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5 Steps to Overcoming Emotional Eating
It is not surprising that many of us turn to food to calm our emotions. After all, since infancy our caregivers responded to our cries of distress by providing nourishment. Nurturing ourselves with food is a biological imperative, but for some it can lead to overeating and related health problems. If emotional eating is causing…
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Mental Health Supports for Survivors of Climate Disasters
From the heartbreak of watching the beautiful places in the world burn, to the frustration of watching elected officials continue to support the oil and gas industry, to having to flee for ones life due to wildfires or floods, climate change effects all of us. A recent CBC article summarized a new study that suggested…
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Interpersonal Effectiveness: More than being assertive
Years ago I taught a course on how to be assertive to a group of women who had escaped abusive relationships. I always made sure to emphasize that just because you can be assertive, does not mean you have to be. Outside of the obvious concerns about safety, the whole issue of whether it was…
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How to identify feelings
Sometimes it can be hard to know what we are feeling. Maybe you’ve been told that some feelings are bad or that what you are feeling is wrong. If you grew up in an emotionally chaotic household you may have learned that feelings were dangerous and best surpressed. Or maybe, as if often true, you…
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5 Ways to calm emotional storms
Emotion regulation is our ability to effectively respond to an emotional experience. It includes remaining in control of our behaviour despite our emotional state, and keeping our emotions at a tolerable level. Here are some steps towards improved emotion regulation:
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The Function of Depression
It is no secret that how we interpret something has a big influence on how we react to it. For example, a friend cancels a lunch date with no explanation. I can choose to believe that they hate me, have something better to do, have an emergency, or overslept and are adjusting their schedule accordingly.…
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Managing Depression and Anxiety at Work
The Canadian Journal of Behaviour Science (Roberge, C, Meunier, S., Cleary J. 2024 vol 56, No 1 10-19. Canadian Psychological Association) recently republished a study that explored the strategies used by those experiencing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety to manage their symptoms and enhance their ability to function effectively at work. While the sample size…
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Five Ways to Increase Your Self-esteem
1. Do something differently. Accept compliments. Say thank you. Look after yourself. Eat healthy, exercise and do more things you enjoy. Set achievable and realistic goals. Set yourself up for success. 2. Think differently. Challenge those negative or critical thoughts about yourself: Is this thought a fact or opinion? Things are rarely black or white.…
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How to be an Ally
Recently attended a panel discussion called Unveiling Equity: Tackling Structural Racism. Learned lots especially the importance of listening. After all, when we’ve been lucky enough (priviledged) to not have had an experience, how can we know how to support those that have lived it? A recording of the event can be found here:
