The recipe for staying TRUE to you: Living B.I.G.
How often do you go along for the ride, keep quiet, or commit to something you aren’t sure you want to do just because it is easier? If your answer is “occasionally”, this is completely okay especially when it is something you don’t totally despise doing or you can see the benefits of going along […]
Understanding Shame and Building Resilience to it
People pleasing, aggression and distancing ourselves from others may seem like very different behaviours when you compare them to one another but, they have one thing in common — they are the behaviours we engage in when we don’t want to feel the discomfort of shame. We don’t want to believe it but, we all […]
Something was missing in my childhood…was I emotionally neglected??
“I didn’t have it so bad, why do I feel this way” is a statement I hear often from the people I work with as a therapist. Just because you were provided for and received the “things” that other kids envied, doesn’t mean you grew up in an emotionally healthy environment. This too is often […]
Are you a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?
You may have been told you are “too sensitive” or you sense that you feel things more deeply than most of your friends and family members. You get overwhelmed easily and you aren’t sure why you can’t “handle” what other people can. If the following set of questions (adapted from Elaine Arron’s HSP self-test) ring […]
Challenging Your Inner Critic
We all have a voice inside our head that says harsh, critical, unloving statements. You know, the one that tells you, “You aren’t ready to do that”, “You can’t pull off wearing that outfit”, “You’re not good enough”. This voice becomes such a part of us that we don’t question its accuracy. We accept the […]
Helpful Tips for Supporting Your Anxious Child – Be Aware/Be There
Is your child…Chronically worried? Does he or she have more heightened worry during transition periods like the beginning of the school year?Often wondering “what if?”Struggling socially?Not bouncing back after setbacks?Isolating herself/himself, not expressing their feelings? These are all signs of anxiety, which can lead to feelings of powerlessness for both you and your child.As parents, we […]
Embracing our feelings, ALL of our feelings!!
As children, many of us were given the message that expressing difficult emotions, like sadness, disappointment and shame were signs of weakness. We were encouraged to “suck it up” or were told to “be strong, don’t cry” or even given words of advice that seemed helpful like, “don’t be sad, it’ll be okay”. So what’s […]
My Mindfulness A-HA moment – give it about 3 weeks!
I have a confession to make… I’m a psychotherapist who’s been working in the field for a bit now and I didn’t truly “get” mindfulness until fairly recently. I knew the concept and understood it in theory, I even extoled the virtues in group presentations and one-on-one therapy sessions. I did this by reviewing the […]
The Essential Parenting Puzzle Pieces – creating a happy home and raising confident successful children
As a parent, I know how challenging parenting can be. Each stage of child development comes with many rewards but, we all struggle along the way. There is no such thing as perfect parenting but if we set an intention to provide a foundation of LOVE and BELONGING and add in 5 other essential components, […]