Boundaries
Boundaries A boundary is any limit you set as a means of honouring your own well-being so you can live, love, and work with integrity and without resentment. Everyone’s boundaries differ, and boundaries are subject to change – you might have once felt comfortable giving to another without resentment, but your circumstances might have altered, […]
Labeling People: Helpful or Harmful?
Labeling People: Helpful or Harmful? Labels are commonplace in the field of mental health, but are considered a bit of a controversial topic. On one hand, it is helpful to have a common language and standardized classification system such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5). The DSM-5 identifies and categorizes […]
Sympathy, Empathy, Compassion: Understanding the Differences
Sympathy, Empathy, Compassion: Understanding the Differences It is a common misperception that sympathy, empathy, and compassion express the same thing. However, there are important distinctions – ones that can have negative implications for others and well as for yourself. Below is a breakdown of those differences and implications. SYMPATHY: Feeling “sorry” for another’s pain/hurt. Sympathy […]
PTSD in Children
PTSD in Children Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is something most people easily attribute to war veterans or victims of accidents and disasters. PTSD is shockingly prevalent for many people, including children and teenagers. Presentations of anxiety, depression, trust issues, violent outbursts, phobias, avoidance, chronic “daydreaming” [dissociation], or poor concentration are some of the symptoms of […]
Healthy Recovery Alternatives
Healthy Recovery Alternatives Because Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step groups are so well known, they have come to be known as the golden standard in recovery treatment. But the truth is: AA is not a fit for everyone. For those that feel more like the black sheep rather than a member of the AA […]
THE LAMPS ARE DIFFERENT BUT THE LIGHT’S THE SAME
THE LAMPS ARE DIFFERENT BUT THE LIGHT’S THE SAME ~Rumi I am a lover of travel and culture. I have come to appreciate that I can learn something new from every person I meet (sometimes whether I want to or not). I also am a firm believer that we really are more alike than we […]
“Measuring Up”
“Measuring Up” “Measuring Up” is a terrible title for a blog. My guess is that it may have provoked feelings of unworthiness, of NOT measuring up. I feel that when I read it aloud. Creating goals and striving for better ways is generally good for us. What can be a slippery slope, is when our […]
Trauma Treatment EMDR
Trauma Treatment: EMDR Eye movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Once considered unorthodox, eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) has earned accolades as an effective trauma treatment for adults, youth and children, supported by more than twenty randomized controlled studies, and is now considered one of the two preferred trauma therapies recommended by the World Health Organization (Farkas, […]
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
IMPOSTER SYNDROME Imposter syndrome may not be a familiar term for you, but I can guarantee it is something you and most everyone you know has experienced, especially the outwardly appearing “successful” people. Imposter syndrome (a term coined in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes) describes a concept where individuals are not able […]
The Dis-ease of Busyness
The Dis-ease of Busyness While the above novelty mug is meant to be funny, chronic “busy-ness” is seriously harming us. Scientific studies at Harvard revealed that bragging about being busy affects the same pleasure sensations of the brain we derive from food and money (however, bragging about being busy is considered way more socially acceptable […]
