The start of every new year brings hopes for a better year. This year, the hope is extra high after the pain and turmoil from the infamous year of 2020. From the pandemic to economic uncertainty most of us stumbled a bit. Maybe you picked up an unhealthy habit or let go of positive practices. The new year is a great time to rethink and reflect on what you want different in the coming year.
Read MoreThese are some common communication pitfalls. Scripture tells us that our words have the power to bring life or death.
In times of conflict, you may find yourself cursing, name-calling, or blaming your partner. You may be trying to gain power in the conflict, asserting yourself to be heard, or attacking because you feel attacked.
Read MoreHave you ever felt completely misunderstood? I once had a boss that told me I was too ambitious and intimidating. He told me, “I know you’re just coming in here trying to freak people out, and that’s not how we do things.”
Woah.
Nothing kills a relationship faster than unrealistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations cause division in a relationship and with time, division results in the death of a relationship. Over time and after a lot of hurt feelings, I realized that I was squashing my spouse’s confidence by demanding and expecting certain things. The big thing I was expecting was that he would make me happy.
Read MoreI don’t know what your marriage is like. I don’t know the hurts and disappointments that you’ve faced. But I do know this— you have a choice in how you are going to respond to those challenges. Most of the couples I work with in my counseling practice are wanting and needing the same thing as their spouse. Both feel the same way: disrespected, unloved, and ignored. The way each experiences these is usually different, but as I unpack the pain and hurt, I typically find that both partners are fundamentally wanting, needing, and hurting in almost the exact same way.
Read MoreAs a counselor, I’ve often listened to my clients talk about ending their own lives. This takes so much courage! I’m always honored and grateful when my clients bravely talk about their thoughts, even and especially the dark ones.
Kids and teens are more likely to think about and commit suicide: one in five adolescents contemplate suicide each day. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people from 10-24.
What many people don’t know is that when I was a teenager, I was suicidal.
Read MoreIs my child okay? Are they on screens too much? What will this school year look like in the midst of a pandemic?
Like many other parents, these are questions I’ve been asking as a parent.I’m also hearing these questions in my counseling practice. Join me and my friend and colleague Michelle Nietert as we continue the discussion on kids, back to school, and resiliency. Michelle shares the powerful lessons she's been learning during quarantine, both clinically and professionally.
Read MoreThe amazing Lynn Cowell joins me today. Lynn Cowell is a member of the Proverbs 31 speaker and writer teams. Lynn passionately writes for women of all ages. Her book for young girls, Brave Beauty, Finding the Fearless You has empowered over 20,000 girls to overcome confidence-defeating thoughts and stand on who Jesus says she is. Lynn dives even deeper today and talks about the struggles children and teens are experiencing each day. She bravely shares her parenting mistakes and missteps with the hope of imparting hope and wisdom to help other parents.
The emotions our children experience aren’t always based in reality, but they certainly feel real. It would have been easy for me to dismiss and minimize Averie’s emotional pains. From an adult perspective, we can see how trivial their circumstances can be. But to a child, the emotions are valid and real. And depending on your child’s temperament, those emotions can be expressed in very different ways.
Combining my role as mom and my skills as a therapist, I embarked on a lesson of emotional resiliency with my precious daughter..
Read MoreWe’ve all heard the analogy of how a butterfly transforms from a caterpillar. The goal is to bring hope to the person struggling: “One day, I’ll be the butterfly.” We think about the wings, the beauty, the freedom. And it’s true that we are all experiencing the process of transformation. But talking about becoming a butterfly often skips over the “becoming” part of the process.
Have you ever seen a butterfly emerge from its cocoon? It’s a struggle. The process takes about 12 hours. This may not seem long, but given a butterfly’s lifespan of two weeks, 12 hours is a significant amount of time.
Hello Everyone and Welcome back! Today we are concluding a series about body image. Body Image is a component of self-esteem. Approximately 80% of U.S. women don't like how they look. Our perception of our body influences our mental health, our physical health, how we take care of ourselves, and how we relate to others. Those with a negative body image have a higher chance of developing an eating disorder and will often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss.
Read MoreThank you so much for being here! I believe listening to this podcast will leave you feeling excited, educated, and empowered. We’re in the middle of a series talking about body image. Last week, we talked with Heather Creekmore. Today we’re going to be talking with a friend, Kara Miller about children and body image. Kara is a mom to 3 girls. Kara is a California Mom Blogger of three daughters who wants to help you create meaningful moments with your families. She shares tried and true recipes and travel tips on her blog to help you beat overwhelm and feel confident in your role as a mother. She runs a Facebook group called, “Kindness Changes Everything” and her husband and she own two pizza shops.
Read MoreOur perception of our body influences our mental health, our physical health, how we take care of ourselves, and how we relate to others. Those with a negative body image have a higher chance of developing an eating disorder and will often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss.
Body image statistics prove many people, even those as young as age 10, are sensitive and vulnerable to critical thoughts about themselves. Today we’re continuing the conversation with my friend, speaker and author, Heather Creekmore.
Read MoreI’m passionate about talking about body image because it’s influenced so much of my story including eating disorder behaviors in my high school and college years. If you struggle with a negative body image, I want to let you know this matters. How you view yourself deeply matters. I’m excited about the interviews that I have lined up for you this month. We’ll be talking to professionals and friends. Without further adieu, here’s my conversation with Jamie Young.
Read MoreWhat do you do when it feels like your world is falling apart?
Read MoreToday we will continue the conversation with a dear friend, Stephanie Coker. We’re diving into a sensitive but necessary topic about suicide and suicide prevention.
Before we dive in, I want to give a few facts to note the urgency and importance of this conversation:
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages.
Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide.
May is Mental Health Awareness month. I am so excited about this series
Read MoreWe are in the middle of a series about mental health. May is Mental Health Awareness month. I am so excited about this series. I hope to debunk myths about mental health issues, provide resources, help you gain insight that will help you understand mental health issues. We’re going to be talking about addictions, bipolar, suicide, and childhood mental illness.
Today we are in for a treat. Jenni Hubby is one of my favorite people. Her energy is infectious and the warmth of her spirit is so encouraging.
Read MoreThank you so much for being here! I believe reading this will leave you feeling excited, educated, and empowered. We are starting a new series this month. May is Mental Health Awareness month. I am so excited about this series. I hope to debunk myths about mental health issues, provide resources, help you gain insight that will help you understand mental health issues. We’re going to be talking about addictions, bipolar, suicide, and childhood mental illness. Today we have the privilege to hear from the amazing Whitney Russell. We’re going to talk about Eating disorders. You’re going to hear from an expert about resources, ways to detect eating disorders, and insight into this disorder. I hope this gives you compassion if you know someone with this and grace for yourself if you are struggling in the midst. Whitney is the owner and founder of Brave Haven Counseling in Richardson, Tx. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Supervisor.
Read MoreAre you finding yourself distracted, scattered, or stressed? If so, it may be because you’re living in your head and missing out on living your life.
You may find yourself worrying about the future. This can be anything from imagining worst-case scenarios (i.e. “I’m going to get fired,” “we are going to break up,” etc.) or getting stuck in the past, ruminating on what I shoulda, woulda, or coulda done differently. These thoughts are likely snatching you away from what you could be experiencing in the present.
