Shannon Mick, NCC, LPC’s Post

Keeping Distance in Our Relationships in Order to Manage Anxiety We have ways to manage our anxiety by distancing ourselves from others, which may be a quick way to relieve stress, but the behavior comes with consequences. We stay late at work to avoid our spouse, we might not share our true beliefs with friends out of fear that they will disagree, and due to COVID-19 have withdrawn from others due to pandemic-related anxiety (this is more of a past example). We lose opportunities to build relationships and to work on managing the anxiety in more skillful ways (like using DBT skills). Here are some of the things we do to create distance in our relationships in order to keep our anxiety under control. Do you do any of these behaviors? https://lnkd.in/e_WgCSqe #finishstrongercounseling #irunformymentalhealth #athletementalhealth #mentalhealth #anxietysupport #traumarecovery #LiveAbundantly #mentalhealthtips #anxietyawareness #anxious #pittsburghpa #Pennsylvania #counselingservices #counseling #happyrunner #happyrunning #ultrarunner #trailrunner #zelienoplepa #harmonypa #evanscitypa #butlerpa

The Dear Mark Project Podcast with Maria Maria, the host of The Dear Mark Project Podcast, invited me on to talk about how social media can negatively impact our body image. Most importantly, I talk about how you can improve your relationship with it. I’m a professional mental health counselor, specializing in treating anxiety, trauma, and eating disorders, so body image is a topic that frequently comes up. I help people set and work on a variety of goals, we take approaches that address both mental and physical health. Interview questions and my show notes (Maria asked me 6 questions) When you say body image, what exactly do you mean by this? Body image is a person’s perception of their physical self, and the thoughts and feelings, positive, negative, or both. There are four aspects of body image: 1. The way that you see yourself (perceptual). 2. The way you feel about the way you look (affective). 3. Thoughts and beliefs you have about your body (cognitive). 4. Things that you do in relation to the way you look (behavioral). How does having a negative body image affect our mental health?... https://lnkd.in/dJ9rRx8h #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #runnerbody #runnerbodyimage #ultrarunner #ultrarunnermentalhealth #ultrarunnermindset #ultrarunningmama #ultrarunningcommunity #ultrarunnersofinstagram #trailrunner #runnerslife #runnerslifestyle #ultratrailrunner #ultratraining #ultrarunningmotivation #runningtips #ultrarunninglife #ultrarunningtips #irunformymentalhealth #runpa

My Temptation 200k Post-Race Questionnaire 2024 Have you ever written a post-race reflection? First-off, prior to your race, do a pre-event visualization and think about what your hopeful outcomes are. For the post-race questionnaire, think about what were the actual outcomes. I give my clients both a pre-race visualization and a post-race questionnaire. Below, you will read about why you should do this, read my Temptation 200 post-race questionnaire, and be able to consider these seven questions for your own event. https://lnkd.in/eXFABzHQ #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #temptation200k #temptation200 #runillinois #sandridgestateforest #ultratraining #ultrarunnermentalhealth #ultramarathon #ultramarathonprep #100miletraining #ultrarunnersofinstagram #ultrarunningmotivation #ultrarunningcommunity #ultrarunnermentaltoughness #ultrarunningmama #trailrunning #trailandultra #trailrunner #runningtips #ultrarunnermindset #runstrong

Runners, it's check-in time! (As a Success Coach for @kyle_j_kranz runners, we do a Friday check-in and ask our runners these questions. Check out the questions and answer them yourself. Write them down. Here are my answers.) 1. What was your biggest running/health related win of the week? I'm back to doing 3-5 mile, super EZ effort runs, every 2-3 days, with hardly any leg pain. It is still injured from T200k. I think I created some tears, but I'm not too worried about it because I'm seeing slow improvements. My leg mostly hurts when I'm laying down with it straight and moving around the house. Oh, and especially when I tweak it tripping over my daughter's toys. 3 times now, which kills. What about struggle? Juggling the many hats that I wear. 2. What is your goal for the month of October? Oy, I think just continuing on the slow path of recovery. Get to the chiropractor. Get my leg checked out. Continue strength training almost every day. I'm working on enjoying my "off" season from training. It is hard for a few different reasons. I also miss the hard runs... And it hasn't even been that long, lol. Also, I need to avoid UltraSignup, he he. Stick to next year's goals and not get distracted by other races. 3. What are any barriers to achieving this? No real barriers, just maybe myself. Make sure that I do these things. If necessary, how can anyone help? Coach Kyle can help hold me accountable. He already knows some of these things. #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #ultrarecovery #runyourworld #ultratraining #ultrarunnermentalhealth #100miletraining #ultrarunningmotivation #trailandultra #trailrunner #happyrunning #happyrunner #stravarun #veganrunner #plantbasedrunner #runningmotivation #runningcoach #runningcommunity #happyrunning #happyrunner #motherrunner #ultrarunningmama #runstrong #trailrunning #stravarun

Runners, did you know that I have a list of mindset and mental health resources on my website? I have been working in the mental health field since 2011. I am passionate about helping people, raising mental health awareness, and using mental strategies in the sport of ultramarathon running. This page is dedicated to mental health, as it relates to running, ultrarunning, and anything fitness. https://lnkd.in/dxQx34pW #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #ultrarunnermentaltoughness #ultrarunnermentalhealth #ultrarunnermindsetcoach #ultrarunningmotivation #TrailRunnersofInstagram #trailandultra #ultrarunner #ultratraining #irunformymentalhealth #runmore #motherrunner #womensrunningcommunity #iloverunning #ultrarunningmom #runnerofsteel #pittsburghrunner

Depression - When and Where to Reach Out If you need support with depression, reach out to a counselor, don’t hesitate. Asking for help can be really, really hard. People who live with depression (major depressive disorder) may feel alone, making it harder to reach out. Depression may happen once in someone’s lifetime or it may occur in episodes. If you’re living with depression, it’s so important to learn effective ways of coping with your symptoms... https://lnkd.in/ggRbpZvU 🌷🌱🌷🌱🌷🌱 #finishstrongercounseling #mentalhealth #depression #anxiety #lonliness #grief #seekhelp #selfcare #mentalhealthtips #mentalhealthblog #happiness #livelifetothefullest #livefree #psychology #counseling #counselingworks #counselingservices #pennsylvania #pittsburgh #philadelphiapa #harrisburgpa #pennsylvaniacounseling #pittsburghcounseling #irunformymentalhealth #irunthisbody #runyourworld #cranberrytwppa #wexfordpa #sevenfieldspa

This little exercise is one way to enhance self-esteem. It works by activating the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) part of the brain. The vmPFC is involved with self-awareness and coping. It activates when you think about yourself, such as when you contemplate the meaning of life or reflect on your experiences, goals, strengths, weaknesses, and plans. For example, with trauma, especially that occurs in childhood, can alter the vmPFC, leading to feelings of insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of clarity. People can try this exercise, Tap into Yourself, to improve their self-esteem: When you get stuck in self-defeating thoughts about a negative situation, use this exercise to bolster self-esteem. First, picture the distressing event in your mind, noticing what you tell yourself about it ("It's my fault," "I can't do this."). Next, identify what you want to think about yourself, making sure this thought is both true and less aversive ("I did my best," "I am strong."). - You can also write this statement down, so you can remember it in the future. Repeat this statement to yourself while imagining the event in your mind. As you do so, practice slow, rhythmic tapping on your legs or shoulders, tapping the right, and then the left with your hands, sequentially. Continue tapping for a few minutes. - From trauma expert, Dr. Jennifer Sweeton

Pictures from a 5 miler I did while Boulder Beast was going on. 🪨 You can see the gray area in the second and third picture towards the top of the mountain. That's the boulder field that runners got to navigate. I hear that it is tons of fun. #boulderbeast #rockslyvania #trailrunning #trailrunningcommunity #trailrunner #runpa

Boulder Beast 🪨 My husband, Stephen, participated in Boulder Beast and I hung out and went on an exploration run. Stephen said that it was one of the most fun races and courses that he has ever done. PA Trail Dogs puts on the best trail runner parties. We attended Hyner earlier this year and had a great time. He also said that it was very challenging and at one point during a grueling climb said that his legs were gone and he wondered when they'd come back. Relentless forward progress and grit. The course is 25 miles and has around 6,000 ft elevation gain. It features a boulder scramble around mile 6, that is about a mile long itself. After runners reach the top, they are rewarded with a gorgeous view. Big congrats to my husband and other friends who got out there! If you are looking for some fun trail race events, check out PA Trail Dogs and Rocksylvania events. There are some awesome things going on in the central PA trail running community. 🌲🪨🌲🪨🌲🪨 #boulderbeast #runpa #patrails #patraildogs #trailrunning #trailrunningcommunity #trailrunner #iloverunning #optoutside #lockhavenpa #ultrarunner #runmore #doepicshit #runstrong #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #runningmotivation #runrunrun #happyrunning #happyrunner #runnersofinstagram #ultratraining #ultrarunnersofinstagram

Go Guarded Safety for Runners Product Review I own the ring, personal alarm, and hand held with pepper spray. Head to the article to watch my product review and to read about each product. Go Guarded gives me confidence when I run. See if this is right for you. https://lnkd.in/gShkVnMy #finishstrongermindsetcoaching #goguarded #selfdefenseforwomen #selfdefenseforrunners #ultrarunnermentalhealth #trailandultra #trailrunner #motherrunner #runyourworld #happyrunner #happyrunning #ultrarunningmotivation #ultratraining #runtips #ultrarunningtips #runningmotivation #runningcommunity #trailrunningcommunity #runpa #stravarun #runstrong