Connections Edinburgh

I'm taking a break from marketing my business and paying for my website. I'm sure this won't be forever! You can still book my services via my free website, message me for the link.

Something that helps me get through the day. Message to be added to my Facebook group/mailing list to receive the full sized copy of this resource.

Ahhh breathe in that fresh air and let out all of those worries. Our walk and talk sessions are perfect heading into the nicer weather.

Book now!! https://www.connectionsedinburgh.com/service-page/mindful-crochet-for-beginners?referral=service_list_widget

A workshop introducing you to mindfulness and crochet.

Hayley at Connections Edinburgh, and Leigh from The Colour Dasher have joined forces for an evening of creativity, mindfulness and looking after our mental health and wellbeing!

Mindful Crochet for Beginners is a 2.5 hour online workshop designed to introduce you to the traditional craft of crochet. Crochet is an incredibly relaxing and therapeutic craft that can reduce stress, aid anxiety management, increase focus and let you switch off from the world for a bit.

In this workshop you'll learn some of the basic stitches and techniques that will get you started with crochet. After this workshop, we hope that you have a fun, creative self-management tool that you can bring out whenever you need a bit of extra support.

Connection Edinburgh offers creative and inclusive mental health and wellbeing support online and in person. Combining talking therapy, distress tolerance skills, exercise, photography and creativity enhancing sessions to offer a unique approach to mental health support.

Connections Edinburgh is founded and run by Hayley, a Registered Mental Health Nurse who offers a number of mental health support services. The colour Dasher is run by Leigh, who after many years in support services, now delivers rochet workshops and courses all with a focus on using creativity to enhance our wellbeing.

This workshop takes place online via Zoom on Monday 4th July at 6.30pm.

For this workshop you will need:

A crochet hook (size, 4mm, 4.5mm or 5mm will work!)
2 colours of DK yarn (you can pick this up in some supermarkets and high street shops or Hobbycraft)
Scissors

You will be sent the Zoom link, and a pattern before the workshop. So all you need to do is choose your favourite colours of yarn, get yourself a cup of tea and settle down in a comfy seat for some relaxing crochet!

Book here!! https://www.connectionsedinburgh.com/service-page/mindful-crochet-for-beginners?referral=service_list_widget

I have been attending to support my own wellbeing and personal development.

One thing I have found helpful that I would like to share with you is the Rose Bud Thorn exercise.

Visualise a rose, bud and thorn to help you reflect in a mindful way.

Below and in the images, you will find the reflection point of the rose , bud and thorn, and prompts for how to use them to reflect.

Rose: A highlight, a success, something positive that happened

What are you most proud of?
What was the best thing about today?
What's something positive from the last week?

Bud: Something you're looking forward to, new ideas

What is something you can't wait for?
What is something new you learned?
What would you like to grow or understand more?

Thorn: A challenge or something you could use more support with

What has been tough about today/this week?
What made it hard to be successful?
What has been most stressful?

Try it and let me know in the comments below your reflections, or how it felt for you to do this exercise👇🏻👇🏻

The STOP Skill is a distress tolerance technique that can help when you feel strong emotions.

Stop
Take a step back
Observe
Proceed mindfully

Stop - Don’t react. Don’t move a muscle. Just freeze especially those muscles around the mouth. Freezing for a moment helps prevent you from doing what your emotions want you to do (which is to act without thinking). Stay in control. Remember, you are the boss of your emotions. Name the emotion – put a label on it.

Take a step back - When you are faced with a difficult situation, it may be hard to think about how to deal with it on the spot. Give yourself some time to calm down and think. Take a step back from the situation. Get unstuck from what is going on. Take a deep breath and continue breathing deeply as long as you need and until you are in control. Do not let your emotions control what you do

Observe - Observe what is happening around you and within you, who is involved, and what are other people doing or saying. Listen to the Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) that occur…remember those are based on an outdated Belief System that was programmed before you were seven. To make effective choices, it is important NOT to jump to conclusions. Instead, gather the relevant facts so you can understand what is going on and what options are available.

Proceed mindfully - Ask yourself, “What do I want from this situation?” or “What are my goals?” or “What choice might make this situation better or worse?” or “What act will allow for success?” Stay calm, stay in control, and when you have some information and how that may impact your goals, you will be better prepared to deal with the situation effectively. Remember your brain needs time to think all of this through.

Practice this as much as possible so you feel well equipped to use when in crisis.

Hey everyone! Just want to say thanks for the engagement on my posts and the wonderful bookings this month, I do a little happy dance each time!

It's my dream to help as many people as possible to feel more well this year, let me support you and your mental health.

We still have spaces left to take on clients, regular priced and sliding scale, so get in touch to discuss your requirements by booking a Curious Cats introductory session now!

www.connectionsedinburgh.com

Box breathing is a great technique to help you to feel more grounded and re-centered. Get in as comfortable a position as possible and notice your breath, how does it feel in this moment in your body? Follow these simple instructions to practice box breathing yourself!

Thanks to for having me take part in the mental health project last year when I was finding myself again!

Here at Connections Edinburgh, we can help you to find yourself too.

Hello all! I am Hayley, a mental health nurse, and I run Connections Edinburgh. We offer 1:1 mental health and wellbeing support, online and in person, to those in need. You can check out more about us and what we offer on our website - go click the link in our bio.

We still have spaces left in January so get booked in and beat the January blues.

Our website has now launched! Find us at www.connectionsedinburgh.com