Play is a universal language that transcends age, culture, and background. Children naturally engage in play to make sense of their world, express emotions, and learn valuable life skills. But did you know that play can also be a powerful therapeutic tool for individuals of all ages?
Read More…And what’s with the angst about letting go? I know I’ve spent more time, obsessing, worrying, and dreading downsizing. As I let go, give away and throw away, I feel lighter. I also feel hopeful.
Read MoreThe holiday season is in full swing! This can be a time of excitement, joy, love, giving, receiving, fun; and, it can also be a time of exhaustion, fear, guilt, and at times depression. This is a time when we want to be doing more self-care, not less. There are going to be a million things trying to grab our attention over the next few weeks, and I want to encourage you to be mindful of how, where, when, and with whom you spend your time. Here are few things to remember this holiday season:
Read MoreWhen I think back to my first holiday in sobriety it was extremely difficult. From the outside looking in, I was by all appearances ready to join the festivities, but inside I was not ready. I was still very much conflicted with myself, and I had a lot of shame. I felt stuck on how to be myself.
Read MoreHalloween is one of my favorite holidays because it is the sobriety date of my parents as well as my own. I distinctly remember being at a Halloween party with many people yet I can’t remember any of their faces or names…..I remember taking a beer and standing on the deck contemplating, really wondering whether or not I could drink the beer and forget myself, yet again.
Read MoreHalloween is just one week away! When you think of Halloween, there is a good chance that images of kids dressing in imaginative costumes, candy and decorations come to mind. It can be fun to reminisce about our childhood Halloween experiences, including going door-to-door collecting candy and sorting through the treasure at the end of the night. What a great and fun time to connect with your inner child!
Read MoreI often struggle with internalizing and allowing something to fester up and become much bigger than it needs to be. Over the years I have learned how to implement techniques to let the little things go.
Read MoreIf you’re struggling to make consistent changes in your life, it could be because your body has gotten used to operating as if there is a ticking clock above your head. Perhaps everything feels like it needs to be done NOW, while thinking of 8 other things. Or maybe you get so overwhelmed, you feel frozen and depressed, so doing anything feels monumental.
Read More“Let go or be dragged” One of the members from group last night shared with us this AA slogan, “Let go or be dragged”. It’s really speaking to me this morning as I am continuing to take back the illusion of control. I surrender, and turn this over and then a few minutes later I find myself obsessing about a detail or a way that I might be able to manipulate a situation.
Read MoreMany years ago & when I first got into recovery, I was introduced to the term, Family of Choice. It was presented as being distinctly different than the family I was born into, and that there are specific criteria for members of a Family of Choice. Conceptually, I had no reference point. Yet seeing it play out was profound and life changing.
Read MorePMADs are most commonly described or known as postpartum anxiety or postpartum depression, but there is also postpartum panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder with postpartum onset, and postpartum psychosis. While these experienced are often described as having a postpartum onset, this is not entirely accurate. In truth, many PMADs present during pregnancy. For those with a history of depression and/or anxiety, symptoms may increase as pregnancy progresses.
Read MoreAnxiety was my nemesis. It was this gnawing thing that confused me and felt ever present until I began looking at anxiety as a fear response- one designed to protect me-that I was misinterpreting. My anxiety was present because something WAS wrong- not because everything was going right. So, my anxiety was doing its job, I just wasn’t sure what it was trying to tell me. Here are some things you can ask yourself when you’re feeling that gnawing feeling too.
Read MoreDoes convenience or circumstances dictate my boundaries, or do my boundaries dictate my circumstances? This was such a pivotal question that a therapist once asked me. I had no idea that it would be turning point in my own recovery.
Read MoreTaking care of yourself can be easy to say and difficult walk out. It’s so easy to concern ourselves with our partner’s wellbeing, our children, our friends, parents etc., the list goes on. It’s easy to put yourself on the back burner when there are so many others to tend to. Taking proper care of self paradoxically, is the best way to help others around you.
Read MoreThe Holidays are upon us! I’m sure this thought conjures up a wide array of thoughts and emotions (that’s putting it mildly, I’m sure ☺). While some individuals can’t wait to dress the turkey and deck those halls, others are just hoping to make it through with their sanity and sense of self intact, and still others may have a conflicted relationship with the holidays.
Read MoreMisattunement can happen unintentionally. Before little ones can even speak, we are given toys when we are hungry, and food when we want toys. My Dad being immersed in a game and not responding to my pleas was unintentional. Was I harmed by this one, single episode of misattunement? Maybe, maybe not. What’s much more impactful than one event is the consistent misattunement over time.
Read MoreFor children who experience trauma, polarized thinking is a defense mechanism or cognitive distortion. It is a way that our brains and bodies attempt to keep us safe from continuing to experience the same pain we felt during overwhelming experiences. And although this type of thinking is intended to protect us, it actually continues to perpetuate the same pain we experienced.
I was reading a book the other night that I often read on and off, without any real consistency. Melody Beattie’s “The Language of Letting Go”, is a book of daily meditations on codependency. I hadn’t opened the book in a while, and I was hopping around to read the meditations from random dates, and the thought popped into my head that I should look at the meditation for my birth date. It felt as if my higher power was encouraging me to look at this specific meditation because it was about perfectionism and letting go, allowing our humanness to be a part of the equation.
Read MoreHey mommas, raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered “Am I enough?”. If your hand is raised, know that you are not alone! I assure you; my hand is also up there- sky high. As a new or expectant parent, it is common for our fear, self-doubt, worry, and anxiety to feel like it is taking over at times.
I used to think that I liked change and even said that I was addicted to excitement. Often I would misunderstand chaos and craziness and think it was change and excitement. Whether it’s change in the universe, the world, the climate, or the changes in my own much smaller world; My business, my home, my relationships, my health, I am powerless over most things. Where I grow as a human being is knowing the difference between what I can change and what I cannot change.
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