Posts tagged Self-care
Hygge journal prompts help you reflect on what is most important to you

Hygge (pronounced "hoo-ga") is a Danish term that refers to a cozy, comfortable, and contented state of being. It is often associated with a sense of well-being, warmth, and togetherness, particularly during the colder months. Journaling about hygge and mental health can be a deeply reflective and calming practice.

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Mental Health and Cancer: Nurturing the Inner Self During the Unseen Journey

As a cancer survivor, just hearing that six-letter word used to send a chill down my spine, stirring up feelings of fear, anxiety, and vulnerability. But here's the thing – it's because of these very emotions that we shouldn't shy away from talking about cancer. Changing the way we think and talk about this life-changing experience isn't just a good idea; it's crucial for our emotional well-being and overall healing journey.

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When setting a SMART goal might be counter-productive

If you are neurodiverse or are otherwise struggling with executive functioning – like recovering from burnout, setting a SMART goal can be really difficult even if you have assessed it as attainable. Read on for some alternative ways to goal-set that may be more supportive.

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How Polyvagal Theory explains why we do what we do

Sometimes we have responses that are just as quick when we experience a threat. Sometimes we call this a freeze response because our bodies may shut down or feel numb. In this state it is common to feel helpless, trapped, or depressed.

We also have a mammalian part of our brain which developed later. Polyvagal theory says the mammalian brain is responsible for things like co-regulation which means that how one mammal acts effects another.

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Improved sleep can lead to improved mental health. Here’s how.

It is commonly understood that good sleep is a component of a healthy lifestyle. But how does sleep tie into our mental health? Let’s take a closer look.

If you’ve ever struggled with insomnia, fatigue, or sleeplessness you know that these things can lead to low mood, irritability and difficulty managing stress.

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Restful Rituals

Taking the time to develop a restful ritual that works with your lifestyle can mean the difference between drifting off easily and lying awake consistently.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions, you may be experiencing symptoms of depression. Depression is usually characterized by a low mood, lack of interest, and a lack of personal care. But depression is not the only reason these symptoms could be showing up for you. These are also often symptoms of burnout. It’s important to understand the origins of your symptoms so that you can find matching solutions.

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Pausing in the Pressure

We live in an immediate-gratification, fast-paced world. Pressures in our real life live on, multiply and swarm our social media pages. Making pressure seem all-powerful and active all the time.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions, you may be experiencing symptoms of depression. Depression is usually characterized by a low mood, lack of interest, and a lack of personal care. But depression is not the only reason these symptoms could be showing up for you. These are also often symptoms of burnout. It’s important to understand the origins of your symptoms so that you can find matching solutions.

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Where is Your Stress Coming From?

Stress is a reality for all of us. There is no way to get through life without dealing with stress.

On the one hand, it is helpful to approach stress with acceptance in order to live with as much ease as possible. On the other hand, when dealing with large amounts of constant stress, it is important to realize that it doesn’t always have to be this way.

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Time Does Not Heal All Wounds

Grief is often viewed as something that we have to “get over” in order to move on with our lives. It’s like there’s this unspoken expectation for us to heal and get rid of our grief by looking forward and tucking away the past. This perspective, however, denies the reality of our grief: we all move through grief in our own way.

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Why Expressing Your Emotions is Important for Grieving

As a therapist who has the privilege of working with grieving people, I am often asked “Why?” when I begin to work with a client on the expression of emotions associated with their grief. As a general rule, our culture doesn’t do a good job of teaching us how to deal with difficult emotions. So it’s important for us to find ways to express our loss and grief…

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That Feeling You’re Feeling is Grief

When you hear the word grief, you often think of the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship, but with the coronavirus, we are experiencing grief due to the loss of our “regular” lives before the pandemic. We are experiencing the loss of our routines, our schedules, our relationships, our sense of security and safety.

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There’s a Mental Health Crisis at Canadian Universities and Colleges

There is a critical and ongoing crisis at Canadian colleges and universities: students are at increasing risk of mental health problems, and these academic institutions are struggling in their efforts to respond. This reality reflects a broader crisis in youth mental health across Canada, which has seen increasing rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among young people over the past decade. And, the pandemic has only made things worse.

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6 Ways To Set Better Boundaries with your Friends and Family

For many of us, spending time with friends and family can feel taxing – like we are meeting the needs of the people around us but they aren’t meeting ours. Here are some relatively easy ways to begin setting better boundaries.

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Talking about COVID-19: Taking Care of Yourself is Productive

As a psychotherapist I know too well the negative effects of prioritizing productivity over all else. Heck, as a human I know the negative effects of this and how it shows up in my own life. Although life has technically slowed down for some during this time –for many it hasn’t and for most of us it has meant a much more disorganized and hectic day to day. And yet, the pressures we continue to put on ourselves to be productive are alive and well.

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YOGA + TALK: Self-care in Action

On Wednesday Nov. 6th, 2019 we will be starting a very special group offering at everwell. We are combining yoga with traditional group psychotherapy to help participants explore self-care and their relationship to themselves. The group is open to anyone who would benefit from a deep dive into self-care and the many barriers to truly knowing and caring for ourselves.

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