How to Care for Your Mental Health as You Go Through a Divorce

Going through a divorce is one of the most stressful and painful experiences one can go through. Yet, it’s also such a common experience with about 50 % of marriages ending in divorce. Divorce is a life transition that feels a bit like grief. You grieve the marriage you hoped for, the life that you planned for, the significant other that you fell in love with, and the person you were while married. In an instant, life is flipped upside down. And that is just the emotional grief and stress.

An Enneagram Guide for Self-Care: Type 6

Welcome to part 6 of this blog series and thank you for following along! If you are just arriving and have not already identified your Enneagram type, I strongly recommend going back and also reading about Type 1, Type 2, Type 3 and Type 4, and Type 5. To recap, I will be explaining all 9 Enneagram types and sharing personality specific self-care recommendations for each type. Many of these self-care ideas have been pulled from Christina S. Wilcox’s book, Take Care of Your Type.

Understanding and Managing Your Lizard Brain

Learning about the lizard brain can help you and the child in your life deescalate during heated moments. As parents, caregivers, and teachers we can wonder why children have a difficult time managing emotions. However, we often forget that they need to be taught. Just as we have taught them to brush their teeth, ride a bike, and conquer new math problems, we also have to teach them strategies to sit with their emotions and use coping strategies when possible.

An Enneagram Guide for Self-Care: Type 3

Welcome to part 3 of this blog series and thank you for following along! If you are just stumbling on this and have not already identified your Enneagram type, I strongly recommend going back and also reading about Type 1 and Type 2. To recap, I will be explaining all 9 Enneagram types and sharing personality specific self-care recommendations for each type.

Three Symptoms of Depression You May Be Overlooking

hat’s a lot of people in emotional pain. There’s a pretty good chance that you know someone who has depression or has suffered from depression in the past. Would you know it if you saw it? Could you recognize depression in the people around you?

Developmental Regression in Children During the COVID Pandemic

Since life changed in March, you may have noticed your child having more potty accidents, thumb sucking, or drinking from a bottle when your child has not done these things in years. Your child may also have more tantrums and appear clingy as well. It can feel confusing as a parent as to why this is happening and what to do about it.

The Life Cycle of a Relationship

Falling in love is so much fun. It’s so much fun in fact, that you actually become addicted to it; while falling in love, your brain release chemicals, such as vasopressin, adrenaline, dopamine, and oxytocin that allow you to feel pleasure and a euphoric sense of purpose.

Take Me Back to the Good Old Days

I was sitting on the couch with my husband, eating my favorite chips from childhood, and watching a movie from the 80’s, when I asked, “Do you think our kids are regressing during all of this?” I knew the answer. In some ways the regressions were positive: more imaginary play, time away from structured activities lead to more free play, and more independence.

May Position of the Month: Bottom Dollar: From Our Certified Sex Therapist

Even though much of society is preparing for the re-opening of businesses, I still thought it pertinent to include some recommendations that have been posted for Sex and the Coronavirus Pandemic (found here). The safest recommended person to have sex with is still yourself (YAY - for masturbation), and then the next safest person being someone that you live with, as you are already vulnerable to being exposed to one another.

Boundaries Build A Better You

As Robert Frost writes in his poem Mending Wall, “Good fences make good neighbors.” It’s a metaphor for relationships (all kinds) that I can definitely get behind. Boundaries are our metaphorical fences, and they come in several shapes and sizes.

Bibliotherapy- Resources for Helping Children Manage Their Emotions

During this time little ones may be having trouble identifying and expressing feelings. You may notice an increase in tantrums, anxiety and fighting between siblings. It’s always important to remember that all behavior is communication.

Parenting During a Pandemic

Now being in almost week seven of quarantine, who wishes there was a book on parenting during a pandemic?? This is all not normal, but it is our new normal for now. I know limiting screen time has gone out the window in many households, so parents can have a break or work from home.

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