In this issue
Introduction
Do you feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of your work and your family? Do you wish that you had someone who could not only understand your concerns but also help you resolve them? This newsletter will introduce you to that resource – your professional coach.
What is a Professional Coach? How does Coaching Work for You?
Coaches were originally employed within the business world as behind-the-scene mentors to help executives make difficult business decisions. They also serve as mentors for individuals in their personal lives. Their purpose is to help you solve problems that affect your work, your family and yourself.
For example, let’s say that mornings are very hectic and you leave your home tense and frustrated. By using various coaching techniques, a professional coach would help you get in touch with your feelings of frustration and understand what causes them. The coach would work with you to figure out a course of action to tackle the problem. Then you are held responsible to do the work. After the first goal is achieved, you can use the coaching process to address other conflicts until your overall life satisfaction is at its highest possible level. The action orientation and the accountability are what make coaching effective. Coaching yields results.
Is Coaching Just Another Form of Therapy?
Coaching is different from therapy. First of all, the coach does not spend time discussing the past. Coaching is present and future-oriented. Secondly, coaching does not require face-to-face meetings but may take place by telephone. Thirdly, the coach’s agenda is always to keep the client moving toward the client’s goals, as opposed to just discussing feelings. The coach reviews and modifies the goals with the client so that they are always consonant with the client’s stated values. Lastly, the client remains the one in charge, not the coach. The client is empowered to act while the coach supports and encourages from the sidelines. As one client stated, “A coach takes you by the hand to understand your weaknesses and find strengths you didn’t know you had.”
Your Moods, Part I
What is the difference between feelings and moods? Both words describe our emotions; the difference lies in how long they last. Feelings are transient; they are caused by the situation that you’re in and can change from one moment to the next. On the other hand,
moods can last for hours or days at a time. An uncomfortable feeling often goes away by itself, but a “bad mood” may need some effort to change. In this article, therefore, we will focus on moods and their causes. In the next issue we will discuss how we can change our moods.
What causes our moods?
Moods are caused by both our physical and psychological states. When you say, “I’m feeling good,” you may be describing good health and/or contentment. Likewise, “feeling bad” may describe a head cold or sadness. Teasing out the state of mind from the state of body is a complicated matter because one heavily influences the other.
Nevertheless, there are distinct physical causes to our moods. For example, hunger, low blood sugar levels, and sleep deprivation all cause changes in moods. The body’s energy level also causes changes in mood. Many people feel most energetic and consequently, most upbeat, in the late morning and early afternoon and least energetic in the late afternoon and evening.
On a neurological level, the amount and type of chemicals in the brain (called “neurotransmitters”) underlie many moods. Additionally, activity in different parts of the brain causes different mood states. Finally, hormonal changes are linked to our moods. These changes are most evident at specific stages in life such as adolescence, and for women, menarche and menopause.
It gets even more complicated. Seasonal changes affect moods. The amount of ultraviolet light present has been found to affect people’s moods. During winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight, some people suffer from SAD, or Seasonal Affective Depression. Also, certain illnesses can cause physiological changes that will affect mood states.
Psychological disorders also affect people’s moods. Depression causes a person to feel worthless and to lose interest or pleasure in everyday activities. Bipolar disorder includes the above symptoms alternating or mixed with feelings of inflated self-esteem, distractibility, and restlessness. Anxiety disorder causes generalized feelings of irritability and worry. These are just a few of the many examples of psychological problems that affect people’s moods nearly every day.
To Think About
• What has your mood been like in the past two weeks?
• What are some possible explanations for your mood?
To be continued in the next issue. |
