BALANCE TECH
Soothing the Soul
SOLUTIONS Self-confidence is important for your mental health—but how can you improve it? The trait “enables a person to handle life’s challenges, trust their own judgment, [and] make good, solid decisions—which in turn allows for stability, success, and ultimately happiness,” explains Eve Scharf, a licensed psychotherapist in Naples. Low selfconfidence may be linked to life events such as trauma, abuse, loss, or even overprotectiveness. Scharf recommends therapy to help you understand the potential causes of low self-confidence and to make effective changes, but she also offers a few other tips. First, she recommends practicing positive thinking and self-talk. Studies back this up, with the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise finding that motivational self-talk improved self-confidence and reduced anxiety among young tennis players. Taking care of your mental, physical, and spiritual health is important as well, which Scharf says includes nurturing yourself and setting boundaries with others. Scharf also encourages you to find—and finish—a project you find exciting, whether it’s large or small. “Accomplishment creates self-confidence,” she notes. (evescharf.com) –E.K.
COURTESY OF DAWN ELLA/SOUL LINK
SELF-CONFIDENCE
After a life-changing accident 17 years ago that led to three days in a coma and a year in bed, Dawn Ella, CEO and founder of Naples-based wellness nonprofit Supernal World Creations, came out of the experience with the goal of helping heal people through meditation. Ella had already focused her career on understanding brain development and influencing the subconscious mind, inspired by the birth of her son several years before. Building on that, she started a business working with people to harmonize their soul and seek self-discovery. Still, she wanted to reach and heal people on a broader scale, which led Ella to create the Soul Link app. There are many meditation apps available, but Ella says this one is notable because it offers original healing sounds, immersive videos, and specific frequency waves to stimulate the brain. Users can combine each aspect in unique ways to create a personal meditation experience. Rather than a guided audio meditation, which Ella points out can introduce language barriers and may feel limited, you can choose audio and videos to match how you’re feeling, whether you want to relax on the beach or gaze at the snow. The app, which is accessed through a subscription but includes a free trial period, was recently released in November, and Ella hopes it will undergo clinical trials that document health benefits. In the meantime, she recommends using it with consistency for 21 days to start seeing improvements like stress relief and better sleep. She adds that it’s designed for anyone to use and benefit from, even if they have no previous meditation experience. “Connecting with your inner self is an endless journey,” she says. “If I’m using Soul Link to link you to your soul, then your work with it can be endless, depending on your desires.” (soul-link.org) —E.K.
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