Live Happy Counselling, Susan Guttridge BA MC CCC

02/24/2026

In a culture that rewards productivity and performance, we rarely ask what shaped the drive to achieve. Sometimes beneath ambition lives anxiety. This may be because striving once served a stabilizing purpose.

For some, striving is joyful and aligned. For others, it carries a sense of urgency. A subtle pressure, a fear of falling behind, and a discomfort with resting.

When love, safety, or approval felt uncertain in earlier life, the nervous system organized around what worked. That may have been being impressive, helpful, exceptional, or strong.

Achievement can become a stabilizing strategy. Not because you’re shallow or “ego-driven”. But because accomplishment once reduced relational risk.

The body remembers what keeps it connected. Over time, that strategy can start running automatically, even when the original conditions are no longer present.

And that’s where exhaustion begins. Not from ambition itself, but from the constant monitoring:

➡️ am I doing enough?
➡️ Am I enough?

Trauma-informed work doesn’t shame the achiever. It thanks it. And then gently asks: What would happen if worth didn’t depend on output?

And that’s a question isn’t answered overnight. It’s one explored in safety, in relationships where you are allowed to be uncertain, and in small experiments with rest, imperfection, and being seen without performing.

The goal isn’t to eliminate your drive. It’s to let something steadier lead it. 💛

02/20/2026

In a world that conditions us to measure our worth by productivity, achievement, approval, or perfection, it’s easy to forget our worth. So in case you need the reminder, here it is:
 
You were born worthy.
 
You always have been worthy.
 
You always will be worthy 💛
 
Worth is not something you earn through success. And it’s not something you lose through struggle. The mistakes, the accomplishments, the “good” days and the “hard” days may shape us, but they do not they do not determine our value.
 
Your worth is not a performance. It is inherent.
 
If today feels heavy, or if you find yourself trying to prove something, please take a moment to pause. Take a breath. And remember who you were before the world asked you to measure yourself.
 
💬 Tag someone who needs this reminder 🙂
 

02/12/2026

Following the events in Tumbler Ridge, many in our communities are carrying a lot. Some are grieving. Some are overwhelmed. Some are trying to stay focused and present for others. And of course, some don’t yet have the words.

There is no single “right” way to respond to this. Whatever you’re feeling, be it numbness, sadness, anger, confusion, it’s all valid. These are normal reactions to really not normal events.

If you’re struggling, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Limit media intake if it’s increasing stress
- Connect with the caring people in your life, and let them know how you’re really doing
- Step outside for fresh air, even briefly
- Prioritize sleep, hydration, and regular meals (we can’t regulate emotion when we are tired, dehydrated, hungry)
- Move your body in grounding ways (walk, exercise; whatever fits for you)
- Spend time with those you care about (you don’t have to talk to feel connection)

And for those asking, “What can I do?”, here’s something tangible: there’s a free training called Be There, created in partnership with Jack.org. It offers practical, accessible tools to help people recognize when someone may be struggling, start conversations with care and without judgment, listen in ways that foster safety and trust, set or maintain healthy boundaries that honour the relationship, connect others to appropriate supports

You don’t have to have perfect words to be of support to someone who its struggling. Often, the most powerful thing we can do is notice, care, and stay present.

If you’ve been wondering how to show up for friends, colleagues, students, or family members during this time, this is a strong starting point. It’s evidence-informed, community-focused, and easy to access.

Take care of yourselves 💛

https://www.betherecertificate.org/

A free, online course to learn how to safely support someone who is struggling with their mental health. Learn at your own pace with interactive lessons you can save and come back to later.

02/04/2026

When a love for writing meets time spent in nature… somehow it always turns into a sleep story...!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/02D3cOGwvPxF1qj2mn1NHz?si=qt4NiWs7Stq2lQ-MQrZpXg

Calm Unfolding | Sleep Stories and Meditations · Episode

01/23/2026

When self-reflection is guided and intentional, it helps you move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

Understanding the past changes how we live the present chapter.

This is the kind of reflection I guide in A Life in Review, a self-paced, trauma-informed workbook. 📖

Learn more at the link in my bio 😊

01/11/2026

I’m so pleased to share that A Life in Review is now available as a digital download 🥳

I created this workbook to be a companion as you revisit your story through the lens of hindsight, compassion, and reflective perspective. Engaging in a life review isn’t about just remembering, it’s about exploring the meaning within your experiences and reclaiming your story so you can move forward with greater clarity and intention 💛

Whether you choose to walk through the stages of your life or explore themes such as love, resilience, loss, and legacy, this guide meets you exactly where you are.

Every life carries meaning, and your story deserves to be held with kindness ☺️

✨ Learn more or get yours at: https://www.livehappycounselling.com/store.html

01/07/2026

A life review isn’t just a trip down memory lane.

It’s an intentional way of reflecting on your life that focuses on the meaning of experiences, not just the memories themselves.

It’s about reclaiming your story so you can move forward with greater clarity and intention.

If this resonates, stay tuned for a reflective practice coming soon ☺️

12/31/2025

There’s a subtle violence in the “New Year, New You” narrative.
It whispers that who you are right now is a project to be fixed rather than a person to be held.

Growth isn’t about adding layers.
It’s about peeling them back to rediscover the goodness that has been there all along.

As we step into the new year, I invite you to start noticing that goodness, and to start listening.

Consider reflecting on these questions as you turn toward the new year:

In what moments this year did I offer myself genuine kindness instead of a demand?

What did my challenges teach me about my values that success never could?

What self-judgment am I finally ready to put down, simply because it’s too heavy to keep carrying?

As I turn my gaze with kindness toward myself, how can I care for the person I am right now?

Growth starts with caring for the “you” that already exists. Let this be a year of listening more closely to yourself, and responding with care.

12/24/2025

December is hard because it stacks multiple biological, psychological, social, and occupational stressors all at once.

For first responders, this stacking effect is amplified.

Biologically, there is less daylight, disrupted circadian rhythm, and poorer sleep, all of which reduce the body’s ability to recover and regulate stress, especially for nervous systems that already run under sustained demand.

Psychologically, the season activates memory and meaning. Dates, traditions, sounds, and smells can stir emotion before there are words to explain what’s happening, creating sudden waves of sadness, irritability, or numbness that don’t seem to have a clear cause.

Socially, December is saturated with images and messages about joy, connection, and togetherness. When real life doesn’t match what’s portrayed (in the media, advertising, or social feeds) that mismatch often fuels emotion rather than relieving it, increasing internal pressure to “be fine.”

Occupationally, many first responders experience increased call volume and higher acuity during this time of year, while opportunities to reset between calls decrease. The load builds faster than it can be discharged.

When these layers converge, the nervous system carries more. Shorter patience, emotional distance, irritability, exhaustion, or feeling “off” without clear words for why are not signs of weakness or failure. They are signals of cumulative load.

December doesn’t require more toughness. It calls for earlier care, lower expectations, and intentional load management; the same way any high-demand system stays operational under sustained pressure.

12/09/2025

We carry so many parts of ourselves through the day: some protecting, some pushing, some working hard just to keep us moving. Inside all of that effort lives a steady core that’s easy to forget,
yet always here to guide you.

A few weeks ago, I walked past a sign taped to a post in the park that read: Take What You Need. Below those words were small tear-off slips: calm, courage, gratitude, peace, patience, strength.

I loved the intention behind it: a moment to pause, choose a quality, and let that choice shape the way you move through the day.

This meditation is inspired by that sign. But instead of taking from a piece of paper, you’ll take what you need from within yourself.

Through a blend of Internal Family Systems theory and mindfulness, this practice invites you to notice the parts of you that work so hard, and reconnect with your authentic self: the steadiness within that we sometimes forget is there, and that can meet those parts with care.

So, before returning to the urgency of “doing,” here’s an invitation to pause, to breathe, and to take what you need today: calm, courage, clarity, compassion, creativity, curiosity, confidence, or connectedness - whatever your system is longing for most.

✨ Join me for this 15-minute guided practice on
(Link in Bio)

Your authentic self is already here- steady, present, and ready to lead your day ☺️

11/07/2025

Whenever life feels chaotic, I’ve always turned to information; not as a way to escape emotion, but as a way to make sense of it. Grief, though… grief is the kind of chaos that defies logic. It rearranges your world and your sense of self all at once.

So, I wrote this five-part series to bring some understanding to the emotional, physical, and neurological processes that unfold after loss, and to offer small, practical ways to find some steadiness again.

I hope these writings meet you where you are and help you approach your experience of loss with tenderness, understanding, and a little more light.

You can read the full series here:

Part One in the 5-part series Grief and the Body: Finding Steadiness in Loss

10/14/2025

Grief speaks in many ways.

For some, it arrives as tears that won't stop. For others, as exhaustion, irritability, anger, forgetfulness, or numbness. However it shows up, it can feel as though grief is love with nowhere to go - the body’s way of learning how to live in a world reshaped by loss.

Every emotion carries its own wisdom.

Grief invites us to turn inward, to tend to what’s been broken, and to honour what mattered most.

There is no timeline for grief, just as there is no single way to grieve. Only your way — moment by moment, breath by breath, as your heart finds a new language for what it has lost.

Please be tender with your heart as it learns this new rhythm.

📖 For more on the message within grief, check out “The Language of Emotions” by Karla McLaren.