Atalie's Posts, Relationships & Communication
Becky White George
The Importance of Social Connection

In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, it can become easy to lose sight of one of the most fundamental aspects of our human nature—social connection. As social creatures, we are biologically wired to connect with one another, create strong bonds, and form lasting relationships.

The Importance of Social Connection
Jessica's Posts, Trauma and Mental Health
Becky White George
Sense Memories

Our senses play a pivotal role in how we form, store, and retrieve memories. This is because the brain areas responsible for processing sensory input are closely linked to the regions that store and retrieve memories. The hippocampus, which organizes and recalls memories, works together with the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain. They ensure that emotionally charged events are more vividly stored in memory. This link exists for both extraordinarily painful and joyful memories alike.

Sense Memories
Trauma and Mental Health, Helene's Posts
Becky White George
Identifying Trauma

When we talk about “trauma,” we’re talking about an emotional or psychological response to a distressing event or experience. It’s not necessarily the event itself that’s traumatic but rather the way it impacts a person’s sense of safety, stability, or identity. Trauma often leaves people feeling overwhelmed, helpless, or disconnected from themselves or others.

Identifying Trauma
Relationships & Communication, Kalie's posts
Becky White George
Nurturing Friendships

I often use Gottman’s Sound Marital House as a framework to help couples build strong, healthy relationships. This theory breaks down into several key components that can enhance connection and resilience. One skill that stands out to me is Shared Fondness and Admiration, which involves openly expressing appreciation and respect for your partner (or friend).

Nurturing Friendships
Relationships & Communication, Sophia's Posts
Becky White George
Validation in Romantic Relationships

The importance of validation is something I emphasize with couples as it creates a dynamic based on understanding rather than score-keeping or proving right and wrong. In an emotionally charged conversation, it's common for individuals to focus primarily on their own emotional experience instead of their partner’s. Rather than listening to what the other person is saying, we may be thinking about our own response.

Validation in Romantic Relationships

holistic

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Rest is Productive

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Rest is Productive

As I type out these words, I find myself feeling overwhelmingly tired and in need of rest (in part due to the record-breaking heat wave taking over Los Angeles)… and so, I find it fitting to write about my experience. In this oppressive heat, I feel an all-encompassing sense of fatigue, trouble concentrating, eyelids drooping, and muscles feeling immensely heavy as I melt into the couch. Do these sensations sound familiar? As humans, we all need rest. That much is clear. So why do so many of us have such a hard time allowing ourselves to stop, slow down, and rest?

Over the years I’ve heard, and likely uttered, phrases such as, “I don’t have time to rest,” “I have too many things to do,” “I have no reason to feel tired,” “I don’t want to be lazy,” “I feel guilty when I rest,” and so on.

The way our capitalistic society requires us to operate is ultimately not sustainable. We are not computers… and even our computers need time to recharge! —and, to add to this metaphor, even a fully charged computer will begin to overheat and freeze up if it’s running too many applications at once!

Let’s start by reframing rest as productive—and move forward from there.

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Self Compassion

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Self Compassion

I went on my first silent meditation retreat about 10 years ago. Fairly new to meditating, I was nervous for many reasons, but my friend encouraged me to come along with her and I nervously accepted her challenge. I’m glad I did, because at this retreat I learned my first pivotal lesson on the importance of self-compassion.

When you get to the retreat center, the first thing you do is hand over your electronics like your phone, tablet, laptop, etc. This was *incredibly scary* for me. At the time, my dad was ill, and I made arrangements with my mom that she could call the retreat center if anything came up that I needed to know about. But the idea of disconnecting in this way made me feel like the ground was about to fall out from under me.

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Inner Child Work

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Inner Child Work

Inner-child work.

Reparenting your inner child.

You may have heard these terms circling around in conversations, popping up while scrolling social media, or even mentioned to you by your therapist. But what actually IS inner child work?? What does it look like? & why is it so important? I’m here to answer those questions for you :)

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Decision Making

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Decision Making

In a world filled with uncertainty, division, and endless options, making decisions is more complicated than ever. Many of my clients struggle with decision-making, spanning from something as minute as what lunchbox to purchase for their kids, to bigger questions such as whether to end a relationship or what career path to take.

Decision-making requires us to confront our humanity and build self-agency, which can present us with challenges and fears of failure or regret. Whether you have been struggling with day-to-day decisions or long-term life choices, here are some tools to help reshape your relationship to decision-making and overcome decision-making distress.

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Boosting Creativity

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Boosting Creativity

Do you ever find yourself lacking motivation or feeling as if you’re just going about your days in auto-mode? I know I definitely do, and increasingly so these past couple of years!

Throughout the past two years many of us have unwittingly found ourselves in an ongoing state of existing vs. living. Existing is a state of numbness, operating on perpetual autopilot and clinging onto any semblance of routine and normalcy. Living, as a contrast, is the state of total engagement with life, feeling the broad spectrum of emotions, and being open to creative potential. The experience of existing can lead to a life devoid of creative expression, or what we might call writer’s block, creative slowdown, or lack of inspiration.

If you feel that you are suffering a creative block, the good news is that creative potential exists within you. Engaging with it is the key to unlocking hope and purpose—the two elements needed to awaken us from existing and elevate us into living. Here are a few ways to tap into your why and, by doing so, boost your creativity:

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The Post-Holiday Blues

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The Post-Holiday Blues

January is the Monday of the year. The holidays are over, it feels like there’s nothing to look forward to, you’ve returned from your travels (or moved from the couch to your desk), your kids are back at school, and you’ve started back up at work. The weather is bleak and there is less daylight (though I can hear everyone outside of Los Angeles rolling their eyes at me); life returns to normal, yet for many of us we don’t feel normal at all. We expect to start the new year feeling well rested, calmer and more grounded, and ready to make all of the changes in our lives that will make us a new and improved person. This all sounds wonderful, albeit unrealistic. If you’re struggling with adjusting to 2022, here are some ways to combat the post-holiday blues

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7 Tips for Better Sleep

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7 Tips for Better Sleep

Sleep is one of the highest forms of self-care, situated right at the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Many of us logically understand the significant impact of sleep on mental health, physical health, and overall well-being. However, sleep tends to be one of the first needs that gets sacrificed when we become increasingly busy.

I’m here to offer you several useful tips on how to maximize your sleep, but more importantly to urge you to look at sleep as a priority. Sure — self-care in the form of bubble baths, facemasks, and all the other small rituals to nurture yourself is healing — but a deep night’s sleep is ESSENTIAL.

This is because while we sleep, we recharge our bodies and minds, consolidate memories and information, increase our immune function to stay healthy, and increase our abilities to be alert and productive during the day.

Many people struggle with initial insomnia or sleep-onset insomnia, which is characterized as a difficulty in falling asleep and is often linked with anxiety.

I’ve listed some tools and techniques below, along with an evening wind-down meditation of mine, in order to support you in cultivating consistent sleep that is relaxing, rejuvenating, and restorative.

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Mindfulness 101

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Mindfulness 101

Developing a mindfulness practice can feel impossible when operating in a society that determines our identities through how much we do rather than emphasizes the experience to simply be, but there are many ways to integrate mindfulness practices into your daily life, even amongst the never-ending demands.


Mindfulness techniques come in two forms: formal and informal.

Formal mindfulness techniques are those that are practiced in a specific setting with a distinct intention and method, such as meditation. Informal mindfulness techniques can be accessed at any point throughout your day, such as focusing on flavors as you eat or observing the breath as you drive.

Whether you have time to integrate formal mindfulness techniques into your daily regimen or just want to dip your toes into informal practices, here are some techniques you can start exploring today! I encourage you to experiment with different approaches, and to pick and choose the ones that interest you most as you begin your journey!

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Get Organized!

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Get Organized!

With some simple systems, tracking, and practices, you can free yourself up from the 80% of work that takes up most of your time and creates the least results, so that you can focus on the 20% of your work that creates the greatest impact! Freeing up your mind to do what it does best-- like being creative & dreaming big-- creates a profound impact on your well-being and the well-being of those around you.

Over the years I have developed some simple organization and tracking systems that keep me grounded and help me focus on the 20% that gets me 80% of my results. Creating organization systems to keep track of appointments, tasks, to-dos, ideas, and thoughts throughout the day, in addition to visions and dreams for my life, has helped me get grounded, and create more space for the things that really matter while spending less time on things that aren’t a priority.

Read on to learn more about how to get organized, track your moods and cycles, and free up your time and energy to focus on what really matters.

 

Start With You. Today.