Aspire Therapy and Counselling Centre
33 King Street W. L7E 1C7 Bolton, ON, Canada

Boundaries are everything.

A client shared a picture of a shrine on her porch dedicated to her great grandparents who had 4 of their children taken away to residential schools. #orangeday #TransgenerationalTrauma #truthandreconciliation

Joyce is following Natalie O'Connell, RHN on light_beams_of_love on Instagram. #reikihealing #meditation #yoga #holisticnutrition #reflexology

All decked out!

The Danger of Repression When negative thoughts arise, it is best to address them rather than pushing them down where they will surface again. For the last several years, there has been a lot of focus on the power of positive thinking. Many people have come to misinterpret this wisdom to mean that it is not okay to have a bad mood or a negative thought or feeling. This can lend a kind of superficiality to their relationship with life and relationships with other people. It ca...n also lead them to feel that if a negative thought or feeling comes up, in themselves or someone else, they must immediately block it out. When they do this, they are engaging in the act of repressing a part of themselves that needs to be seen, heard, and processed. When we repress parts of ourselves, they don't go away so much as they get buried deep within us, and they often come out when we least expect it. On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be fully human, honoring all the thoughts, feelings, and moods that pass through us on a given day, we create a more conscious relationship with ourselves. Instead of blocking out thoughts and feelings that we label as negative, we can simply observe them and then let them go. They only get stuck when we react to them negatively, pushing them down and out of sight where they get lodged in our unconscious minds. A healthier solution might be to develop a practice of following any negative thought we may have with a positive thought. This works well because positive thoughts are many times more powerful than negative thoughts. Rather than setting our minds up in such a way that we become fearful of the contents of our own consciousness, blocking out anything that is less than 100 percent positive, we might resolve to develop a friendlier attitude toward ourselves, trusting in our inherent goodness. When we recognize our true inner worth, a few dark clouds passing through our minds will not intimidate us. We will see them for what they are -- small, dark figures passing through an expansive sky of well-being and truth. -Daily Om

Do you ignore your needs so you can satisfy someone else’s needs? Do you ignore or minimize your feelings? Do you skip self-care because you’re busy taking care of everyone else and think you can do without? In other words, do you consistently prioritize other people’s wellbeing over your own? Choosing to take care of others and make them happy sounds like a nice thing to do. But when you do it at your own expense, you’re not being kind to yourself. Sometimes, you need to choose yourself. You need to take care of yourself and do what’s best for you.

If I had no fear, today I would ...

Are You Excited or Scared? BY MADISYN TAYLOR Sometimes the feelings of being scared and excited can elicit the same physical response in our bodies.... When new challenges and opportunities show up in our lives, we may diagnose ourselves as feeling scared when what we really feel is excited. Often we have not been taught how to welcome the thrill of a new opportunity, and so we opt to back off, indulging our anxiety instead of awakening our courage. One way to inspire ourselves to embrace the opportunities that come our way is to look more deeply into our feelings and see that butterflies in our stomach or a rapidly beating heart are not necessarily a sign that we are afraid. Those very same feelings can be translated as excitement, curiosity, passion, and even love. There is nothing wrong with being afraid as long as we do not let it stop us from doing the things that excite us. Most of us assume that brave people are fearless, but the truth is that they are simply more comfortable with fear because they face it on a regular basis. The more we do this, the more we feel excitement in the face of challenges rather than anxiety. The more we cultivate our ability to move forward instead of backing off, the more we trust ourselves to be able to handle the new opportunity, whether it's a new job, an exciting move, or a relationship. When we feel our fear, we can remind ourselves that maybe we are actually just excited. We can assure ourselves that this opportunity has come our way because we are meant to take it. Framing things just a little differently can dramatically shift our mental state from one of resistance to one of openness. We can practice this new way of seeing things by saying aloud: I am really excited about this job interview. I am really looking forward to going on a date with this amazing person. I am excited to have the opportunity to do something I have never done before. As we do this, we will feel our energy shift from fear, which paralyzes, to excitement, which empowers us to direct all that energy in the service of moving forward, growing, and learning.

Don't Give Up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGSsel9T0U0

Max In Session (actually he came with me to do some filing.) It's so incredibly peaceful there, I can't wait to get back!

Boundaries Sharon Martin, LSCW We all need boundaries. Boundaries keep us safe. Boundaries differentiate me from you....Continue reading

COVID-19 ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP - Free During the current COVID-19 crisis, the focus of this group will be on helping individuals check in and process their feelings in a safe and secure setting, with a special focus on tools to manage anxiety. Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to take part. Mondays at 5 p.m.

Hello... Could 2 friends or family members just copy and repost? I am trying to demonstrate that someone is always listening. This time is especially hard for people with depression. #SuicideAwareness 1-800-273-8255

We are now offering online sessions through this telemedicine tool. https://www.youtube.com/user/doxyme

Cheyenne Wyntar- It occurred to me yesterday that many of you have not experienced long term trauma. The hunker down, grin and bear it, this will not end any time soon and does not have a timeline trauma. If you are exhausted and do not know why. If you keep taking naps and don’t understand why you can’t think straight. If you’re having hard to deal with, invasive thoughts about catastrophe that you can’t turn off. If you’ve been crying and don’t know what got you started. I...f you’ve been extra irritated and uncomfortable and feel like your skin is too small and every noise is too much. If you’ve had your first anxiety attack or are having significantly more than you’re used to. Those are all trauma responses and grief responses. Your body is trying to deal with a threat that you cannot fight and you cannot get away from. This could be the threat of sickness, the fear for your friends and family, the sudden upheaval of your life and routine, the financial consequences of staying at home, the overwhelming stress of your essential job, or even just being isolated. All of those things are traumatizing. I am not using the term lightly. Please be patient with yourself. Please reach out to friends and family. Pay close attention to the thoughts you’re having and what triggers exhaustion or anxiety for you. If they’re things you have to do, like go grocery shopping, what can you put in your toolbox to help you deal with that anxiety? If they’re things like talking about the news or looking at articles, give yourself a strict time limit or don’t do it at all. Ask a close friend to tell you the most important information and keep away from the rest of it. I can’t tell you it’s going to be okay, but I can tell you that you’re not alone and there are people and resources for you. Take it one day at a time and give yourself the love and space you’d give your closest friends. Remember that it’s okay to reach out and ask for help. We’ll get through it together.

I am amazed at how nicely video and phone sessions are going!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdbbtgf05Ek