Micro Dosing Hope

Dive into a world where small doses of hope create monumental shifts in our mental wellness landscape. Join Randi Owsley, LMSW, and Jessica Bullwinkle, LMFT, we tap into their combined 22 years of insight in women's mental health to uncover micro dosing hope, daily practices to nurture hope, and strategies for emotional healing. Let’s embark on this journey together, because your light of hope is brighter and more resilient than you ever imagined.

We understand that the weight of despair can feel like a shadow that dims even the brightest of days. But let's remind ourselves that within us lies an unwavering strength—a resilience that is ignited by even the tiniest sparks of hope. Our latest episode is an enlightening resource, a guide crafted just for you. It's designed to teach you how to use those delicate pinpricks of light—small doses of hope—to dispel the darkness of despair. This is a moment to gather tools that can infuse micro-hope into your everyday life, nurturing a healing process that grows with you. Discover women finding hope mental health support, and join a community where tiny hope sparks in women's therapy can illuminate a path forward. Because here, we believe that empowerment starts with recognizing the power of small hopes guiding us back to ourselves.

We understand that it's not always about the grand gestures but about infusing micro-hope into our everyday lives, making room for those small yet significant victories over despair. Together, we'll delve into nurturing the hope in our souls, designing our discussions to be as hope-centric as possible because mental wellness for women can—and should—be infused with optimism. It's about creating a space where hope isn't just a concept, but a practice. So, join us as we embrace this journey, empowering each other with knowledge, understanding, and, most importantly, hope.

FAQs
What is microdosing hope?
How can microdosing hope impact mental health?
Can micro-dosing hope help with anxiety and depression?
What are some examples of microdosing hope?
How do I start micro-dosing hope?
Is there anyone who shouldn't try microdosing hope?
How long does it take to see the effects of microdosing hope?
Can I microdose hope if I'm already in therapy or on medication for mental health?
What if I struggle to find hope?
Where can I find more resources on micro-dosing hope?

#hope #ProtectYourPeaceNow #EmotionalWellnessMatters #FindYourInnerCalm #PrioritizeYourMentalHealth #HealthyBoundariesHappierLife #StressManagementStrategies #AnxietyReliefTips #microdosinghope

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Transcript

Randi: 0:14

Welcome back to the women's mental health podcast. I'm randy. I'm And I'm Jess. And we are two licensed psychotherapists, and this is a safe space where we talk about mental health, well being, and strategies for coping with life's challenges. And how all of this is normal, and you are not alone. Today we're diving into a topic that's all about finding hope in small manageable ways. Something we're calling micro dosing hope.

Jess: 0:39

Sometimes life feels so overwhelming, and right now that's what I'm really hearing a lot of, is that it's so overwhelming and bleak. and so when we face these moments, it's really hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel. That there's gonna be a better day without it being false or toxic. So we really want to explore how these small, intentional doses of hope can make a big difference in our mental health.

Randi: 1:04

Whether you're going through a tough time right now, or just looking for a way to stay uplifted in your day to day life, we're going to break it down and talk about that. You can find us and more on our website womensmentalhealthpodcast. com So have you ever had these thoughts? What is microdosing hope?

Jess: 1:25

How can microdosing hope impact mental health?

Randi: 1:28

Can microdosing hope help with anxiety and depression?

Jess: 1:31

What are some examples of microdosing hope? How do I start microdosing hope? We're going to say microdosing so many times here that we're going to like MD. How long does it take to see the effects of microdosing hope?

Randi: 1:43

Can I microdose hope if I'm already in therapy or on medication for my mental health?

Jess: 1:49

Who isn't on medication right now? I swear to God. Alright, what if I struggle to find hope at all? That's my microdosing

Randi: 1:55

hope. Popping a pill. Where can I find more resources on microdosing hope?

Jess: 2:04

The reason we're bringing up microdosing hope is because earlier this week, Brene Brown sent off this statement. It was how she was feeling and it has exploded. It really struck me because I was sitting there in the garage and I was like, How am I going to go into work and help my clients this week when in some ways I was feeling hopeless with some of the things going on in the world? I felt totally

Randi: 2:30

like

Jess: 2:30

in despair. Yes, exactly. And so I'm going to read you what she posted because it was so good. And I think I have read it to every single person I've worked with this week and they've all been like, that's totally it. That's it. So despair is a claustrophobic feeling. It's an emotion that says nothing will ever change. It's different than anger or sadness or grief. Despair is tinged with hopelessness. People who subscribe to power over leadership. Often weaponized despair. They count on people giving up on themselves, their work, and each other. I get it. I'm looking at people I know with suspicion. I'm questioning the value of my work. I'm wondering if courage, kindness, and caring for each other simply don't matter anymore. I'm desperate for someone to blame because blame is an effective way to discharge pain. And it gives us a sense of counterfeit control. The research shows that hope is a powerful antidote to despair. What's interesting, however, is that hope is not an emotion. Hope is a cognitive behavioral process. It's about having a goal, a pathway to achieve that goal and a sense of agency, or I can do this. Right now the thing that is helping the most is micro dosing hope. I have no access to big hope right now. However, I'm asking myself, how can I support the people around me, the people on my team, in my community? How can I make sure that in this maelstrom of emotions, I stay committed to courage, kindness, and caring for others regardless of the choices made by others? Doing the smallest next right thing is hard as fuck. But sometimes that's all we got. That was a really, really powerful statement. I have seen it so many times just this last week.

Randi: 4:21

Well, and I feel that's so true. We're all like in a state of questioning why right now and wanting to blame, feeling despair. Angry. Angry, feeling hopelessness. But I love that she said. Because I feel this. Hope is not an emotion. Hope is a cognitive behavioral process. So we do have control over that. Yes. We do have the agency to choose if we want to be hopeful in a time that feels so oppressive and feels so hopeless in a way. We can choose to step out of that. We can Make that path. We can make those goals. We can achieve them even while feeling that we can't. We can. Nobody can take that hope away from us.

Jess: 5:20

Exactly. And so that's why when she was talking about microdosing hope, I was like, I can get behind that because I can find little bits of hope. I can have little bits of pieces of hope that we can do. So we wanted to bring this to you guys as well, because it just, it was such a big theme this week.

Randi: 5:39

Well, like she said, I have no room for big hope. Like it just seems too far fesh. Far fetched to hope for something so enormous, but that we can't hope for Tiny, tiny pocketfuls of hope that seems doable.

Jess: 5:57

Exactly. So hope, when we talk about microdosing hope, what we're doing is we're taking small, consistent amounts of something to create a positive effect. And that's what's really cool. What we're talking about doing is being intentional with these tiny moments or actions or thoughts. Something that we can have optimism or joy with. Just these little pieces and looking for them. Like I'm holding my hand up like this little teeny tiny And I'm thinking like a little

Randi: 6:25

small puzzle piece. Yes, just a little piece. That we can eventually piece together for something bigger, but right now all we have is these few little pieces.

Jess: 6:34

Right. It's not about making these huge life changing leaps. It's not, it's, it's about taking something small and steady steps that we can build hope over time.

Randi: 6:47

You can think of it as planting a seed. And each small act of hope or seed might not seem like much on its own, but over time they'll grow into something meaningful and sustainable. That makes me think of, what is that, like the Shel Silverstein story, The Giving Tree? Where it's but it's skip that. Anyways, my thoughts got lost on that. But when you can plant something and eventually That seed will grow and then we can see it, but it might take time. It might take a few seasons. It might take, rainstorms. It might take snowstorms. It might take a blizzard. It might take an apocalypse, but eventually it's gonna come back and something beautiful will grow from that rubble.

Jess: 7:31

So I was watching a reel this morning because I didn't want to get out of bed and it was about this fit Fam, something or other, right? This fit, this woman who works, who lives on a farm and teaches fitness. And she was showing a picture of her boys, like an eight year old and 11 year old driving these crop things. They're literally like monitoring and driving these gigantic, probably million dollar things. And I was laughing cause I was like, wow. I'm afraid of my kid getting into my Subaru,

Randi: 7:59

right? And here, here they're doing farming equipment,

Jess: 8:02

farming equipment and stuff. Yeah. But what she was saying was that, farmers, what they do is they hope. And I was like, wow, this concept right now. They hope they, they borrow the money to buy these, these tractors. They borrow the money. To get the crops they borrow the money to buy the land then they go out and they plant the land And then they hope it's going to rain They hope they're going to have a good harvest so that they can go and pay back their bills and she says farmers are the The most hopeful gamblers that there is and I was like,

Randi: 8:37

wow, okay So it's not a new concept. No to plant these seeds and hope a microdosing is not a new concept, but it's You know It's gaining traction because we need something to hold on to and be hopeful for and I feel a lot of times Our hope can get drowned out in the world with especially with like social media and the news and it's so much coming yeah, and it's just so much negativity that we need to flip the script and think about this and is rooted in Positive psychology, Which emphasizes the importance of focusing on strength, gratitude, and resilience.

Jess: 9:17

Oh, we should do another one on gratitude. That would be a great one, too. It does and it talks about, when we have hope, it's really being mindful and staying present with where we are and instead of focusing on this big picture of what I want to do in 10 years, it's focusing on the here and now and being hopeful.

Randi: 9:38

Yeah, so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Jess: 9:40

Exactly. And so when we can use this. I think as women, it's going to help us because we have so much going on, especially right now in this season.

Randi: 9:50

Oh, you feel like you're out of control, especially as a woman.

Jess: 9:54

Exactly. And so I have to have some hope because these small doses of hope are going to reduce my stress and my anxiety. I think it's going to improve our moods. Is what I'm hoping because a lot of people have just really hunkered down the last couple of weeks and just not been very hopeful. So that's what we would like to give to you guys is Some steps to get to this

Randi: 10:18

part. So let's talk about how this really affects us as women and our mental health specifically. So here are some practical ideas of how you can start microdosing hope. The first is gratitude practices. So write down one thing you're grateful for every day, and this is interesting before even all of this I had started a bullet journal for just tracking my brain dumps, journaling but I was like I can do a bullet journal where it's just like one sentence a day, and I also made a page for one sentence a day for my gratitude, so I had already done this and so this was good because I could look back The past couple of weeks since i've started this and be like, okay There are things that I am grateful for that. I am hopeful for these things don't have to be big Just something that you appreciated that happened in your day It can just be that you had a hot cup of coffee or the perfect I see latte, whatever it is, just focus on that one thing and write it down.

Jess: 11:21

I did get pretty excited over a cup of tea yesterday. I was

Randi: 11:24

like, Oh, there's

Jess: 11:25

all my different choices

Randi: 11:26

at breakfast. But I have, and we had talked on a previous episode about micro dosing self care. And this was also way because I was like, I do do a lot of small things for myself. And sometimes I don't feel because like it's. big that's worthwhile. So with me and my bullet journal, I was writing down okay, took a hot bath, had coffee with a friend. And then I could look back and see I have been doing these little things that are getting me through.

Jess: 11:50

And the next one is, is what I love. It's the chunking idea. Set small achievable goals instead of these huge to do lists. Pick one small task to focus on and complete it. That way you're successful. You feel, okay, I'm hopeful. I got something off my list today, which is great.

Randi: 12:08

And because. no matter how small, it builds momentum. It does. It does. It builds momentum. Good job. Another one is surrounding yourself with positivity. This can mean following uplifting accounts on social media listening to your favorite music, watching a funny video, things that are positive and not negative. So you're filling your brain with those good endorphins and dopamine. Mm hmm.

Jess: 13:27

Yeah, exactly. And then the other thing is to really celebrate your tiny wins. Tiny wins are still wins. Did you get out of bed on a tough day? Did you brush

Randi: 13:36

your

Jess: 13:36

teeth?

Randi: 13:36

Oh, yeah, I took a shower today. Like, I mean, I celebrate when I'm like, yeah, I washed my hair and brushed it out today, right? Did you

Jess: 13:44

go for a 10 minute walk? I took the dogs on a walk yesterday, and they didn't kill each other. It was great. I loved it, and nobody fell, right? It was a good day.

Randi: 13:55

Another good thing is connecting with others, especially others that are a safe place for you. Reach out to a friend or family member, even if it's just a quick text. It can make all the difference. Human connection can be incredibly powerful and healing and helpful for restoring your hope.

Jess: 14:13

And I love how you said safe. That's a big one right there. Somebody who is safe because if they're not safe and they're going to drain you, those are the people that you have to just, when you're feeling

Randi: 14:23

despair or hopeless. My boundaries have been hardcore. Like lately I'm just like, yes or no, tell me. And then that's it. Because I need a safe space right now. I need a place, to heal. I need a place to find hope.

Jess: 14:36

Exactly. Exactly. Lastly is also to remember that self compassion is huge. It is such a huge part and so important. Because some days, microdosing hope might mean simply letting yourself rest and not feel guilty about it.

Randi: 14:52

And that's huge. That's huge. Not feeling guilty and not feeling shame and being kind to yourself because sometimes like in this world when it's so rough right now We need to be our own cheerleader. We need to be kind to ourselves. We need to be the hope for ourselves

Jess: 15:10

Exactly because most of us have littles that are watching us And so we need to figure that out so we can help them as well And if you don't have littles You have people around

Randi: 15:20

you that rely on you. Mm hmm. So now let's answer our have you ever question. So Jess, what is exactly microdosing hope? Let's break it down again.

Jess: 15:31

It's about recognizing the power of little moments and letting them guide you towards that bigger hope that we all wish we had right now.

Randi: 15:41

Changing your perspective, your perspective and your train of thought.

Jess: 15:45

Yeah. And changing your brain. Okay. How can microdosing hope impact mental health? Randy,

Randi: 15:53

when you are focusing on hope and positive things in your life, it can help reduce feelings of being overwhelmed of being mentally drained, it can help make things seem more manageable in your life. And over time, these little micro doses of hope can lead to your mood being improved. It can help you decrease the anxiety and worry you feel and give you a more resilient outlook on your life. Just can micro dosing help with anxiety and depression.

Jess: 16:24

Yes, while it's not a cure, I can't be like, Hey, I'm gonna go microdose some hope and not take my Xanax or anything else. It's a step in the right direction. Exactly. It is a valuable tool that you can put in your coping toolbox. And so we all need that toolbox that we can pull from when we need it. And it's going to encourage you to find and focus on small joys and small victories. That way it can counterbalance all the weight of the anxiety and depression and negativity in the world right now. All right. What are some examples of micro dosing? Hope

Randi: 16:59

it can look like taking a moment to breathe. for one to three minutes, deeply in and out. It can look like appreciating the sun on your skin. It can look like jotting down one thing you're grateful for each night before bed. It can look like sending a friendly or supportive text to a friend. It's all about these small actions that make you feel hope and spark something within you and others. Jess, how do I start microdosing hope?

Jess: 17:30

Makes me laugh. I keep thinking of like my microdosing

Randi: 17:33

mushrooms or something.

Jess: 17:34

No, I don't think that's, I don't think that's microdosing, is it? I thought microdosing, you just like a blotter on your tongue. Look at us. We don't know. I don't know. We don't actually know. I don't

Randi: 17:43

actually do drugs, so I can't, I couldn't tell you. Alright. But, whatever. Whatever that is, if it's one puff or a Or a lick of something? How about it?

Jess: 17:56

All right, but let's, but we can microdose hope. That one I'm okay doing. So first, let's begin by identifying the one small achievable action or thought that brings you to a sense of peace or joy. And then take that and put that into your daily routine. Every time you start your car, Every time you, get out of bed, put your, unlock your computer, whatever it is, find that and then gradually you're going to add more as you feel more comfortable. It's gonna come more naturally. Yeah, don't make it feel

Randi: 18:28

overwhelming like this huge list. Just like one thing at a time add in until it starts to become a habit.

Jess: 18:35

Exactly. And the goal is progress, not perfection. Perfection is not real. We've already said that. It's not attainable. Yeah, it's not real.

Randi: 18:42

Jess, is there anyone who shouldn't try microdosing help?

Jess: 18:45

I think anybody could microdose hope, but here's the thing. If you're struggling with your mental health, I want you to take this to your therapist, your provider, your doctor, whoever that is, because this is not a replacement for any kind of medication, any kind of mental health help that you may need. This is a tool to put in your coping box. And that's it. This is just a tool. It's one

Randi: 19:08

small piece of the overall puzzle of your mental health.

Jess: 19:12

Imagine like this is the wrench in your toolbox. You can't fix everything because sometimes you need a hammer. But it can help

Randi: 19:18

tweak a little things here and there but not always and sometimes you need all the tools in your toolbox or you need to go to the mechanic. Exactly. Exactly. So

Jess: 19:27

I think everyone can do this, but it is not a replacement. All right, so Randi, how long does it take to see the effects of microdosing hope?

Randi: 19:35

With everything in mental health in your life. The journey is different for everyone. There is no time frame on that. Some people might notice a shift in their outlook fairly quickly, while others it might take longer. The key is really just consistency and patience with yourself. And if it makes you happy, then that's all that really matters. If it's draining on you, try something else. Try something different.

Jess: 19:59

Yeah, just pick something else out of your toolbox. Mm hmm.

Randi: 20:02

So Jess, Can I microdose hope if I'm already in therapy or on medication for my mental health? This kind of pairs with

Jess: 20:08

yeah You

Randi: 20:08

know, it's a previous question about is there anyone who shouldn't microdose hope

Jess: 20:13

and I think that everybody can microdose Hope I feel that if you're in therapy fantastic takes you to your therapist Find some ways to do it. Again, it doesn't hurt

Randi: 20:21

to try something new to see if it works for you.

Jess: 20:24

Exactly. This is, again, just a tool for your toolbox. Randy, what if I struggle to find hope? That's a great one.

Randi: 20:31

And I feel like we're all feeling that right now. We're all struggling to find hope, which is why we wanted to talk about this, because we felt it was so heavy on our hearts, and we were struggling in wanting to Figure out what we could do to help ourselves and our clients, and our family and our friends Because it is so challenging Especially in times like this and especially when you are a woman and you feel like you have your back up against the wall If you're struggling to find that hope consider reaching out to support from friends your therapist families Because sometimes we need to come together like this on our podcast And have a collaborative effort together, because to know that you're not alone, sometimes that's the first step in taking action, is that when you're feeling hopeless, okay, I'm not the only one that's feeling this, it's okay to feel these feelings, and then what can I do about it?

Jess: 21:27

Mm hmm.

Randi: 21:27

I love that collaborative effort. Jess, where can I find more resources on Microdosing Hope?

Jess: 21:34

I want you to first go to our website, womensmentalhealthpodcast. com. I know Randy's gonna have a blog up there on this to give you some more options and more ideas. Again, this, originally, this concept not, didn't come from Brene, but this is what kind of started me down this path this last week. Go find some Brene Brown. I love her work. I love how Elegant she talks and how it just so vulnerable and so real you can find some of her stuff that works You know check out some different blogs check out some different, I already said

Randi: 22:06

our podcast Yeah books on positive psychology. I'll put a list up there for you guys We also have a ton of things like journaling prompts on our website ideas about how to work gratitude into your life and mindfulness We have a ton of resources on

Jess: 22:24

gratitude journal up on our Amazon. If you go look their names up on Amazon. Well,

Randi: 22:28

it's linked on our, on our website too, under our shop. We have our gratitude journals that we've made. We have gratitude journals for kids that we've put together. We have all sorts of resources listed on there too, of other books by other mental health professionals and stuff too. That we like and recommend. Yeah, that we recommend.

Jess: 22:46

Okay, so there you have it. Microdosing hope is all about finding those small, meaningful moments that keep us moving forward. And when we talk about microdosing, I'm sure half the people listening, this is not what they were thinking this was going to be about today.

Randi: 23:02

Well, whether you're finding hope through gratitude, small wins or connection around you, It doesn't have to be out of your reach. It's something we can all achieve one small step at a time.

Jess: 23:17

It doesn't have to be overwhelming at all. So thank you guys for joining us and listening to this episode of Women's Mental Health Podcast. Please share with a friend, leave us a review, send us a request. We actually do read all of your emails that come in and we love it. We do. We're like, it gives us

Randi: 23:35

hope. We get so excited every time we see a review or an email. We like screenshot email look, we got a new review. We got this. It gives us hope and that this is reaching the right people that need to hear this. And that we, cause this is a passion project for us and that. We are, helping your hearts from our hearts. And that means so much to us.

Jess: 23:59

It does. It means so much. So take care, go microdose your hope, some hope, any hope. And we'll see you guys next time.