Healing Self-Harm with Compassion
The phrase “self-harming behavior” may call up images of troubled teenagers with cuts on their arms. But self-injury can occur for people of any age, in children, adolescents and adults, whether male or female.
The ‘Water’ Moments of Healing
I thank God for my handicaps. For through them, I have found myself, my work and my God. — Helen Keller, Story of My Life I was sad to find out that the actor
The ‘Scary’ Part About Life After Trauma
Where do I begin? Who do I turn to? Where do I look? What now? These are often questions that linger around trauma. You see, facing the world after trauma can be pretty terrifying.
Resilience Can Be Learned
Ever look at someone and think to yourself, “How are you still alive?” Maybe that’s just me and the field I work in, but we all know someone who has been through hell. Someone
Why Is Gardening So Good For Our Mental Health and PTSD?
It seems that whenever I’ve had discussions with spiritually inclined individuals, it’s inevitable that someone makes a reference to being grounded or centered. Most people don’t question what this means, but somehow we all
Healing from Trauma? Use Training Wheels
I have decided that the only thing more difficult than having training wheels is not having training wheels. Feeling tippy is better than being stuck, or afraid to move. In my current place of
Actionable Steps To Conquer Overwhelm
It is possible to conquer that dreaded overwhelm. We can conquer it with the right tools and actions. In this blog, we’re going to look at how to conquer overwhelm, as well as how
Why Therapists and Therapy Can Be Helpful
I have always considered therapy a “gift” and the decision to work with a therapist a proactive sign of self-compassion and courage as well as a healthy statement about one’s desire to learn, grow,
Understanding Self-Harm
First, let's start with a clinical definition of self-harm so we can be on the same page. Self-harm (self-harm and self-injury are terms used interchangeably) is typically described as a way of hurting oneself
Transform Your Self Talk through Mindfulness & Emotional Self-Care
A beautiful outcome of mindfulness meditation is the opportunity to slow down and explore our relationship with our minds. We meditate to understand the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and experiences. This
Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder
I live with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Both are difficult disorders to live with and make life very complicated for both myself and my family. Through psychyotherapy
Mindfully Feeling like Sh*t
Sometimes, life hits us with an arrow and we feel like shit. We lose our job, a relationship ends, we get sick, someone close to us passes away, someone insults us at work. Sooner
Why External Validation is the Wrong Standard
When I was about three years old, my father taught me how to swim. He brought me into the pool, had me hold onto the edge in the shallow end, and then walked about
Finding You Again After A Bad Break-Up
This was the week of talking to people who have just gotten out of bad relationships. It is such an excruciating process, isn’t it? Particularly if it was not a “we just grew apart”
How to Take a Nap: 16 Tips to Help You Benefit from Napping
If you are like most people, you are probably not getting enough sleep at night. So, what can you do to stop yourself from being a zombie during the day? Take a nap, of
Trauma: Disconnect Between My Brain and My Body
Part of the experience of a traumatic event is a disconnect between the brain and the body. This disconnect or dissociation can become established as a pattern that continues to happen occasionally in response
Trauma and Addiction
Trauma is statistically underreported, not talked about enough, and, as anyone working on the addiction field will tell you, it’s everywhere. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We often associate the disorder with
Why Asking For Help Is Hard To Do
Despite the fact that we’ve come a long way in our culture regarding the de-stigmatization of therapy, it still seems as if reaching out and asking for professional help is the last option for
Imagine being loved anyway
I am so tired of people lecturing about trust. About how it is the basis of relationships and what ‘3 things’ lead to trust. I’m tired of it because it is all too simplistic.
6 Questions to Ask When a Loved One is Angry at You
It’s one of the worst feelings in the world: You hurt the feelings of someone you care about and you have no idea how to make it better. Maybe your stress level was running
How to Trust in a Healing Relationship as a Trauma Survivor
It’s good, healthy and human to want love and seek it out. We live longer, healthier lives when we feel close to someone safe. Some people feel painfully disconnected, and long to open up
Introduction to Mindfulness
I am often reminded that as a Psychologist, I take a lot of my knowledge as “common knowledge” and forget that many not trained in psychotherapy may not know the meaning of some of
A Mindful Step in Healing from Abuse
I was somewhere in South America, traveling on a bright yellow bus, staring out the window lost in thought. What was I doing all by myself on this bus, on this continent, where I
How to Find a Good Therapist
People seek therapy to get help making an important personal change, by their choice or urged by loved ones. Maybe you are being proactive and preparing for a happy event such as a wedding
7 Key Nutrient Deficiencies Linked to Mental Health Issues
I’d been studying for a doctorate in psychology for four years before I had any idea that nutritional deficiencies could cause mental health symptoms. I wasn’t enlightened by a lecture or a clinical supervisor