There is so much interesting and thought-provoking content about mental health out there these days, it’s hard to even know where to start! Movies, magazines, TV shows, and even songs on Top40 radio have been taking on the topic of mental health, exploring it from dozens of fresh and new perspectives. My personal favorite way to look at the subject through a new lens is via podcasts! Honestly, if I am doing anything in which I do not have to immediately interact with another person, odds are pretty good that I have a podcast on in the background. This became especially true during the pandemic when bouts of loneliness and isolation would creep in, and it was so comforting to hear the familiar voices of my favorite podcast hosts wafting through my home.
Welcome to the final part of this blog series! 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, Type 4, Type 5, Type 6, Type 7 and Type 8. To recap, I am 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. If these blogs resonate with you, you will LOVE her work. Understanding the different personality types will arm you with the knowledge to better replenish your unique emotional needs. It will also help you nurture and show empathy towards your partner’s needs.
September’s highlighted position of the month is the Voluptuous V-Sit. With COVID variants continuing to pick up speed, please keep healthy sex practices in mind - please remain cognizant to wash your hands (and use the restroom) before and after a sexual experience! Another comfortable and sensual way to start a sexual experience is to take a shower together. A sexual experience will release oxytocin and other beneficial endorphins, which will help to increase the emotional bond between you and your partner(s), plus it’ll also release stress and tension.
Chest pain, irritability, adrenaline, insomnia, and worry. These pretty much capture my symptoms of both stress and anxiety. We often use these interchangeably because they feel so similar in our bodies, but there are actually lots of differences and while some things can help with both, there are some coping tools that are specific to each of these.
Some adults may know of the five love languages in relation to their partner: acts of service, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, and receiving gifts. It’s helpful to understand how one expresses love to another. Did you know that love languages are also helpful in parenting? In my work with parents, I often have parents identify what their child’s love language is, so their child’s need for love is met. When a child feels love, then they feel healthy and emotionally stable.
Making the decision to become a parent can be exhilarating and a journey filled with joy. However, now more than ever parents, particularly mothers and birthing folx, face assumptions of motherhood/parenthood that masquerade as truths.
I was recently interviewed by someone looking for clickbait. What they didn’t know was I don’t do light, and I certainly don’t do divisive. We were going to go deep whether their article wanted it or not, hence the failed interview.
August’s highlighted position of the month is the Within Reach. While guidelines for masks continue to change back and forth with the new COVID variants picking up speed, please keep healthy sex practices in mind - please remain cognizant to wash your hands (and use the restroom) before and after a sexual experience!
A few years ago I wrote a blog on compassion fatigue for therapists and got more comments on it than any previous blog. I wanted to go back to it, as helpers just navigated lockdowns, a pandemic, and limited resources while giving to their clients. This seems more relevant than ever before.
I’m a counselor so I am always a strong advocate of mental health awareness. When Simone Biles pulled out of the competition because of mental health reasons, I knew there would be strong reactions on all sides. My time as a competitive gymnast and as a mental health counselor pushed me to want to write about this experience so others can understand.
We are currently living an age that I like to the call the “Mental Health Renaissance”. Everywhere you turn in popular media, there seems to be more and more discussion about mental health and mental illness. And as a therapist and a longtime recipient of therapy myself, I think it is a beautiful thing to see. The less taboo we can make the subject, the more people will reach out and get the help they need, and the research seems to be bearing that out!
I’m not sure how far into motherhood I was when I first heard the term, “A mother is born.” To be honest, my experience into motherhood didn’t feel like I was born. While I was more in love with my baby than I thought was ever possible, it still felt more like something in me was lost- it felt more like a death than birth. The more I work with new mothers and now being almost a decade into the motherhood journey, I have some understanding of this experience.
