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NYC Psychotherapist Blog

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Showing posts with label retreats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retreats. Show all posts

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions

Several years ago, a friend told me about her experiences in a week long meditation retreat that she participated in as a way to reconnect with her body, mind and spirit following a difficult time in her life.

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions

Although it was difficult to feel some of the feelings, by reconnecting with her inner world without distractions, her overall experience was that she rediscovered an internal source of peace, wisdom and strength that she had not experienced in many years.

Since ancient times, retreats have offered a way to get away from the responsibilities and distractions of every day life in order to heal mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Whether you go away to a retreat or you create a retreat experience for yourself through time alone in meditation, prayer or ritual, you can experience the benefits of reconnecting with your inner world (see my article:  Learning to Relax: Going on an Internal Retreat).

A World of Constant Distractions and Stress
I'm concerned that we have so many distractions, including cellphones, iPads, and video games, that many people have become disconnected from their own internal experience.

A World of Constant Distractions and Stress

Worse still, for people who became adults in this era of constant distractions, the idea of being awake without some form of distraction is foreign to them.  Not only are many of them uncomfortable with the experience of connecting to their inner world, but many of them seek to avoid it.

After a while, only relating to external stimuli can leave you feeling inauthentic, like an empty shell.

To  avoid feelings of emptiness, some people look for even stronger external stimuli to distract themselves.

The external stimuli could include alcohol abuse, drug abuse, compulsive gambling, sexual addiction, sexual affairs, spending too much time on the computer or watching TV and other compulsive habits (see my article:  Changing Coping Strategies That No Longer Work For You: Avoidance).

Taking Time For Yourself
If a retreat of week or even a few days feels like too much for you, you can start by taking just a few minutes each day to be silent without distractions.

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions

Even if you spend just a few minutes in the morning by yourself in silence, after a while, you will probably discover that it can be the most precious few minutes of your day (see my article:  Stress Management: Finding a Moment of Peace and Relaxation)

Other Ways to Reconnect With Your Inner World
  • Spending time in nature
  • Going for a walk
  • Swimming
  • Writing in a journal
  • Creative writing
  • Drawing
  • Writing poetry
  • Meditating
  • Praying
  • Practicing yoga
  • Reading an inspiring story, a memoir or poetry
  • Listening to music
  • Stargazing
  • Whatever feels inspiring and meaningful to you
A Transitional Time:  Taking Time to Quiet Your Mind Before Your Therapy Session
My reception area has a sign that asks people to be respectful of the people around them and the space by not talking on their cellphones.

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions:  Transitional Time

One of the reasons for this request is to help clients to be aware that they're in a transitional time before  their therapy session.  They've just come from the outside world with whatever was going on for them.  But now they have a chance to begin to quiet their minds before they come into the therapy session.

Reconnecting With Your Inner World Without Distractions in Therapy

For many people, their weekly therapy session might be the only time during the week when they reconnect and reflect on themselves in a meaningful way (see my article:  The Benefits of Therapy).

Getting Help in Therapy
For people who have been disconnected from themselves for a while, attempts to reconnect with their inner world can feel too difficult to do by themselves.

If you feel like your attempts haven't worked for you, rather than struggling alone, you could benefit from working with a licensed mental health professional who can help you to recapture your sense of self and feel more authentic.

By getting help in therapy, you could start leading a more authentic and fulfilling life.

About Me
I am a NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist who works with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website:  Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.










































Monday, October 8, 2012

Learning to Relax: Going on an Internal Retreat

Learning to Relax:  Going on an Internal Retreat

Taking time to yourself to relax is an important part of self care, especially for people who spend most of their time taking care of others.  Generally, when we think of retreats, we think of going away somewhere to get away from everything.  

Places like Omega in Rhinebeck, NY or Kripalu in Lenox, MA offer retreats for people who want to relax and get away from it all for a day, a weekend or longer.   

But there are times when we can't get a way to a spa or a weekend retreat.  So, can we get some of the benefits of going on a retreat without actually going anywhere?

What is a "retreat"?
Let's first look at the definition of the word "retreat."

Here are some common definitions:

     "a place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet"

     "move away, as for privacy"

     "hideaway: an area where you can be alone"


Going on an Internal Retreat


An Internal Retreat:  Relaxation, Peace, Calm

Notice that in these particular definitions above it says nothing about having to book a spa weekend or a yoga or spiritual retreat. The emphasis is on moving away and finding privacy to find peace and quiet.

So while a retreat can be an external place, more importantly, it's a calm internal place that you go to in your mind when you have quiet and privacy to enter into that part of your internal world.

It's so important to your personal well being to have a time and place where you can retreat into your internal world and relax for at least a few minutes. Most people know this, but it's so easy forget.

Internal Retreat:  Taking a Few Minutes to Yourself to Relax

When you have privacy and some quiet time, an internal retreat can be as little as 5 or 10 minutes of just focusing on your breathing. Often, it's a matter of developing this habit and making it a regular part of your normal day. The benefits to your overall health and well being can be tremendous.

We can learn a lot from our pets, who know how to relax at just about any time and place.

Our Pets Can Teach Us a Lot About How to Relax


If you do get a chance to go out into nature, even if it's just for a short time, you can feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist.   I work with individual adults and couples.  

I help clients in my psychotherapy practice to learn self care and how to relax in their everyday lives.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Also, see my articles on Mindfulness Meditation and Solitude vs Loneliness.


Photo Credits:  Photo Pin

Monday, October 26, 2009

Stress Management: Finding Moments of Peace and Relaxation

It seems that, for many of us, finding a moment of peace and relaxation is becoming more and more of a challenge.

Stress Management: Finding Moments of Peace and Relaxation

With so many people multi-tasking, answering their cell phones while they're also sending out email, watching their computer screens at the same time that they're watching the news on TV, rushing from one place to another, finding a moment of peace and relaxation often takes a backseat to just about everything else and the typical response is, "I just don't have the time."

Taking A Few Minutes to Relax and Unwind
What we sometimes forget is that it often only takes a few minutes to unwind and relax. We can take an internal mini-retreat from our hectic day by finding a quiet place, taking a few deep breaths, closing our eyes for a minute or two and picture ourselves in a calm, relaxing place.

Stress Management: Finding Moments of Peace and Relaxation

In our mind's eye, we can go on a mini-vacation to any peaceful place that we choose to get away from the stress and strain of the day. As you breathe and picture this calm, relaxing place, allow your muscles to soften and relax. This short meditation can help refresh you for the rest of the day.

Taking just those few minutes to relax can make such a difference. When we return from our internal mini-retreat, we often feel refreshed and better able to tackle whatever stressors life throws our way.

It's important to have your own personal strategies for stress management that work for you. It can make such a big difference in your physical as well as emotional health and well-being.

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist. 

I have helped many clients to learn to relax, create and develop their own stress management strategies that work for them.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.