Tasha Belix, M.A., Registered Psychologist
124 42 Ave SW T2S 3B3 Calgary, AB, Canada

Tempting as it may be for us all to be scrolling through news or social feeds at bedtime, those backlit screens are tricking our cave-man brains into thinking it's still daytime. Understanding the basic science behind why it's not a good idea may help us all see the value of shutting down a couple of hours before bed. Read more on the Sleep/Wake Cycle and the Evil iPhone on the blog. https://www.tashabelix.com//sleepwake-cycle-and-evil-ipho/... #positiveparenting #teenlifehacks #positiveparentingsolutions #creativeoutlet #empoweringteens #mindfulparenting #consciousparenting #teenrelatesdaily #lifehacks

Running, writing, lighting candles and walking in my neighbourhood to Starbucks have been my saving grace, to pull me outside and out of my own head.

Music, dance, art, writing, science, math, sports...whatever calls you, make time for it, foster it and let it lift your spirits as often as you can. . . . #creativeoutlet #creativeexpression #lifehacks #beyourself #creativeliving #arttherapy #dancetherapy #createcultivate

Might be a fun way to keep your kids or even yourself active with some novel challenges this winter? Good luck!

"You have a super power in your backpocket, and you don't even know you have it, and that superpower is the power of friendship, love, and support that you use ...on other people. If you were to give yourself the permission to turn that lens of kindness and support onto yourself you'd be blown away by the difference it makes in your life." ~Kristin Neff on the Unbecoming Podcast. Enjoy the podcast: https://unbecomingpodcast.com/kristin-neff-interview/

3 Tips for allies

My Covid baby... An act of love, to support young people to harness their internal resources, to manage now and beyond. Ready for purchase in January 2021. Reach out if you know marginalized youth or organizations for young people who could benefit. www.tashabelix.com

It’s been my annual tradition to share this at the start of each year. Turn up your speakers and enjoy https://www.tapyourpower.net/beautyblessing/ A Blessing f...or Beauty A Blessing for Beauty by John O’Donohue May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity. May the wonders of the earth call you forth from all your small, secret prisons and set your feet free in the pastures of possibility. May the light of dawn anoint your eyes that you may behold what a miracle a day is. May the liturgy of twilight shelter all your fears and darknesses within the circle of ease. May the angel of memory surprise you in bleak times with new gifts from the harvest of your vanished days. May you allow no dark hand to quench the candle of hope in your heart. May you discover a new generosity towards yourself and encourage yourself to engage your life as a great adventure. May the outside voices of fear and despair find no echo in you. May you always trust the urgency and wisdom of your own spirit. May the shelter and nourishment of all the good you have done, the love you have shown, the suffering you have carried, awaken around you to bless your life a thousand times. And when love finds the path to your door, may you open like the earth to the dawn and thrust your every hidden color towards its nourishment of life. May you find enough stillness and silence to savor the kiss of God on your soul and delight in the eternity that shaped you, that holds you and calls you, and that you may know despite confusion, anxiety and emptiness, your name is written in Heaven. And may you come to see your life as a quiet sacrament of service which awakens around you a rhythm where doubt gives way to the grace of wonder, where what is awkward and strained can find elegance, and where crippled hope can find wings, and torment enter at last into the grace of serenity. May divine beauty bless you.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were st...ill. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. "And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. "And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed." ~Kitty O'Meara

Get your Christmas on

Ask me about eft it you are interested. XX Tasha

It was my Gr.12er who recommended this documentary to me. Very unsettling and also affirming to everything I have observed in the trenches of child mental healt...h over the past decade. Personal confession: I checked my Facebook 2 times as I watched this documentary. I am a slave to technology as much as the next person. Argh... Tasha See more

When you say goodbye to a parent... You are suddenly living in a whole new world. You are no longer ‘the child’ and regardless of how long you have officially b...een ‘grown up’ for, you realise you actually never were until this moment. The shock of this adjustment will shake your very core. When you have finally said goodbye to both your parents, assuming you were lucky enough to have had two. You are an orphan on this earth and that never, ever gets easier to take no matter how old and grey you are yourself and no matter how many children of your own you have. You see, a part of your body is physically connected to the people that made it and also a part of your soul. When they no longer live, it is as if you are missing something practical that you need like a finger or an arm. Because really, you are. You are missing your parent and that is something far more necessary than any limb. And yet the connection is so strong it carries on somehow, no-one knows how exactly. But they are there. In some way, shape or form they are still guiding you if you listen closely enough. You can hear the words they would choose to say to you. You can feel the warmth of their approval, their smile when a goal is achieved, their all-consuming love filling the air around you when a baby is born they haven’t met. If you watch your children very closely you will see that they too have a connection with your parents long after they are gone. They will say things that resonate with you because it brings so many memories of the parent you are missing. They will carry on traits, thoughts and sometimes they will even see them in their dreams. This is not something we can explain. Love is a very mystical and wondrous entity. It is far better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all and grief, grief is the price of that love. The deeper the love the stronger the grief. When you say goodbye to a parent, do not forget to connect with that little girl who still lives inside you somewhere. Take very good care of her, for she, she will be alone and scared. When you say goodbye to your parents, you lose an identity, a place in the world. When the people who put you on this earth are no longer here, it changes everything. Look after yourself the way they looked after you and listen out for them when you need it the most. They never really leave. Donna Ashworth UPDATE: So sorry, I originally posted the link to my first book. This piece is on my second... From the book ‘To The Women’ Available now on amazon... UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk//ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_QdISFbJ US link: https://www.amazon.com/Women-words-live-Donna//ref=sr_1_1

https://www.psy-ed.com/wpblog/optimist-child/

As a part of the Centre for Newcomers Indigenous Education for Newcomers Program, CFN was recently invited to participate in a Sundance at Kainai Nation. We wer...e welcomed and able to take part in various aspects of the ceremony, providing an extraordinary experience for all in attendance. Above all else, we left Kainai that day feeling loved. The first of its kind in Calgary and funded by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), CFNs Indigenous Education for Newcomers Program creates opportunities through various activities, including dialogue circles and storytelling, to bring newcomers and Indigenous participants together. For more information visit centrefornewcomers.ca/indigenous See more

... Cornrows were used to help slaves escape slavery? In the time of slavery in Colombia, hair braiding was used to relay messages. For example, to... signal that they wanted to escape, women would braid a hairstyle called departes. It had thick, tight braids, braided closely to the scalp and was tied into buns on the top. And another style had curved braids, tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids would represent the roads they would [use to] escape. In the braids, they also kept gold and hid seeds which, in the long run, helped them survive after they escaped. They would also use seeds as decoration in the hair, but would later plant the seeds and grow their own crop. It is more than just a simple hairstyle.

6 months ago... on a snowy Monday, March 17th, I made the following prediction... I wish I had been wrong. It was out of my fear and deep compassion for the most vulnerable that Tasha Talks to Teens was born... XXTasha

Does anyone else feel like they have a budding activist inside them??

Describe your 'happy place'

Obligation... this motivation resonates with me, especially in light of the racialized violence that Covid has really forced us to stop and acknowledge. As a woman, as a person of colour, as someone with education and a person who has a seat at the table to be heard, I have a sense of duty and obligation to do more... to amplify the voice of those who have not typically had a seat at the table and to show up as a role model to look up to. Have others found a shift in values through this time or an affirming knowing of our small time on this planet and the need to leave it a better place? Just curious? And thank you for doing your part in making our world more equal, sustainable and healthy for us now and for our grandchildren to come... XX Tasha

Do this everywhere. Get our book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iZ0W5p Source: https://www.scpr.org//why-la-s-libraries-are-waiving-fine/

Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg #RIPRBG

https://www.psy-ed.com/wpblog/teens-and-social-media/

I registered and so did my Mom. Namaste

My sister and sweetheart both know how much I beat myself up every day; sometimes before I get out of bed! They sent this to me, separately, and I felt compell...ed to share it for any of my friends, who do the same thing. And just for you....you are wonderfully and perfectly made! You are a child of your most high Creator! Be blessed! Love, Catherine:) See more

A very helpful explanation and insight on why so many are beyond exhausted: "In those early mont...hs, I, along with most of the rest of the country, was using "surge capacity" to operate, as Ann Masten, PhD, a psychologist and professor of child development at the University of Minnesota, calls it. Surge capacity is a collection of adaptive systems mental and physical that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters. But natural disasters occur over a short period, even if recovery is long. Pandemics are different the disaster itself stretches out indefinitely. "The pandemic has demonstrated both what we can do with surge capacity and the limits of surge capacity," says Masten. When it's depleted, it has to be renewed. But what happens when you struggle to renew it because the emergency phase has now become chronic?"

I signed up for African Dance this fall, to insert some pure joy into my schedule. What are you doing for your soul, to groove to the tune of the times? XX Tasha

If you want to take a dive into the research around the multifaceted impacts on health after Covid-19, take a read. It affirms my deep concerns but also pulls on history to point us towards the way out, in good health, if society takes action to support the most vulnerable. XX Tasha

https://www.psy-ed.com//challenges-faced-by-immigrant-chi/

This is SO very relatable to me... as we get back into normalcy its a fight to keep some slowness in life and not let this creep in. Its a constant battle for some of this and so many of us suffer from it! Reach out if you too feel this, for me, that was one of the best ways to help!

Tasha Belix: The power of Kindess and a 7-Day Kindness challenge!

Tasha Talks To Teens: A Call to Action, to improve the mental and physical health of our youth Reach out: tashabelix.com XX Tasha

https://www.nicabm.com/trauma-an-exercise-to-boost-brains-/

**New Find the good swag**. In stock and ready for you to make a statement - while staying cozy & hydrated! Life can be a kick in the pants some days (or year...s) - but if you pause for a moment and look for the good, you will Find the good. And thats when the magic happens. Link to website in bio! #findthegood #swag #plantingseeds #findyourgood #mindset #itsaverb #messagingmatters #education #waterbottles #sweatshirts #fall #albertacanada #verb #kindnessjustbecause #hydrated #cozy

Kids are feeling anxious as they head back to school. Do you know what to say when they reach out for help?

I couldn't resist. I love this Elmo Belly Breathing video https://youtu.be/_mZbzDOpylA

Maya Angelous traumatic childhood changed the trajectory of her life. She lived in silence for many years, afraid for her safety and the safety of her loved on...es. America couldnt handle her truth when she finally shared what happened, and was quick to ban her story but it caught like wildfire. This story changed the world and yours can, too. See more

Check out Partners for Youth Empowerment to bring the creative arts into facilitation and to make the classroom a place where our students actually want to be. ...The PYE model for engaging youth has honestly changed my life, on a personally level and around how I approach teaching to youth and adults. Story, experiential activity, time to reflect, singing and poetry... thats what actual education is all about! XX Tasha See more

If you are experiencing an eating disorder, you are not alone. We have an online, drop-in support group for individuals 18 & over. Never be afraid to reach out!... We are here for you. Learn more or register here: https://bit.ly/2Gk3pb. #yycsupport #disorderedeating #eatingdisorder