All of us experience the sensation of fear and anxiety at various points throughout our lives. Fear is caused by a real and understood threat, like fear of being unable to cope or protect oneself, or fear of a real threat if attacked or assaulted. Fear is specific, immediate, and ...
Read MorePeople Pleasing
We all go through moments in life where we try to make someone else happy. Whether it be towards a spouse, an in-law, or a colleague, everyone has done more than their fair share of “people pleasing” in their life. Sometimes this can be an acceptable practice, like conceding to ...
Read MoreBalancing Wants and Needs
Effectively balancing your wants and needs is a difficult feat for anyone. It’s completely natural to feel a stronger motivation to go after your immediate wants than take care of your higher needs; to go after things that are easier to attain in the present and provide immediate pleasure and ...
Read MoreGuide to Recovery After Divorce
Divorce is tough. There’s no way around it. Even if the decision was mutual, the most amicable separations and divorces cause some level of emotional trauma for both parties. The level of trauma varies from person to person dependent on a variety of factors, but no matter the situation, going ...
Read MoreStress Series: Stress and the Heart
Your health and stress go hand in hand. They are connected on a physiological level that many of us may not realize. Unhealthy stress that is persistent and constant can have a profound effect throughout your body. Stress is a normal part of life, but when it becomes a pervasive ...
Read MoreStress Series: How to Relieve Job Stress
We’ve all endured stress at work. Between the piles of deadlines growing on your desk, to those long, arduous meetings that cut into your ability to actually complete those deadlines, to the overpaid boss that just won’t leave you be – it’s no surprise how much stress can wear you ...
Read MoreAttachment Styles Part 2: Anxious-Preoccupied Attachment
This article is the second in a four-part series about attachment styles. These four styles are a component of attachment theory, a psychological model that attempts to articulate how people connect with and relate to one another. Our individual attachment style is determined shortly after birth, based on the child-parent ...
Read MoreAttachment Styles Part 1: Secure Attachment
This is the first in a four-part series on attachment patterns. The four attachment styles are part of attachment theory, a psychological model that describes the how people relate to one another. We form our attachment styles as babies based on the child-parent relationship. These styles go on to influence ...
Read MoreValues-Based Living
Do you live your life based on your own values, or based on a perception of how things “should” be done? When you have a decision to make, no matter how big or small, do you evaluate the impact it will have on your life and how it fits within ...
Read MorePain x Resistance = Suffering
The Buddha’s central teaching has succinctly been summarized by American mediation teacher Shinzen Young in the mathematical formula “pain times resistance = suffering.” When we resist pain, it leads to suffering proportionate to our resistance. When we don’t respond with resistance there is no suffering. How is this possible? According ...
Read MoreBeing vs. Doing
In today’s world, there is a fixation on what we “do.” When approached at a social gathering, the first you’re ever asked is “what do you do for a living?” Your child walks in the door, and you ask her “what did you do today?” Yet as human beings, life ...
Read MoreSaying Yes
Whenever you are faced with a challenge or presented with an opportunity, you have two default options: to say yes, or to say no. No is a defensive action that can shield you from failure, but it can also prevent you from achieving what’s possible. In contrast, saying yes keeps ...
Read MoreOpen to Beauty
When you open yourself to beauty in the world, in other people, and in your own heart, you acknowledge the interconnectedness between yourself and all things on this planet. Being open to beauty allows you to find joy, experience the moment, and appreciate balance and harmony with life. Opening yourself ...
Read MoreOvercoming Approval Seeking
It is a natural human desire to seek connection and approval from our fellow humans. When we receive approval from our peers, family members, and mentors, it can be validating and elicit many positive emotions. However, relying on external approval (external source of validation) can mean you are putting your ...
Read MoreCultivating Positive Emotions
For many people, it can be difficult to overcome negativity and focus on developing positive emotions. Anger, frustration, and anxiety often reign when we experience stress or encounter problematic situations. Positive emotions like joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, and love, on the other hand, can create a sense of well-being, purpose ...
Read MoreSelf-Compassion
Compassion is an incredibly important human trait that bonds us across all divisions. When it comes to other people, most of us find it natural to notice and identity suffering. We feel emotionally moved and drawn to help that individual, and often act to alleviate their suffering in any small ...
Read MoreRadical Acceptance
Have you ever been given tragic news and responded “I can’t believe it?” Been handed frustrating circumstances and wonder how “unfair” life can be? Often, to shield ourselves from confronting pain and moving forward into a positive future, we react to painful moments with denial, disbelief, suppression, and emotional procrastination. ...
Read MoreSavouring the Moment
From a very young age people are encouraged to grow their horizons by joining activities such as boy scouts and after school sports. From there life only gets busier with school work, babysitting, part-time jobs, relationships and post-secondary education. Throughout our lifetime we rarely slow down to take moments for ...
Read MoreWhat is Neuroplasticity?
It was once believed that when an individual reached early adulthood the brain would reach its peak and would stop developing. It was also believed that around the age of forty our brain cells died off and there was no way to regenerate them. Decades of research , and new ...
Read MoreTaking a Break from Technology
Albert Einstein once said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Although we are not quite there yet, we have become addicted to our technological devices. There is a growing body of scientific evidence supporting the idea of ...
Read MoreA Kinder Voice of an Inner Ally
The saying “you are your own worst critic” could not be more true, as many people have a tendency to be quite hard on themselves. Being your own worst critic can take a toll on your mental health as with time your pathological critic continues to grow stronger and could ...
Read MoreIndividual Counselling and Relationships
At some point in their lives many people start to find their relationships difficult and will unknowingly repeat behaviours that seem to sabotage their ability to be happy. Although it is common for couples to seek relationship counselling, many people do not realize that the individual counselling can often be ...
Read MoreHow To Improve Your Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem can make it difficult to pursue career goals, make friends or have long lasting relationships. Here are some suggestions to help you rebuild your self-esteem: Undergo Self Esteem Counselling Self-esteem counselling is perhaps one of the most important steps you can take to improve your self-esteem. In counselling you ...
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