Atlantic Coastal Therapy

07/13/2022

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will transfer 4,000 beagles from a research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, to humane societies across the United States where they can be adopted, under a plan approved by a federal judge last week.

05/02/2022

May 1st kicked off Mental Health Awareness Month. Naomi Judd spent a lifetime battling severe, treatment resistant depression. Mental health does not care about your finances, face or status. It is so important that we as a community understand how crippling and overwhelming depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are to those of us that suffer. We all have some sort of battle we are facing. Make an effort to have compassion for everyone you encounter because you have no idea what kind of battle we all face behind those eyes.

04/25/2022

Happy Monday...
Think about this to help your week feel much more satisfying.
Establishing boundaries for yourself may make other feel that you are selfish, mean, petty, uncaring, crazy, stupid or downright evil. Keep in mind that what they think or feel is not your business. Your business is to protect yourself - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. What they think or feel is a reflection of where they are holding in their moral development.
After all, the people who love you will love the fact that you are setting protective boundaries! Abuse victims, in particular, were trained to be submissive and please others in the hope that this would pacify the abusers. Often, it did work - to the point where even as adults, they feel a frenzy of terror if they do not want to attend a family occasion of someone who is hostile to them, refuse to buy a child an expensive item or even want to hang up on someone who might feel offended if they do not listen to their hostile chatter.
Break this habit! Stay home from that event. Refuse to buy the item. Hang up the phone. See that the sky does not fall down. Let them rant and rage. Look inside and feel proud that you had the courage to live your truth.

04/09/2022

Good Morning and Happy Spring,
Thought this was worth sharing..
Emotional Spring Cleaning
Spring is a time of new beginnings, growth, and hope. It’s also the time of year to clean out the garage and the closets–to discard what’s broken or obsolete.
Like many of you, I have a love-hate relationship with spring cleaning. Cleaning isn’t exactly at the top of my list of weekend fun. But I do get immense satisfaction from clearing out the clutter, reclaiming my closets, airing out and freshening up. The result is a much more enjoyable place to live.
An emotional spring cleaning can do the same for your mental health!
When’s the last time you cleaned out your emotional life?
Things have a way of piling up in our emotional lives as well.
Sometimes we don’t even notice our feelings. Other times we’re too busy or overwhelmed to deal with them. Instead, we stuff them in the “closet” like an old jacket, hoping they will just disappear.
But emotions tend to get bigger the longer we try to deny them. The only way to truly rid ourselves of “emotional baggage” is to notice, process, and accept our feelings.
You may have learned that certain emotions, such as anger or jealousy, are “bad,” and “good” people don’t feel these feelings. But we all feel anger, jealousy, hatred, sadness, and lust. Recognizing that they are common feelings and they don’t define you, can make it easier to accept them.
Periodically we need to take stock of our thoughts, feelings, relationships, and habits and see what we have. We often feel more energized and motivated this time of year. So, Spring is the perfect time to do some of this work.
Spring cleaning your emotional health is an opportunity to reorder your priorities. You can revisit your New Year’s resolutions and evaluate your progress. You can take stock of what’s working and what’s not working with regards to your emotional wellbeing.
Just like cleaning your house, you’re going to sort your emotional health into three piles:
Things to get rid of.
Things to keep.
Things that you need, but don’t have.
What do you need to get rid of?
What’s dragging you down emotionally? Pay attention to what keeps you up at night or behaviors you’d like to change.
Often, we accumulate unhealthy habits and unsatisfying relationships and it’s just easier to leave them alone than it is to change them. However, if these thoughts, habits, or relationships aren’t serving you well, it’s time to change them.
What needs to go in order for you to be happier?
Negative friends or toxic relationships
Suppressed feelings such as worry, anger, sadness
Unhealthy coping such as over-eating, smoking, and drinking
Unrealistic expectations
Busyness and over-scheduling
Comparisons
Pessimism
Fears
Self-criticism
Guilt
Grudges and resentments
Shame
When you hold onto anger toward the woman who cut you off in traffic or you ruminate about whether you’re going to be laid off, you let these events take up emotional space and energy. This is space and energy that could be used to create positive, successful, fulfilling things in your life if you free it up.
Read about how to stop codependent behaviors.
What good habits do you want to keep?
When you inventory your emotional health, it’s also important to notice what’s working. What healthy habits and positive thoughts and behaviors support your emotional wellbeing? Let’s acknowledge them and purposefully continue acting and thinking in ways that promote emotional health. These might include:
Supportive friends
Exercise
Growth mindset
Journaling
Meditation
Adequate sleep
Learning
Psychotherapy
Relaxation
Art and creative endeavors
Quality time with your partner or family
Gratitude
Hobbies
Meaningful work
Self-forgiveness
Trying new things
Healthy boundaries
Making new friends
Apologize when you’re wrong
What’s missing from your emotional health?
Finally, you want to notice what’s missing from your routine that would increase your emotional health. Read over the list above and notice which ones catch your attention. Commit to adding one or two of these practices to your repertoire.
Notice your feelings and accept them
The most important thing to remember about emotional decluttering is that you need to gain awareness of your feelings, accept them without judging them as “good” or “bad,” and use healthy coping skills like those listed above.
Feelings are just feelings. None are better or worse than others. Feelings provide us valuable information, but they don’t control us. You have the power to clear out a backlog of feelings by bringing them to the surface.
Take some time alone in quiet reflection, allow yourself to cry and/or yell, or write without censoring until the feelings flow. These can be helpful strategies for many people wanting to gain greater awareness of their feelings.

02/17/2022

Happy Thursday...
To all of us that beat ourselves up mentally, here are some thoughts that may help. Despite the real world challenges you face, the biggest and most complex obstacle you will have to personally overcome is your own mind. In other words, you aren't responsible for everything that happens to you, but you ARE responsible for undoing the self-defeating thinking and behavioral patterns that these undesirable experiences create.
1. “I will eat like I love myself. Move like I love myself. Speak like I love myself. Live like I love myself. Today!”
2. “Yes, I will be too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener.”
3. “No, I cannot control everything that happens to me; I can only control the way I respond to what happens. In my response is my power.”
4. “I will not get caught up in what could’ve been or should’ve been. I will look instead at the power and possibility of what is, right now.”
5. “I will think less about managing my problems and more about managing my mindset.”
Truth be told, a mind well-trained with thoughts like these is one step ahead of the inevitable negativity life challenges us with. And we all need practice, lots and lots of practice. Because just like every muscle in the body, the mind needs to be exercised to gain strength. It needs to be worked consistently to grow and develop over time. If you haven’t pushed your mind in thousands of little ways over time, of course it’ll crumble on the one day that things get really challenging.
YES, YOU CAN THINK BETTER, which means you can tap into your inner strength and ultimately live better. Have a great day.

02/04/2022

02/01/2022

Happy Tuesday...Thought this was an appropriate share for today..
Understanding Oneness

Every thought we have and action we take becomes part of the collective energy of the planet.

Sometimes we look at the actions of others and find it difficult to understand what motivates them. But we are all doing the best we can with the information we currently have. We have all been taught how to see the world from the examples of those around us and by our experiences. Keeping this in mind, we can accept the choices made by others while seeking ways to increase the world's level of consciousness as a whole.

Our different levels of consciousness are like the developmental stages of children, whose understanding varies according to their age and experience. For example, the behavior of a two-year-old who doesn't want to share can be understood as a phase of his social education, whereas a 16-year-old who behaves in the same manner would be thought to be acting childish. It is important to remember that we are each on our own unique path. We may have chosen certain lessons or made an agreement to play certain roles in the unfolding of the world's understanding before we incarnated in this lifetime. So our job is not to judge others but to shift the balance of understanding in the world by increasing our own.

Every thought we have and action we take becomes part of the collective energy of the planet. When we use our energy to bring light into the world, it combines with the light brought by others to dispel the darkness. Though we live in a world of duality, which helps us to experience the material plane, we don't need to experience extremes to understand them. We can share our experiences and understanding with others not from a place of condescension but of connection. When the entire family of humanity understands that each of our thoughts, choices, and actions affect us all, we will share an incredible level of consciousness -- one that puts our oneness above all else and helps us evolve into higher expressions of our spiritual selves. Remember the next time you witness an action of another that they are of the same earth as you but simply on a different conscious level at this point in their life. Find compassion, bless them, and move along your day in grace.

01/25/2022

Inspiration!

This week, Derrick travels to Savannah, Georgia to meet Hamilton and Britnee and their service dog, Gunner. After serving twenty years in the military, Hamilton returned home after being injured in the line of duty and needed Gunner’s help to regain his ability to walk. Now, Gunner needs Derrick.....

01/24/2022

Set Boundaries and Practice Self-Care Without Feeling Guilty

Boundaries are a form of self-care--they protect us physically and emotionally. And it's important to take care of yourself.

01/23/2022

Great article for those of us who have a hard time saying no..
sure to use the link below to check out that article.

Prioritize Your Needs, Set Boundaries, and Practice Self-Care Without Feeling Guilty

01/21/2022

To good not to share...
Why Do Some of the Best Die Young?
By Aron Moss
Question of the Week:

I don't understand. Why do the good die young? I have lost a friend who was the best person I know. And I can think of plenty of not-so-good people who are living it up. Where is the justice? Can you make any sense of this upside down world?

Answer:

Let me tell you a story.

Where is the justice?A great debate once raged in heaven. It was over a most beautiful and precious new soul that G‑d had created. The angels debated what should be done with this soul. One group of angels demanded that this soul remain in heaven. "She is too pure, too holy to face the ugliness of the lowly world," they said. "Who knows what will happen to her in a world of temptation and evil. This soul must stay with us here."

But the other group of angels said the exact opposite: "Indeed this soul glows with a unique divine glow. But for that very reason she must go down to earth. For imagine the beauty and goodness this soul can bring to a dark world. What good is there in keeping such a soul in heaven? Let her descend to earth and shine her light there."

And so they argued back and forth, each side unshakable in their view. Until it became clear that they could not resolve the issue themselves, they needed a Higher Authority. The case was brought before G‑d Almighty. The angels stated their arguments before the heavenly court. G‑d listened to the two opinions -the first group of angels arguing that this unspoiled soul is too holy to be plunged into the lowly world, the second countering that the world needs such souls more than anything.

And this was G‑d's response:

"Indeed, it is sad to send such an immaculate soul into such a dark world. But this is My will. I only created darkness so souls like this one can transform darkness into light. The whole purpose of creation was that the lowly world be refined by the good deeds of mortal human beings. This cannot be achieved by souls in heaven. It can only be achieved through souls in bodies. And so even this most perfect and pure soul must descend to earth."

The first group of angels, who requested for the soul to remain in heaven, were disappointed. They couldn't fathom how such a spiritual being could be expected to survive such a physical world. G‑d turned to them and said, "As for your request to keep this soul up here, I will grant it partially. Though she must leave us and go down to earth, it will not be long before she will return to us. Her sojourn on earth will be brief. Such a brilliant soul will not need long to fulfil her mission. Soon she will be free to come back to heaven."

Every day that she is on earth is a blessingG‑d then turned to the second group and asked, "Are you satisfied with that? Do you accept that this soul can only be on earth for a limited time?"

The angels replied, "Yes we do. Every day that she is on earth is a blessing."

When a loved one passes away, we feel we have lost something precious. We are left with a gaping hole in our heart, and we often wonder why they were taken away from us. But at the same time we can be grateful for the very fact that they were given to us in the first place. We are blessed to have such beautiful souls in our lives. The world is privileged to have such heavenly guests come down on earth. And even if it can only be for a short while, we will take whatever we can get.

In time all souls will be reunited. In the meantime, let us be thankful for the gift of every day

07/02/2021

To good not to share..
Setting Healthy Boundaries
July 2, 2021
Most of the self-help books and advice blogs these days include this advice: “You must learn to set healthy boundaries.” If you are anything like us, the idea of setting boundaries sounds like a good idea—and many days it is so much easier to say “yes” just to keep the peace than it is to set some limits.

Healthy boundaries help you feel relaxed and comfortable in relationships. They are an indication of how you allow people to relate to you. When you set a healthy boundary, you make it clear what you are willing to accept and how you are willing to be regarded.

Healthy boundaries also safeguard you from overextending yourself. The act of setting a boundary, and clearly communicating it, makes it evident to others what you can and cannot do. But for many people, setting boundaries brings up a lot of worry. Here are a few common concerns:

What if people get mad at me and decide they want nothing to do with me?
What if I am called selfish or mean?
What if people don’t respect my boundaries? Then what do I do?
What if I give in and I don’t keep my own boundaries?

Fears about setting boundaries may mean you are not in the habit of setting them in the first place. If you grew up in a family that denied the importance of boundaries, as an adult you may not understand their importance or know how to set them. You may have experienced guilt trips and were shamed when you asked for what you wanted. Or, you may not have been taught to stand up for yourself when someone mistreated you.

If you were fortunate, setting healthy boundaries was a natural part of what you learned growing up. You also learned that you can’t predict how others will respond to your healthy boundaries. The only thing you can control is your own behavior and what is right for you.

It is our observation that unhealthy boundaries have recently become more common, born out of our collective reaction to the pandemic and “going along to get along.” If you see yourself in this description, you may have neglected self-care, become overwhelmed, and even resented others’ requests of your time, all of which gives energy to the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT) roles of Victim, Persecutor, and Rescuer.



Healthy boundary setting is a fundamental act of self-care and requires the ability to self-reflect in the moment according to your needs and the situation. Here are a few suggestions to develop the habit of setting healthy boundaries:

Notice your current pattern with setting boundaries. From a scale of 1 to 10, where do you currently rate yourself, (10 = very healthy boundaries, and 1 = none at all)? You may notice you rate yourself differently depending on the context. For example, you may be 8 or 9 at work but 2 or 3 at home.
Practice saying “no.” Working with uncomfortable feelings when learning to set boundaries may be quite difficult, so start with those you trust and let them know you are practicing saying “no” or negotiating boundaries.
Speak directly to those with whom you need to set a boundary. Instead of complaining to others about a concern you have with another, speak directly to the person with whom you have an issue, rather than gossiping or going behind their back.
Be clear about your needs. Do not assume anyone knows what you are thinking. Make “I” statements about what you need and what you are and are not willing to commit to.

A boundary is a signpost clarifying to others how you want to be treated. The truth is, no one will respect your boundaries if you don’t set them in the first place.