Change is inevitable. Our environment is constantly changing. Our physicality is constantly changing. From birth to death, we are always growing and evolving physically, cognitively, and spiritually. Even when things appear stable, subtle changes are happening. We have an opportunity before us to use this time to influence and support change toward healing, growth and wholeness. Like the expression, “change is inevitable, growth is optional”, we at RnR Therapy want to encourage growth.

If you’re a caregiver, you’re likely to be stressed, and caregiver stress can be detrimental to your health and well-being. Caregiving is an endless search for balance between doing too much for the care-receiver and doing too little; and finding time for personal self-care. Remember, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to care for anyone else.

One cannot fail an intention. An intention allows us to align with our life purpose. For myself, I no longer resolve to achieve a goal; instead, I set an intention and trust that a higher power will see me through in a way that my intention becomes reality. Ask yourself, what is it that you want to manifest. What is your desire?

When we record pleasure, we experience positive emotions. Gratitude helps us focus on what we have, not what we are wishing for or missing in our lives. I am grateful for my positive emotions! They keep all the negative ones at bay.

Since 1992, World Mental Health Day has been celebrated yearly on October 10. The World Federation for Mental Health recognized the importance of mental wellness and established this important “holiday” to develop greater awareness for mental wellness and reduce the stigma around seeking support for mental illness.

I teach a class on assessment use for counselors. I stress to students to focus on what is going well with clients as well as the presenting concerns. Too often, an individual will seek counseling and share all the times and ways they feel depressed or anxious and the work becomes all about the negative mood state. In other words, treatment becomes fixated on “fixing” and inherently seems to say we shouldn’t feel bad. Sometimes, though, the wisdom of our body is trying to tell us something and maybe we are supposed to feel a negative mood state.

Many people experience symptoms associated with depression due to changes in the weather or the seasons. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a term used to describe depressive symptoms that seem to appear according to the weather. Often times individuals will brush it off as “winter blues” and look forward to Spring as most individuals associate Spring with renewed energy and life.