Therapy grounded in real inner work and genuine human connection.
Life gets in the way. Schedules change. Maybe you were feeling better (that’s the point!), but now you need some support and you don’t want to have to start from the beginning. Are you apprehensive about what your therapist will think if you want to …
This viral video was shared in a group recently and it stopped me in my tracks. Watch what he does in the first video (3 min) and then listen to what he says about that experience in the second video (4 min). And then I’ll …
When overwhelm hits, it feels like you need to do all the things.
What actually needs to happen is taking a step back. Not much good comes from action that is done out of an unregulated nervous system and chaotic thinking.
You are the expert on your situation. If the captain of the ship is not clear, the whole ship is in trouble.
Also, if you stay in the overwhelm too long, you may be flooding. Which is actually traumatizing your nervous system. Read more about that here and here.
Instead of being swept away by it, are you willing to take ahold of the situation by choosing to care for yourself?
That means choosing to bring down the emotional intensity rather than getting wrapped up in the why it’s happening to you questions and how you are going to get through it ideas.
Can you remember that this is not the time to make decision or take actions? That time will come shortly, but metabolizing your emotions and regulating your nervous system have to come first.
That means you do what you need to do to calm your nervous system.
You are your own best resource for solutions and that precious resource gets hyjacked by really intense emotion.
So, make a list in your phone of things that help you get your emotional system back on track.
Is it a friend you talk with? Is it taking a walk? Is it doing something mundane, like starting the laundry or going grocery shopping? Is it an enjoyable but distracting activity like talking to a friend about their day or looking at your favorite animal accounts on social media?
Make that list, always add to it and go to it when you need to calm your nervous system so you can come back online as your own best resource for solutions.
Making a plan to move forward might only be delayed by 5 minutes if you are in a willing place to care for yourself instead of being swept away with the overwhelm. [Read more here about why willingness is SO important]
The more you practice this, the more easily you will do this under any kind of stress.
If you need support learning how to do this, we are here to help. Contact us.
Have you seen the Mr. Rogers movie? If you haven’t, the part I loved the most (without giving anything away) is how aware he was of others. Somewhere along the line in your holiday season this year, there will be someone who is making a …
Every human has them. No matter how much work you have done on yourself. No matter how many skills you have. Overwhelming times descend upon us all. It could feel like anger, like panic, like fear. Any kind of intensity. Here’s the ONE question you …
A couple of months ago, we wrote a post about the Top 5 Back to School Tips from One Heart Therapists. We thought it would be a good time to check back in about those! And to support you in starting to consider what your holiday season is going to look like and how some thinking ahead can be beneficial.
Did you and your family set any goals or intentions for the new school year? How are those going?
Do you or any of your children need any extra support to reach those goals?
Would tutoring be helpful? Would Educational Therapy be beneficial? We wrote an article about that here.
Do you guys need any changes to your after school routine or homework routine?
What’s working? What’s not working?
As families get more stressed, things like bed time or screen time can get a little lax. Or, you can see how many there need to be some changes now that we’re a few months into the school year. Maybe everyone needs more rest or an adjustment on screen time.
Was there anything you and your kids were thinking they might take on as a new responsibility? Like, maybe they were going to take on packing their lunch or learning how to do laundry. How is that going?
What new freedoms come along with those new responsibilities?
Knowing that there is going to be some time off of school coming up, are you feeling like you want to plan any camps or holiday/post holiday activities?
Are you feeling like you want to make sure to keep enough space in your schedules so everyone has a chance to relax?
You might be making some travel plans. Even though you and your spouse and your kids might be total troopers, why not build in some extra space/time around travel?
Maybe that means making sure you make no plans for the day before or after you fly.
Maybe that means you decline some invitations.
When schedules are packed and people are rushed, those are when break downs happen. It can bring up anxiety in kids, overwhelm in parents and just unpleasant times all around. Consider building in some space so things can go a little more smoothly.
Getting to connect with family and friends and celebrating the holidays can be as wonderful as it can be triggering or stressful.
Make sure you build in some activities that take care of you so you can enjoy your holiday season. Watch out for productivity mode that has you doing one billion things so you can have all your holiday ducks in a row. Being loving and available to enjoy is more important than any THING, isn’t it? Sometimes we all need to be reminded of that.
Also, if you often have triggers come up around seeing family or being in social situations, it would be a good time to prepare for those in case they come up. Talk with a therapist, jounral about what has come up in the past and how you want to do it differently, engage in an online challenge for creating peaceful holidays.
What if your spouse, loved one, best friend is not the bad guy? What if you aren’t either? Let’s be honest, sometimes it feels good that the other person is the “bad guy”. Then we get to be right, justified and safe. At the same …
You know when you are talking with someone and you can tell they are super passionate about what they do? That’s my experience of Stephanie Pitts, Educational Therapist and owner of My Ed Therapist in Redondo Beach, CA. I knew about educational therapy before I …
I was having a conversation at the gym this morning with my running coach about how there has been a change in the last decade related to what people are looking for when they come to therapy. Of course, people contact us when they are in difficult situations. Naturally.
AND, at an increasing rate, people contact us because they “know it is time to do some work” or “need a check in” or “want some extra support through a big change”, not because there is a crisis.
I was immediately intrigued by Rosalia Rivera’s concept of teaching kids body safety, power and consent in a non-fear based, instead in an empowering way. (She’s doing this and more!) Dip your toe in and see what her work is about here.
…wanting to make sure their kids are safe while not teaching them that the world is a scary place. Parents will share the struggle to allow their kids to do certain activities because it brings up fears about things the have happened in the family’s history.
And, Rosalia has created a program that brings a healthy and whole hearted solution.
Yes, people will continue to engage in therapy to heal trauma. That is needed.
We live in a time where we have access to this information, where people have the courage to bring forward their gifts, passion and information like this to support coming generations and do that will less pain, fear and struggle.
So, you know how to be empathetic, but why don’t you always practice it? Last week we shared a video on illustrating empathy. It is about connection and presence. Even though you know how to do that, you might not always handle situations with connection …