In a discussion about bullying the other day, someone asked me if I was ever bullied at school. I thought carefully about it, and answered “No, I don’t remember being bullied.” It’s not that there wasn’t any bullying, I grew up in a pretty rough Northern Ontario town where there were plenty of bullies and

One of the most asked questions I get when it comes to pain and stress is: how do I know when to act and when not to? How do I know when to ‘face the fear and do it anyway’ or to step back and relax my fight-or-flight response? How do I know if it

In all the ‘healing’ fields of psychotherapy, mindfulness, yoga, and so many more holistic, helping approaches, there lies a hidden platform. A platform that everything else resides on, rests on and depends on.  You might think it’s setting realistic goals, or facing your problems, or sleep, or meditation or so many other actions we take

Anyone who says that change is as simple as changing your thoughts, has not experienced the effects of trauma. I know that is a bold statement. Especially since most if not all adults have experienced trauma. I would probably correct that to say.. ‘has not experienced or fully processed their own trauma’.  Yes, thoughts are

Hello Everyone and Happy Monday, I have spent the better part of the last 2 decades studying, practicing and teaching mindfulness in various forms.  But this last weekend reinforced something I knew and have seen so many times in my clients with anxiety, ptsd and chronic pain. It is this: nothing overrides the survival instinct

Have you ever been told to “just let it go”? Or that you are “making a mountain out of a molehill” or “over-reacting… again!” Or perhaps you find yourself ruminating over the past and tell yourself (or shout) “Let that go!!!!”,  or stuck in the same habits you’ve tried to change (ahem… how ARE those

Are you a deeply caring woman who wants others to be happy but at the expense of yourself? You’re the one in your workplace or family that people go to talk, organize and take care of things. You feel and take on the emotions of others.  It’s overwhelming, and difficult to set boundaries. You may

  Coming into the holiday season really “should” feel like a time to rest and restore, but often it feels like the opposite. Not only is there a list of tasks to be done, but there is an energy of busyness in the air, in the traffic, in the shops. And often, this is not

As I started writing this blog, an ambulance went screaming by my house. Someone, in this moment, is in trouble. We can become so focussed on all that is not right in our lives (yes… our lovely survival-focussed brains!) that we can forget what is so right. All the troubles we could have, but don’t.

If you are a young climate change activist these days, you have to have a thick skin. For some reason, a 16 year old Swedish girl who wants to save the planet has triggered a backlash of anger and mocking by grown men and women in powerful positions so great it almost seems surreal. “I