We all find our own activities and rituals for comfort and renewal as helping or healthcare professionals. Some of my favourites are reading inspirational words/quotes, listening to music that makes me feel good (like the song below), walking in nature, being with the people I love, and writing in my journal. (See From the Pages of My Journal.)

Consider for a moment, your own activities and rituals for comfort and renewal. What helps you fill your emotional cup? What helps you reduce stress and relax?

The last activities in this course are designed to help you do just that in order to take some time for yourself to feel comforted and renewed. Enjoy! You will need your journal or notebook, and a pen ready for this exercise.

Part 1: Music for Comfort and Renewal

Please watch this YouTube Video. Simply sit back, take 5 minutes for yourself and enjoy listening to the song “Now” by Dave Carroll. (Feel welcome to choose one of your own favourite pieces of music to listen if you prefer something else.)

Embedded Video Player: Now by Dave Carroll

Part 2: Journaling for Comfort and Renewal

Journaling is a self‐care tool that you can use with intention, including for comfort and renewal, and also cultivating joy and hope. Here are a couple of journaling exercises to choose from…

Option 1: Benefit Writing Exercise

Think of a challenge you might be going through. It could be work-related or personal. Think of 3 good things (or benefits) – that could potentially come of this situation. Write about these 3 things for a minimum of 15 minutes. Describe them. How do these 3 good things make you feel, what inner strength are you coming into contact with through writing? Are you tapping into any increased feelings of optimism (a key characteristic of resiliency)? Just notice, without judgment, how it felt to focus on and write about 3 good things.

OR

Option 2: Journaling for Comfort

List 5 things that bring you a feeling of comfort (or joy, happiness, renewal; you can choose whatever positive feelings you want to focus on). Your list could include people, activities, things, etc. Now look at your list of 5 things, and pick 1 thing that brings you comfort (or joy, or happiness, or renewal, or whatever you choose to focus on). Journal about this one thing in as much detail as possible – noting all the aspects that bring you this feeling you are focusing on. Notice how you feel after you have completed your journaling time.

Please feel welcome to post 1) your journal entry (from Part 2 of Activity 4) OR 2) a portion of the journaling you did – a line or two OR 3) share what it was like to do this activity.

You are in complete choice with what you share! Offer your response in the Discussion Board.

Thank you.