Posts tagged Stress
When we choose divorce

My divorce wasn’t the solution to a mistake, it was the response to evolution.  Separating didn’t negate my marriage or challenge the love that carried it for years, it was the necessary next step to ensure my partner and I - and our children - continued to be in our best space possible.

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Is money stress getting you down?

So much around money fear and shame relates back to the concept of scarcity both in finances and in our lives in general. A scarcity mindset goes beyond fear related to money, and is often expressed as a broader feeling of lack in a person’s life - they might focus mainly on the lack in their life in areas such as time, opportunities, or possessions.

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Setting Holiday Boundaries – Coping Strategy or Avoidance?

One of the things that may come up for people around this time of the year is setting boundaries and coping with environments or interactions that are uncomfortable. The holidays can be a very joyful time, but that joy can also be uncomfortable or come along with other uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. But how do we know how to cope? How do we know when our coping strategies are healthy?

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Communicating About Finances as a Couple

Many couples attempt to communicate about money but find themselves in familiar, unhelpful patterns each time they try. Instead of giving up hope and sweeping these conversations under the rug, it can be really helpful to understand what’s going on under the surface.

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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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How Pandemic Clutter Affects your Mental Health

Overnight, our homes became our offices, classrooms, playgrounds, spas, restaurants, movie theatres and whatever other function you had to fashion out of four walls. It’s now April 2022 and along with the flowers, new hope is budding. We are emerging from a 2-year hibernation, and we finally seem to have the space to look around and reassess our spaces.
Clearing the physical clutter and build-up can be an amazing nudge towards clearing out the mental clutter and mess that this pandemic has left in its wake.

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Stress and Your Window of Tolerance

“Window of tolerance” refers to a zone of 'arousal' or stimulation in which people are able to function and thrive in everyday life.

In this blog post we’d like to use this concept to help you develop some awareness of the cues that your body and mind may be sending you when you are outside of your window of tolerance.

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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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Why is it So Hard to Rest?

This month at everwell we’ve been focusing on challenging the societal narratives that uphold ‘Grind Culture’. There are many narratives that are common in our culture that prioritize productivity, achievement, and busy-ness over rest, self-care and groundedness. We are all carrying these narratives with us in some form or another. But even when we begin to challenge these narratives, many of us run into resistance to the idea of rest and the actions needed to step out of the ‘grind’ we are so used to. So let’s take a look at this resistance and how it might be showing up for you.

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Grind Culture is Chewing Us Up

Productivity above peace, efficiency above joy, results above rest. This kind of culture is often associated with the “hustle” of entrepreneurship or climbing the corporate ladder. But it is by no means limited to these realms. Regardless of employment status, many people are grinding, hustling, and pushing their limits for the majority of their waking hours. It takes the form of never-ending to-do lists, squeezing productivity out of every possible moment, booking back-to-back-to-back engagements and obligations.

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September Stress?

The best way to make our mark is through the choices we make each and every day. This September, I’m bringing colour and light to this month of transitions. Part of the reason for writing this blog post is to share this re-frame with you but part of it is to hold myself accountable. By putting this down in words, I hope to get to the end of this month with a sense of pride, peace and ease. Want to join me?

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Why Are We So Afraid of Change?

When changes are forced upon us, we often react with resistance even if the change has the potential to be positive. Or we may realize that we are unhappy or unfulfilled in a certain area in our life but when we consider change as a way to grow and improve, we often recoil in fear and do nothing instead. What’s going on here? Why are we so afraid to change?

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What Children Can Teach Us About Managing COVID-19

Stress is present almost everywhere we look – at our dinner tables, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our extended families. There are so many unknowns and uncertainties and everyone is struggling to manage in their own way. Children and adults alike are struggling to manage the emotional and practical impact of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis. But there seem to be some key differences in the way that children and adults are coping. I’ve been paying close attention to the way my kids are dealing with our current situation and I’d like to share some of my observations with you.

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