Mandy Squires - Interconnections Therapy

10/26/2025

10/26/2025

Mandy Squires, LMFT
Interconnectionstherapy.org
702-334-2509

10/02/2025

Not every challenge in a relationship is a dealbreaker.

Some issues are red flags: persistent patterns that harm your wellbeing and show little chance of change.

Others are growth areas: habits or skills that can improve when both partners are willing to work on them.

Red Flags often look like:

Consistent disrespect, contempt, or manipulation

Refusal to take responsibility

Behavior that makes you feel unsafe or constantly anxious


Growth Areas often look like:

Communication struggles, like interrupting or shutting down

Different conflict or emotional expression styles

Habits that improve when addressed with care and effort

The key is willingness. A partner who listens, apologizes, and shows effort is demonstrating growth potential. A partner who dismisses, mocks, or refuses to engage is showing a red flag.

Pause and ask yourself: Is this a harmful pattern, or is this something we can grow through together? The answer can help you decide whether to invest in change, or protect yourself by stepping away.

Gottman Institute

09/25/2025

Mandy Squires, LMFT
702-334-2509
Interconnectionstherapy.org

09/25/2025

Mandy Squires, LMFT
702-334-2509
Interconnectionstherapy.org

09/24/2025

Meditation improves the brain by increasing grey matter, enhancing emotional regulation, focus, and compassion, and shrinking the amygdala. It benefits the body by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, boosting the immune system, and helping to manage chronic pain. These changes are a result of the brain's improved neuroplasticity and strengthened connections between different regions.

Brain Benefits
Increased Attention & Focus:
Meditation strengthens the brain's ability to concentrate and resist distractions, improving attention span and the capacity to shift focus when needed.

Enhanced Emotional Regulation:
It strengthens the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for rational thought and emotional regulation, which helps in managing stress and impulsive reactions.

Reduced Stress Response:
Meditation reduces the activity of the amygdala, the brain's "fear center," leading to a less intense stress reaction.

Improved Self-Awareness:
Mindfulness practices increase self-awareness, allowing you to better recognize thoughts and emotions and respond to them thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Increased Compassion:
Cultivating feelings of love and compassion through meditation can lead to more prosocial behavior and stronger connections with others.

Brain Structure Changes:
Long-term meditation can increase grey matter in areas of the brain associated with attention and self-awareness.

Body Benefits
Reduced Stress & Anxiety:
By calming the nervous system and decreasing the effects of chronic stress, meditation significantly reduces feelings of stress and anxiety.

Improved Mood:
It helps alleviate symptoms of depression and improves overall mood and outlook.

Better Sleep:
Meditation helps control racing thoughts and promotes relaxation, leading to improved sleep quality.

Lowered Blood Pressure:
Meditation can decrease heart rate and blood pressure, reducing strain on the heart and blood vessels.

Pain Management:
It can help people manage chronic pain by changing how the brain processes and responds to pain signals.
Boosted Immune System:
Research indicates that meditation can decrease inflammation by reducing cytokines, thereby boosting the immune system.

09/24/2025

Interconnectionstherapy.org
Mandy Squires, LMFT
702-334-2509

08/15/2025

Mandy Squires, LMFT
702-334-2509
Interconnectionstherapy.org

08/14/2025

Mandy Squires, LMFT
Interconnectionstherapy.org
702-334-2509

08/13/2025

Interconnectionstherapy.org
Mandy Squires, LMFT
702-334-2509