Molly Cook, LCSW, LCDC

12/11/2024

In the space between what happens to us and how we respond lies our greatest potential for growth and freedom. Viktor Frankl’s wisdom reminds us that mindfulness and choice are the keys to shaping our lives. ✨ How will you use your space today?

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If you’re in a crisis, call 911 or text HOME to 741741 to reach a volunteer Crisis Counselor.
☎️crisis line: ______________________________

11/24/2024

Still finding the glimmers of light, hope, sweetness, ease... How about you? Did you look for them? I know it’s been a rough time for many of us. It’s tempting to get stuck in the gloom and doom when we fall in, but we can find our way back out. ☔️🌈😌 The glimmers don’t go away during the hard times, I promise you.

Go look around today and see what you get.

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11/11/2024

11/10/2024

🧠 When it comes to chronic pain, your brain learns to feel more pain over time. This kind of pain is called neuroplastic pain. Here are some of the most common hallmarks of neuroplastic pain.

Recognize any of these? If so, you may be able to find relief by working with your brain processes and patterns instead of focusing solely on getting rid of the physiological sensation.

Information source: Alan Gordon, LCSW in his book The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain. (I highly recommend it.)

Curious to learn more about chronic pain? Follow for more.

08/22/2024

🤹The more jumbled our minds, the more stress we feel, so let it out! 🧠Cognitive neuroscience supports the practice of externalizing information in order to clear the mind.

✍🏼Externalizing means doing something such as writing your thoughts down. Making lists or journaling can help clarify your thoughts and reduce stress by reducing the mental load or burden it takes to keep all of these things in your mind. It’s actually taxing on your brain when you’ve got lots swirling around up there and it actually does help reduce the strain when you write it down.

📌Writing things down in a to-do list does not mean that you have to actually do everything on that list but the simple act of writing things down takes the burden off of your brain to have to remember this thing.

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If you’re in a crisis, call 911 or text HOME to 741741 to reach a volunteer Crisis Counselor.
☎️crisis line:
______________________________
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06/10/2024

We’ve got something for you! Our workshop series starts Sunday June 23rd. It’s all about the chakra system. We’ll be sharing about each of the main chakras or energy centers in the body and how these translate in western psychology terms as well as how to recognize and respond to an imbalance within yourself.

It’s part yoga sequence part therapeutic processing. Think yoga class meets group therapy in a really accessible way.

Sign up today to save your spot! We also included a deal to make workshops cheaper if you sign up for all 7 up front.

Link in the usual place.

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05/23/2024

Explore the power of a holistic approach to chronic pain management. Inspired by Mark Grant’s work, we combine psychophysiological techniques informed by research in neuroscience to help you find relief and recovery. Begin your journey towards wellness with us.

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04/20/2024

🌟 Meet Your Built-In Pain Relief: Endorphins! 🌟

Did you know that your body has its own way of combating pain and stress? It’s true! Endorphins, often dubbed the body’s “feel-good” chemicals, naturally manage pain and boost our mood. Here’s how you can tap into this superpower:

➡️ Get Moving: A brisk walk or your favorite workout can jumpstart endorphin release.
➡️ Laugh Out Loud: Yes, laughter is a legit therapy! It decreases stress hormones and pumps up those endorphins.
➡️ Have Some Dark Chocolate: A little dark chocolate can go a long way in lifting your spirits.
➡️ Turn Up the Tunes: Music isn’t just food for the soul—it also stimulates endorphin release.

Swipe to learn more about how these natural healers work their magic! ✨

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If you’re in a crisis, call 911 or text HOME to 741741 to reach a volunteer Crisis Counselor.
☎️crisis line:
______________________________

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04/17/2024

If you experience chronic pain syndrome or chronic health conditions with chronic pain symptoms, it is important to understand that the pain itself is not dangerous.

We actually don’t experience pain until the message from the sensory neurons in our peripheral nervous system make it all the way up the spinal cord to the cortex (the thinking part of the brain).

The more we fear pain, the more we reinforce the implicit belief that pain is dangerous and the brain becomes more sensitized to pain, meaning it will feel more of it and feel it more intensely. That’s why chronic pain is maladaptive. Acute pain is adaptive, alerting us to an injury or to stop doing what’s causing pain. With acute pain, the pain diminishes rather quickly (within a few hours to weeks). In chronic pain, the pain persists long after the initial injury/pain generating event is resolved.

In order to heal chronic pain, we have to re-train the brain to treat the pain as an alarm, warning us about potential danger and prompting us to take care of our bodies. No doubt, it’s hard to do this but with repetition we will rewire that neural pathway to a more effective pain response. Your brain is SO POWERFUL 🧠🤩💪🏼

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