Nourish Health & Wellness, LLC

08/21/2021

Excellent piece about how our brains respond to things that are highly rewarding, pleasurable, and in essence addictive (like digital technology) -and how it regulates itself when we have too much of a good thing.

08/06/2021

Childhood trauma isn’t just the big, bad, horrible things you may have experienced or witnessed growing up— childhood trauma is also all of these things below ⬇️.

Childhood trauma is also:

NOT BEING SEEN OR HEARD: Our core human needs are to be seen, heard, + authentically expressed as we are. If we had stressed, overworked, distracted parents (who were deeply struggling themselves) these emotional needs aren’t met. We begin to deny/betray parts of who we actually are in an attempt to get love or approval. As adults this creates a fear of criticism, disconnection from intuition, + confusion around who we actually are.

HAVING A PARENT FIGURE DENY YOUR REALITY: As children, we experience events very differently than adults. When we share our experience with parent figures + they tell us “it wasn’t that bad” or “that didn’t really happen,” we begin to no longer trust ourselves. We start to outsource our reality to people around us. As adults this manifests in relationships where we feel “crazy” or unsure or what’s real.

BEING TOLD DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY YOU CAN’T OR SHOULDN’T EXPERIENCE CERTAIN EMOTIONS: Sounds like— “man up’ “don’t cry” “don’t be dramatic” “stop being so sensitive.” We become conditioned to believe emotions are ‘bad’ + need to be denied to repressed in order to make others comfortable.

HAVING A PARENT FIGURE WHO CAN’T REGULATE THEIR EMOTIONS: looks like— a parent figure who becomes easily overwhelmed + screams, engages in “ghosting” or silent treatment, or uses substances/food/romantic relationships to cope. As children, we need our parent figures to model how to feel ‘big’ emotions. If we don’t get this, we adapt similar coping mechanisms they did.

HAVING A PARENT FIGURE THAT’S FOCUSED ON APPEARANCE: Our parents body image becomes our own internalized body images. The way they speak about their own bodies + our bodies becomes our intently voice. We unconsciously believe our appearance is the way to gain (or lose) love/approval.

HAVING A PARENT FIGURE WHO DOES NOT MODEL BOUNDARIES: we only learn boundaries by witnessing them. If our parent figures didn’t have boundaries or violated our boundaries, we don’t have them as adults. This manifests as relationships where we feel taken advantage, guilty for having our own needs,or resentful. We also don’t understand how to honor others boundaries

05/27/2021

This is us. We love our work. We love our patients.

04/14/2020

This post is everything 🙌 What thoughts and emotions does this bring up for you?

with
・・・
[No emotion can hurt me.]
That phrase has been such an important lesson to me that I (Alex) have it hanging on the wall of my bathroom (along with the other beliefs I am reinforcing these days.) .
I’m seeing a lot of complaints of people sitting at home and that they’re miserable. Fair enough, times are definitely super weird right now. But my theory is that many of us aren’t miserable because we’re home. After all, if I remember correctly, the vast majority of us were complaining about being at work before this all started.
What people are likely complaining about is that they’re being forced to slow down. And that makes us really uncomfortable a lot of times because slowing down means that we are more available to feel our feelings. And that, quite frankly, scares the s**t out of us. .
Here’s what Megan and I have learned over and over again: the only way out is THROUGH. That means there is not amount of alcohol or sugar or social media that will save you from feeling your feelings. .
Take some time to consider what feeling your feelings would look like for you. Would journaling be helpful? Would doing EFT/tapping be useful? Do whatever you’ve got to do to be brave enough to sit with what’s coming up. .
How are YOU doing with being at home? (Or if you’re still working, how are your feelings about that?) We want to hear from you in the comments below! ❤️ XOXO, Dr. Alex

04/08/2020

One of many mindfulness tools that might come in handy, experiment until you find what feels best for you!

Many signs of anxiety can also look like sickness, and it's hard to parse what’s what. Use this fast and easy tool to ground yourself several times a day.

04/07/2020

Taken on a lovely trip to Lake Anna weeks ago, this short video is one of the simple tools I’ve been using when feeling overwhelmed these days. You don’t have to see nature in person in order to access the stress reduction benefits of looking at bodies of water. Paired with a few deep breaths, it’s a very small pause I take as many times per day as I need to reset my nervous system and breathe some space in between the tension. What are some of the tools you’ve been using to create pockets of peace in your day?

03/31/2020

This is how we approach integrative psychiatry... Especially during these extra-stressful times, we are emphasizing safe and supportive mental health practices. To learn more about our medication management appointments, call 804-513-9507 or email info@nourishhealthandwellness.com.

03/28/2020

03/26/2020

Wonderful resources being offered by the Center for Mind Body Medicine to help decrease stress and lessen anxiety during this time. Check them out!

03/25/2020

In light of the increased stress and anxiety that many are experiencing right now, we are making available a limited number of new patient slots for people looking for an integrative approach to managing their mental health symptoms, including medication support.

Though we usually offer our services as a comprehensive program of care- we are setting aside a number of new patient slots for individuals who would like to work with us on an appointment by appointment basis for mental health symptoms.

If you would like to make a new patient appointment please visit our contact page on our website: https://buff.ly/30NXbr3 and select “new patient appointment”. Let us know if you have any questions, we are here for you!

03/24/2020

Hello amazing community- how are you feeling? I wish I had more comforting words to provide other than the fact that we are all in this together. Our brick & mortar office is closed for the foreseeable future but we are still fully operational via telemedicine for our current & new patients. We are continuing to provide a space for our clients to feel heard & tools to build resilience, sustainable healthy habits, and self awareness during this time of uncertainty.

03/18/2020

What CAN we do during this time of uncertainty and stress? Social distancing is the best thing we can do right now, but it can feel isolating and stifling to stay in one space (usually the couch) for days or weeks. We know that moving our bodies and getting outside makes us feel better, but this is usually difficult to prioritize during the busy workweek. If life has slowed down for you as it has for most of us, use it as an opportunity to put down your phone for a little while and hit the trails, walk around the neighborhood with your family, or visit a park with a lake or creek (bodies of water can also be extra soothing for a restless mind). This is absolutely the right time to implement a daily exercise habit for your physical AND mental health- especially if you’re able to do it outside in nature. We are all in this together, let’s do what we can to take care of ourselves and others ❤️