Sara Cameron, LMFT

Weary, anxious, down, exhausted, discouraged, frustrated, depressed... people are feeling the collective confusion and tension stirred up by this week’s events. If you are feeling similarly, know that you are not alone. If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that support is available via the providers listed above. : : : :... #crisistextline #crisissupport #crisisline #crisishotline #help #support #sos #anxiety #loneliness #depression #grief #resources #support #mentalhealth See more

Well f*ck. // I’m feeling the weight of this tremendous loss... I’m both deeply saddened, and deeply worried about what this will mean for the communities she fought so hard for: womxn, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC. // Rest in peace, power, and justice.

Normal is a long way off from where we are right now, which means that gauging our responses and needs is a moving target. Here are some friendly reminders for these anything-but-normal times. Share and save as you need // *Swipe all the way right for a pic of me (parked) about to head out for a hike. : :... : : #existentialdread #existentialgrief #existentialdepression #existentialtherapy #octherapy #2020syndrome #existentialanxiety #needs #selfcare #therapy #octherapist See more

Well f*ck. // I’m feeling the weight of this tremendous loss... I’m both deeply saddened, and deeply worried about what this will mean for the communities she fought so hard for: womxn, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC. // Rest in peace, power, and justice.

Honoring yourself and your needs can be a moving target these days, so remember that it’s okay to not know, say no, and change your mind. : : : :... #octherapist #octherapy #analysisparalysis #anxiousattachment #therapistforperfectionists #perfectionist #attachmenttherapy #teletherapist #onlinetherapy #relationshiptherapist #communicationskills #relationshipcoach See more

I’ve spoken with a LOT of people this week (clients and friends) who are feeling some extra anxiety. I’ve felt it too. We’re embarking on month 6 of physical distancing, and our nervous systems are wired for connection and community rather than distance. // Anxiety can have it’s roots in nature (genetics, or hormonal changes), and/or nurture (trauma, high-stress family, community, or working environments). // In fact, the study of epigenetics shows that our environments and l...ifestyles can influence our DNA without changing the code. This means that what we used to think of as purely nurture-based is impacting our nature. // Tuning into ourselves with or without the guidance of a therapist can help us to better understand the root(s) of our anxiety and how to manage it in a way that will be most helpful to each of us and our personal anxiety/trauma anatomy. // Regardless of the source of your anxiety, practicing extra compassion and patience (which is extra challenging when we feel that we have fewer resources) can be helpful. // Other things to check in on: do you need water, food, sleep, or sun/outside time? You’d be surprised how often a basic need hasn’t been met, and what a difference can be made when it is. : : : : #anxietyrelief #whatisanxiety #lonliness #trauma #natureandnurture #mentalhealthmatters #octherapist #relationshiptherapy #relationshiptherapyoc #relationshipcoach #anxiousattachment #therapistforperfectionists #therapistfortherapists #therapistforhealers See more

I am so full of gratitude and love. For my work, my clients, my colleagues, myself. // Therapy is amazing, it provides people with opportunities to be seen and heard in ways that they haven’t always had access to, giving space for deep healing to happen. // My clients show UP! Together we laugh just as much as we cry. They are brave and resilient and sensitive and want to make their inner and outer worlds better.... // I can feel my colleagues and former supervisors with me in the moments of uncertainty and celebration and am so lucky to get to learn with and from you. // And I’m so grateful that I came back to this field, that I listen to my intuition, allowing me to better attune to my clients and the needs of the moment. I’m so grateful to my own therapist and previous therapists, coaches, healers, guides, and mentors for helping me cultivate my healing so that I can show up for myself, my loved ones, and this work. // Here’s to moments however big or small that fill us with gratitude // P.S. I felt inspired to post this and when I signed on the first post in my feed was by my dear friend and colleague @saharmartinezmft with a very similar message, and I couldn’t be happier to be in such amazing company with these feelings! : : : : #octherapy #octherapist #ocrelationshiptherapy #relationshiptherapist #relationshipcoach #innerchildhealing #innerchildwork #gratitude #selflove #shamelessselfie #therapylove #healing #therapy #therapist See more

I generally stay away from absolute (never/none, always/all) statements, though in 10+ years, I have yet to run into an exception to this one. // Uncommunicated or miscommunicated expectations are the root of all conflict. Communicating clear expectations starts with identifying clear expectations, both for ourselves and others. // When we take the time to examine and communicate our expectations in a given situation or relationship, it can save us a lot of time, energy, and ...potential pain down the line; expectations help create safety and security in relationships by letting each other know how we’ll show up and what the boundaries are. // Sharing this with my clients especially couples never (another absolute) gets old. See more

I said this to my dear friend while we recovered from the cold in her sauna. Wim Hoff, XPT breathing, and ice baths have been on my radar for over 5 years. I knew this was a healing modality that had chosen me, I just wasn’t sure when the timing would be right. After months of receiving invites from my friend and her Wim Hoff/XPT-breath-work-trained-husband, last weekend was finally the time, and I get why it wasn’t sooner. // Lowering myself into the ice bath had me right at... the edge of what I could hold physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For the first 30 seconds I used my breath to surf waves of raw emotion tied to trust and surrender. Then everything settled into a rhythm. // This period of quarantine has been potent with releasing and healing work for me. While I may have been able to try this earlier, I would’ve been forcing it, and don’t know that I would’ve been able to receive the same insights I got this time around because of where I am in my own development. // Two minutes of focused and intentional breathing later, I slowly lifted myself out of the bath, both grateful that it was done and wondering when I could do it again. // I can feel the pull of what’s on the other side of engaging with this practice more regularly, and it feels exciting // I’ll be back in the ice in a couple of days and am both glad that it’s chosen me, and glad that I waited for when the timing felt right for me. // Sometimes we choose the healing method, and sometimes it chooses us, but ultimately I believe that deep down we know when the timing is right. : : : : #icebath #icebaththerapy #traumarecovery #traumahealing #wimhoffmethod #xptperformancebreathing #growthedge #octherapist #relationshiptherapist #relationshipcoach #therapy #octherapy See more

Metabolizing emotions is similar to metabolizing food: it’s the process of extracting nutrients or what can serve us from a situation and allowing the rest to move through us to be released. // When it comes to metabolizing emotions we typically do this: physically (dancing, shaking, lifting heavy weights, yoga, etc) cognitively (contemplating, journaling)... expressively (laughing, crying, singing, yelling, talking it out) spiritually (meditating, praying, connecting with an inner divinity/higher self, or however you experience God/Source) // When we suppress (stop/interrupt) or repress (push down/bottle) emotions rather than metabolize them, we tend to stall-out in our development and can get emotionally constipated, causing frustration, irritability, and excessive worry, to name a few. // We don’t need to metabolize emotions in each of the ways listed all of the time, though the more ways you metabolize emotions, the more ways you will be able to consciously integrate the nutrients and gifts into your life. : : : : #octherapy #integrate #healing #emotionalhealth #emotionaltransformationtherapy #multidimensionalhealing #mentalhealth #therapy #relationshiptherapist #breakups #traumahealing #workout #perfectionist #grieving #octherapist #relationshiptherapist See more

Frequently (and for a number of different reasons) parents may feel discomfort or shame when their child experiences/expresses big emotions, and a common parent’s response of quieting the child as quickly as possible typically has more to do with their own discomfort than what their child actually needs. // In that moment, the child can get the message my feelings aren’t as important as my parents’ or it’s not okay to feel *this* much, and other messages they internalize ...and carry with them through life... until they find themselves sitting across from or on Zoom with a therapist. // This is one of the ways we can become self-critical. If the response we received from a parent was perceived as shaming or dismissive of our feelings, then it makes sense that we grow up feeling ashamed and dismissive of our feelings. // If you find yourself being critical or dismissive of your emotions, some things to consider: are you responding to yourself the way a parent responded to you? How would they have ideally responded to you? How close can you come to responding to yourself that ideal way? // Re-parenting ourselves in these tender moments can be so impactful to our emotional health and give us permission to experience our emotions more fully, allowing us to actually process and metabolize our emotions rather than suppress them (which can keep them stuck in our nervous systems). // This is not about blaming parents btw, they have their own host of expectations and pressures to face, but that’s another post for another time. : : : : #octherapist #innerchildwork #reparenting #reparentingyourself #perfectionist #highachiever #enneagram1 #enneagram3 #shame #emotionaltransformationtherapy #metaphysicaltherapy #multidimensionaltherapy #multidimensionalhealing #5dtherapy See more

Fellow clinicians: I highly recommend taking this course with Sahar Martinez, LMFT

Expectations, relationship dynamics, thought patterns, hopes, etc. Releasing seems to be a major theme this week, I’ve seen it with clients, friends, and experienced it myself. // Releasing is not always easy, smooth, pleasant, or filled with grace. I for one have definitely navigated some previous seasons of release with a I’ll-release-it-when-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-hands mentality, which for me anyway only dragged out the pain that was waiting to be released with ...whatever I was holding onto so tightly. // Whatever it is that you may be in the season of releasing, I hope that in the process however messy or painful you can find a sense of trust and dignity. : : : : #octherapist #release #heal #emotionaltransformationtherapy #releaseseason #emotionalrelease #emotionalhealing #relationshiptherapist #couplestherapist #orangecountytherapist See more

That’s the You I want to hear from the most. I want to hear from the other pieces of you as well, the ones that are scared about not fitting in, or worried about what might happen if they make a mistake, or is critical of others (especially if they get too close)... and after the parts of you that have hardened like armor get to be heard, it’s almost as though they loosen and make room for You to show up. // I believe that this is part of our work: identifying what’s ours and... what’s not, what’s armor and what’s not, what’s US and what’s not. I can’t describe the feeling that comes over the room when someone gets a glimpse of themselves with loosened or no armor. It’s different for each person who experiences it, though to witness it... it’s one of the most beautiful moments of pure... human-ness! // Have you experienced moments like these? Let me know in the comments or a DM if the comments feels too vulnerable. And if you are looking to do this kind of work, I have openings. Feel free to contact me through my bio section or my website. : : : : #californiatherapist #octherapy #therapy #partswork #therapist #individualtherapy #relationalintelligence #traumarecovery #emotionalfluency #healanxiety #emotionaltransformationtherapy #emotionaltransformation #perfectionistrecovery #attachmenttherapy #onlinetherapy #intuitivetherapy #empowermenttherapy See more

I had the opportunity to work with Cheri while at Living Success Center and am excited that more people will get to experience her great work and support!