The Art of Self-Care: What It Really Means to Take Care of Yourself
Self-care is often misunderstood. Many people associate it with spa days, retail therapy, or an occasional break from responsibilities. While those things can be enjoyable, truly caring for yourself runs much deeper.
At its core, self-care is about listening to your needs, setting boundaries, and prioritizing your well-being. It’s about creating habits that restore your energy and resilience so you can show up more fully for yourself and others. The challenge, however, is that many people struggle to make self-care a priority. Whether it’s guilt, time constraints, or the pressure to always be productive, putting yourself first isn’t always easy. Self-care isn’t a reward—it’s a necessity. 
Redefining Self-Care: Beyond the Superficial
It’s easy to think of self-care as indulgence, but in reality, it’s about sustainability. It’s checking in with yourself and responding to what you need—whether that means taking a break, asking for help, or simply acknowledging your emotions without judgment.
For some, self-care might mean scheduling downtime to recharge. For others, it’s setting boundaries with work or social obligations. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but the most effective self-care practices share a common theme: they help you feel more balanced, supported, and connected to yourself. Think of self-care as a long-term investment in your well-being. It’s not just about what makes you feel good in the moment, but what allows you to sustain a healthy, fulfilling life. Emotional Self-Care: Honoring Your Feelings
Caring for your emotional health means acknowledging your feelings rather than suppressing them. Too often, we push through stress, sadness, or frustration without pausing to process what we’re experiencing. Over time, this can lead to burnout and emotional exhaustion.
One simple but powerful way to practice emotional self-care is by creating space to check in with yourself. This might look like: journaling, talking to a trusted friend, or practicing mindfulness. If emotions feel overwhelming, therapy can also be a valuable tool for gaining clarity and support. Practical Tip: Dedicate ten minutes each day to journaling or guided meditation to process emotions and reduce stress. Physical Self-Care: Supporting Your Body’s Needs
Your body and mind are deeply connected, and taking care of your physical health plays a key role in overall well-being. But physical self-care isn’t just about diet and exercise—it’s about tuning into your body’s signals and giving it what it needs.
This might mean prioritizing rest when you’re feeling depleted, nourishing yourself with balanced meals, or moving your body in ways that bring you joy. It could also be as simple as staying hydrated or stepping outside for fresh air when you need a mental reset. Rather than approaching physical self-care as a rigid set of rules, think of it as a way to show kindness to yourself. When you treat your body with care and respect, it naturally supports your emotional and mental health in return. Practical Tip: Create a bedtime routine to improve sleep quality by dimming lights, avoiding screens an hour before bed, and engaging in a relaxing activity like reading. 
Mental Self-Care: Creating Space for Clarity and Growth
Just as your body needs rest and nourishment, your mind needs care as well. Mental self-care involves practices that reduce stress, encourage growth, and provide a sense of clarity.
Engaging in activities that challenge and inspire you—whether it’s reading, learning a new skill, or exploring a creative outlet—can help you maintain a sense of curiosity and purpose. On the other hand, mental self-care also includes knowing when to slow down. Taking breaks, unplugging from social media, and setting boundaries with information overload are just as important as intellectual stimulation. A strong mental self-care practice helps you manage stress more effectively and stay present in your daily life. By making space for both rest and growth, you create a healthier mindset that supports resilience and well-being. Practical Tip: Start a new hobby, read a book, or try a puzzle to sharpen your focus and creativity. 
Overcoming Common Barriers to Self-Care
One of the biggest challenges with self-care is the belief that there’s never enough time. But self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. Even small, intentional acts—like taking five deep breaths, stepping outside for fresh air, or setting a limit on after-hours work emails—can make a meaningful difference.
Another common barrier is guilt. Many people feel that prioritizing themselves takes away from their responsibilities to others. But the truth is, when you take care of yourself, you’re better equipped to support those around you. Self-care isn’t selfish; it’s what allows you to be present and engaged in the areas of life that matter most. By shifting your perspective and making self-care a non-negotiable part of your routine, you set the foundation for a healthier, more balanced life. Recommended Resources
For those looking to enrich their self-care practice, these books and podcasts offer valuable insights:
If you’re looking for personalized guidance on building a self-care practice that truly supports you, our team at Thrive Advantage Group is here to help.
We provide expert, compassionate support through our secure Telehealth platform for clients in Michigan, Florida, and Texas. Whether you’re navigating stress, burnout, or life transitions, we can help you develop strategies to feel more balanced and fulfilled.
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How to Strengthen Your Relationships Through Better Communication
Good communication is the foundation of healthy, thriving relationships. Whether you’re engaging with a partner, friend, family member, or colleague, strong communication skills can foster deeper understanding, trust, and emotional connection. If practicing these skills feels challenging, there are strategies you can learn and implement to grow this crucial aspect of your interactions with others.
Overcoming Barriers to Healthy Communication
Effective communication isn’t always easy. Stress, insecurities, and past experiences can create barriers that make it difficult to express ourselves clearly or to truly listen to others.
It’s normal to feel misunderstood or frustrated in conversations sometimes, and that doesn’t mean your relationships are doomed—it simply means you’re human. Communication is a skill that takes practice, self-awareness, and a willingness to grow. By unlearning unhelpful habits—such as avoiding difficult conversations or responding defensively—we can replace them with healthier, more constructive approaches. Here’s how you can strengthen your communication skills and build deeper, more fulfilling relationships. 1. Listen Actively
Listening is more than just hearing someone’s words—it’s about truly understanding their message. Active listening requires full attention, curiosity, and a willingness to engage.
Practical Tips for Active Listening:
When people feel heard, they are more likely to reciprocate, leading to stronger, more connected conversations. 2. Express Yourself Clearly
Effective communication is not just about what you say but how you say it. Instead of focusing on blame or criticism, shift the conversation toward your own feelings and needs.
Practical Tips for Expressing Yourself Clearly:
When we express ourselves with clarity and kindness, we create space for productive and meaningful dialogue. 
3. Practice Empathy
Empathy is the ability to step into someone else’s shoes and understand their emotions. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but acknowledging their feelings can strengthen your connection.
Practical Tips for Practicing Empathy:
Empathy fosters emotional safety, which is essential for open and honest communication. 4. Manage Conflict Constructively
Disagreements are a natural part of any relationship, but how we handle them determines their impact. The goal isn’t to “win” an argument but to find a resolution that respects both perspectives.
Practical Tips for Handling Conflict:
Healthy communication during conflict strengthens relationships rather than damaging them. 5. Cultivate Curiosity and Open-Mindedness
Approaching conversations with curiosity rather than judgment can transform how you connect with others. When we seek to understand rather than assume, communication becomes more productive.
Practical Tips for Staying Open-Minded:
These meaningful actions can lead to deeper conversations and stronger relationships. 
The Journey to Better Communication
Improving your communication skills is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. It requires patience, practice, and a commitment to growth. Small, intentional changes can lead to profound shifts in how you connect with others.
As you work on strengthening your communication, be kind to yourself. No one gets it right all the time, and every conversation is an opportunity to learn and improve. Celebrate progress, even if it’s just pausing to listen more fully or expressing your needs with greater clarity. Recommended Resources
Books:
If you're looking for more personalized strategies to improve communication and strengthen your relationships, our team at Thrive Advantage Group is here to help.
We serve clients in Michigan, Florida, and Texas through our secure Telehealth platform and offer compassionate, expert support tailored to your needs. 5 Simple Ways to Improve Life Balance and Reduce Stress Today
In a world where work, relationships, and personal responsibilities compete for our time, achieving life balance can seem like an impossible dream. Yet, balance is less about perfection and more about making intentional choices that align with your values. Here are five effective strategies to help you feel more grounded and reduce stress.
1. Prioritize What Truly Matters
Start by asking yourself: What are the top 3–5 areas in my life that matter most? Maybe it’s family, health, career, or personal growth. When you know your priorities, you can better allocate your time and energy to what truly fulfills you. Use this clarity to guide your daily decisions.
2. Set Boundaries Many of us overcommit, leaving little time for ourselves. While being helpful is admirable, constantly overextending yourself can lead to burnout and leave little time for self-care. Saying no doesn’t mean you’re selfish; it means you’re protecting your well-being.
3. Embrace Mindfulness
Mindfulness isn’t just meditation; it’s a way of living in the present and tuning into what’s happening in and around you. By focusing on the here and now, you can reduce stress and feel more connected to yourself and others.
4. Practice Self-Compassion
Negative self-talk can erode our confidence. Instead, speak to yourself as you would to a friend—with kindness, understanding, and patience.
Explore the idea of cultivating self-compassion further here. 5. Stay Connected Strong relationships are a key component of balance. When we’re overwhelmed, it’s easy to isolate ourselves, but staying connected can actually reduce stress and remind us that we’re not alone. Whether it’s a deep conversation with a loved one or simply laughing with a friend, these moments of connection can be incredibly grounding and boost our resilience.
Recommended Resources
Find additional tools to support your journey toward balance. These resources are a great place to start:
Taking Steps To Reduce Stress and Find Balance Improving life balance and reducing stress doesn’t require a complete life overhaul. Instead, it’s about taking small, intentional steps that align with your values and priorities. By incorporating these meaningful actions into your routines, you can move forward to create a life that feels more balanced and fulfilling. Healing After Trauma: How EMDR Therapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Life
Trauma is a heavy burden, and its effects can linger in our minds and bodies long after the event. EMDR therapy offers hope for those looking to move forward.
For many, trauma feels like an invisible weight - disrupting sleep, triggering anxiety, and interfering with relationships and daily life. Whether the trauma stems from a single incident, such as an accident or loss, or from ongoing experiences, like childhood neglect or abuse, the impact can profoundly shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world.
The good news is that healing is possible. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy offers an effective approach to help individuals process and heal from the lingering effects of trauma. What is EMDR therapy? Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR focuses on how memories are stored in the brain and body. Trauma can leave certain memories “frozen,” causing distress every time they are triggered. EMDR helps you process these memories in a way that reduces their emotional intensity and integrates them into your broader understanding of yourself. EMDR is not about erasing or forgetting what happened; rather, it’s about transforming how you relate to those experiences. Over time, what once felt overwhelming can lose its power, and you can begin to see yourself not as a victim of your past but as someone capable of growth, resilience, and healing. The Body-Mind Connection in Trauma One reason trauma can feel so all-encompassing is that it doesn’t just affect the mind—it also impacts the body. Symptoms like hypervigilance, nightmares, flashbacks, and physical tension are common because trauma activates the body’s stress response system. This is why it’s not enough to simply “talk through” the experience. EMDR addresses both the cognitive and physiological effects of trauma, helping you release its grip on your nervous system. 
How EMDR Therapy Works
EMDR therapy is structured into eight distinct phases, starting with creating safety and trust between you and your therapist. You’ll identify a target memory or distressing experience to work on, along with any negative beliefs or feelings tied to it (e.g., “I’m not safe,” or “It was my fault”). Using bilateral stimulation—such as guided eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones—your therapist helps you access and process the memory in a way that feels manageable. Over time, the emotional charge connected to the memory diminishes, and you’ll work to replace negative beliefs with positive ones, like “I am safe now,” or “It wasn’t my fault.” In an EMDR session, your therapist guides you through eight phases:
Who Can Benefit From EMDR?
EMDR has been extensively researched and proven effective for a wide range of challenges, including:
It’s a versatile therapy that can be tailored to fit your needs, and it’s often much faster than traditional therapy for processing deep-rooted trauma. A Journey, Not a Quick Fix Healing from trauma through EMDR is a journey. For some, it may take just a few sessions to feel significant relief, while others may need more time to address complex or layered traumas. Each step is progress, and even small shifts can lead to profound changes in how you feel about yourself and your life. Is EMDR Therapy Right for You? Our team offers EMDR Intensive treatment to help accelerate your healing journey. Sessions are longer than the traditional 53-minute talk therapy session to help support you in moving deeper through your process and work. If you’re interested in exploring EMDR Intensives, contact us to find out more and schedule an appointment. Resources for Understanding Trauma and EMDR Books:
Trauma doesn’t have to define you.
Through EMDR, you can break free from the emotional and physical chains that hold you back and rediscover a sense of safety, empowerment, and hope. Healing is a deeply personal process, but you don’t have to walk it alone. With the right support and tools, you can reclaim your life and start moving forward with confidence and strength. Cultivating Self-Compassion: A Guide to Embracing Yourself with Kindness
Sometimes, we can be so hard on ourselves. Our inner dialogue can be harsh and cruel. While we extend kindness, patience, and understanding to others, we rarely afford ourselves the same grace.
But what if we approached things differently? What if we intentionally infused our lives with more self-compassion and kindness? Explore the transformative power of self-compassion as a tool for resilience and growth and discover six practical strategies that can help you navigate your journey toward healing. 
What Is Self-Compassion?
At its core, self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness and care you’d show to a friend who is struggling. It’s about embracing your humanity and acknowledging that imperfection is part of being human. When practiced regularly, self-compassion can boost emotional resilience, reduce stress, and improve overall mental health. Practical Strategies to Foster Self-Compassion 1. Practice Mindful Self-Compassion Mindful self-compassion involves acknowledging your pain with a gentle, understanding attitude. When self-critical thoughts arise, pause and gently counteract them with self-compassionate affirmations. For example, if you find yourself thinking, “I always mess things up,” reframe it: “I’m doing the best I can, and it’s okay to make mistakes.” 2. Establish a Supportive Routine When life feels overwhelming, it’s easy to neglect self-care. Depression can disrupt daily routines, making even simple tasks feel overwhelming. Establish a manageable routine that includes self-care activities. Break tasks into smaller steps, and celebrate each accomplishment. Consistency fosters a sense of stability and control. Tips to build your routine:
3. Engage in Meaningful Activities When you’re feeling stuck, engaging in activities that bring a sense of purpose and joy can provide a lifeline. This might include pursuing a hobby, volunteering, or simply spending time with loved ones. Create a list of activities that resonate with you, and aim to incorporate them into your routine as often as possible. These could be small moments, like enjoying a cup of tea on the porch, or bigger commitments, like joining a community class. 4. Set Realistic Goals When you’re hard on yourself, it’s easy to feel like you’re not accomplishing enough. Setting realistic goals helps counteract this narrative by celebrating progress, no matter how small. Depression often saps energy and motivation, so break tasks into manageable steps. Break it down: For instance, instead of “Clean the entire house,” aim for “Organize one drawer.” Celebrate the victories, no matter how minor they may seem, and be patient with yourself on the challenging days. 5. Connect with Others Isolation can deepen the grip of depression. Reaching out to trusted friends, family members, or support groups can remind you that you’re not alone. Share your feelings and allow others to offer companionship and understanding. Connection is a powerful antidote to loneliness and can help lift our mood and self-concept, too. Practice intentional connection: Schedule regular calls, coffee dates, or virtual meetups with loved ones. If you’re not ready to share deeply, simply enjoying someone’s company can be healing. 6. Seek Professional Support Sometimes, self-compassion requires more tools than we have on our own. A trained therapist can provide guidance, validation, and practical tools to help you manage depressive symptoms. Seeking professional help is a courageous step toward healing. Why Self-Compassion Matters Self-compassion is not about ignoring your mistakes or pretending everything is okay. Instead, it’s about recognizing your worth, even in moments of struggle. When you embrace self-compassion, you create space for healing, resilience, and personal growth. 
Remember, cultivating self-compassion is a journey, not a destination. Start small, practice regularly, and be gentle with yourself along the way.
How to Navigate Anxiety with Mindfulness and Self-Care
Life can feel overwhelming, like a storm that catches you off guard and leaves you spinning. If you’re navigating the ups and downs of anxiety, you’re not alone. Tools like mindfulness and self-care can help you find calm, balance, and clarity in the chaos.
Recently, I’ve found myself noticing the sky more. I’ve noticed them during evening walks or while driving, and these quiet observations got me thinking about the art of noticing. This simple practice—of pausing, observing, and being present—can be a powerful antidote to anxiety.
Consider these approaches to incorporate mindfulness and self-care into your life to manage anxiety and build resilience: 1. Ground Yourself in the Present When anxiety strikes, your mind often races into the "what ifs" of the future or the "should haves" of the past. Grounding yourself in the present moment is a powerful way to interrupt this cycle. One effective technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise:
This exercise gently redirects your attention to the present moment, giving your mind a break from anxious thoughts. 2. Cultivate a Mindful Routine Mindfulness isn’t just about being present in a single moment - it’s a practice you can weave into your daily life. Creating a mindful routine anchors you and provides a sense of stability, even when things feel chaotic.
The key is consistency. These small, intentional moments can help build a buffer against the waves of anxiety. 
3. Prioritize Self-Care Practices
Self-care is not a luxury - it’s a fundamental component of mental health. When you prioritize self-care, you signal to yourself that your well-being matters. Start by identifying activities that bring you joy, relaxation, or a sense of renewal. This could include:
Scheduling regular self-care breaks is crucial. In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in busyness, but stepping away from distractions - especially screens and notifications - allows you to reconnect with yourself. Let self-care be a non-negotiable part of your routine. 
4. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Anxiety often feeds on distorted or negative thought patterns, making situations feel worse than they are. Challenging these thoughts can help you regain perspective. Ask yourself:
Reframing negative thoughts with balanced, realistic perspectives can break the cycle of anxiety. Over time, this practice trains your brain to think more compassionately and rationally. 5. Reach Out for Support You don't have to face anxiety alone. Isolation can amplify anxious feelings while reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, or therapist can provide comfort and validation. Talking to someone who truly listens can lighten your emotional burden and help you feel less alone. If your anxiety feels overwhelming, professional support can offer additional tools and strategies to guide you through it. Navigating Anxiety Is a Journey Managing anxiety is not about achieving perfection or eliminating it altogether - it’s about building resilience and finding balance. Remember, this is a journey, not a destination. Be patient with yourself as you integrate mindfulness and self-care practices into your daily life. Every small step - pausing to notice the beauty of a sunset, grounding yourself with a breathing exercise, or reaching out for support - moves you closer to a calmer, more centered version of yourself.
Our team at Thrive Advantage Group is here to help. We serve clients in Michigan, Florida, and Texas through a secure Telehealth platform. We participate with Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Care Network, Aetna, United, and Priority Health, and offer sliding scale options for out-of-pocket costs.
Contact us today to schedule a session and start your journey toward healing. When the World Feels Like It’s on Fire: How to Stay Grounded
How do we manage when the world is on fire?
It’s a question many of us ask ourselves these days. A quick scroll through the news can leave you feeling overwhelmed, numb, or even hopeless. From global conflicts to issues concerning your local community, it’s easy to feel like the world is spiraling out of control. So, how do we navigate these feelings without falling into despair? How do we stay engaged without letting anxiety take over? The key is to come back to yourself. Ground yourself in the present moment and lean into these three critical steps. 
1. Pause: Recognize When You’re Overwhelmed
The first and most important step is to pause. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, stop the spiral and check in with yourself.
Ask:
This moment of awareness allows you to step back from reactivity and take intentional action rather than being consumed by hopelessness. 2. Ask Yourself: What Is Needed Right Now
Begin with the most fundamental self-care awareness you have and shift your attention to your immediate needs.
Consider the basics of self-care:
When the world feels overwhelming, it’s easy to overlook our personal well-being. However, tending to the most pressing fundamental need is the first step in regaining a sense of stability. 
3. Shift from Apathy to Action: Focus on Your Micro Lens
After you’ve paused and addressed your core self-care needs, the next step is to bring your attention back to the enormous significance of what’s immediately within your control.
Come back to the importance of your micro-lens. Return to a state of focusing on making changes in your own personal life and in the lives immediately impacted by you. What can you do right here, right now, that might feel good or right? When things feel like they’re out of our control, our knee-jerk response is to give up. I’d like to invite you to shift that from apathy to action. Return to what you can control. Return to micro-level decisions and do something small, focusing on one action at a time. Examples:
The Ripple Effect: Small Actions Create Change
I believe in the physics of a ripple effect.
Imagine throwing a stone into a lake. The first ripple begins at the point of impact, then another forms, and another. Your small, positive actions work the same way—impacting those around you, who in turn influence others. When you feel ready, consider how you might extend this ripple outward:
None of us can solve global crises alone. But what we do within our personal world matters. By grounding ourselves, tending to our needs, and taking small, intentional actions, we can shift from apathy to engagement--one ripple at a time. Final Thought: You Have More Power Than You Think
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed by the world’s heaviness, return to yourself. Pause. Identify what’s needed. Take a small step forward.
Even the smallest ripple has the power to create waves.
 Please remember, you’re a human - having a very normal human response to a completely abnormal set of life circumstances and the time to be gentle with yourself is now.
Lately, I’ve been hearing a trend in my practice. Many of my clients are struggling in this phase of the pandemic where we have a little distance from the peak crisis, trauma and fear, but we are still cautiously proceeding forward with uncertainty. After so much isolation and unknown, it’s hard for us to merge back towards normal. In addition, many of us are questioning what our post-pandemic life should look and feel like. We’ve been given a chance to halt and in that pause we can’t help but question ‘was the way I was doing it before really working?’ We are in what feels like a collective existential question and while that’s not a bad thing - it can be very destabilizing. If I know one thing to be true - it’s that anxiety spikes when we experience a perception (real or imagined) of being trapped and uncertain. We had both of these during the pandemic. So, you take a global population who has just shifted into hypervigilance and you shake up everything they know to be helpful in maintaining a sense of health and wellbeing, you remove all their access to what helps them cope and feel stable, and you have a heck of a lot of people in this world left asking the deep questions about who they are now and where they really want to be. All this to say - YOU. ARE. HUMAN. And you’re likely having a tender, vulnerable, fragile and completely normal human response to something you’ve never before experienced in your lifetime. The great thing about this very moment in time is that in it - is opportunity. The opportunity to really ask ourselves - what needs to change? What is possible now? How do we want to shift? What aspects of ourselves or of our lives do we need to release or let go of and equally, what are we bringing in with truth, honor and intentionality? As a therapist, I have the privilege of holding space for the most intimate questions you ask yourself and I get to witness you discover answers in what is sometimes the most courageous space I could ever imagine holding with another human on earth. The past year and a half has been the most challenging period of my entire professional career - and yet the most richly rewarding too. Something about the pandemic has invited you to accelerate action to rid yourself of the unhealthy aspects, habits or relationships that no longer serve your highest good. I have great reverence for you in your brave, bold steps towards emerging into the version of yourself that feels aligned with truth. You’ve stopped hiding. You’re awake now. You’ve made resolute decisions (large and small) to take real action on the things you’ve been contemplating and questioning for a long time. I’ve heard you say…. “It’s time to leave this relationship. This job. This home. I’ve decided to have a baby. We’re getting married. I’m going back to school. I’m changing the way I communicate with people. The way I hold those boundaries. How I allow people to treat me. I’ve stopped drinking. I am taking better care of myself - for myself. I’m not going back to the way I used to do that. Period.” And like you, I too have been moving through the same space. Staying present to the uncertainty and fear and questioning what was working and what needs support to change and shift. The pandemic invited me to reinvent the way I serve my clients. After 20 years of working with clients face to face in the same room, I was forced to pivot to telehealth. I let go of my brick and mortar office and decided to open a group practice in order to keep up with the demand for support that my caseload could no longer sustain. After 8 years of supporting my husband and his ownership and management of Cornwall Bakery, we’ve decided it's time to close that chapter too. Covid asked us to look closely at time and how time was moving in our lives. In a really strange way, I believe the pandemic brought the concept of our own mortality closer to all of us and ultimately I feel it’s the reason why so many of these aspects of our lives are in a period of acceleration and declaration. We’ve been invited to ask ourselves the same questions you’re facing. What’s working now? What isn’t? What needs to shift. How do we want to spend our lives, our time, our energy? What brings joy and meaning? What feels aligned with our truth and who we are? The answers invited us to pivot and while it’s hard to close our bakery, it feels like the timing is also perfect. Doesn’t it feel like the world is screaming “wake up - the time is NOW!” If something in your life doesn’t feel supportive, healthy, meaningful or grounded in truth, maybe it’s time. The only way we get to do this though, is by staying present and staying connected with ourselves as we fumble and process through our own totally normal, often messy, always hard and wonderful human reactions to real human emotions. Be gentle, Megan  It’s hard to believe it’s been about a year now we’ve been living under a pandemic. When I think back to this time last year, I was starting to feel a sense of urgency to stock up on supplies not knowing exactly what the coming weeks would bring. Never in a million years did I imagine that one year later we would still be in this and that our lives would look and feel so different!
There’s been so much loss this year. So many have lost loved ones, lost jobs, lost a sense of freedom, safety and security. But as a therapist, I also have the privileged perspective of witnessing resiliency, hope and our unbelievable capacity for adaptation. After all this, I can truly say I’m inspired by the human spirit. And I believe in possibility. I know, without a doubt that people have the capacity to survive and ultimately we do move forward, even as difficult as it may be. I’ve walked next to you this year. I heard your fears. I watched you face impossible pain. I saw you find creative solutions to problems you never anticipated having. You somehow woke up every morning and continued to breathe through the day even when you felt completely defeated, alone and afraid. I wish everyone could see what I see. I wish people who are currently in despair could have the perspective that therapists have. That they could see how humans survive trauma, tragedy and struggle. That it is possible to do what feels impossible. I’ve worked with so many clients over the years who start their therapy process in deep crisis and over time, over many weeks and months and sometimes even years, after endless patience and gentleness, they begin to heal, shift and even thrive again. So even though we’re here now - a year away from where we started and we still don’t know exactly what’s next, what we do know is that we can face difficult things and survive. We know that when it comes to facing adversity, we must go in and through it. There are no shortcuts and there is no way around. But you never have to go it alone and sometimes facing hard things with someone by your side makes it all seem possible. We know even the most difficult things we face in our lifetime are temporary. And I know for a fact that humans have incredible resilience and strength and that there’s always hope and possibility even when we cannot see it at first. |
AuthorMegan Gunnell, LMSW, Psychotherapist and Founder of The Thrive Advantage Group and The Thriving Well Institute. Archives
February 2025
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