Spring arrived early this year and many of us have started the spring cleaning in the garden and inside the home. This is the perfect time for a spring cleaning of your mind so you can approach the warmer weather, with anticipation and rejuvenation. Declutter Decluttering your living space is the best strategy for creating a calming environment. Get rid of items that no longer serve you. Keep surfaces clean and organized to create a sense of spaciousness and calm. Cleaning Routine Develop a regular cleaning routine to maintain a tidy and organized space. Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable ..read more

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Fighting Over Money With the holiday season behind us, the bills are now coming up for payment. This may be a stressful time for some couples, particularly if you do not communicate regularly and meaningfully about your household finances. Therapists cite fighting over money as one of the leading causes of conflict between partners. If tempers flare these arguments can become highly charged and contemptuous. Addressing such issues early can help you avoid complete relationship breakdowns. A healthy discussion about finances requires you to find common ground ..read more

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes The science behind poor-quality sleep is conclusive. Not only does it impact our cognitive abilities, but it also directly affects our physical health and every system in our body from our immunity, digestion, heart health and more. Not surprisingly, sleep deprivation has become the number one reason why couples, who are still very much in love, end up sleeping apart.  Sleep incompatibility can occur with night owls and cuckoos, thrashers and snorers. It can leave individuals feeling cranky and unwell. The very notion of sleeping in separate beds may seem unco ..read more

An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphorical representation of the emotional connection between you and your partner. Just as you deposit money into a savings account to secure your financial future, you make deposits into people emotionally for the health and longevity of your relationship. Positive deposits include acts of love, trust, understanding, and support, while withdrawals involve hurtful words, unresolved misunderstandings, and conflicts. Renowned relationship experts, Drs. John, and Julie Gottman, popularized this concept to help couples better understand how to build and maintain s ..read more

Transitions are a normal part of life but they can take a toll on some of us. Sometimes simple paradigm changes can help us coast through changes in a healthy way to keep anxiety and stress at bay. This time of year, the transition from long and warm summer days to shorter and darker hours of fall can leave some of us feeling gloomy for no reason at all. Carrying the high-spirited joy of hot summer days into the fall can, in fact, invigorate some of us. Here are some tips to help you transition to fall with a playful summer mindset. Outdoor Activities Don’t let the shorter hours of daylight de ..read more

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes As kids grow up and navigate their rapidly changing environment, they can experience anxiety which is a natural but complex emotional response. This time of year, in particular, it is not uncommon for children to have uneasy feelings related to starting a new school year. While some level of anxiety is normal and even helpful, excessive or persistent anxiety can become problematic and interfere with a child’s daily life and development. Children lack the vocabulary to express thoughts and feelings like adults. Consequently, back-to-school anxiety often manifes ..read more

Breaking the Cycle & Healing Intergenerational Trauma Human beings are shaped by more than just our immediate experiences. The traumas that our ancestors endured can echo through the generations, shaping our beliefs, behaviors, and emotional well-being. Families whose histories include war, genocide, slavery, displacement, colonization, or other forms of systematic oppression experience Intergenerational Trauma. It profoundly impacts individuals, family units, and even entire communities. Unresolved trauma from one generation trickles down to the next through family narratives, stories, an ..read more

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Scammers have been around since money and wealth became important to society. Famous examples include Hegestatros in 300 B.C., the snake-oil salesman of the late1800s, and Ponzi from the 1920s. Today, we have Nigerian princes and duct cleaners. These conmen target the most vulnerable, like new immigrants, seniors, job seekers, and those looking for romance and love. During the pandemic, cybercrimes increased exponentially as more people worked remotely and were socially isolated. Within a year, Americans reported approximately $6 trillion in financial losses f ..read more

Experts will agree unanimously that healthy eating and an active lifestyle promote physical, mental, and social well-being. However, this sound concept has gradually crept into dangerous territory as we place more value on our shape and physical appearance than our health and wellness, both mentally and emotionally. Global industries have made billions of dollars promoting the falsehood that diets work. In addition, the powerful amplitude of social media, advertising, and societal pressures makes diet culture pervasive and very hard to avoid. It has created “good” and “bad” silos for our food ..read more

What is Anxiety? Mood and anxiety disorders stubbornly remain the most common mental health conditions in Canada. If you have witnessed a loved one struggling through a panic attack or PTSD flashback, you already know the agony they experience. Did you know how to respond when this occurred? Helping someone with anxiety is an important topic because most people do not know what to do. Anxiety is our body’s natural response to stress. We experience anxiety as a rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing, or butterflies in the stomach. For the most part, it is a useful survival response that prepares us ..read more