A Positive Approach Counseling

11/24/2022

Appreciate life even if it isn’t perfect. Happiness isn’t about fulfillment of our wishes, but rather appreciation for what we have. Happy Thanksgiving!

10/28/2022

Give yourself permission to take up space. You matter.

10/20/2022

Everyone has times when they don’t feel their best. Whether you are struggling with a low mood, anxiety, stress, or just a lack of motivation, it’s tough to feel good when you’re not quite at 100%.

When you are feeling down or stressed, it can be helpful to look for healthy things you can do to make yourself feel better quickly. While there are things that are simply outside of your control, there are lots of actionable steps you can take to seize control and feel better right now. This is a good short list. I would also add take a walk, get some fresh air, talk to a friend, cuddle a pet.

10/19/2022

Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, increase happiness, and more. It can help you adapt to changes, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks. In a national survey, Americans cited benefits of self-care as: enhanced self-confidence (64%), increased productivity (67%), happiness (71%). From a physical health perspective, self-care also reduces heart disease, stroke and cancer.

What are some things that you do regularly to care for and nurture yourself?

10/18/2022

Using our senses to self-soothe and self regulate can be a very helpful technique. When we get hurt, physically or mentally, feel anxious, or depressed, we all hope to feel better. We seek to feel better by learning how to make ourselves heal and relieve anxieties, in both immediate and long-term ways. In other words, we self-soothe. This is a learned skill and takes practice to find healthy ways to self regulate when dealing with difficult emotions or stress. Here are some tips on how you can use your senses to self soothe in healthy ways.

10/17/2022

Starting today, say goodbye to anything that doesn’t support self-care, self-worth, and self-love.
Self- love is the fuel that allows an individual to reach their full potential, and is filled with compassion, grace, and gentleness. Making space and prioritizing ourselves allows us to embrace our lives completely and wholeheartedly. Self-love is learning to extend kindness toward ourselves, even when we struggle and suffer. It is extending forgiveness to ourselves when we make mistakes. Self-love means prioritizing ourselves and giving ourselves permission to find and believe in our strengths and gifts. Sometimes it means putting ourselves first. Sometimes it means making space to identify our needs and wants. It involves setting boundaries. Self-love is not perfection, nor is it always being happy. It is not based on your achievements and external measurements of success. True self-love must come from within, even when we mess up or take a wrong turn in life. Self-love is what shines through even when we don’t accomplish our goals or meet our measurement of success. When we can learn to truly love ourselves, we have more energy for living fully, more love to share with others, and healthier relationships overall.

08/16/2022

Simple Breathing Exercise:
​Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Keep your shoulders relaxed. ...
Exhale slowly through your mouth. As you blow air out, purse your lips slightly but keep your jaw relaxed. ...
Repeat this breathing exercise. Do it for several minutes until you start to feel better.

08/15/2022

Sometimes the best form of self-care is doing that thing that’s been weighing on you. What did you say that you would do last week that you haven’t done yet? What if you make it a priority this week?

05/26/2022

05/26/2022

Give yourself 10 minutes today to focus on your body, how does it feel? Is your heart beating quickly? Are your muscles tense? Feel your body sink into the chair that you’re sitting in. Focus on your breathing. Take this time to calm your nervous system. It’s been a difficult week. Keep focusing on your breathing. Slowly and fully in and out. Speak words of love and kindness to yourself and words of calm and peace. Try to make this a daily habit. You’ve got this.

05/25/2022

My heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by yesterday’s tragedy. You are dealing with a pain that is unimaginable.

Yesterday’s school shooting is tragic, heartbreaking, and for many parents extremely anxiety provoking. School shootings have made a lot of parents in America anxious and with good reason. Something to be aware of is that parents are often more worried about it than younger kids are. But kids pick up on their parents’ fear. If you’re wondering how to address the recent school shooting with your kids here are some suggestions.

Lead the conversation by allowing them to ask questions before giving your thoughts and opinions. For example, “ I know you heard me and daddy talking about something scary that happened today. I’m sure you have questions. What can we answer for you?” Explain things in the simplest yet factual way you can. You can say “A kid walked into a school and shot students.”

You can focus on how you are feeling, that you’re upset and that you also don’t understand why this happened, but be careful about how you are reacting. Tears and honest feelings are okay, but process the event with your spouse or friend before talking to your child about it. If a parent becomes frantic and anxious, a child is going to react similarly.

Most importantly, remind kids that they are safe; that you will keep them safe, and when they are at school, their teachers will keep them safe.

05/24/2022

This might seem like a lofty goal, but you can start by holding space for yourself.

We seem to do it naturally for others, but what does it mean to do it for ourselves? Holding space means becoming the container to experience yourself; to grow, to feel, to express, to test out, to live. It is being present, treating yourself with care, consideration, kindness, compassion and love. Hearing the needs of your body and mind, feeling your emotions, and listening to the yearning of your soul. It’s a way of being, a lifestyle, a profound choice and a stand you take. It’s not a belief system but is rather a way of being with yourself and meeting your own needs. We spend every minute of the day with ourself. How much of it is good, supportive, and kind?