While it may be difficult for an adult to understand the fears of young children, those anxieties can seem very real and scary particularly to a child between the ages of three and six. As a parent, the best approach you can take in helping to soothe your child’s fears is to first model calmness and reassurance.
Early Family Interactions and Your Listening Skills
We often intrinsically know whether we feel listened to and understood, ignored, dismissed, or misunderstood by another person. But how often do we intentionally think about our capacity to listen in relationships – whether that’s work, family, romantic, social, or spiritual – and how often do we reflect on the connection between our early family experiences and how they taught us to listen (or not)? Here are a few questions to help you explore how you have learned to listen (and what you expect from other listeners).
Identifying Coping Activities
In our busy culture, it is often hard to identify what we enjoy doing for fun, or self-care. I ask clients regularly what they enjoy doing for fun or self-care. You would think that I asked them how to save the planet! I get blank stares, shrugged shoulders, and “I … Read More
Gratitude Journaling: The Power of Being Grateful
Journaling is a well-known and widely used practical approach to gain insight and clarity by processing your emotions on paper. Over the past decade, gratitude journaling has gained popularity for its benefits, including better sleep, fewer symptoms of illness, and more happiness among adults and kids.
Coping with Rejection
Rejection…when I think of this word, it makes me think of the difficult times I have experienced rejection. It is not one of my favorite topics to think about. However, rejection is part of life that we all experience. As human beings, we have to experience rejection in some kind … Read More
Coping Through Creativity
The feelings that often accompany depression include loneliness, apathy, and lack of motivation. Becoming lost in our thoughts and feeling stuck are common experiences for those struggling with depression. People use a variety of coping skills to manage their depression, including journaling, joining a support group, listening to music, and … Read More
Give Yourself Some Self-Compassion
As a new mother, increasing self-compassion can go a long way in mitigating the negative outcomes associated with anxiety and overwhelm.
Compassionately Feeling your Emotions
It is important for us to lean into and allow ourselves to feel our emotions instead of trying to avoid them. Here are some reasons why!
Incorporating Self-Compassion Into Your Life
Why is it we say things to ourselves that we would never say to even our worst enemy? Harsh self-criticism seems to be the norm. But is it really helpful? Instead try a little self-compassion next time you think you’ve messed up.
Self-Compassion: A Healthier Approach to Well-Being
In our highly-driven culture, the common belief is that success depends on being competitive and pushing yourself to your limits. What if this approach proved to be more harmful than helpful? Recent research shows self-criticism and a competitive attitude create obstacles to achieving goals.
