How to be a Conscious Parent

Parenting can be a struggle sometimes. When your young child is misbehaving, or your teenager’s behavior is out of control, you may naturally feel frustrated, concerned, and unsure of how to respond. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting, there are ways to decrease stress (for parents and kids) and help your children grow. One option is conscious parenting. Conscious parenting is a mindful, parent-focused approach to parenting. It essentially says that in order to help our children, we must first help ourselves. For example, when your children act up, conscious parenting encourages you to think about your response and your state of mind before you react. Are you going to act on impulse or respond from a place of calm? Let’s learn more about how to be a conscious parent…

Managing Fear

Think back to a time when you were afraid. What was happening at the time? What made you feel fearful? When you felt fear, how did you respond? Did you take control of your fear, or did you let it hold you back? Fear works like any other emotion. Everyone deals with fear—it’s a natural part of being human. While we can’t avoid fear, we can learn to cope with it. Fear has a tendency to paralyze us, and to make us feel like we’re incapable of doing something simply because we are afraid of what might happen. The problem with fear is that it can prevent us from trying new things, growing as individuals, and reaching our goals. So what can you do to manage your fears? Here are some helpful tips…

Tips to Help Unplug on Vacation

Looking for a chance to de-stress and take a break from your digital life? Why not unplug while you unwind on vacation? Phones, tablets, and laptops tend to stress us out with endless work emails, constant notifications, and comparisons to people’s “perfect” lives on social media. Vacation is your opportunity to relax and enjoy new experiences, so it makes sense to unplug while you’re away. When you disconnect, you’re able to avoid digital distractions and focus on the experience. You’re able to be fully present in the moment, to take it all in, and enjoy your trip. Whether you want to take a phone-free vacation or simply limit your phone usage, here are some tips to make the most of your vacation...

What is DBT?

Sometimes, life can be challenging. It’s not easy to keep our emotions in check during distressing times. We may have trouble communicating with others and may unintentionally cause conflicts. We might feel like we’re on an emotional roller coaster without any control of where we’re headed. What can you do if you’re feeling this way? Try DBT! Let’s learn more about DBT, as well as how it can help you manage your emotions and create a life worth living…

Helping Children with Anger

Everyone feels and expresses their anger from time to time. It’s natural to feel angry or frustrated. Anger is an intense emotion that can be difficult for children, as well as many adults, to deal with. Sometimes anger becomes overwhelming, making us feel like our emotions are out of our control. Therefore, it’s not surprising that anger is a challenging emotion for children. Does your child struggle to manage anger in healthy ways? Does he or she get angered easily or frequently feel frustrated? Here are some strategies to help you support your child with anger…

Using Opposite Action for Overwhelming Emotions

Are you ever overwhelmed by your emotions? Do you feel helpless when it comes to acting on them? All feelings come with action urges that tell us to act in certain ways. Sometimes, we use negative coping skills to escape painful emotions, because it feels like it’s the easiest way or the only way to cope. Have you ever considered doing the opposite of your usual response to your emotions? In DBT, the opposite action skill is a deliberate attempt to act OPPOSITE of your emotion urge. If your emotions are doing more harm than good, try acting opposite. Find the opposite action to our common emotion urges here…

Recognizing the Warning Signs of an Eating Disorder

Today marks the first day of 2018 NEDAwareness Week (National Eating Disorders). Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses and so it is essential to understand the recognize the true warning signs and symptoms. Our culture values and applauds a particular body type and it is cherished and celebrated on social media as well. It is imperative that you recognize the difference between a healthy and appropriate approach to food and weight and a compulsive and unhealthy one. Here are some signs and symptoms of an eating disorder...

Understanding Why You Eat What You Eat

Food is all around you. You eat for enjoyment, when you are hungry, when you are bored, celebrating, sad; and the list goes on. Sometimes it is difficult to know WHY you are being pulled toward a particular food in a particular moment and end up eating “just because." Identifying the kind of hunger you are experiencing is an effective way to gauge your emotional versus physical hunger. Many times it can feel the same. Here are the 7 types of hunger, and some tips on how to stop an emotional eating episode before it starts...

Three Action Steps to Help You Achieve Your Goals

We all have been overwhelmed from time to time by the amount of items on our "to-do" lists or by what we perceive as responsibilities that feel like mountains to climb. Often, we don't complete tasks or meet goals when we feel discouraged or defeated, or generally weary.

Read on for 3 action steps to help you achieve your goals...

Three Tips for Helping Your Child Deal with Anger

Anger is a natural emotion that everyone feels and expresses at times. Anger can feel intense or be difficult to tolerate or manage, especially when the person experiencing it isn't sure what is going on. If you notice that your child appears to become angry easily or frequently, here are three tips that you can use for understanding, guidance and support....

Mindful Eating in Four Easy Steps

Do you find yourself mindlessly eating; that is, eating food without actually tasting it, eating on the go, putting anything in your mouth that you think will satisfy you in that moment without thinking about the consequences? If so, these four simple steps can help you learn and practice mindful eating....

Four Easy Steps to Being Effective in Anything You Do

Have you ever had a deadline looming and you find yourself thinking about it but not working towards it? Have you ever been spiteful in order to get back at someone (subtly) and ultimately, the behavior came back to bite you? Do you mindlessly skip or knowingly avoid activities that you know are healthy for you such as consistent exercise or taking your vitamins? Read on to learn four easy steps to changing negative habits and becoming more effective....

Helpful Tips