Individual Therapy

Individual Therapy

1420077020The world feels heavy when…

You constantly sacrifice yourself for the sake of others.

You say “yes” when inside, you are screaming, “Noooooooo!”

Everyone else in the household has clean clothes, a packed lunch, and activities to attend. You are lucky if you get out of your “comfy” clothes, eat some things left off your kids’ plate, and leave the house for something other than a drop-off.

You’re the go-to person when someone needs a favor or support, but everyone is always too busy when you need something.

Racing thoughts keep you up at night.

The “to-do” list for tomorrow just keeps growing in your mind.

You worry that you should have handled a situation at work differently.

Concerns around your kids, parents, and partner are swirling in your head.

Your energy is depleted.

It is a challenge to get out of bed in the mornings.

You walk in the door, find the shortest distance to the couch, and barely move for the rest of the evening.

The house looks like a tornado went through it.

There’s no joy in your life.

Everywhere you turn, there is negativity.

Every activity seems like a chore to you.

You cannot remember the last time you laughed.

You’re hopeless that things will get better.

Every day is the same… your life is stuck on repeat.

The light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting dimmer.

You just can’t seem to catch a break.

605969261Something’s got to give…

You’re realizing you can’t continue this way forever.

You’re a parent struggling to keep it all together. You work full-time and have a family at home. Sometimes you dread the moment you pull into your driveway and just want to run away for a few days for some time alone. The chaos awaiting you when you walk through your front door is daunting.

You’re trying to get the promotion you have been striving for at work. You find yourself putting in extra hours to impress the boss. Sleep deprivation and worry that you didn’t do everything have you distracted at your big presentation. Your co-worker ends up with the promotion while you’re left behind, angry and disappointed in yourself.

You struggle to believe that another change is occurring in your life. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse… BAM, something else comes crashing down on you. You wonder if things will ever be different. A dark cloud seems to be following you around.

272138360“You cannot pour from an empty cup.”

Sometimes, we keep repeating patterns that no longer serve us because they’re familiar – like a favorite childhood blanket. Even when you know things are weighing you down, breaking out of your comfort zone is hard.

Change is difficult! We experience and learn many things throughout our lifetime, and they all impact us somehow. The things we learn may serve us for some parts of our life, but there may be a time when something may need to change.

We all know there is no such thing as the “perfect family” or “perfect relationship.” Sometimes, we pick up ways of communicating that eventually cause problems with how we interact in our relationships. These dynamics may cause us to get stuck in a negative feedback loop.

Thoughts and belief systems that serve others may not be helping you. How you learned to communicate may not work well in some situations. You avoid conflict like the plague and just want everyone to get along. You may have some awareness of things you would like to be doing differently but are unsure how to move forward.

Here’s the good news: You already have the answers within you; my goal is to help you create the space you need for them to come to the surface!

We need hope like we need air.

– Brené Brown

1170692422Let’s lighten your load.

Challenging your old patterns…

This can be hard, and you may occasionally fall back into old patterns, but I’ll guide you back on track.

There is a lot of pressure from the outside world to do “all the things” with a smile. We are failing because everyone else seems to have their life together. You think you must be busy and productive all the time, or you are being “lazy.” Some of these thoughts become your truth, and you are trapped in negativity.

Challenging you to take an honest look at how you think and talk to yourself… we will work to shift things to a more caring and compassionate way of being toward yourself. We will work to find the warrior within you to stay strong while making changes and work together for you to stay on track with attainable goals.

Exploring what you need and want out of life…

We work together to explore how different activities and relationships currently serve you.

What do you notice after you spend time with your friend that is always in crisis mode?
How do you feel after taking a long walk in the woods?

Do you notice a difference when you have time to cook your meals rather than eat out all the time?

I help you build awareness around how you are actively nourishing your mind, body, and soul. We highlight the things that positively impact you and work to change things that no longer serve you.

1648982590Making lifestyle shifts…

We work together to incorporate the identified activities into your lifestyle. This is not something you just do for one week or month. You need to make these things part of your lifestyle – knowing that engaging in them regularly affects the other systems and relationships in your life.

This may look like you taking 15 minutes for yourself every morning to meditate or carving out time to prep meals for the week on your day off.

Learning to communicate effectively…

You hold things inside rather than communicating your desires. Maybe you just “go with the flow” to avoid a fight. You go from 0 to 100 without warning when discussing things.

We work together to reconnect to your body to recognize sensations indicating that a situation is activating you. Learning to relax your body and re-center yourself becomes an active practice.

Another priority is learning to use your voice in a way that allows you to be heard. We work to soften your approach to communication and work toward you being a good listener.

We explore thoughts and feelings around communication and challenge faulty beliefs we may have developed through the years.

Establishing and maintaining boundaries…

Saying “no,” you feel like you may disappoint someone or that it is an act of selfishness. Sharing how you feel about something may have been dismissed in the past. You tried to discuss things but never felt heard.

Keeping this type of mindset keeps you stuck. We work to shift this mindset through reframing to a new way of thinking.

You are not being selfish when you say, “No”; it is a form of self-care. Your feelings are important and deserve to be validated. What you have to share with the world is important.

People will push back because this is a different way of interacting with you. They may not like that you set boundaries and make you feel guilty about doing something for yourself. However, you will realize how making these small shifts makes you feel more empowered. You may feel like you have a voice that deserves to be heard and ideas worthy of sharing. The feeling that you matter in this world becomes stronger.

Individual Therapy ImgRemaining aware as you make progress…

As you start putting new ideas into action, you might notice your body and mind reacting or resisting.

You may ‘cave’ on one of the boundaries you set with your friend. Maybe, you get off track with the morning routine that you built. Falling back into old ways of being or getting off track is a typical part of making a change. It is not good or bad. It is just what is happening in that moment. We always have the option to make a different choice in the next moment.

Knowing this can give you the power you need to sustain the changes you’re making on your journey. And, of course, I’ll be there for you… encouraging you every step of the way.

I want to be your guide…

Doing life alone can be difficult sometimes.

If you are tired of feeling alone on this journey and want to work on making changes that nourish your whole self, the time to reach out is NOW.