Join me for a FREE enlightening hour of strategies and stories that will help you enhance self compassion and reduce the negative ways you (we all) talk to yourself. If you often or even sometimes beat yourself up for not doing or being good enough, thin enough, enough…this popular class could help you notice, name and nurture the parts of yourself that are stuck in harmful negative loops. The strategies I’ll share are evidence-based and research shows that people who are self-compassionate have better relationships, better health, and increased resilience for illness, setbacks and even combat trauma. Hosted by the @CenterforhealthandWellbeing, the link to register and more information is here. Hope to see you Thursday, Oct. 24th

In a recent Linked In Post and in an interview with The 32789, a Winter Park-based newsletter, I shared shocking statistics about rates of stress – and several strategies to help you deal more effectively with it. Click the link above for article – or keep reading below. I hope you’ll find comfort in knowing you are not alone and ways to help mitigate your stress.

If you’ve found yourself worrying more, feeling extra irritable or your anxiety level is up, you’re not alone. More than a quarter of U.S. adults say they’re so stressed they can’t function, according to a late 2022 Harris Poll. And a 2023 report from the American Institute of Stress showed that negative impacts of stress included:

·     94% of workers report feeling stress at work.
·     77% report stress affects their physical health.
·     73% report stress impacts their mental health.

The unusual combination of factors in our post-pandemic America (mass shootings, war, political upheaval, the omnipresence of social media, etc.) led the APA (American Psychological Association) to issue a warning: “We are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come.” As a therapist, I am seeing this already. People who have coped well, folks who never had anxiety or depression, are buckling under the weight of anxiety and uncertainty.

While there is no magic pill or quick fix, we can all step up our mental health-care prevention routines. Just as we floss our teeth and try to eat right, we need to attend to our mental health care and to that of our children. What is beneficial for adults (exercise, human connections, meditation, disconnection from devices, more sleep, etc.) is great for kids of all ages too. Fortunately, there are many evidence-based practices that help us cope, build resilience and reduce stress — and they don’t necessarily require medication.

In a recent interview with #The32789, a Winter Park-based newsletter, I offered several self-care strategies. These are helpful not just in May, Mental Health Awareness Month, but every month – every day actually. And if it all becomes too much, professional help is available. We have great therapists in Central Florida and with tele-health services abounding, you needn’t even leave home.

Stress is inevitable. Modern life has never been more challenging but there is much we can do to prevent burn out – or worse. As one of my favorite aphorisms states: We can’t stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

Join me for a free one-hour class where I’ll share tactics and strategies to help you manage your boundaries. Everyone has a built-in alarm system that tells us when our boundaries are being crossed. If someone gets too close physically, you take a step back. But what about your emotional boundaries? If someone asks you to do something you’re not comfortable with, does your alarm still sound? Sometimes through conditioning including family or social pressures, that alarm — like a muscle — can grow weak or faint. You may struggle to even hear it, or not know how to respond. I’ll share specific strategies to help you hear your alarm and navigate tricky boundaries. It is isn’t easy and it’s never one and done. But, you can make steady progress to improve communications, relationships and most of all – your wellbeing.  Specifically, you will…

• Learn to identify ways your body tells you a boundary has been crossed
• Learn strategies to shut down boundary crossers before they cross again
• Discover what your priorities have to do with boundaries and gain more clarity and energy

The FREE session is hosted by The Center for Health and Wellbeing. Tuesday September 27 at 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. Here is the link to learn more and register.