Safe Spaces Therapy
75 Bayly st w L1S 7k7 Ajax, ON, Canada

Intimacy is the act of connecting. It requires a great deal of trust and vulnerability. Long term intimacy is a building process and has many physical and mental health benefits. Make time for intimacy in your life today. . . #closeness #connection #relationships #intimacy #mentalhealth #process #vulnerability #trust #benefit #relationshiptherapist #psychology #psychotherapy #instagood #followforfollow #therapistlife #therapy #durhamregion #safespacestherapydurhamregion #awareness #ajax #growth #goals #inspiration #thursday

Critizing a child can have lasting impact. Criticism by parents is a significant risk factor in children for depression, low self worth, low confidence, and defiance. The antidote to criticism is to instead express your feelings, and what you need in a positive way and to avoid blame at all cost. . . #criticism #blame #selfconfidence #depression #selfworth #feelings #needs #psychotherapy #therapist #goodparenting #durhamregion

Having trouble sleeping? Try essential oils. Aromatherapy has many benefits from lifting mood, aiding in digestion and yes sleep. If you’ve been using prescribed medicines or over the counter sleep aids that require the liver to detox them out of your body, try something natural. I personally use lavender for relaxation. It is one of the essential oils used if you have any trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. If it’s a high grade oil, breathe it in for 5 minutes and you’ll find yourself drifting deep into sleep. . #lavender #sleep #essentialoils #aromatherapy #relaxation #sunday #selfcare #psychotherapy #therapistlife #followforfollowback

There are 2 types of breathing. . . Thoracic breathing or chest breathing which we do when stressed or anxious. Diaphragmatic breathing or stomach breathing which we do when we deep sleep and how all newborn babies breathe.... When you are anxious, people take rapid shallow breaths upsetting the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in your body. When your blood is not being properly oxygenated it signals a stress response contributing to anxious symptoms. Diaphragmatic breathing signals your nervous system to slow down reducing anxious symptoms and evoking calmness. Your breath is key to your body’s stress response. You can teach yourself how to start breathing correctly by practicing deep breathing exercises. Try practicing for 5 minutes and notice afterward how your internal system remains calm for hours. . . #calm #deepbreathing #stressresponse #thoracicbreathing #diaphragmaticbreathing #anxiety #stress #shallowbreathing #nervoussystem #psychotherapy #therapist #followforfollowback #therapistlife #ajax #ontario #saturday

Depression symptoms are fast and furious. They can sneak up on you very quickly and before you know it, you may be experiencing the following: . Low energy . Aches and pains .change in your weight . Insomnia or hypersomnia... . Change in appetite . Restlessness . Difficulty focusing or making decisions . Loss of interest or pleasure in favourite activities . Feelings of worthlessness . Lack of motivation . . If you or anyone you know are experiencing some of these symptoms, please reach out to a professional and get support. . . #depression #mood #motivation #energy #appetite #weight #decisions #thoughts #sleep #insomnia #therapist #psychotherapy #sunday . See more

Empathy- The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. If a partner lacks empathy in a relationship they will be unable to read the cues of their partner when something affects them. If this continues the other partner will inevitably withhold things out of fear of feeling even worse, leading to a disconnect in the relationship. Sharing vulnerabilities leads to strong bonds. Empathy fuels connection not emotional burnout. Empathy can be learned through self awa...reness, reconnecting to your feelings, and loving yourself first. . #empathy #awareness #relationships #bonding #reconnect #feelings #resentment #distance #behavior #change #destructive #couples #goals #growth #health #motivation #mentalhealth #happiness #loveyourself #psychotherapy #psychology #relationshiptherapist #therapy #wellness #Monday #stuck #safespacestherapydurhamregion #ontario #ajax See more

How do you react to being bored? Boredom can have a real impact on your well being. How often you are bored and how you react to being bored can make you more prone to poor mental health, particularly anxiety and depression. How does boredom look like in your brain? The left frontal area of the brain becomes more active when looking for stimulation or distraction when thinking about something different and the right frontal area of the brain is active when negative emotions ...or states of anxiety are experienced. Those that experience boredom on a daily basis have shown in studies to display more activity on the right frontal area of the brain. So doing things that engage you rather than focusing on boredom is helpful. Proactive thinking can be a way to cope with boredom rather than giving into it. Think about something you have put off for a long time and having a lack of time was always your out. Today I’m emptying my closet out and putting it back together. I’ll keep myself busy,gain fulfillment by decluttering and organizing plus gain satisfaction giving back to others by donating what I’m letting go of. I challenge you to find one thing today that will take you out of your boredom and provide the same things back to you. . . #boredom #brainhealth #challenge #anxiety #depressionn #rightbrain #leftbrain #proactive #health #mentalhealthawareness #proactivethinking #psychotherapy #psychology #therapist

Spring is in the air and with it comes many psychological benefits. Humans are programmed to rest when it’s dark and be active and in high spirits when it’s light.Humans react hugely to light so this is why their conscious experience and human behaviour change radically in the spring. . . When we feel the warm air on our skin we feel energized without relying on caffeine . . . With spring comes an increase of vitamin d which lifts brain fog, increasing focus and concentration... and mood. . Spring encourages us to be more social in turn being more active which reduces stress as well as as an improved ability to cope with stress . With spring comes fresh air, greenery and flowers. Smelling flowers or even pulling weeds can increase brain activity and produce a sense of well being. . . #spring #mood #energy #light #freshair #concentration #stress #humanbehavior #focus #stress #coping #brainhealth #wellness #psychology #therapistlife #psychotherapy #sunday See more

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! . . #thanksgiving #sunday #festive #family #friends #smiles #connection #thankful #turkey #happy

Avoidance: Most of us carry this behavior out at some point along with justifying why we do it. It becomes an issue if it's an ongoing behavior that keeps you from moving forward. Avoidance is a maladaptive coping strategy that provides short term relief but has long term consequences. What are you avoiding? . #avoidance #mentalhealth #wellness #healthychoices #maladaptive #coping #strategy #justifying #stuck #change #today #notimelikenow #believeinyourself #inspire #motivation #tuesday #psychology #psychotherapy #therapistlife #therapy #instgramers #instadaily #follow4follow #yougotthis #durhamregion #safespacestherapydurhamregion #awareness #acknowledgement

We've all achieved things. Stop letting them pass by without acknowledging them. . . #achievments #acknowledgement #admit #affirmation #success #fulfillmemt #realize #today #life #ajax #durhamregion # Ontario #mentalhealth # health #anxiety #happiness #therapist #therapy #feelings #imstamood #instagrammers #instadaily #follow4follow #selfcare #safespacestherapydurhamregion #friday

Self care in private practice is extremely important to our health. . . As a pychotherapist I’ve learned that self care is an important component to a successful practice. . . There’s self care on a larger scale that takes up chunks of time and resources like massages or exercise but then there’s self care on a smaller scale, things we can do on a minute to minute, or hour to hour basis in our daily lives to nurture, protect and heal, such as enjoying a small treat, or your f...avourite scent. You can also intentionally repeat a positive statement about the work you just did in a session. . . In order to have room for good self care you need to set strong limits in your professional life. I intentionally do not accept any calls after 7 pm. . . What do you do in your practice in order to make room for good self care? #selfcare #resiliency #health #successfulprivatepractice #success #mentalhealth #therapistlife #takingcareofme #psychotherapy #therapy #counseling #durhamregion #happiness #ajax See more

Do not carry out dysfunctional behaviours just because it’s the easy thing to do. In doing so you reinforce a lack of confidence in yourself. Push past your fears and strengthen confidence in yourself. . . #selfconfidence #disempower #reinforce #dysfunctional #behaviour #fear #change #psycholgy #psychotherapy #therapist #therapistlife #empowerment #resiliency #happiness #durhamregion #yougotthis

Acknowledging your achievements is a form of self care. . When you don’t take the time to recognize what you’ve accomplished nothing will ever be good enough. . The benefits of acknowledgment is a release of... positive emotions which will lead to increased levels of resiliency. . If you have a hard time recognizing your accomplishments ask a friend to mention them then do the same for them. This can be done weekly monthly or yearly but if your someone who gets stuck with this the more often you do this it will be easier for you to notice them. . #accomplishments #strengths #acknowledge #mentalhealthawareness #selfcare #resiliency #emotions #happiness #health #change #therapy #psycholgy #psychotherapy #therapist #durhamregion See more

How do I help my clients who’s anxiety fuels habitual patterns of avoidance? I promote, normalize, and encourage the tolerance of uncertainty and build their understanding and tolerance of discomfort. So learning that discomfort and uncertainty will come with unknown experiences but then will also pass motivates them to step into these experiences instead of turning away from them which ends up empowering them instead of limiting their lives. .... . . #avoidance #behaviour #mentalhealthawareness #anxiety #discomfort #uncertainty #limiting #empowerment #growth #habitual #patterns #health #psychology #psychotherapy #therapy #therapist #happiness #change #durhamregiontherapist See more

What are you looking forward to? If the answer is nothing, you need to find something! . . #mentalhealthawareness #movement #interests #happiness #mood #thoughts #anxiety #depression #health #psychotherapy #psychology

Did you know that feeling lonely has an impact on your psychological and physical health? We are meant to connect with others and when that is not present your brain interprets this as an ongoing stressor. Overexposure to chronic stress hormones impact your health. Loneliness increases your bodies risk for inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune diseases. It’s effects on health are similar to smoking which places you at risk for earlier mortality. To prevent or treat lon...eliness here are some guidelines . . -seek out a couple of close relationships -Be proactive in socializing, weather that be in a group, volunteering, or doing something completely new - organize activities. Plan a party, start a book club, or perhaps a weekend getaway with someone you haven’t seen in awhile Make time for these things in your life to start reducing the impact of loneliness on your health . . #lonliness #mentalhealthawareness #social #stress #inflammation #health #activities #socializing #relationships #therapy #psychology #psychotherapy See more