Kristy Fox Hensley

12/21/2021

CHRISTMAS boundary tips!!

Enjoy your holiday celebrations with less drama!

Merry Christmas!!🎄

02/20/2021

A recent Gallup poll found that America’s mental health has deteriorated to the worst point it has been in two decades

The number of Americans seeking mental health services has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. With anxiety and depression on the rise, mental health experts across the nation have been inundated with patients desperately needing help but unable to secure appointments.A recent Gallup poll found tha...

12/05/2020

CONNECTION is CRUCIAL!!

Please don't isolate, unless medically necessary, even then, find creative ways to connect with others. God created us for connecting with others! 💖

"‘Face-to-face contact is like a vaccine’
Psychologist Susan Pinker states that direct person-to-person contact triggers parts of our nervous system that release a “cocktail” of neurotransmitters tasked with regulating our response to stress and anxiety.

In other words, when we communicate with people face-to-face, it could help to make us more resilient to stress factors in the long run."

12/04/2020

A colleague and I were just discussing the observance and increase in overall stress. Please see the article below taken from the American Institute of Stress (yes, there is such a thing!) for some suggestions on coping well if you too are experiencing job related or financial stress during this pandemic.

This website contains other helpful tips and information regarding stress.

I pray that we can all find moments of joy in the simple things that truly matter to us this Christmas season!

If the pandemic has taught us anything, that is to know and understand what truly matters to us and makes our lives rich and full!

May God make His presence known to you today!

In an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, businesses across the country are closing their doors. In many states, emergency restrictions now prohibit dining in at restaurants and bars, as well as any large gatherings. Other states and counties have also passed regulations

09/29/2020

I'm loving this ambient jazz, rainy, coffee house video to listen to while doing paperwork, so I thought I'd share.

There are many similar videos that can help calm the mind (like nature videos) or help you with studying, productivity or anxiety, and those which can aide you in sleep.

Check out what YouTube has to offer...enjoy! 😊

Enjoy a cup of coffee in this Rainy Night Coffee Shop Ambience with relaxing jazz music, rain sounds, and other ambient coffee shop background noises. Bring ...

08/11/2020

Gardening...for THERAPY? Yes!

Someday, I hope to have a garden to be used for therapy and provide food sources.

With more urbanization and less people growing up in rural environments, we see the impact. People in rural areas have less acute stress response. Studies indicate that there is a significant correlation between the availability of nature and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. (Psychology Today)

Data collected by Kathleen Wolf ( College of the Environment, Washington University), concluded that the experience of nature and green spaces “help to restore the mind from mental fatigue and provides a calming and inspiring environment”.

Therapy Gardens provide a calm, protected space and a supportive environment, in which you can begin to allow new experiences in, reconnect with nature and benefit from the healing power of the garden. (www.thetherapygarden.org)

Consider tending and nurturing a plant, herbs or perhaps a small container garden or raised bed of flowers or vegetables for yourself and friends/neighbors. Maybe you want to be bold and make plans for a large garden next gardening season?!

Seems to me that in gardening-you nurture and get nurtured at the same time!

07/31/2020

One thing I've heard repeatedly from friends and clients alike is about the challenges they face with monitoring their kids' activities, "home schooling," and discipline regarding screen time during the pandemic.I can only imagine the many challenges this poses for you-(my sons are grown and hopefully monitoring their own screen time ...please Lord 😬)

Here is one thing I do know for sure-THIS TOO WILL PASS!

Be gracious with yourself as you navigate parenting during pandemic along with your own feelings, your struggle with "healthy" ways to cope with isolation and quarantine! Not to suggest that you ignore them or blatantly permit, but if one day they watch TV or play video games a little more than you'd like (or you gave permission) THIS DOESN'T MAKE YOU A BAD PARENT!

They too are trying to wrap their young, little minds around making sense of all of this! We don't have to deny we too have moments when it's difficult. Admitting this honestly and age appropriately, gives them an opening to discuss what might be weighing on their hearts and minds.

Get creative with ways to express and release that: draw or paint what your feeling (both of you) or use creative writing to "get it out." Do some deep breathing +mindfulness exercises (name what you see, hear, smell, feel and taste). Go for an adventure drive or walk or do yoga together. Get outside in the sunshine or dance in the rain puddles together-it'll do you both some good!

and remember...new mercies are available to you EVERY MORNING!