There are many factors that influence how trauma impacts wellbeing. Some of those are age, level of trauma, and duration. Resilience factors will also apply (relationship with caring adults, self-regulation, problem-solving skills.). It is now widely understood that the experience of trauma has far-reaching effects on overall wellbeing.

Are you confused about a particular relationship? Is it causing you pain? When you are hurting in relationships, thoughts and feelings can spin in your mind. Lots of times, these thoughts and feelings remain behind the scene, while you go about your life. This can drain you of emotional energy and cause difficult feelings.

With Covid, our fears have become bigger while our world is shrinking. Our lives have slowed but the stress didn’t go away, it just went underground. In our current world, isolation now implies a sense of health and safety. We are faced with the impossible task of having to stay apart and remain connected. 

It took me a while to realize that Values are the guardrails of life. If we pay attention to them they can prevent us from causing damage to ourselves or others. We all know on some level that what we value is important information, but how do we actually apply it to making decisions?

So you are feeling sad and alone….you reach for your phone and at that moment it can either help or hurt. Social media apps can lead to your feeling discouraged or depleted.

But there are many apps out there that can help boost your mood. They can even help you feel more connected. Here is a shortlist of some helpful mental health apps...added plus… they are free!

Self-awareness is the ability to look inward. It is the starting place toward self-acceptance and requires courage, empathy, and self-compassion. Taking a brave look at all of our personal strengths and weaknesses can give us insight and lead to growth. There are many different roads that lead to self-awareness. Recently I discovered a wonderful resource called, “Core IQ”. Sounds intimidating, doesn’t it? Once you learn about Core IQ, it becomes more impressive than intimidating, but I will let you be the judge.

Did 2020 wear you out? Do you doubt things can improve just because the calendar changed? There are many things outside of our control right now; covid-19, election results, school closings, job loss, separation from loved ones. We get so overwhelmed with these big things that we cannot change- that we often ignore the things we can control.

What are Coping mechanisms anyway? Coping mechanisms are strategies people use in the face of stress or perceived threat. They provide a way to help manage painful or difficult emotions (anxiety, anger, fear etc.). Simply put, coping mechanisms help us to find improved emotional balance.

How do you give and receive love? According to marriage counselor, Dr. Gary Chapman, there is a pattern to the behaviors of love and affection. In his book, 5 Love Languages he shares 5 different categories that help define our preferences for the expression of love.