Are you feeling “stuck” right now? Not sure what to do or where to go? Feeling like everything happening around you is going against you? Feeling overwhelmed? Lots of dynamics and a variety of feelings can be at play when people find themselves feeling “stuck.” Some common underlying themes will be explored below. Fear When …
Do you know the difference between self-comfort and self-care? Are you wondering if what you have been identifying as “self-care” may actually be harming you? Read below to learn more. Self-comfort Self-comfort can be thought of as turning to something in a non-conscious manner, where we may be seeking to numb ourselves out, “veg out,” …
Addiction neurobiology research has demonstrated that there are 3 fundamental pathways in the brain that moderate the risk for relapse with any behaviour whether involving substance use or not. These pathways will be explored in more detail in this post. Keep reading below if you would like to improve your awareness around relapse triggers. The …
Getting Started Starting with as little as five to ten minutes of journaling about feelings daily can be quite beneficial. Studies have shown that the simple act of putting pen to paper and journaling about our feelings helps to quiet the parts of our brain that get very active when we are feeling overwhelmed or …
The title of this article is a question that bewilders many. By introducing the following structure, I hope to bring clarity to this question and suggest a simple structure that makes the steps to processing feelings more explicit. A step-wise approach can be taken as summarized below and each step will be explored in more …
Stress is an ongoing reality of life. With prolonged exposure to high stress states however, we can become progressively less aware of the true extent to which stress is affecting our health; whether mentally, physically, emotionally, or otherwise. A Simple Analogy for Stress and Impaired Awareness One way I often illustrate the subtle way in …
Meditation is hard! It doesn’t work for me! I can’t meditate! Meditation is IMPOSSIBLE! -EVERYONE, AT SOME POINT Does any of the above sound familiar to you? In this post, I will address a lot of the common misconceptions around meditation that can be a source of a lot of unnecessary frustration for many people. …
A simple question, without a simple answer. The most important factor Consistently, research has demonstrated that the single most important factor in determining treatment success with any psychotherapeutic approach, is the quality of the therapeutic alliance. This term represents the collaborative relationship between a patient and their therapist in supporting the patient through their journey …
If you’ve ever wondered how doctors are trained to diagnose and treat patients presenting with mental health concerns, keep reading below. I’ll start by introducing the general framework for how doctors are trained to talk with patients and then include more specific examples relating to mental health assessment. How doctors are trained to talk to …