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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm

Your Next Journey, 325 West Street, B111, Brantford, ON (2025)

11/30/2022

The goal of the Weight Inclusive Approach is to reduce negative self image, eliminate the diet cycle & yo-yo dieting and reduce the risks of developing an eating disorder. ⁣⁣
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Consider the Weight Inclusive Approach if you are an individual that: ⁣⁣
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•Has negative self-image⁣⁣
•Stuck in the dieting cycle⁣⁣
•Struggling with disordered eating⁣⁣
•Experiencing episodes of restricting, binging and or purging⁣⁣
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DM for a free consultation!⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

11/28/2022

The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating⭐️⁣
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1. Reject the diet mentality
2. Honour your hunger ⁣
3. Make peace with food⁣
4. Challenge the food police ⁣
5. Feel your fullness
6. Discover the satisfaction factor
7. Cope with your emotions without using food
8. Respect your body
9. Exercise:feel the difference
10. Honour your health:gentle nutrition
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These principles focus on breaking down dieting cycles and reconnecting with the body's natural signals around food.⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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11/25/2022

You are worthy of eating, just like you are worthy of breathing🤍⁣
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Society has conditioned us to monitor what goes into our bodies because of the number on the scale, not based on what our bodies actually need to survive. What if we thought about what’s best for our bodies? Would we still feel guilty about eating?⁣
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Did you know that we actually NEED carbs to fuel our bodies and give us energy?⁣
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When we shift our mindset and start thinking about all the good our body does for us, instead of the way it looks – we are able to honour our body and give it the nutrition it deserves. ⁣
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Are you having guilty thoughts? You’re not alone and there’s support all around you!⁣
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DM me for a free consultation!⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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11/23/2022

The Set Point theory suggests that the human body will try to maintain its weight within a specific range. This means that our bodies will stay within a little less or a little more of a specific size our entire life. This size depends greatly on genetics.⁣
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This theory suggests that if you start eating fewer calories, the result will be a slower metabolism. This means that you will burn fewer calories even if you activity level does not change. ⁣
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What happens when you cut calories? ⁣
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•Lower calorie burn⁣
•Hormonal adjustments ⁣
•Focus on food ⁣
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This relates to disordered eating as the set point theory believes your body and brain are in a struggle to regain a set point weight. Meaning, no matter how hard a person tries to diet and lose weight, their body will always go back to their set point. Thus, causing feelings of “failure” and further harming mental and physical health. ⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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11/21/2022

The defenses your body creates when it senses a major stress such as dieting include: ⁣
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•A decrease in your Basal Metabolic Rate ⁣
•Less energy expended during exercise ⁣
•Less energy expended in non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)⁣
•An increase in the hunger hormone (ghrelin) causing you to binge⁣
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These triggers lead the body to gain more weight in body fat in order to survive. ⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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11/18/2022

🤍 Health At Every Size (HAES) is an approach to wellness that promotes optimal nutrition and physical activity habits. It focuses on overall health and well being as opposed to body weight and size. ⁣
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🤍 HAES celebrates all body shapes and sizes. ⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

11/16/2022

Today I am sharing something unique about my own journey. Two years ago today I made a decision to quit drinking alcohol. After 8 years of using alcohol as a coping mechanism to manage my own trauma, loss and stress, I had an experience that would change my relationship with alcohol forever and cause me to take a tbd break from drinking. ⁣
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Learning to sit with my feelings and process difficult emotions was hard for me too. I had to learn to cope in healthy ways rather than the destructive patterns that would keep me in the same cycle of suffering. In my sobriety, I have learned that I am happier and more successful. My life has changed for the better since making this decision and I have had abundant growth in personal and professional development. ⁣
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Four notable things I’ve gained in sobriety⁣
•Strong emotion regulation ⁣
•Healthier relationships⁣
•More energy and ambition⁣
•Loss of anxiety, intrusive thoughts and low mood⁣
I now cope with difficult thoughts, feelings and emotions with High Intensity Interval Training (HIT) workouts. I can be found at my local gym on the daily. ⁣
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A huge shoutout to my clients who inspired me to be brave enough to share this with you.⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

11/11/2022

Where do you think you fall on this spectrum?⁣
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👉🏻Optimized nutrition: have healthy balanced eating habits, feel comfortable in our bodies and accept our unique body shape/type.⁣
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👉🏻Disordered eating: restricting, fasting, compulsive overeating, purging, excessive exercising,striving for perfection, preoccupation with weight and shape, yo-yo dieting, steroid use or laxative use. ⁣
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👉🏻Eating disorders for example, anorexia nervosa- restricting type, anorexia nervosa- binge/purge type, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) or other specified feeding and intake disorder (OSFED).⁣⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

11/09/2022

Are you questioning if you have an eating disorder? Do you feel like your thoughts are consumed by food and your appearance? You might feel pressured to look a certain way to fit in and go to drastic measures to attain it.⁣
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You go through the cycle of restricting, binging, or purging and your feelings about yourself don’t seem to get better. You are looking for a way to feel safe, in control and cope with negative experiences. It takes a great deal of courage to reach out when you are struggling with disordered eating.⁣
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I support you to process your thoughts and feelings, heal from upsetting experiences and develop healthy coping skills that allow you to grow. It is possible to live a life at peace with food and content with the way you look. You can feel happy, in control and confident in your mind and body⁣🤍
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Take your first step towards your healing journey and book a free 15-minute consult - Link in bio!⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣⁣
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11/07/2022

Here are 8 eating styles. Where would you place yourself on this list? ⁣
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Ideally, we are aiming for an intuitive eating style. It is a non-diet eating approach that promotes positive attitudes towards food, body and mind. 🌱⁣
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Want to learn more about intuitive eating? Book here a free 15 minute consult - Link in bio!⁣
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❀⁣⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣⁣
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11/04/2022

Hello everyone! It’s good to be back, I took a much needed social media break. 📴⁣
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Sometimes this can be necessary to be present, mindful and focus on gratitude. ⁣
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Social media breaks encourage productivity, creativity, boost self confidence and self worth, and overall create more meaningful social interactions and relationships. ⁣
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I encourage everyone to take a break from social media, even for just a week or two – it can be so beneficial for our mental health. 🤍⁣
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❀⁣⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣⁣
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11/02/2022

Intuitive eating is the practice of trusting your bodies inner wisdom to guide you in making choices around food. We are all born with the skill to eat; to honour our hunger cues around when to eat and to stop once we are full.

Along my own eating disorder recovery, I practiced intuitive eating to end the war with my mind and body. Take a look at these four questions. Could intuitive eating be right for you?🌼⁣
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Your answers will make you more in tune with your body and allow yourself to make the necessary changes to become an intuitive eater.⁣
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❀⁣
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Stephanie West, MA., RP⁣
Trauma and Eating Disorders Specialist⁣
Set up a free consultation!⁣

05/04/2022

I’ve been meaning to announce some news regarding my private practice!!

When I originally launched my business last year I had planned to stay entirely virtual. Over the last couple of months I have had a lot of inquiries for in person services and so I wanted to be able to support this request.

I am now offering in person services in 🎉

If you are a current client, please call, text or email if you’d like to meet me for an in person session in

If you are someone who is interested in starting therapy, please click the link in the bio and contact me for a free consultation!

I look forward to working with you 💛

📸
💇🏼‍♀️

05/02/2022

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the different types of restriction. Most people don’t know that restriction goes beyond counting calories.

We can emotionally restrict ourselves by using food to distract ourselves from our feelings. We can mentally restrict by not allowing ourselves to eat when and how much we need to.

There is no quicker way to a binge episode than by mentally and physically restricting our food intake.

Addressing all levels of restriction is so necessary 💕

Is restriction something you might be struggling with?

Link in the bio for a free 15 minute consult ✨

04/29/2022

Hey, I’ve been here, more times than I can count 🙋🏼‍♀️ It took me a long time to learn why diets don’t work.

As shown in the picture above, we start a diet to gain control over food intake, in order to achieve an ideal image of “what we should look like”. Your brain and body go into survival mode, worried that you are starving and increase signals to eat more. Eventually, we give in and eat more than we had intended and begin to feel shame, worthlessness and out of control. This causes us to restrict more, which often creates/ maintains this cycle of restriction and over eating.

I want you to know that, you are not weak for breaking your diet, you are resilient. Your body wants you to thrive and be nourished ❤️

Have you found yourself caught in this cycle?

Link in the bio ✨

04/29/2022

This one has been coming up a lot lately. The way a person treats you says more about them, than it does about you. If you pay attention to the way a person talks about themselves or others, you can see how they are really feeling internally.

Has someone said or done something to you and your having trouble moving forward? Contact me for a free 15 minute consult ✨

04/20/2022

There was a time in my life where I found myself stepping on the scale multiple times a day.

I had to ask myself what I really thought the number said about my worth and how this would impact my relationship with my body.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before the next time you step on the scale 💛

03/30/2022

What is the nervous system💭 ? ⁣
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In biology, the nervous system is a highly complex part of a human that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. ⁣
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Meaning…⁣
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The nervous system controls everything you do, including breathing, walking, thinking, and feeling. This system is made up of your brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves of your body. The nerves carry the messages to and from the body, so the brain can interpret them and take action.⁣
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Having a regulated nervous system is so important not only for your physical health, but also your mental and emotional health🙌🏼!!⁣
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Contact me today for a free consultation!⁣
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❀ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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03/01/2022

Have you ever found yourself stuck in the trauma cycle?

When we experience childhood trauma, we develop various complex beliefs about ourselves, others and the world around us. These beliefs typically lack trust, security and safety.

For example, if you grew up in a household where your emotional needs were neglected, you may begin to think “I am not good enough”, “I am unlovable” or “I am not important”. Having these beliefs create difficulty functioning in the world, and initiates self- sabotage.

Self- sabotage may look like ending relationships preemptively, because you don’t believe you are worthy, or detaching from friendships to avoid rejection.

These experiences of self- sabotage support the evidence of these original core beliefs, which exacerbates symptoms of anxiety/depression and causes the cycle to start over again.

02/27/2022

I’ve been here, as a daughter and as a mom. We say things and our children are repeating them shortly after.

We live in a culture that places a heavy emphasis on body image and diet culture. As parents we are affected by these messages just as much as our children. We can work to offer our children healthier messages by starting with ourselves, and the narrative of conversations we have in the home.

Let’s work to:

✨ be kind to our bodies
✨ talk about food as nourishment or in a neutral way
✨ talk about exercise as self-care
✨identify positive characteristics, talents&interests
✨ wear clothing that makes us feel comfortable
✨ seek support to process our own concerns around body image and eating behaviours

02/27/2022

Raising awareness around substance abuse is something I am so passionate about.

People who abuse alcohol and or drugs, use this behaviour to self-medicate and cope.

After difficult life experiences, we sometimes experience shatters in our sense of self, and struggle to relate to others and the world around us.

Check out these stats by ISSTD & The National Center for PTSD to better understand the causes of substance abuse.

02/27/2022

There is a strong correlation between substance abuse / addiction & trauma!

It is important that we are aware of how trauma creates the desire to self- medicate and how to implement adaptive coping mechanisms.

This post offers some insight into how the cycle exacerbates suffering and causes a person to remain stuck.

02/26/2022

9 different ways to help calm & regulate your nervous system! Try these out when you are feeling anxious or experiencing big emotions. See which work best for you and support you to calm down!

🧍🏼‍♀️Stretch. Releases tension from the body and increases blood flow.

🫁Breath work, deep breathing, square breathing. In through your nose-hold-out through your mouth.

💫 Meditation. Letting yourself be. You can also try affirmations, crying and letting your thoughts flow freely.

👄 Jaw tap. Tap up and down both sides of your jaw to help unclench & relax.

🦋 Butterfly hug. Place your hands on the opposite side of your chest, tap back and forth slowly. Bilateral stimulation helps to calm and soothe your body. (We use this technique in EMDR therapy)

❤️ Heart hold. Place your hands on your heart, note how this feels and take deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth.

👋🏼 Shake it out. Move your body! Do what feels good for you.

🤸🏼‍♂️Big movement. Connecting your mind & body is powerful for healing. This may look like running, hiking, dancing, swimming etc.

🧘🏼‍♀️ Yoga. Calm your body, pay attention to your breathing and reconnect with yourself.

02/26/2022

Rewiring our thoughts and beliefs is hard work. Be gentle with yourself as you unlearn the patterns that once protected you ✨⁣⁣
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❀ ⁣⁣⁣

02/02/2022

It is estimated that 2.7 million Canadians are living with an eating disorder.

This week is eating disorder awareness week and this years campaign is “Everyone Has a Role to Play”. This mean that each and everyone of us can take the initiative to educate ourselves about eating disorders, learn to support others, check in with ourselves and support agencies in raising awareness.

& a reminder to be kind and compassionate to yourself and others.

01/29/2022

Your judgements of other people speaks more about your own inner suffer. When you feel yourself becoming judgmental, turn your awareness into yourself.

What is truly going on for you in that moment? How are you feeling? Could you be projecting your own pain onto that person?

When we talk poorly about others, we only increase our suffering and add negativity to our life.

Instead, focus on meeting your own needs 🤍

01/28/2022

How I’ll be spending my Friday night ❤️

If you have ever questioned your relationship with alcohol, I highly recommend this book.

01/28/2022

Trauma therapy is hard work.

It takes a lot of courage to consciously talk about things in our past that have caused us pain and suffering.

This short term discomfort leads to long term relief 💪🏼

💯

01/28/2022

When we go through something truly awful, it shakes us to our core. It causes us to disconnect our minds from our bodies, completely losing harmony with ourselves.

Trauma is not what happens to you.
Abuse, neglect
^ these events are traumatic.

Trauma is what happens inside you.

As a result of traumatic events, we become disconnected from our emotions, our body, have difficulty being in the present moment, develop a negative world view, negative self concept and struggle to foster healthy, trusting relationships.

So when we experience trauma, how do we heal?

1. Process what has happened to you
2. Establish safety & security
3. Ask yourself, how does this experience affect me in present day?
4. Reconnect with yourself! Your mind, body and emotions.
5. Learn healthy coping skills

01/28/2022

What does it mean to find something? It means to recover it.

When we recover, we find ourself again ❤️

01/28/2022

Do you ever feel anxious or have trouble relaxing?

When we go through something traumatic, it is stored in our bodies and manifests as physical and psychological symptoms.

When healing from trauma, it is important to pay attention to our bodies and practice regulating your nervous system.

Try adding some of these strategies to your daily practice to feel calm and in control ✨

01/27/2022

Addiction is ANY behaviour that a person uses to find relief/cope with stress and continues to use despite negative consequences.

Addiction is not a genetic disorder and is not a choice a person makes. Addiction is a person’s best attempt to experience relief and cope with difficult experiences. Recovery lies within getting to the root cause of the problem.

01/25/2022

There is a great deal of stigma associated with eating disorders. What most people don't know, is that eating behaviours are a way to cope with difficult thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences.

I have had the privilege of working with many people in eating disorder recovery and wanted to share some of the strengths I have noticed.

What are some strengths you have noticed with people in recovery ?

01/25/2022

Human beings do not survive traumatic experiences through thoughtful decisions making or planning. We get through these experiences because our bodies have the instinct to survive built into them and our brains prioritize survival above everything else. As soon as our brain perceives a threat, our survival response is set into motion. We learn to adapt and cope with what we have.

You may experience some of the symptoms listed on this post. Ask yourself, “how did my symptoms help me survive”?

Beginning to understand how your symptoms have helped you survive, is the first step in changing your relationship with them.

01/24/2022

There is a vicious cycle of addictive and self destructive behaviours.

We engage in addictive or self- destructive behaviours to numb, get rid of intrusive thoughts, self-soothe, increase hypervigilance, manage depression or dissociate.

Compulsive behaviours have a drug affect that wears off after a few minutes or hours, increasing the need to repeat the action or substance to prevent losing the positive affect.

This why over time substance use becomes substance abuse, self- harm becomes more dangerous and suicidal thoughts become more actively life threatening.

How have you learned to survive and adapt in the face of adversity?

01/24/2022

Recommending this book for those of you who struggle with a harsh inner dialogue! This book is written by Pete Walker, a person who has journeyed through living with complex PTSD; a diagnosis that is centred around reoccurring trauma, usually in childhood.

01/22/2022

The issue is not your body, and it cannot be the solution 🤍

Losing weight will not make you happy or solve all your problems. This is an idea created by diet culture.

Instead, get curious about how your past wounds continue to impact you. Reflect on the messages you have received about diet culture. Practice reparenting yourself to begin healing and change your relationship with food.

& be kind to yourself; healing is hard work 💕

01/20/2022

Trauma is not objective!!

What might be traumatic for one person, may not be for another. Trauma is a perceived experience based on a persons perception and response of their nervous system.

It’s never okay to tell someone that what happened to them wasn’t traumatic 🚩

Only you know how you feel and how an event has impacted you.

💯

01/17/2022

Hi! I’m Stephanie and I am the face behind this page and the owner of Holistic Healing Psychotherapy; a virtual private practice based out of Ontario, Canada.

I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with lived experience and I specialize in trauma informed approaches to therapy.

Many therapists have struggled with the exact same issues as our clients currently do. Healing from my own childhood trauma is what makes me so passionate about working with people who face the same struggle. It is possible to heal from mental health concerns and live a healthy, happy life. I hope by sharing bits of my story with you, you can see this too.

A bit of info about me…

🌼I’ve known I wanted to be a therapist since I was 14 years old!
🌼I used EMDR therapy to recover from my own difficult eating behaviours
🌼I live a sober lifestyle
🌼Sunshine, kombucha, beaches, running and nature hikes are some of my favourite things
🌼Taurus ☀️ Sagittarius 🌚 Libra ⬆️

Think we’d be a great fit to work together? Visit my website to contact me.

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm

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