Reaffirmation

My apologies for not posting recently. I guess life caught up with me a bit the last few weeks and I didn't get to the blog. I'll try my best to not let it happen routinely!

This last week was rare in that I didn't have a ton of people to see at the end of the month, so I could take my time with each client I did see. One client in particular was especially enjoyable. She's one of those people who is either in a great mood or extremely anxious. She was in a good mood that day, but had been pretty anxious most of this week. We talked a lot about how she could cope when she is anxious and she stated that she will close her eyes, pray, and then sing silently to herself. I asked her what she sings and she stated that she sings old hymns. That lead to a nice time of reminiscing and discussion of her faith. She spoke of times when her faith has helped her cope with other things in her life. She was really talking a lot, which was fun for her and gave me a lot of good information.

I finally got into the music portion of our session by suggesting that we sing some songs that she can easily recall when she gets anxious again. She thought that was a good idea and I played and sang hymns with her that recalled portions of our conversation. "Nearer My God to Thee", "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", and "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" were some of her favorites that we identified as some that she could use and enjoy. While I sang, she stared at a picture of Jesus praying very intently. It was quite touching to see.

I guess the main thing I took from this session is just an affirmation of something I think we all know on some level. Regardless of faith or religion, our spiritual well-being is drastically tied to our sense of quality of life. Take some time this week to explore more how your beliefs affect your current sense of well-being and how you can take care of yourself spiritually today. It may mean praying, reading, taking a walk, talking with a friend, or just sitting quietly for a while. Whatever it means for you, take care of yourself this week!