Window of Tolerance and Addictive Behavior Rainbow
It’s not just negative feelings that can prompt a relapse- positive emotions can, too. Whether the addictive behavior is substance use, self-harm, gambling, shopping, or …
It’s not just negative feelings that can prompt a relapse- positive emotions can, too. Whether the addictive behavior is substance use, self-harm, gambling, shopping, or …
One of the most unique impacts of trauma is the way that it informs a person’s sense of time. 🕰️ In this illustration, all of …
This simple brain worksheet PDF is designed to be an easily approachable visual teaching aid for all ages. By emphasizing basic geography over anatomical correctness, …
Recently, I discovered an academic journal article exploring the symptoms of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I was inspired to create this illustration. In …
Estrangement (also called cut-off or “no contact”) always brings heartache and loss for everyone involved. However, when we set boundaries with kindness as our “north …
Sometimes, a roadmap is all we need to find our way out of a confusing journey. I find that flowcharts can sometimes be that roadmap …
Sometimes words fall short to describe feelings. For many, the feeling of anxiety is difficult to capture. As a therapist and artist, I’ve seen drawing …
It’s okay to feel upset, sad, or even angry when your therapist goes on vacation. A relationship with a therapist, which is a significant relationship …
In the context of mental health, there is a subtle but key difference between fantasy and imagination. Although these concepts are similar, they’re different in …
For most people, conflict is scary, dysregulating to relationships, and an experience that makes us tiptoe around others. But that’s not true for everyone. Enter: …
If we’ve spent our childhood learning that certain feelings are Very BadTM and Totally UnacceptableTM, it’s no surprise that we may grow up to craft …
Most of us are more than a little concerned about the mental health of the kiddos that we care about during this pandemic. The natural …
When we endure traumatic events, the experience may stay with us in various ways – even in ways we may not recognize. Good trauma treatment …
Bullet Journal blogs and hashtags are filled with mental health and self-care focused templates, but are these layouts actually effective for maximizing the mental health benefits of a bullet journal? In this article, I explore existing research on how journaling and expressive writing can benefit mental health and, from that research, outline three ways to maximize the mental health benefits of your bullet journaling practice. Along the way, I’ll show you a few of my worksheets and resources that are perfect for adding to a bullet journal.
When you’re new to therapy and aren’t really sure what therapy is supposed to feel like, it can be really confusing to try and figure …
Everyone has a different “default” way of coping with anxiety – and many of us will experience a shift from one extreme of the spectrum to the other at least once during our lifetime. While our culture praises the “brave” approach and shames the avoidant, the extremes of both approaches are equally harmful ways of avoiding the discomfort of being present to the tension of the middle ground. In this middle space – where we feel our fear but choose to tolerate some discomfort in order to grow – we inhabit our bodies, we have self-compassion for ourselves, and let ourselves experience the emotions inherent in doing things that are really, really hard.
All of us have some resiliency to cope with challenges. When we encounter difficult experiences that take us past the range of our ability to tolerate, the ways we tend to respond fall into one of two categories: those of us who get agitated, and those of us who shut down.
Emotional regulation refers to our ability to stay present, engaged, and able to listen and learn despite challenges. My rainbow of emotional regulation is a social-emotional learning resource that can help teach this concept in the classroom, in counseling sessions, or at home.