It is that time of year again. The time of year where we get to send our precious kiddos back to school. While those summer memories we were making were so beautiful and I will cherish them for the rest of my life. We need a break too but not before transitioning back to school which is stressful. I literally drive myself insane trying to balance out everything that needs to get done!

So many things impact our thoughts and decision making. Positive reframing can help us to avoid so many issues if we take the time to assess the situation and determine what ALL of our options are. What are the issues you are facing currently that the resolution of “Rise Above” might support you in making a positive decision? Here are some suggestions on ways to utilize positive reframing to get control and “rise above.”

Spring is a great time to put in place some healthy habits. We often feel refreshed, energized, and motivated in the spring months with the warmer weather, longer days, and beautiful scenery. Here are some ideas to help “put some spring in your step!”

Our blended model to wellness is truly a unique approach. Each year of growth has brought an additional offering to where it is now—mental health, physical therapy, nutrition, massage, primary care and life coaching. We understand the benefits of each discipline and how each one acting alone can benefit all by acting together. Our organization is focused on the prevention and active participation of improving your health.

Nutrition is not only important for physical health, but also has significant effects on mood and mental well-being. Lacking certain nutrients may impact the quality of our mental health. Americans are often deficient in essential vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids and patients experiencing mental health issues are often exceptionally deficient. You can improve physical and mental health by focusing on your nutritional well-being.

As we are well aware of, the holiday season can be a happy and joyful time, but it can definitely be a stressful and challenging time. Schedules can be chaotic. We often have many places to be and we often feel pulled in many directions. It can also be an emotional time for many. Self-care during the holidays is important for all of us. It is essential we are mindful of our mental and physical health.

The good news is that making some small intentional changes can make a world of difference, and there are many things a person can do to improve their quality of life while dealing with a chronic condition or illness. One of those things is seeking a good massage therapist and building a regular bodywork program with them to help you or your loved one throughout the journey.

I would like to share some thoughts on how all of us can help reduce the frequency of this collective tragedy. First, I wish to acknowledge the incredible difficulty of this topic – especially for the many of us, myself included, who have personally lost loved ones to suicide. The weight of this issue can be overwhelming and painful. However, I truly believe the more openly we discuss suicide as a community, the less scary and daunting it will be.

If you’ve made it out of this past year without being hurt, devastated, attacked in some way, alone, abandoned, anxious, afraid, or angry then you are one of the few lucky ones who were able to wrap yourself in a bubble, unaffected by others and the world around us. 

I have started to wonder if we will ever get to a place of healing. I am the forever the idealist and I say yes! I do believe we have what it takes as humans, that we have been equipped with the ability to heal from hard things. I believe that we can heal as individuals, families, communities, workplaces, as a nation, and in our world.  As the old saying goes, there is a time for everything under the sun.  We are entering into a time to heal, if we are willing to do the work to get there.  I’m ready!  Are you with me?

Depression, unfortunately, is a struggle that many in our country are all-too familiar with. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 16.2 million people, on a yearly average, have a depressive episode. But one of the most common, unspoken forms of depression is Postpartum Depression. An estimated 50-75% of first-time moms experience "baby blues." Fifteen percent of this group of women develop further, more severe symptoms that develop into Postpartum Depression.

As someone who has used essential oils in both their profession and personal life for the last  decade, I have heard many different thoughts, opinions, and tips on oils and their benefits. The  amount of information (and misinformation) available on oils these days can unfortunately be  overwhelming and, ironically, stressful to someone new to oils. 

My goal in this blog post is to give you a place to start. If you are new to essential oils, unsure  where to start, or feeling overwhelmed, you are in the right blog!

If you have been at the University Ave location, occasionally you will hear the sound of my steel tongue drum and wonder what is going on in that therapist’s room. My interest in expressive arts therapy started a couple years ago when I was co-leading a group that focused on using expressive arts to promote healing at the University where I was working.

Many of us are ready for a new year. 2020 is behind us and we are not sad about it! There are a lot of things we would like to leave behind from this past year, but there may also be some lessons learned and wisdom gained that we would like to carry into this new year as well. January is often seen as the big “reset”. We are inundated with advertisements for decreasing weight, exercising more, reorganizing our homes and lives, and setting new goals. Choosing a “word of the year” is quite popular as well and while some of this may be inspiring, it can also feel old, exhausting, or out of reach.

The holidays feel different for each person among us during a normal year.  Gatherings, gifts, memories, and traditions come with expectation and joy for some, and stress, anxiety, and pain for others.  Sometimes it can be a mixture of both!  This year brings a new brand of “different” for many as we navigate the holidays with a myriad of changes to what we consider normal.  Anytime we experience the loss of what we once knew, feelings of grief are bound to follow. 

Grief is oftentimes associated solely with death, but any loss in our lives can evoke grief and it is important that we listen to those feelings and allow them to have their place.  Suppressed grief will find a way to make itself known and as difficult as it may feel, grief serves a purpose. 

This is traditionally a season of being thankful for all that we have. But gratitude might feel hard to come by these days, when all of us are fed up with COVID, quarantines, and social distancing, and when many of us may not get to see our families this Thanksgiving. But gratitude is a powerful tool that can train our mind to look at the positive (something we could likely all use right now).

Many of us are feeling like we don’t have a lot of control right now over what’s going on in our nation and our world. When we start to feel this way, it can bring on feelings of depression and anxiety. To feel this way is normal and OK. We first want to validate your feelings and let you know that it’s OK to feel however you’re feeling.

We don’t want to leave you there though.

Back to school. Three words we hear every August, yet they feel so different this year.  It is safe to say most students, teachers, and parents are facing a school year that looks a little…okay a lot different than most!  Many are feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and experiencing a general lack of control over many decisions and outcomes for this school year.  With all the changes, challenges and unknowns this year holds we are left with a lot of decision making that we have likely not had to face in the past.

Let’s face it. This has been hard. All of our lives have been changed drastically. This has been for many a challenging time of adjustment. A time like this can create a great deal of stress, fear, and even depressive or anxiety symptoms. However, there ARE some things we can do to navigate the rest of this time effectively and maintain our overall well-being.

Learn to accept your new level of productivity, whatever that is. Being a good enough worker, a good enough mom, good enough faculty, good enough therapist, good enough teacher, good enough cleaner, good enough whatever you are is enough.

As all of us sit and think, “How will I pay my bills?” “Who will watch my children?” or “What if I lose my job?” gratitude seems to be the last thing that comes to mind. Truthfully, gratitude or “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”, is what we need to think about most during these times of uncertainty.