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self-care

Taking A Time-Out

Taking A Time-Out

Whether it be with our partners, friends, family or a stranger in a grocery store, disagreements, arguments and conflict can happen. They are a normal part of our relationships and even the healthiest of relationships experience them. However, just because everyone experiences them, does not make them any easier to deal with. In fact, in the heat of the moment, even the smallest of disagreements can feel like they begin to spiral out of control and end up turning into a much bigger problem. To navigate these disagreements, there are some strategies we can use to reduce the intensity of the disagreement and possibly even end it in a better place than it began. Although it “takes two to tango”, just one person changing their behavior and responses in a disagreement can change the course of the conversation.

Forget New Year’s Resolutions- Focus on Self Care Instead!

Forget New Year’s Resolutions- Focus on Self Care Instead!

The holidays are now over & it’s time to assess the past year- Are you working too much? Are you feeling fatigued & stressed on a regular basis? Are you isolated & withdrawn from friends/family? Are you experiencing a low mood or poor sleep? Are you having difficulty concentrating or feeling unmotivated?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be experiencing burnout.

Taking Care of You: Maintaining and Establishing a Positive Relationship with Yourself

Taking Care of You: Maintaining and Establishing a Positive Relationship with Yourself

One of the most important relationships that make up your life is the relationship that you have with yourself. The way that you treat yourself, talk to yourself, or even follow through on promises you’ve made to yourself can impact your overall mental health and wellbeing. It is easy to fall into a cycle of pleasing others and seeking external validation, however, this takes away from your ability to trust or even love yourself. The relationship you have with yourself also directly impacts the way in which you connect with others.

Take a Break!: Tips on taking a mental reset after a stressful day

Take a Break!: Tips on taking a mental reset after a stressful day

After a stressful day it can be difficult to turn off our negative thoughts and feelings. It can be easy to bring stress home after a long day at work, an argument with a friend, or whatever it may be that brought you down. It is important to take care of yourself after a stressful day by checking in with yourself and allowing a mental reset. Taking a mental reset can help in better managing your stress and not allowing it to continue the remainder of the day into the next. The following are ten tips and strategies you can use to help unwind after a stressful day:

Care in 2022: Self-Care Techniques As We Grow and Learn

Care in 2022: Self-Care Techniques As We Grow and Learn

We hear the term self-care often. With many stressors in our personal lives and around the world, impacting all of us, the idea of self-care is even more prominent as the world changes and shifts. You have probably heard about many strategies to cope, such as: taking a walk, taking a nap, writing down positive thoughts and others. Let’s explore additional self-care strategies you might try.

Navigating Therapeutic Support: Strategies to Support Growth Between Sessions

Navigating Therapeutic Support: Strategies to Support Growth Between Sessions

During a therapy session you have the space to talk about your emotions and stressors, confront your problems, and be provided with helpful feedback to support positive changes. The time spent in a therapy session can feel empowering, but this is only a small portion of your week. There are 168 hours in a week, less than one of those hours are spent in therapy. A common misconception is that attending your weekly therapy sessions is all that is needed, but the time in between therapy sessions also holds an important space to continue to progress. So the real question is, what do you do in the time in between therapy sessions? While there is not an exact science or formula that is guaranteed to work, the following are helpful tips and ideas to help you in between sessions.

Coping for All Occasions: Why a Self-Care Tool Kit Is Crucial

Coping for All Occasions: Why a Self-Care Tool Kit Is Crucial

We know we all need to engage in self-care. It makes us feel good, it helps us destress, and we know that there are long-term benefits for our mental and physical health. However, in difficult moments, it’s often difficult for our brains to remember all the self-care activities we know as our nervous systems take over and attempt to fight or flee. Thus, developing a self-care toolkit for any moment can be helpful. By having these on hand, you can use them anytime you feel stress or need something to help you regroup.

Morning Routine and Mental Health: The Importance of Starting Your Day On a Positive Note

Morning Routine and Mental Health: The Importance of Starting Your Day On a Positive Note

Starting your day off focused on things you enjoy, and what you want to achieve, can reduce the stress that can sometimes occur first thing. Aim to spend a few moments each morning focused on what you want your day to look like. Imagining a positive outcome can assist in this actually occurring. So aim to start your day considering what you are looking forward to and practicing self-care first thing.

Exercise & Depression: Let’s Get Physiological, Psychological

Exercise & Depression: Let’s Get Physiological, Psychological

Most of us are familiar with the groans that accompany waking up for that 6 AM workout or hustling to get in some cardio on a lunch break. Not necessarily the rush (of endorphins) we’re seeking, right? Nevertheless, we all know that exercise is beneficial towards physical and emotional well-being, and the research backs it up. Mammen and Faulkner (2013) found that there is a relationship between consistently exercising and overall improvements in mental health functioning. They discussed that when you exercise, the neurotransmitters released boost your mood. So, even when feeling down, a workout can help lift you up!

Using Self-Compassion To Be Your Best Friend

Using Self-Compassion To Be Your Best Friend

Our relationship with ourselves is often at the core of other challenges such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or difficulties in relationships. How do we shift to seeing ourselves and treating ourselves the same way we treat others? If we can learn to be our own friends and practice self-compassion, we can boost our spirits and alleviate some of the struggles leading to that increased critical voice.

Valentine’s Day: Managing Feelings of Love, Longing, and Loneliness

Valentine’s Day: Managing Feelings of Love, Longing, and Loneliness

Often when we think of Valentine’s Day we think about hearts, love, gifts, and planning. For many who struggle with anxiety or worry thoughts, Valentine’s Day can be full of worries around disappointing someone else. Worries around being alone and your future relationships can also come to mind if you do not have a partner. For those struggling with depression, cynical thoughts around the unworthiness of finding love, cynical thoughts around the commercialization of the holiday, or hopelessness around finding a partner may occur. With so many thoughts like these, it is likely that Valentine’s Day can be difficult for many!

Ten Ways to Show Yourself All The Love on Valentine’s Day

Ten Ways to Show Yourself All The Love on Valentine’s Day

Whether you're in a relationship or not, focusing on self-love and kindness is crucial in order to support and love others as well. Often when we are single during Valentine’s Day we can feel frustrated with extravagant gifts, or feeling we have to buy presents. While we may have varying opinions on Valentine’s Day, we know it’s celebrated so why not take advantage of it and celebrate you?

New Years Resolutions for Your Mental Health

New Years Resolutions for Your Mental Health

While many of us cannot wait for 2020 to end and feel 2021 will be better no matter what, there may still be some individual resolutions we can all consider, not only for our physical health but our mental health as well. Research has shown that there are certain strategies that improve mood and reduce the risk for mental health concerns. The ten strategies below are simple resolutions you might consider that can have a big impact on your well-being as we ring in 2021.

11 Autumn Self-Care Activities for People who Struggle with Self-Care

11 Autumn Self-Care Activities for People who Struggle with Self-Care

As autumn approaches, the colder weather, shorter days, and busier schedules leave us feeling as though we have less time to accomplish what we want. Additionally, the holidays come closer with the many tasks to prepare as well. Stress comes with the changes the fall brings; it is a natural part of life to experience stress, however we can engage in activities to relieve that to some extent. Self-care can help us reduce the effects stress may have on ourselves. Without self-care, stress builds leaving us overwhelmed, fatigued, down, and physically sick. Self-care is any activity that is healthy and supports emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Dating During A Pandemic: Managing Feelings and Expectations

Dating During A Pandemic: Managing Feelings and Expectations

Dating during the pandemic? What are the rules? Is there an etiquette to it? While we currently live in an ever-changing world as social distancing remains at the forefront of much of what we do there are still ways to determine how to date safely and form connections with others, while still practicing social distancing. What are the fears around dating during the time of COVID?

Goal-Setting and Goal-Adjustment: Making Use of the Four R’s to Establish Goals

Goal-Setting and Goal-Adjustment: Making Use of the Four R’s to Establish Goals

We are always changing, and our lives are always evolving. Whether on a small or large scale we are constantly facing various stressors, challenges, different viewpoints and other situations that enact change. Some change occurs because we choose it, or we have some control over it, other times this change is out of our control. How does change impact our goals if we are ever-changing? Settings goals often serves as a motivator, it contributes to our emotional and physical health and allows us to find a sense of purpose. However, we often struggle to keep consistent with the goals we set. It’s so hard to predict what the future holds for each of us, and how our plans might need to shift or can be impacted by potential challenges in the future. While this feels like a lot to take on and consider, one solution to this concern is: goal adjustment..

How to Set Boundaries

How to Set Boundaries

Setting boundaries is one of the most important things we can do to better our mental health, but it always seems so hard! Although this does not come naturally to most, it is a skill that you can learn and build upon. Your time is valuable, which means you should be spending some of it on yourself. Self-care is something that therapists always push for, but it can seem impossible when every minute of your spare time is given to someone else. There are simple steps that will help you get started with boundary setting.

Self-Care Explained

Self-Care Explained

Self-care is engaging in the activities that are required to gain or maintain an optimal level of overall health.

How To Make It Through A Bad Day

How To Make It Through A Bad Day

We all have those bad days where anything that can go wrong, inevitably does: you get a flat tire, you are running late to work, and you are overwhelmed by your to do list. Thankfully, no matter the circumstances, there are a wide range of time tested tactics you can use to turn your day around!