Caitlyn Budd, MA, LMFT #105799

Very good point. I hadn’t thought about this, and I hazard a guess that many others haven’t either. It’s a good reminder that if you’re feeling like you’re walking through tar or just can’t seem to focus even though you’re doing less than before, Allostatic Load is probably a contributing factor. Thanks for sharing Kathie Adams.

"We're all living under a pretty traumatic cloud right now." This is a global trauma, we're all, literally, in the exact same boat...different triggers and reactions but same result. Fear, helplessness, terror, confusion, grief, anger...all of it. A few ways to encourage your system to become more regulated in order to help keep your cortex (thinking/problem solving brain) online - mindful movement, predictability and structure in your schedule, breathing, yoga, and/or other mindful stretches/exercises that engage not only the ventral vagus (helps regulate, among many other things, your ability to engage with others and your heart rate) but also, an added benefit, expansion of lung capacity. Thanks Bessel van der Kolk for sharing your knowledge.

Well, if nothing else, this is happening as a result of the world-wide quarantine.

Incredible and so heart-warming.

What incredible resiliency we have when given the chance to shine.

Some helpful, enlightening, and hopefully de-stressing information. Thank you Trevor Noah and Dr. Fauci.

Thank you Eve Martin for sharing! Here's some global good listening to get us by. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/justinobrooks/videos/10157908556381142/

I know the outside world feels very uncertain and chaotic right now, no one can claim otherwise. In California, the governor has issued a "Shelter and Stay" order and we all wonder when it will end. And that uncertainty has created a fair amount of anxiety because anxiety lives and thrives in the unknown. This, then, keeps the body and brain on high alert on a nearly constant basis. And that level of activation is doing us no favors. I know for myself that if I focus on t...he "when will it end? " and all the other uncertainties, I feel much more anxious, which definitely doesn't help matters. So, I've taken to focusing on the things that are certain, such as the fact that this pandemic will end, it will not last forever, and life will resume one way or another. Until then, remember to reach out to your friends, your family, and your community for support and don't forget to bring in your resources and strengths! Here's a couple of my favorites so far...Cheers! https://www.youtube.com/watch https://www.facebook.com//220/permalink/10156632709387693/ https://www.facebook.com/PedroMiguelAnel/videos/1270926336435681/

And for those uncertain about what consent means and looks like, please watch this video.

A playful, entertaining way of sharing important information about sex and how we "educate" kids about it, with a nice shout out to the importance of consent at the end.

I completely love this idea! The more options you have to reach out to others in a variety of ways, the more likely you are to succeed. Plus, kittens! Yay for thinking outside of the box.

I really appreciated this article because it continued the conversation about privilege and intersectionality rather than shutting it down. It's well worth the read.

In case anyone is interested in hearing more about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy from an interview with Pat Ogden. Enjoy!