Dr. Amanda Fargo

We’ve all had a time when anxiety has crept up when we are out in the world. It sucks! When we are out in the world and anxiety creeps up, it can be extra stressful. Here are some tips to help you self soothe: Breath Work - As soon as you notice it is happening, focus on your breathing, inhale for a count of three, hold for a count of three and exhale for a count of six. Repeating this several times will help send a signal to your body there is no real danger and ev...erything is okay. Talk to Yourself - Remind yourself that you aren’t in actual danger, but the EXPERIENCE of anxiety is making it feel like you are. Remind yourself you’ve dealt with difficult times and gotten through it and you will be able to get through this too. Practice Listening Meditation - When we are focusing on listening we focus less on our anxious thoughts. Identify and pay attention to each and every sounds you hear around you. Aromatherapy -Keep an essential oil balm or roll on with you to smell and put on your wrists. Lavender, orange, chamomile, sandalwood and rose are all known to be helpful in calming our nervous system. See more

This place. For a time nature was the primary form of therapeutic self care for me. I would walk along the coast almost every single day. I would count down the minutes until I could smell the ocean air and hear the waves crashing. It was the place I could sort through my thoughts. At a time where my life felt like it changed over night, it grounded me. I could breath. I was trying to build a therapy practice, going through a challenging divorce, and my dad unexpectedly died.... Navigating these losses while simultaneously supporting my young daughters’ through these losses...I found strength I didn’t even know I had. I’m so grateful for this place and for how it supported me. Now, I step into nature when I need to connect with that strength. It might be by the ocean or in the forest or sometimes It might only being stepping out my front door listening to birds, smelling the air and feeling the sunlight. My hope for you is to find your space, a place that connects you with your senses and gives you moments of calm and peace when facing your life challenges. See more

Social media makes it really easy for us to compare ourselves to others. Sometimes we can get stuck in a head space of looking at our very honed in insights about our faults, flaws or insecurities to someone else’s very customized highlight reel. Here are 3 tips to help quiet comparison thinking: Name Your Inner Critic. That’s right, give it a name. Naming that negative internal voice gives it less power and helps separate the thought from being perceived as a fact. If... you name that inner voice Monkey Butt, it will be a lot easier to tell it to buzz off. Treat Yourself as Your Best Friend. Do you consider ourselves a good friend to others? It is time to be a good friend to yourself. Show yourself empathy when you are having a hard time and encouragement when you need it. Check in with yourself to see what you might need. A good rule of thumb is if it isn’t something you would say to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Remind Yourself of Your Successes. When we compare, we focus on other’s strengths and success and not our own. At the end of each day remind yourself of a success you are proud of. It could be anything finished a work project, helped a friend, or made a healthy dinner. When we give more space for our kind inner voice it leaves less room for our inner critic! See more

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. You know what else keeps the doctor away? Gratitude! Training our brain to practice gratitude has some huge benefits including reduced symptoms of physical pain, lower levels of inflammation, lower blood pressure, better sleep, greater positive emotions, increased resiliency, and stress management. Not sure where to start? Look around and notice good things! Absorb, savor and really pay attention to those things that bring you... warmth and joy. Express your gratitude to yourself (maybe begin or end each day with something you are grateful for), write it down or thank someone. One of the things I am grateful for is my daughters’ love of the ‘happiest place on earth’ connecting me with my inner kid. See more

When we are feeling overwhelmed grounding exercises are a really helpful way to bring down the level of distress we are feeling.