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Compassion fatigue can happen to anyone. If you are dealing with heavy relationship or family drama, you may feel like you're burned out or even indifferent. If you are in a helping profession or a volunteer, this can really take a toll on you and your outlook.

This article is great in explaining what compassion fatigue can look like https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/running-low-on-empathy-how-to-heal-from-compassion-fatigue-1115197 :

• "Burnout happens when a person’s environment is stressful, whereas compassion fatigue happens when a person’s interactions with other people saps their emotional reserves.


• People with compassion fatigue may begin avoiding situ...

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How have you been feeling lately? Perhaps a bit down and talking negatively to yourself? Try to think of the thoughts you have during the day. Do they sound something like "Why did I do that? What a silly mistake" or " I'm a failure"? If so, you're letting your self talk control you. You have the power to choose how you think about yourself and others.

Here are some tips to make some healthy changes:

-Take note of your thoughts and patterns

-Determine if the thoughts are helpful or hurtful

-Make active changes in your mind and aloud of how you see yourself and others

-If you have children or people that look up to you, model these new positive changes

An exampl...

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Sometimes we feel "off" in our lives. We may be doing too much of one activity and lacking in others. We need to find a balance. We found a great article https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-keys-to-finding-balance-in-complex-times/ that explores this balance.

Here are the tips the author recommends:

-Find a way to move and be active. This can be through various forms of exercise or going for a walk with a friend.

-Be aware of energy. This is both consumption and expenditure of energy. Find a balance between exercise, nutrition, and use of technology.

-Allow for downtime and reflection at some point in your day.

-Practice gratitude for others and your surround...

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! We found a great article for 10 Ways to Practice Gratitude https://www.mindful.org/10-ways-to-become-more-grateful/ . As you spend time with your friends and family this week, keep these tips in mind.

1. Keep a gratitude journal- This can be an actual journal or a note in your phone

2. Remember the bad- Not to dwell on it, but to help remember how good things are now

3. Meditate on your relationships- How have you helped others and how others helped you?

4. Express gratitude- This can be done in a note, a phone call, or in person

5. Use your senses- Use your 5 senses and be grateful for the ability to experience the wo...

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Mindfulness and children. Perhaps this is an unlikely pairing to you now, but it may be the future in classrooms. A study, linked here https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-at-school-improves-critical-learning-skills/ ,explores the benefits of practicing mindfulness with school age children. Children read books on mindfulness, practiced breathing exercises, performed body scans (a relaxation technique), and used mindfulness diaries.

Some of the benefits:

-Improve executive functioning

-Pay better attention

-Regulate emotions

-Make plans

If your child could benefit from mindfulness, give us a call! We work with ages 3 and up.

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There's a difference between being shy and having social anxiety. Social anxiety involves worry about any social situation such as school, parties, work, and large family gatherings or performance situations like a speaking engagement. There's a worry of judgment from others in all of these situations.

Thoughts like those below are common:

"Did I make a weird face?"

"Did I stutter?"

"What if I trip?"

"What do they think of me?"

Avoidance of any of anxiety inducing situations is also common. There may be a belief about yourself that you're not enough.

We can help you reframe your thinking, improve your sense of self, and feel more confident in social situations....

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We found a great article https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/managing-feedback-gracefully-a-key-skill-in-the-positive-use-of-power-0816194

about the different ways to handle feedback. Did you know there's different types for different situations?

We listed the main 4 below and an example:

1. Asking for feedback. "Did that make sense?"

2. Receiving feedback. "This isn't a good time, can we talk about this later this evening?"

3. Giving feedback. "This is what I see from my point of view"

4. Using feedback. "Thank you for the feedback, I'll take that into consideration."

Which do you do the best with? Which could you improve on?

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How we interact in relationships can depend on our attachment styles. Attachment begins in early childhood, is affected by our caregivers, and carries throughout our lifetime. There are 4 types of attachment.

1. Secure- you feel secure, connected, and that you and your partner are free to be yourselves.

2. Anxious Preoccupied- you may be seeking security, but you act in a way that pushes away your partner.

3. Dismissive Avoidant- you may be likely to isolate yourself and focus more on yourself.

4. Fearful Avoidant- you may be worried about being too close or too distant with your partner.

This article is a big help in detailing the different attachment styles....

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It can be hard to pull ourselves out of a rut when we're feeling down on ourselves, no matter the age. We may have negative self talk, poor body image, or even outside forces telling us we need to be a certain way. This article we found details other ways you may be able to relate. https://psychcentral.com/blog/when-your-mind-keeps-telling-you-youre-a-failure/

When feeling down, try these tips:

-Get exercise in some way.

-Take one thing at a time.

-Accept your thoughts. Then work on changing them into more realistic thoughts.

-Redefine failure. Celebrate small successes as well.

-Surround yourself with people that build you up.

-Seek professional help if it be...

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Here's a great article about how relationships help us. https://www.mindful.org/six-ways-relationships-help-you-thrive/ Read the full article for the details. There's 6 great tips for you to think over. We personally like spend time with the right people. Over time, we become the people we spend time with. If the people are good influences, we'll be supported and cared for. We may learn new skills and learn how to be better people too.

1. Spend time with the right people

2.Create goals with others

3. Ask for feedback

4. Use your broader network

5. Be grateful

6. Invest in others

Which is your favorite?