Tag: technology

Seeing Life Differently: Never Take Life or Your Vision for Granted

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Life is complex for most people. If you are fortunate and grateful to reach my age you never take life or anything for granted. You live, truly live life to the best of your ability.

Seeing Change as an Adventure

When I first started having vision issues, I felt like I was stumbling through a foggy maze. It was scary, frustrating, and honestly, pretty overwhelming. I remember coming back from the ophthalmologist and thinking if I eventually need a seeing-eye dog, so be it. The reality of that is something different.

Over time, I realized that this new chapter wasn’t the end of my story—it was just a plot twist. Embracing change is what I attempt to do on a daily basis. I have keratoconus – specifically pellucid marginal degeneration. I also have herpes eye disease , and cataracts and have had posterior vitreous detachments in both eyes (very common in those of us past 60 years of age).

I wear sclerals which have been life-changing for me, glasses do not work anymore (except for readers). I will eventually need a corneal transplant, but for now, if the eye herpes stays at bay my corneas will be ok.

What Has Helped Me

I have always had an optimistic mindset, so that has helped tremendously, but connecting with others who also have the same eye condition has really helped. I belong to an online support group for keratoconus and have a good friend with the exact same eye condition. You are not alone. It seems there is a support group for almost every condition out there. Of course, having a great optometrist and an ophthalmologist helps. I am fortunate to have both of those.

Be My Eyes  Be My AI

If you haven’t heard of it, the BE MY EYES app, Be My AI is a must.

As an optimist, I am hopeful that technology will help us live our best life. 

Who knows what is next? We live in a different world than we did ten years ago. Hope is what keeps me going every day. If you know of any great resources that can assist people who are blind or have low vision feel free to share them.

Lean on Your People

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to go through this journey alone. Seriously, reach out to your friends, your family, and those who get you. As a psychologist, I know it is a strength to reach out. We all need support at some time in our lives.

It’s amazing how much love and support you’ll find when you let people in.

Finding Silver Linings

Okay, let’s keep it real. Losing your sight sucks. There’s no sugarcoating it. But you know what? Even in the darkest moments, there’s a flicker of light. Maybe it’s finally learning to slow down and savor life’s simple pleasures. Or discovering a newfound appreciation for the beauty of sound, touch, and smell. It’s all about finding those silver linings and holding onto them for dear life. Sometimes it’s easier said than done, but if you take each day and savour as many moments as possible, it makes life easier.

Losing your sight might feel like the end of the world for you, and no one truly understands unless they have been through it in some form or another, but trust me, you can cope and live a fulfilling life no matter what life throws at you.

I am so grateful that I wake up each day and can embrace the good around me and hope you too can connect with others that help make life better. 

So as you navigate the twists and turns of life, seize as many moments as possible, love those around you, spend as much time with friends and family that lift you up as you can and never take your life or your vision for granted.

School Counselling Technology Collaboration and Making A Difference

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I am grateful to work for a district that supports School Counsellors and School Counselling . Today I get the honour of presenting to my colleagues who make a difference every day. Thanks for all you do! You can find the link to my slide deck here.

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make

Canva is an amazing tool for School Counsellors. You are often the one to help organizes special events, make posters that are relevant to School Counselling , share ideas etc. Canva can help you create all the resources you need.

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make (1)

Twitter is one of the best resources there is for School Counsellors . You can connect with and share resources with other School Counsellors worldwide. Access is immediate and you never know what great connections you can make that help you be better at what you do.  You can follow the ATA of School Counsellors and the president of the Council @ehordyskiluong. Check out #scchat here . 

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make (2)

Teacher Pay Teachers is an inexpensive wonderful resource for School Counsellors. I did not always support this resource as I felt educators needed to share freely, but now I understand what hard work goes into making these resources and really they are very inexpensive for the work being done. School Counsellors why reinvent the wheel when it is already invented? Check it out on TPT .

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make (3)

Haiku Deck : This is and always has been my favourite app to use for so many reasons. School Counsellors Put A Positive Spin On Your Day .School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make (4)

APPS:  There are so many apps that can make a School Counsellors life easier. Here are just a few.

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make (5)

 

RESOURCES: There are so many great resources and people are the best resource so get connected and share share share.  School Counsellor Online Professional Exchange is a resource that you won’t want to miss thanks @ecmmason for creating it! SCOPE 

School Counselling and Technology Collaboration the difference you can make

Check out :

Bridget Helms on pinterest .

Carol Miller on pinterest .

Susan Spellman Cann on pinterest.

Other School Counsellors on pinterest.

More resources on pinterest.

Blogging: There are so many fantastic School Counsellor Blogs. Each one is different ,but most have tips and resources you can use tomorrow. Creating your own blog can help other School Counsellors and students

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Instilling an Insatiable Desire to Learn : How Do We Help Students Self- Regulate When It Comes To Their Cell Phone Use?

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pexels-photo-994870.jpegHow do we instill an insatiable desire to learn and live life to the fullest while teaching students to self regulate when it comes to cell phone use?
Self – regulation is the process that the brain goes through that gives us the ability to control our behaviors and emotions in response to a particular situation. It’s having the skill to calm ourselves down when upset or in distress.

In this day and age all of us need to monitor how and why we use our cell phones. According to Dr. Stuart Shanker self -regulation is as much about regulating positive emotions as it is about down regulating negative emotions . Only when we are regulated can we self – regulate.

As adults we need to model self – regulation. There are several ways we attempt to soothe ourselves. some good , some not so good. The coping skills we use can help us or hurt us. If we want to help others then we need to model positive cell phone use and be able to share with others what we do and how we do it.

Self–evaluation is pivotal.  Evaluate your thoughts , feelings and actions when it comes to your cell phone use

• Be open … ask yourself is my cell phone use helping or hurting me or others?

Ask yourself …

  • Does my cell phone use lift me up or tear me down?
  • Is there ways to change my use of my cell phone so that I can feel better about myself?
  • Am I on my phone too much ? Do others notice and think I should change?
  •  Is using my cell phone too much stressing me out? If so how can I restore my energy? What do I need to do differently?
  • Am I getting enough sleep , exercise , and nutrition ? Acknowledge what you need to do to change.
  • Do I have a positive self –esteem? Am I using my phone because I know it will help me or hurt me?
  • Are my relationships in tact? Do I find many opportunities to connect F2F?
  • Am I more anxious , happy or sad because of my cell phone use?
  • Do I really need to use your phone right now or can it wait till later?
  • Am I on track with what I need to do or is my cell phone just a distraction for me right now?
  • Am I being mindful of what I really need to do ? Am I prioritizing what is truly important in my life or am I using my cell phone as an escape?

How to self – regulate when it comes to phone use:
• Try asking your friends and family for tips. What works for them?

pexels-photo-89955.jpeg

Try some of these tips.
• Keep phone on vibrate instead of listening to the constant ping of the phone. I have my phone on vibrate 99% of the time.
• Turn phone face down when not using it so you don’t look at it all the time.
• Put your phone somewhere not easily available when eating meals or at times that you know you need a break.
• Set times that you will use your phone and times you won’t ( I make it my rule that I never take my phone out while eating a meal or talking with someone) .
• Get involved … have a number of interests. It’s hard to use your cell phone while playing hockey or dancing or singing or a zillion of the other great things you can get involved in.
• Put your phone away at night and use an alarm clock instead so you can get a good nights sleep away from your phone.

Use Self- talk
• I do not need to be on my cell phone right now, it is not helpful.
• I can wait till later to use my cell phone because I need to be present to what is happening right now in this moment.
• I am proud of myself and the positive ways I use my cell phone

Journalling

pexels-photo-955452.jpeg • If cell phone use has become a concern  … journal what is happening for you.
• Journal all the positive ways you use your cell phone.

Meta moment
• Do you pause between being triggered and responding by being on your phone? Ask yourself is connecting leading to you feeling happy, sad, validated or invalidated, included or excluded?
• Ask yourself : How can I feel connected and close to others ? Is online the best way to do this at this time?

Positive Coping Strategies
• Make a list of yours and share it with your family and friends.

Stages of Change
• Ask yourself and be honest What stage of change am I in ? Ask yourself what is holding me back or moving me forward when it comes to my cell phone use ?
• Ask yourself … do I need help to get to where I want to go? If so your School Counsellor, Psychologist or a therapist can help you.

Reach Out
• To friends, teachers, your family, a School Counsellor . We all need a little support in order to self – regulate when it comes to our cell phone use. It is a strength to ask for help.

Maybe you need a little digital detox . It is more than ok to take a break from your phone. You decide what works best for you now that you have taken an honest look at yourself.

woman-happiness-sunrise-silhouette-40192.jpegOnce you have learned ways to help yourself , you maybe able to assist others with their technology use as well. Recognize that you are not perfect and will need to self evaluate often … I know I do.

So grow, learn and live the best possible life you can recognizing that technology has the power to help you or hurt you. What you do is up to you. I love my phone and I’m sure you do too. So let’s see if we can self-regulate to make ourselves and the world a better place. Maybe someday we’ll meet face to face and talk about how we did.