Consider Yourself Hugged

Hi friends, welcome back! Today in Part 4, we are diving into something incredibly powerful that we all need to revisit from time to time—finding meaning in our lives and setting goals that align with our values.

Michelle and I have both experienced times when we felt like we were just going through the motions, and I’m sure you have, too. We get so caught up in the busyness of life that we lose sight of what’s truly important to us. But here's the thing—our sense of fulfillment, joy, and motivation all come from aligning our daily actions with the things we value most.

In today’s episode, we’re not just talking about setting goals for the sake of achieving something. We’re talking about meaningful goals—goals that resonate with your heart, that are in harmony with your values, and that make you feel like you're living your purpose.

But here's the best part! We've created an activity sheet just for you! Check out the show notes and get all the info at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/meaning-in-life-accomplishments-positive-psychology-part-4.

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources:

General Resources National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/ About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Thanks for joining today!

Connect with me:

https://www.tamiwest.com/

Today, we're diving into the third module of the our Positive Psychology Course, focusing on the critical concepts of happiness and well-being. This module is all about understanding what happiness truly is, how to cultivate it in our daily lives, and how to guide others on this fulfilling journey.

Understanding Happiness and Well-Being

We all strive for happiness—a lasting state of satisfaction, calmness, and balance. But what does happiness really mean? In this module, we explore happiness as more than just a fleeting emotion; it's a deep, enduring sense of well-being that we can cultivate by focusing on key areas of our lives.

The Science Behind Happiness

Happiness isn't just a state of mind—it's also a chemical process in our bodies. The feel-good chemicals—serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins—play a significant role in how happy we feel. But did you know that happiness is also influenced by our genetics? Research suggests that about 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes, but the good news is that the other 50% is within our control! This is where positive psychology comes into play, helping us maximize our potential for happiness. Be sure to listen to learn more!

Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/positive-psychology-part-3-happiness-wellbeing.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources:

General Resources National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/ About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Welcome back friends! Today, Michelle is here with me, and we're delving into the 24 character strengths identified by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman. These strengths, recognized and valued across various cultures and throughout history, play a significant role in our personal fulfillment. The real impact comes not just from identifying these strengths but from using them in practical, everyday ways to enhance our lives.

Why Character Strengths Matter:

Character strengths are the foundation of who we are. They influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, contributing to our overall happiness and well-being. By focusing on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, we can cultivate a more fulfilling and positive life.

What You'll Do This Week:

- Define the 24 character strengths

- Determine your 5 greatest strengths using the VIA Survey

- Analyze your strengths and learn how to use them to your advantage

- Develop actionable tools to make the most of your strengths every day

Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/positive-psychology-part2.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources:

General Resources National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/ About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Thanks for joining today!

Connect with me:

https://www.tamiwest.com/

Hello, fabulous listeners/readers/watchers! If you were with me last week, you know I'm more committed than every to work on my mental and emotional wellbeing. I hope you are too.  I’m so excited to share something special with you: Over the next 10 weeks, I’m embarking on a journey to become certified in Positive Psychology—a field that’s all about boosting our happiness, well-being, and overall zest for life. And guess what? I want you to come along for the ride!

Here’s the plan: Each week (starting today), I’ll dive into one of the modules from my course and break it down in a way that’s fun, practical, and totally relatable. We’ll explore topics like gratitude, resilience, strengths, and so much more. Not only will this help me cement what I’m learning, but it’ll also give you some amazing tools to enrich your own life.

And here’s a couple of little bonuses! First, each week, I’ll be uploading activity documents in the show notes for you to work on between sessions. These are simple, yet powerful exercises that will help you apply what we’re learning and really make it stick. It’s like having a mini course of your own, right alongside me!

Second, our dear friend Michelle will be joining us for some of the episodes!

This isn’t just about listening—this is about growing together. I want you to take these insights, apply them, and see how they can make a real difference in your everyday life. And the best part? It’s all free! No strings attached, just pure, positive goodness.

So, are you ready to join me on this positivity-packed adventure? Let’s learn, laugh, and lift each other up, one week at a time.

Let’s get started with our first module. Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/positivepsychologypart1.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources:

General Resources National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/ About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Welcome back to the new season, friends! I’m so glad to have my dear friend Michelle back with me today. We've both been on a bit of a journey lately, and today we’re diving into something that's been on our minds a lot: holistic mental health. Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/holistic-mental-health.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of these resources or one in your area:

General Resources

National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org

Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org

Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/

About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Connect with me:

https://www.tamiwest.com/

Facebook.com/tamiwestseminars

Welcome Fellow Huggers for the last time this season!! Today, Michelle Kixmiller joins me for the first time in a bit 😊 You are going to be SO blessed by what she has to say. FYI, below are her notes & suggestions, but be sure to listen to hear the touching story of her brother.

In today’s episode, titled “Loving Someone to Death,” we delve into the crucial topic of mental health awareness, focusing on addiction, codependency, and emotional needs. This episode is dedicated to understanding the challenges faced by those who watch a loved one struggle with addiction and the emotional toll it takes on them. Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/loving-someone-to-death.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of these resources or one in your area:

General Resources

National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org

Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org

Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/

About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Connect with me:

https://www.tamiwest.com/

Facebook.com/tamiwestseminars

Yearbooks are snapshots of a time we often look back on with mixed emotions. For some, they encapsulate memories of friendships, triumphs, and the journey of self-discovery. For others, they are a reminder of challenging times, struggles with identity, and the harsh realities of adolescence. This is especially true for those who, like me, were quiet, bullied, and not popular. My middle school and high school years were marked by a turbulent home life, living in poverty, and the challenges of being overweight.

Despite these hardships, revisiting my yearbooks has provided valuable insights into my identity during those formative years. It has been a journey of understanding who I was, who I am, and who I aspire to be. This episode is an exploration of those reflections, lessons learned, and the ways we can all find strength in our past experiences.

As I reflect on these yearbook entries and the memories they evoke, several key lessons about identity emerge. That's what I'll share with you today! Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/yearbooksandidentity.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of these resources or one in your area:

General Resources

National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org

Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org

Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/

About AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

Welcome to week 5 of Mental Health Awareness Month! Today I'm discussing two seemingly unrelated topics: The 1976 Chowchilla kidnappings and the death by suicide of golfer Grayson Murray.

In 1976, 26 elementary and middle school kids and their bus driver were kidnapped by 3 armed men, their faces covered with panty hose. They were driven around for 11 hours and eventually forced to climb into a 26' trailer buried underground. After all 27 were in, the kidnappers sealed the opening and buried the remaining portion of the trailer with dirt. They dug themselves out after 16 hours. Their lives were forever changed, and because childhood trauma wasn't understood, their mental health was forever damaged.

This past week on Saturday, May 25th, pro-golfer Grayson Murray took his life after a fairly public battle with depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. In an interview last year (Link in show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/chowchilla-to-grayson-murray-mentalhealth), he said:

I just thought I was a failure. I always looked at myself as a failure. I thought I had a lot of talent that was just a waste of talent. It was a bad place, but like I said, you have to have courage. You have to have the willingness to keep going. Lo and behold, that’s what I did, and I’m here, and I’m so blessed and I’m thankful.

He was in the public eye, and felt like a failure.

How are they related? They are related because they both help us to see both how far we have come in treatment, help, and stigma surrounding mental health AND how much more there is to be done.

I hope you'll listen to today's episode. The reason it struck me so, in part, was because I WAS the age of those children during the Chowchilla kidnappings. In 1976 I was 12 years-old, the age where my panic attacks were debilitating, but panic attacks weren’t really a thing. I wasn’t understood. So, why did I not go down the path that some of the survivors did, including alcoholism and suicide? And, Grayson Murray was a Christian. I am a Christian. Why did he still battle, and why do I still battle anxiety?

I think the bottom line is this:

We have amazing treatments for heart disease. People still die.

We have new treatments for cancer. People still die.

With all the mental health treatments available now and to come, people will still struggle and people will still die. It breaks my hearth.

I was thinking deeper about that question, why didn’t I go down a worse path? For me, it was and is so many things:

-My relationship with Jesus

-My family & friends

-Allowing myself to fail and to talk about it. Saying out loud, Oh gosh I messed that one up and realizing I am not perfect!

-Continuing to learn and grown

-Counseling

-Medication for seasons in my life

As we end Mental Health Awareness Month, I encourage you on 2 fronts:

1.    NEVER LET ANYONE SHAME YOU INTO NOT GETTING HELP IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING!

2.   Get trained in Mental Health First Aid. It truly changed how I view and interact with those who are struggling. I have 2 virtual classes coming up. Link with dates is in show notes which post by 7 AM CST 5/29/24.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Welcome to week 4 of Mental Health Awareness Month! Today is a bit different as I'm simply going to share a very personal story with you about my epiphanies about bullying, my bully, forgiveness, and more!

Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/bullying-to-empowerment.

Thanks for joining!

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources:

General Resources National Alliance of Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org

Mental Health America: https://mhanational.org

Mental Health First Aid Resources: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Celebrate Recovery: https://www.celebraterecovery.com/ A

bout AA: https://www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.

*Disclaimer:

The information in this show is not intended to be therapy or to address your individual situation. It is information based on our experiences, opinions, and research. If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources mentioned in the show notes.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, week 3, we're diving into another crucial aspect of mental wellbeing: Celebration! This week I'm using more recommended resources from the National Council for Mental Well-being, the organization that sponsors the Mental Health First Aid course. You may know I am passionate about teaching that class!

But I'm also diving a bit deeper with 4 suggestions of my own:

1. Decide if you want to want to actively participate in creating positive awareness for mental health.

2. If no, that’s ok, but maybe don’t actively create NEGATIVE awareness 😊

3. If yes, what does that look like to you?

a. Sharing your story?

b. Being an advocate?

c. Actively promoting?

d. Speaking against stigma?

4. Remember that mental health and wellbeing is NOT mental illness! Some of us have battled mental illness, but ALL of us have battled mental wellbeing.

Thanks for joining! Show notes at https://www.tamiwest.com/post/mental-health-awareness-month-part-iii-celebrate-wellbeing.

**Not intended to be therapy or replace therapy - If you need further help, please reach out to one of these resources or one in your area:

General Resources

National Alliance of Mental Illness: www.nami.org

Mental Health America: mhanational.org

Mental Health First Aid Resources: www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

Celebrate Recovery: www.celebraterecovery.com/

About AA: www.aa.org/

Tami West, PhD Stress and Mental Health Expert

Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.