cliche slightly different:…read more

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