Perfect blue skies, perfect warmth from the sun, perfect visual experience, perfect level of strength and energy, perfect companionship with new friends from morning through night and being mindful of this day, right before bed, as I laid down on the grass and gazed up into the perfect star-filled clear sky to bring the full day of experiences into my heart center - mind, body and spirit.

Your ‘danger detection system’ picks up external and internal cues that the vagus nerve determines are a ‘perceived threat’ and then the vagus nerve re-routes internal resources to help you protect from a perceived threat to your survival. Bringing polyvagal theory into therapy helps you to learn how to be grateful for anxiety.

“Wil therapy help me?” is a great question to ask. Consider these tips when you are thinking about starting therapy or finding a new therapist.

SSRIs can be helpful, even life-saving, for some. But for many others, their negative side effects and lack of efficacy leave clients feeling stuck - staying on them doesn’t make them feel better but when they try to get off they feel worse.

Mona Adamszek, psychiatric nurse practitioner, specializes in ‘deprescribing’, the process of slowly titrating along with lifestyle changes to help you get through the withdrawal symptoms. Adding nutritional and nutraceutical changes, with guidance from Cyndi, can make this process easier.

Reflecting with compassion and no judgment during January and February can prepare you for the real goals that will show up all by themselves in the spring. These goals or deeply held desires are like spring bulbs that need to hibernate during the winter and then will pop up, briefly, with the change in weather that aligns with the spring equinox. The concepts of what you are needing, desiring, or yearning for are within you but need time, rest, and nurturing before they bloom into ideas and goals.

The more we ignore and dismiss the stress that we are experiencing under the hood, the more likely we are to get sick, withdraw from others, or cannot find a way to relax and enjoy the holiday spirit.

We encourage you to give yourself gifts that are not objects but can fill you with nurturing, compassion, gratitude and connection. YOU are just as important as everyone else on your gift list!