A practical guide to dealing with criticism, name-calling, and verbal abuse while protecting your self-respect, boundaries, and mental health. If someone regularly criticizes you, calls you names, belittles you, or attacks your character, you are probably experiencing verbal abuse. Verbal abuse can occur in marriages, intimate relationships, families, friendships, and workplaces. Over time, it can […]
The holiday season can bring both joy and stress. Between decorating, shopping, social obligations, and expectations, many people end up exhausted. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 52% of Canadians experience anxiety, depression, or isolation during the holiday season (CMHA, 2023). Many Struggle with the Holiday Season Even though the holidays are presented by […]
Tears, along with perspiration, urine, and exhalation rid our bodies of toxins and other waste.
It’s a true delight to spend time with Brandi Heather, author of Return to Play: Rebuilding Resilience, Risk and Reconnection. I’ve been privileged to do just that and feel grateful to call her a friend. Brandi is an award-winning Disability and Inclusion Educator and Therapeutic Play Specialist. With a background in kinesiology and sport studies, […]
Self-Compassion, Book Summary Kristin Neff’s book Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind was published in 2011. Neff provides research and stories illustrating the importance of compassion toward ourselves. She also offers easy exercises that invite self-awareness, as well as self-compassion. But her research began long before that in the early 2000s. Kristin […]
By Guest Expert Ashley Sonnenberg of Mommy and Me Fitness The holiday season can feel like a whirlwind of tasks, events, and obligations. Between the cooking, decorating, gift-wrapping, and family traditions, it’s easy to put yourself last on the list. But here’s the truth: you can prioritize yourself without dropping the ball on everything else. […]
To love yourself unconditionally means to treasure yourself merely because you exist.
The Dilemma of Work Life Balance Give up looking for work life balance! If that sounds radical, read on as we explore reasons to do so and how to do it. I recall taking a work life balance workshop and filling in the pie pieces to assess if I was balancing work with my marriage, […]
Childhood, adolescent, and sometimes adult experiences can create core negative beliefs. In childhood, these beliefs can be planted by the absence of parental or caregiver attention and security.
We know we have the basic human needs of water, food, air, and shelter to survive. We could continue to exist while feeling fearful, depressed, angry, and disconnected from one another. But we humans have evolved beyond merely existing. We want more. We want to succeed. We want to flourish. We want joy, love, connection, fun, meaning, and life purpose.
Your job is to stop demeaning yourself in the middle of a comparison. As the old adage goes you can’t compare apples to oranges.
We all have mental health challenges calling us to find solutions and rebound with resilience. During challenging times some of my connections asked questions about attending to their mental health. Here are five of those conversations in which I attempted to put on my best mental health counsellor brain.