New Awakenings Counseling, MN

02/20/2026

Sometimes clients share that they feel guarded around people who identify as Christian or religious.
And that makes sense.
For many, past experiences with rigid systems, patriarchy, shame-based messaging, or spiritual control have left deep wounds. When someone has experienced spiritual trauma, their nervous system may react to reminders of that environment — even if the current person in front of them is kind and safe.
It’s important to name something gently:
Not all people of faith are sanctimonious.
Not all Christians are self-righteous.
And not all religious spaces operate from control or hierarchy.
But trauma teaches the brain to generalize for protection.
If you’ve experienced patriarchal harm, religious manipulation, or spiritual invalidation, your caution is understandable. At the same time, healing often includes learning to differentiate between the past and the present — between harmful systems and safe individuals.
In therapy, we can explore: • Spiritual trauma and its impact
• Biases formed from protective experiences
• How your nervous system learned to stay safe
• What faith, if any, means to you now
Healing doesn’t require abandoning your history.
It invites clarity, nuance, and freedom from automatic fear responses.
You deserve spaces where both your story and your boundaries are respected.
—
New Awakenings Counseling
Telehealth in Minnesota
Approved EAP Provider

02/17/2026

Feeling mentally exhausted by 3pm?
It might not be your workload. It might be decision fatigue.

Every day we make hundreds of decisions — big and small.
When your brain gets overloaded, you may notice:

• Irritability
• Indecision
• Procrastination
• Emotional reactivity
• “I just can’t think anymore”

That’s not weakness.
That’s a tired nervous system.

How to reduce decision fatigue:
✔ Simplify small daily choices
✔ Limit options (2–3 max)
✔ Make important decisions earlier in the day
✔ Build in intentional rest

Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder — it comes from reducing mental load.

If overwhelm is becoming your norm, therapy can help you regain clarity and emotional steadiness.

—
New Awakenings Counseling
Telehealth Services Available
Approved EAP Provider

02/02/2026

Monday mental health minute:
When the world feels unsettled, your nervous system feels it too.

Ongoing social unrest, constant news exposure, and uncertainty can quietly push the body into fight, flight, or freeze. Even when we’re physically safe, our brains may register what we’re seeing and hearing as an ongoing threat.

This can lead to hypervigilance—constantly scanning for danger, feeling on edge, struggling to relax, or bracing for what’s next. Over time, the nervous system can become flooded, resulting in anxiety, irritability, emotional shutdown, exhaustion, or feeling overwhelmed without a clear reason.

This isn’t a personal failure or “being too sensitive.”
It’s a normal nervous system response to prolonged stress.

During times like these, regulation matters more than logic. Slowing down, limiting exposure, grounding the body, and connecting with safe people helps signal to the nervous system that it’s okay to stand down—even briefly.
If you’re noticing these responses in yourself or your family, you’re not alone. Support can help your body and mind find steadiness again.

At New Awakenings Counseling, we work from a trauma-informed lens to help individuals navigate stress, anxiety, and nervous system overwhelm—especially during uncertain times.

A gentle grounding exercise to try now:
• Place your feet flat on the floor and notice the support beneath you
• Take a slow breath in through your nose for 4, and out through your mouth for 6
• Name 3 things you can see, 2 things you can feel, and 1 thing you can hear
• Remind yourself quietly: “In this moment, I am safe.”

Small moments of grounding add up.

Be gentle with yourself.
Your nervous system has been working hard. 💜

01/30/2026

Faith Focused Friday “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” — 2 Timothy 1:7
📖 2 Timothy

If you’ve made choices in the past that you regret, it can be hard to trust yourself again.
Many people live with a quiet fear that says:
“I can’t rely on my own judgment.”
“I’ll mess it up again.”
“I don’t have self-control.”

But this verse reminds us of something deeply important—
fear is not your true nature.

Trauma, stress, addiction, unhealthy relationships, or survival decisions can distort our sense of trust in ourselves. That doesn’t mean you lack self-control. It means your nervous system was trying to protect you with the tools it had at the time.

Healing is the process of rebuilding trust with yourself—
learning to listen to your body,
strengthening discernment,
and practicing self-control rooted in safety, not shame.

Power doesn’t mean perfection.
Love includes compassion for your past.
And self-control is something that can be restored, practiced, and strengthened.

✨ If you’re ready to heal old patterns, rebuild confidence in your decisions, and reconnect with the part of you that is capable and grounded, therapy can be a safe place to begin.

You are not broken.
You are rebuilding. 🤍

01/26/2026

Monday mental health minute: Virtual Therapy
Virtual therapy isn’t “less than.”
I have been providing virtual therapy since 2020, and for many, it offers more safety, consistency, and space to be fully present—right from home. Support should meet you where you are. 💻 If you live in Minnesota and are interested in learning more about how virtual therapy may work for you, reach out today.

01/23/2026

Faith Focused Friday 🌿 Anxiety & Letting Go

“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…” — Philippians 3:13–14📖

Anxiety has a way of keeping us tethered to old seasons—
past mistakes, past dangers, past versions of us that had to stay alert to survive.

Healing doesn’t mean pretending those seasons didn’t happen.
It means recognizing when they are no longer in control.

Sometimes healing looks like placing those fears—
the overthinking, the hypervigilance, the self-doubt—
deep in the mountain,
where they don’t get to follow you into today.

Pressing forward isn’t about forcing calm.
It’s about teaching your nervous system that this moment is safer than the last.

✨ If anxiety feels like it’s running the show, therapy can help you build tools for regulation, safety, and steadier ground—one step at a time.

01/19/2026

Monday mental health minute: Attachment & Relationships
If relationships feel exhausting, confusing, or unsafe, it doesn’t mean you’re broken.
Often, it means old attachment wounds are asking for care—not criticism. Healing can change how you show up for yourself and others. 🙏 If you are interested in breaking the cycle, reach out to schedule your first session today.

01/16/2026

Faith Focused Friday - “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5

For those who live with grief, anxiety, or PTSD, night isn’t just a time on the clock.
It’s the racing thoughts.
The flashbacks.
The heaviness that settles in when the world goes quiet.

And morning doesn’t always arrive as relief.
Sometimes it arrives as survival.

In trauma recovery, this verse isn’t a promise that pain disappears—it’s a reminder that pain is not permanent. The night may return, but it does not get the final word.

Healing often looks like:

learning how to stay present when your body expects danger

grieving what was lost while still hoping for what’s possible

waking up anxious and choosing to keep going anyway

That, too, is morning.

Joy in trauma healing is often gentle, gradual, and unfinished.
It might look like a deeper breath.
A calmer moment.
A nervous system that learns—slowly—that it is safe again.

God does not rush our healing.
He meets us in the night and walks with us into the morning.

If you are still weeping, this verse is not a rebuke.
It is an invitation to trust that healing is happening—even when it feels slow.

Your morning may not be loud or bright.
But it is coming. 🤍

01/13/2026

🌿Grief & Healing

“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…” — Philippians 3:13–14
📖 Philippians

Grief doesn’t ask us to forget what we’ve lost.
It asks us to decide how we carry it forward.

Healing in grief isn’t about leaving love behind—it’s about laying down the weight of what was never meant to be carried forever. The guilt. The “what ifs.” The parts of the story that keep you anchored in the past.

Sometimes the most sacred work of healing is burying those pieces deep in the mountain—
not to erase them,
but to honor them,
so you can keep walking without being crushed by their weight.

You can press forward and still grieve.
You can climb and still love. ✨ If grief feels heavy or isolating, you don’t have to carry it alone. Therapy can be a place to gently process loss while honoring what mattered.
Both can be true. 🤍

01/12/2026

Monday mental health minute Faith + Therapy
Faith and therapy don’t compete—they work together.
For those who desire it, counseling can honor both emotional healing and spiritual growth, creating space for grace, truth, and restoration. ✝️ If you want to heal from spiritual trauma and overcome patriarchal wounds, reach out to schedule your first session.

11/17/2023