Petra Counseling & Consulting LLC

04/26/2025

It’s almost May and Mental.Health Awareness Month

May is Month!

Check out SAMHSA’s Digital Toolkit to help raise awareness and share the message that ➡️ https://www.samhsa.gov/about/digital-toolkits/mental-health-awareness-month/toolkit

01/20/2024

Remember, your worth and value in this world are not measured by the tasks you accomplish in a day. You matter, just as you are.

12/13/2023

The three school districts have partnered with CDH, SFAP and BPA to provide free counseling services to students and their families.

11/27/2023

RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.

When I was at one of my lowest (mental) points in life, I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I had no energy or motivation and was barely getting by.

I had therapy once per week, and on this particular week I didn’t have much to ‘bring’ to the session. He asked how my week was and I really had nothing to say.

“What are you struggling with?” he asked.

I gestured around me and said “I dunno man. Life.”

Not satisfied with my answer, he said “No, what exactly are you worried about right now? What feels overwhelming? When you go home after this session, what issue will be staring at you?”

I knew the answer, but it was so ridiculous that I didn’t want to say it. I wanted to have something more substantial. Something more profound. But I didn’t. So I told him,

“Honestly? The dishes. It’s stupid, I know, but the more I look at them the more I CAN’T do them because I’ll have to scrub them before I put them in the dishwasher, because the dishwasher sucks, and I just can’t stand and scrub the dishes.”

I felt like an idiot even saying it. What kind of grown woman is undone by a stack of dishes? There are people out there with actual problems, and I’m whining to my therapist about dishes? But my therapist nodded in understanding and then said:

“RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.”

I began to tell him that you’re not supposed to, but he stopped me.

“Why the hell aren’t you supposed to? If you don’t want to scrub the dishes and your dishwasher sucks, run it twice. Run it three times, who cares? Rules do not exist, so stop giving yourself rules.”

It blew my mind in a way that I don’t think I can properly express.

That day, I went home and tossed my smelly dishes haphazardly into the dishwasher and ran it three times. I felt like I had conquered a dragon. The next day, I took a shower lying down. A few days later. I folded my laundry and put them wherever they fit. There were no longer arbitrary rules I had to follow, and it gave me the freedom to make accomplishments again.

Now that I’m in a healthier place, I rinse off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher properly. I shower standing up. I sort my laundry. But at a time when living was a struggle instead of a blessing, I learned an incredibly important lesson:

THERE ARE NO RULES. RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE!
Also Read https://fabliyo.com/11-year-old-young-boys-selfless-act-of-kindness-rewarded-after-returning-wallet-by-hotflav-april-22-2023145010/
Credit ~ Kate Scott

11/13/2023

10/01/2023

Together We Care. Together We Share.

09/08/2023

In the fight against su***de, we’re stronger together.

08/10/2023

Wise perspective from Michael J Fox!

08/05/2023

Want to help a grieving friend? Let them be sad.⁣ Really. ⁣Sadness is a natural response to loss, hardship, and death. It just is.⁣
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And it's hard to know what to do when your friends are hurting. It sucks to see someone you love in pain. The thing is, you can’t cheer someone up by telling them to look on the bright side, or by giving them advice. It just doesn’t work.⁣⁣
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The trick is to lean into your helplessness in the face of your friend’s pain. Your job, honestly, is to feel awkward and stay there anyway. Just hang right out with their pain.⁣⁣
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When things are dark, it's ok to be dark. Really. Not every corner needs the bright light of encouragement. In a similar vein, don't encourage someone to have gratitude for good things that happened to them in the past or good things that still exist. ⁣
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Example: We recently we saw someone respond to grieving person's comment about their sadness by telling them to shove down all the "bad feelings" and think about the good things they still have in their life. ⁣
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NO! ⁣
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First of all, just say no to unsolicited advice. When someone talks to you about how hard this is, notice your impulse to jump in with a solution, and then DON'T DO IT. Most of the time people are simply looking for acknowledgment about how awful this situation is. ⁣
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Second, good things and horrible things occupy the same space; they don't cancel each other out.⁣ Sadness is healthy. Telling someone to look on the bright side or appreciate what they still have just tells them you're not someone they can talk with about their pain. ⁣
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Instead, mirror their reality back to them. When they say, "This sucks," say, "Yes, it does." It may seem too simple, but it's amazing how much that simple acknowledgement helps.⁣ It is an unfathomable relief to have a friend who will sit with you and let you feel exactly how you feel.⁣
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For more on how to be the supportive friend you truly want to be, visit https://refugeingrief.com/ or check out my first book, : https://refugeingrief.com/book

08/02/2023

07/10/2023

NAMI's Rainbow Circle, Treasure Valley support group meets Monday nights (tonight!) at 7 PM MST ☺️
Join us at: rainbowcircletv.com/calendar

Rainbow Circle is a peer-run, affirming support group for LGBTQ+ adults in the greater Treasure Valley.

06/05/2023

There’s a fine line between stress and anxiety. Both are emotional responses, but stress is typically caused by an external trigger.