The Importance of Distress Tolerance

Distress is uncomfortable. Whether it’s anxiety when meeting new people, fear that your partner doesn’t care, or disappointment in missing out on something you want, “distress” does not feel good. Because that visceral unpleasantness is a fundamental characteristic of distress, we tend to try to avoid it and want to protect our loved ones from […]

Revolutionizing how you see self-care

It’s no secret that there has been an increased focus on taking time for self and implementing self-care strategies to help you through each day. Simply put, self-care is essentially your role of ensuring or improving your own health. Taking care of yourself is a priority, but what if you don’t know how? I know […]

Simply Relationships – Fundamental Attribution Error

“Never attribute to malice what could adequately be explained by ignorance” Over the years we spend with a person we come to believe certain things about them, not all of them good. For example, we may see our partners as “lazy”, “inconsiderate”, or “self-absorbed”. Although these unflattering beliefs can be problematic in themselves, there is […]

Simply Relationships – Having Tough Conversations

“The measure of a healthy relationship is not if we argue, but how we argue.” Every deep relationship has conflict. It is a necessary outcome of connection. The important thing is how that conflict is managed when it happens, and how we repair after a conflict. Today’s post is more about managing conflict when it […]

Dopamine balance – How Trying to Feel Good all the Time Might be Making you Feel Worse

“The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia. Which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind.” Dr. Anna Lembke The content of this post is drawn from a great book called Dopamine Nation, by Dr. Anna Lembke.  Dopamine is a powerful neurotransmitter. Common knowledge tends […]

Thoughts on Family for the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

By Dr. Amanda Stoner It seriously is for me, the most wonderful time of the year. I love Christmas! And this year, I am feeling especially grateful for the gift of family. I am so excited to travel to Ontario where my family lives, where we will celebrate Christmas together. However, I realize that this […]

Just need a break? Or is it burnout?

By: Kristin Matthews This is often a very busy time of year for many people. Juggling work, school, the demands of home, and prepping for the holidays, this time of year can feel stressful and exhausting.  More, and more, I am hearing from my clients how exhausted and stressed out many people are feeling right […]

Living in a paradox during a pandemic

Thank you for joining me for this week’s blog! This week we address the “elephant in the room”. Living through this pandemic is challenging – for so many reasons. Is it possible that a few months ago all we wanted was some time off, to spend with family, or take a break from our hectic […]

Helping one another: Some essential tips

Thank you for joining us for this week’s blog. Last week we focused on a new service we are offering to our clients: occupational therapy. This week we wanted to shift back to an important issue that we must be mindful of during the pandemic: how we can look out for and help one another. We […]

The Holidays: Time and Health

Thank you for joining us for this week’s blog! Last week we discussed some of the lighter contributors to holiday stress: weather changes, that never-ending “to-do” list, and financial limitations. This week, we focus on some other lighter factors that present as challenges when we’re rolling into the holidays. Some of these include feeling that […]