Shame is a powerful emotion, one that can leave us feeling small, unworthy, and stuck. It creeps into our thoughts, influencing our self-talk and shaping the way we see ourselves. It whispers, “There’s something wrong with you,” “You should be over this,” or, “You shouldn’t…
Everyone from your doctor to retail marketing departments are telling you to practice mindfulness. By now you likely are familiar with the endless list of benefits to a mindful life, but you’re feeling stuck because you tried it and hate it. You’re not alone. This…
February marks the date for many holidays and occasions. Some of these could be Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, Family Day, and other celebrations as well. Alongside those February also marks Black History Month, which is a very important time in the Black and African American/Canadian…
The third Monday in January has been dubbed Blue Monday and is considered one of the most depressing days of the year. If you’re feeling particularly low, you might be feeling the Blue Monday Blues and here’s why: The glitz and glamour of the holidays…
If you’re working on your sobriety, the holidays bring a whole new set of challenges. If this is your first sober holiday, you may be increasingly aware of just how much alcohol is emphasized during this time and just how many triggers there are to…
If your holidays don’t look like a perfectly wrapped Hallmark movie, you’re not alone! The holiday season brings many stressors and pressures, expectations, and difficult reminders. Here’s why the holidays are hard If you find yourself struggling with unwelcome guests, like stress, anxiety or depression…
Everyone has a role in suicide prevention. Outlined in this blog are ways that you can support suicide prevention through: Knowing the warning signs; Risk factors; and How to support someone in a mental health crisis What are the warning sings? Warning signs are things…
There are two broad umbrellas that cover the different techniques and modalities used by therapists: top-down approaches and bottom-up approaches. Generally, more traditional talk therapies fall under the top-down umbrella while more body-based therapies fall under the bottom-up umbrella. This post is going to focus…
Is your mood being affected as we head into the cooler months? As summer comes to an end, it’s important to know that seasonal changes can often affect our mood. Here’s what our therapists recommend to manage low mood during changing seasons: 1. Create a…
In our last blog we discussed the trauma response – fight, flight, freeze, fawn. The trauma response is a survival instinct that dictates how we will act when we are faced with a highly distressing and life-threatening situation (eg. physical/emotional/sexual abuse, accident, natural disaster, etc.).…
There are few people out there who would say that joining a group is an easy, stress free, and soothing event. If you’re one of them, kudos to you! For the rest of us, joining a group can be a stressful experience requiring an uncomfortable…