Fresh-Insight
379 Church Street, Suite 402 L6B 0T1 Markham, ON, Canada

Ahhh, the Quarantine 19a term used to describe weight gain that has happened during the pandemic. Today’s #blog is all about how to achieve balance again when it comes to eating and moving! Check it out at: https://www.fresh-insight.ca/post/weight-gain-covid-19

This week marks 2021’s Infertility Awareness Week, which inspired me to re-share my post from last year about the types of comments and questions that can be really triggering for individuals and couples going through infertility. Infertility affects about 1 in 6 couples according to the Government of Canada so it is much more common than you might think. As such, I urge everyone to check out this blog so that we can make life easier for people who are navigating such a difficult situation. Read the blog at: https://www.fresh-insight.ca//infertility-awareness-week-a

Join me today for a Facebook Live with Fertility Matters Canada at 1pm EST where I’ll be talking about how to navigate fertility-related anxiety! Join via Facebook on the Fertility Matters Canada page OR via Zoom at: HTTPS://us02web.zoom.us/j/89722110718 ... Passcode: 028035 Join LIVE to learn about: Common anxieties that people are confronted with when going through fertility treatments Different approaches that can help us reframe our thoughts and calm down our body’s fight/flight/freeze response Mindfulness and compassion-focused techniques and strategies I hope I’ll see you there! Tag a friend in the comments who might want to join us, too!

A recent study of 2,000 American workers found that 6 in 10 people feel guilty for taking any kind of break during work hours these days. It was during my first Mental Health Day last week that I realized how guilty I, too, feel for taking any time away from work! In today’s blog, I explore why I think this phenomenon is occurringand what we can do to help ourselves work through it: https://www.fresh-insight.ca//read-this-if-you-always-feel I genuinely am curious about how you all handle this! What do you do during moments where you feel super guilty for self-care? Let me know in the comments below!

If you’ve been struggling to get enough sleep these days with everything going on in the world, check out my blog for tips and tricks that can help improve your sleep quality: https://www.fresh-insight.ca/post/how-to-get-more-sleep I’ve always struggled with sleep, so if you have any comments about what has helped you, let me know in the comments below!!

If you’ve been strugglingto get enough sleep these days with everything going on in the world, check out my blog for tips and tricks that can help improve your sleep quality! Direct link in bio I’ve always struggled with sleep, so if you have any comments about what has helped you, let me know in the comments below!!

So many of us dislike our emotional experiences and try to get rid of them as a result. Our anxiety, depression, frustration, or jealousy are seen as these big, scary things we have to eliminate. But if we continue seeing them as these big, unsurmountable, indescribable things, it’s hard to know what to do with them. It’s like saying to someone, Here’s a picture of a cake. Bake it now. Where on earth would you start? When we can break down our emotions into these simple... terms of physical arousal + thoughts about that arousal, the emotions become much more workable. We can realize that the physical arousal that goes with the emotionthe lethargy of sadness, the heat of angeris normal and understandable, not something to be afraid of. We can see the thoughts that go with these emotions in the same wayas natural byproducts of the physical arousal we might be experiencing. Now, someone has given us a recipe for the cake and we just have to go through it step by step. We can break out emotions down in a similar way in the moment. What thoughts am I having? What are the physical sensations? Just noticing them, normalizing them, and then reminding yourself that ALL that is happening is that you’re having some physical sensations and thoughts about it can help you have less anxiety ABOUT your anxiety, less depression ABOUT your depression. What do you think?

As a therapist, what are the things that I've found have ACTUALLY helped my #mentalhealth? I answer this very question in today's #blog! What has helped YOU the most with your mental health? Let me know in the comments section! https://www.fresh-insight.ca//these-are-the-things-that-ac

Peakaboo from under the bed!

If you and your family members are just NOT on the same page about #Christmas plans during #COVID this year, I hope today's blog will help you in some way: https://www.fresh-insight.ca//when-you-re-not-on-the-same-

Today's #blog is about recognizing and breaking free from symptoms of apathy. I hope you find it helpful! https://www.fresh-insight.ca/post/breaking-free-from-apathy

I am SO THRILLED to announce that Fresh Insight will be adding Kathy Avayianos Adetuyi to our team!!! Kathy brings 20 years of experience in the treatment of addiction, trauma and mental health with an additional affinity for anti-oppressive work. She values taking a collaborative and person-centred approach that honours your unique history, thoughts, feelings, values, perspectives, goals and desires. One thing that stood out to me upon meeting Kathy was how approachable, do...wn-to-earth and likeable she was! She’s the type of person who you feel like you can immediately open up to without fear of being judged. I’m SO excited for her to bring her passion, expertise, and knowledge to the Fresh Insight team . If you’re interested in booking an appointment with Kathy, you can reach out to her directly at [email protected] . She’ll be starting the first week of December and has no wait list !

If you're someone who has struggled with perfectionism like me, check out today's post for my personal and professional insights on how we can make life easier on ourselves: https://www.fresh-insight.ca/po/how-to-combat-perfectionism

Amidst the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has felt important for me to periodically check in with my patients about how they are doing: Have you noticed any fluctuations in your anxiety levels? What resources are you relying on? But the question that has garnered the most interesting responses has been, Have you had any noteworthy reflections about life throughout this To my surprise, the most common answer I’ve heard to this question is, I like being around pe...ople a lot more than I thought I did. But what are we to do with this fact amidst a pandemic that requires isolation? How can we feel connected amidst an era of disconnection? Read more about this in today’s blog: https://www.fresh-insight.ca//how-to-stay-connected-throug

Today’s Saturday treat is this bourbon cranberry cocktail . I made the simple syrup from scratch with frozen cranberries and maple syrup and then used a cocktail shaker to add unsweetened cranberry juice and bourbon! How are you entertaining yourself this weekend?!

If you’re someone who sometimes feels insecure in romantic relationships, hopefully today’s blog will help you understand why this might be the case and what you can do about it: https://www.fresh-insight.ca//read-this-if-you-feel-insecu

This was one of those weeks . I’m sure I’m not alone. So, I thought I’d share how I take care of myself and get through those weeks that feel overwhelming and depleting, emotionally, spiritually, and physically : 1 Go to sleep early, avoid alcohol, and eat clean. This can be hard to do when emotions are high, but eating poorly and using substances makes things worse the next day (and for the days following). 2 Drink calming teas like Sleepytime Tea in the evening. I ...also love drinking a magnesium powder called Calm. This helps the body relax. 3 Lighthearted shows and content at night to unwind. I watch lots of RuPaul’s Drag Race and TikTok 4 Talk to people who help you feel heard and understood. This week consisted of multiple conversations with my supervisora fellow therapist who truly knows what the job is like and can validate my challenges. While talking to my partner is helpful, connecting with people who get it in a very specific way helps. Find your people who *get it* in that specific way. 5 Practice boundaries about whatever is upsetting you. Talk about it, but to a point. Connect with the present moment and trust that your future self will be able to figure it out. 6 Maintain perspective. I like asking myself, Will I be worrying about this in 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 weeks, or 5 years? How do you take care of yourself on the tougher weeks? Let me know in the comments below .

Chronic inflammation is a term used to describe a lingering, low-grade immune response that can be triggered by diet, long-term exposure to irritants, and lifestyle factors like smoking, being obese, and consuming alcohol, and more. When we are chronically inflamed, immune cells start attacking HEALTHY cells, tissues, and organs and lead to a number of symptoms . This diagram, adapted from ParsleyHealth.com, illustrates the connection between inflammation and so many other ...health issues, from acne and eczema to anxiety and depression . Once we can start focusing on reducing the number of inflammatory foods we consume and engage in eating and lifestyle habits that REDUCE inflammation, we can see HUGE benefits ! Working with a nutritionist (like me ) can help you see what foods and habits might be contributing to chronic inflammation in your body and help you learn what to do differently .