It is often said that the opposite of addiction is connection and during these uncertain times many of those who are in recovery are struggling with feelings of disconnection. So often being in recovery entails having a strong support network, going to meetings, talking to a counsellor, spending time with sober friends, etc. And yet these opportunities have been limited during COVID-19. So how can you support someone you care about?

Through Covid-19 we have been told to wash our hands, frequently and thoroughly. This has been our first line of defence, and it has worked. We have been taught to be afraid of COVID-19 contamination and we must protect ourselves and others. But for some of us, these fears become all-consuming, taking up the vast majority of our time. Our behaviour becomes ritualized, with incessant worries about contamination and non-stop washing to reduce our anxiety. When this is the case, we may want to look at whether or not this is OCD.

Lisa Catallo recently read the book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”. Here are 5 ways to help you take steps to slow down in life.

Anxiety and fear are common human emotions. They are your body’s natural alarm system, telling you there is some kind of danger present. Your heart races, your shoulders tense up, your hands begin to sweat… all of the physical sensations associated with anxiety are your body’s way of preparing to fight, take flight, or freeze.

When we experience a trauma our mind becomes highly alert to potential danger and it triggers a set of emotional, physiological, and behavioural responses, which often causes us to feel stuck. A common misperception that people have is that they feel their brain isn’t working, while others might say things like “I feel broken”, “I’m not who I used to be”, “I feel stuck”, and so on. If we circle back to the black ice metaphor, we can rest assured that the car (just like our brain), in fact, is NOT broken but trauma does have a way of making us feel stuck in time.

In a world where we have become removed from our regular interactions with friends, family or our favourite Starbucks barista, the opportunity to connect with those who are important to us is a blessing…and a curse.

If you have been on Zoom, or FaceTime, Skype, or any other type of video call app, you may have noticed that you are more tired than you would be after seeing these people in person.  And yet they provide you with the opportunity to actually connect with people.  Why is that?

It can be difficult to care for yourself as you try to care for someone who is abusing alcohol or drugs. San Samra shares five ways that can help you navigate a relationship where someone you love is struggling with substance abuse.

What does it mean to feel emotionally safe with another person? As Mahima Jacob shares, it starts with creating an anchor within yourself. This anchor can help you begin to believe that “people closest to me care enough to care for me” and secondly that “I am worthy of their attention and love”. 

What many of us don’t realize is that our children are the world’s best lie detectors. They know that we are stressed. Moreover, when we try to hide our feelings from our children, what we are telling them is that emotions are not okay. In our efforts to protect and care for our children, hoping to protect them from anxiety and fear, we have actually suppressed our emotions and told them to do the same.

…change is challenging and chaotic. However, chaos is where we grow and transform. It is where we learn to master one level of the game of life and qualify to the next. As Abraham Maslow once said “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”

EMDR treatment is proven to help reduce symptoms related to depression, PTSD, anxiety, addictions, phobias, and emotional distress. EMDR allows one to heal even if the triggered memories are not discussed, releasing emotional experiences that are trapped in the nervous system.

According to Ola Abugharbiyeh the Netflix movie “My Happy Family” is a masterful representation of attending to your unmet needs and unconscious yearnings, and learning how to set healthy boundaries.

Are you looking to add a bit of humour to your podcast experience? Check out our review of Grownups Read Things They Wrote as Kids.

Being a parent is one of the toughest roles we play in life, and when our teenagers are struggling, we can feel confused, helpless, and overwhelmed when we don’t know how to help. Here are some ways that you can help.

Are there things that you learned from your experience of Christmas this year that you’d like to change? Rather than waiting for next December to make those changes, why not start now? Learn four ways to make permanent changes in your life so that Christmas 2020 is a better experience.

Do you ever feel like you have no choice in the way that life takes you? Discover how to have the courage to choose and have personal agency as you begin the New Year.

We’ve done some research for you so you can find some new events around the Lower Mainland, and maybe build some new traditions.

If you are planning a Christmas gathering this year, what if you do it a bit different and create an environment of purposeful connection?

Have you ever felt the pressure to love the holiday season? It seems that everyone and their dog is excited for this magical time of year, yet you can’t seem to shake a lingering sense of dread as the festivities start to unfold. Whitney Regan wrote this post to get help on how to manage the loneliness you might be feeling during this season.

If emotional intelligence is so important, why don’t we talk about it with children?  In today’s society, we ask each other ‘how are you?’ and the response is almost always ‘fine’.  Fine is not an emotion; fine does not express anything; fine is a cover-up.  We try to protect our children from our negative emotions most of the time.  The problem with this is that children are the best emotional antennas, they can sense when their parents are not happy.  Not hiding emotions doesn’t mean we dump all our concerns on our children all the worries of being an adult and parent; it does mean that we can share in a controlled way.