ON THE BLOG
29 Jan 2022

What is Chinese Medicine, and how is it used to treat depression and anxiety?

Chinese medicine is a 3,000-year-old practice that utilizes acupuncture, herbal medicine, food therapy, qi gong, and other forms of bodywork to bring the body’s health back into balance. Acupuncture utilizes hair-like needles inserted into points along the body to stimulate, regulate, and harmonize energy that flows through meridians in the body. Chinese herbal formulas and food therapy are used to support, nourish, and clear the body simultaneously with acupuncture treatment. From a western perspective, when acupuncture needles are inserted into points along the body, they signal to the brain to release neurotransmitters. This includes dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, essentially all…
24 Feb 2021

The Psychology of Organizing: Declutter Your Space, Declutter Your Mind

If you are anything like me, you have probably gotten sucked into the recent trend of home organization that seems to have taken over the universe lately. From popular Netflix series to books promising to help you whip your space into shape, to storage products that look nice but cost way too much, this information is everywhere… and maybe you feel overwhelmed, confused, and unsure of where to start or even if you should bother tackling your overflowing hall closet or garage project while the world around you is literally and figuratively on fire. I get it! Who can think…
16 Feb 2021

What Happens When We Radically Accept and Skip It: Utilizing DBT to Deal with Painful Emotions

No one wants to experience pain. Heartbreak, grief, intense fear. Life is full of pain and suffering. This concept isn’t new to us. In the Four Noble Truths that is the basis of Buddhism, the First Truth is that life consists of suffering, pain, and misery. We all know from experience that stress is unavoidable. Many of us have been told that the only consistency in life is that it will continue to be stressful. Even though we all try to avoid pain and hold on to happiness in the face of stress, we also know that difficult situations are…
06 Feb 2021

Wait…..What did you say? The inner dialogue of a self-critic.

Often times, it baffles me how out of control our thoughts can be and how far we can allow them to take us. One simple look from another person can send us on a downward spiral of self-criticism. After a short, simple interaction with an acquaintance, we can feel inadequate and rejected. “They don’t like me. It’s because I’m not good enough. My dad used to tell me I wasn’t good enough so it must be true”. Down the rabbit hole we go! What is self-criticism? Self-criticism is identifying what we believe to be our shortcomings or deficits.  One of…
14 Jan 2021

A Message to the Family Member Who Has Lost a Loved One to Addiction

As I write this post, I have again been hit by the overwhelming feelings of loss to addiction. I find myself having the same questions each time it consumes another delicate life. Did I do enough? Could I have done more? I’m here to tell you. You’ve done all you can. You may not feel this way right now, and that is completely natural. By loving someone when they have been at their worst, you’ve done more than enough. Seeing all the good in someone who is suffering at the mercy of their addiction is enough. The reason they fought…
20 Dec 2020

4 Ways to Cope When Punched in the Face by Rejection

For most of us, rejection is painful. It can cause us to shy away from something and never attempt it again, or it can feed our motivation and determination. Why is it that rejection can feel so debilitating? According to an article written in Forbes Magazine by Nicole Fisher, the same chemicals in the brain that respond to physical pain are the same chemicals that respond when our brain processes rejection. Social Media’s impact on rejection. Years ago, before social media and online dating, it was easier to avoid constant rejection. We were most likely rejected by our friends or…
02 Dec 2020

Ditching Avoidance to Heal from Trauma

The Basics It is not uncommon for someone who has experienced trauma to utilize avoidance in many situations; even something that sounds like fun. We might make plans with friends with every intention of going, but cancel at the last second. Perhaps it is because we don’t want to leave the comfort of our own home or deal with distressing memories by being around people or things that are reminders of what happened. These are just some of the attempts to avoid feelings provoked by previous trauma. Helpful or Unhelpful? It must be said that some avoidance is helpful, right?…
21 Nov 2020

Why Do I Always Feel Angry?

Do you ever just feel angry and you’re not sure why? Do you snap at others for no apparent reason? Sometimes, people use the terms anger and aggression interchangeably; however, these terms are not the same. Anger is a feeling or emotion, where aggression is a behavior that happens as a result of an emotion or feeling. So, what are some reasons why we might be angry but not sure why? According to Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S, it may be that “you have weak boundaries. You say yes when you really want to say no. You do things for others that…

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