Acknowledge my situation I am parenting in the pandemic. I am living in extraordinary times. My life is not normal. I am not in control of the world around me. This can feel uncomfortable and even painful at times. As a parent, I feel additional pressure because I am concerned for my children. I may want to change the world to make it safer and more supportive for them. This can take tremendous energy. I have come to appreciate that … Read More
During our extraordinary times, we struggle between human vs humane. There is a call for more kindness and compassion. And yet we observe more intense, emotional and irrational behaviour that often feels angry and frustrated. When we encounter this behaviour, we react defensively. We seek more humane behaviour at a time when our human nature overrides these behaviours. When life doesn’t feel comfortable, we react. When our world doesn’t feel comfortable, our human response is fight-flight-freeze. Our automatic responses are … Read More
Learning to feel better. Growing up on a farm, I was introduced early to the idea of learning new ways to get the job done. The farming community was great at sharing new ideas and so, I was also introduced to the importance of learning from those around me. We didn’t have all the answers but that didn’t stop us from learning, asking questions and adopting something new. Perhaps it was this underlying programming that kicked in when I met … Read More
We are human and we all react to the current global pandemic. We may experience a range of distressing thoughts, emotions and physical sensations in response to situation. Mathias Egger is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist based in Switzerland. He shares this example of working with a client and using Logosynthesis as a tool to help a client resolve a panic attack related to coronavirus. The starting point for this session is related to panic attacks that have occurred at … Read More
Working from home can be stressful. When I wrote this book, it was not with the idea of helping people manage the stress of a global pandemic. I was introduced to Logosynthesis in 2013 and I used it extensively to help me during a very busy time in my life as a working mom. Learning to work from home, especially if you are the parent of young children, can pose significant challenges. I share my experience to demonstrate the shift. … Read More
I love the change in season from winter to spring. The days are longer, the sun is warmer and the colours are more vibrant. Yet not everyone is in a position to look forward with anticipation. I was speaking with a colleague yesterday who was struggling with moving forward since her mother passed away before Christmas, at the beginning of winter. ‘I want to be on pause’. She was connecting with a sense of not wanting to go on to … Read More
What is ‘positive mental health’? The Canadian Public Health Agency defines mental health as: “the capacity of each and all of us to feel, think, act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we face. It is a positive sense of emotional and spiritual well-being that respects the importance of culture, equity, social justice, interconnections and personal dignity” – Capacity to feel, think and act. This definition recognizes that to be healthy, each … Read More
We may know that ‘worry’ is unproductive and that it stresses our immune system, however it is a natural emotion in this situation. This emotion is triggered by frozen perceptions from past experiences. When we resolve the trigger, the distressing thoughts, emotions and sensations disappear.
I know that the cows come first. I was raised on a beautiful, busy dairy farm. Everyone had an important role to play, whether it was milking cows or cooking supper or simply waiting for a load of hay to arrive at the barn so that we could quickly unload before the rain. We had lots of time to play but we clearly understood, the cows came first. Putting cows first is understandable when they are needed for the financial … Read More
