Have You Been Dealing with a Storm?

Have you been dealing with a storm? ⛈️⛈️  I am here in Texas and we are unfreezing from a winter storm.

A lot of my clients lately have been in their own storms lately.  They are dealing with issues with family, old wounds, work challenges, and internal battles that just don't seem to have a cause.  Issues that have felt overwhelming and, at times, awful.

Has this been you? 

The guidance that has been coming through lately is about reframing the storm.  Changing your thoughts about what the storm is giving you. 

Most of us have been programmed to look at the negative in our storms.  Focusing on the yuck you are going through is natural, but it can make a yucky situation even yuckier. 

So what happened in our winter storm?  One of the ways I relax is by gardening.  I love my plants.  They give me peace.  And this week, the weather was not kind to them.  4 days of below-freezing weather isn't great for the plants that usually grow in my backyard. 

My natural tendency from years of programming is to focus on the negative, and to plan for the worst.  In reality that does not help.  It just makes us worry more in the middle of a fairly yucky situation.  It compounds the actual problem, with an imaginary future problem that might not happen.  

So when I started to feel bad about my garden this week (the first column below), I reframed my thoughts into the second column.  The picture next to this is my blackberry plants covered in ice.  

What is in your first column for your storm?  Use this worksheet that you can download here to reframe your thoughts.

Let me know if it helps!

Mental Health Challenges Can Be A Symptom. So what are the causes?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Since May became Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949, the stigma around mental health has dropped considerably and treatment options have increased.  So, in honor of this month, I wanted to share how I see these challenges and some tips to heal.  

Many times, mental health challenges are the symptom.  So what are the causes? I generally see the origin of issues or challenges we face in 4 parts.  Each has different ways to resolve it.  

4 Parts

1. Is it a Medical Issue?

2. Is it an issue with your intuitive gifts (Empath or Intuitively Gifted) 

3. Is it an issue with a psychological issue that has happened in this lifetime?

4. Is it an issue with a general, past life, or energy?

Is it a Medical Issue?
Many times a mental health issue has a medical origin.  These can include vitamin imbalances, meridian issues, inflammation, or bodies out of alignment.  All of the concerns in this area have a medical way to "solve" this issue. 

• Ways to address this:  

  • Functional Medicine Doctor: these doctors are across the country and look for the underlying causes.  Generally, they will take blood work and detailed analysis to "see" what is going on with your body.  

  • Acupuncturist: Focus on aligning your body through energetic meridians through acupuncture (needles) or acupressure (non-needle) and/or Chinese herbs.  

  • Chiropractor: Focus on aligning your body through spine and bone alignment with a chiropractic adjustment.  There is a huge range of chiropractic techniques.  

Is it an issue with your intuitive gifts (Empath or Intuitively Gifted)
The words empath or highly sensitive person means someone who experiences the emotions of others.  This can be both a blessing and a challenge - you are able to feel and understand more about the world and the people around you, but the downside is that it can feel overwhelming and you can pick up on the issues of the people around you.  If empaths are around people with mental health challenges and don't protect themselves, those challenges can be picked up.

A particular nuance to this part is if people are intuitively gifted.  I feel that all people have gifts, but some are very open and "read" people all of the time.  This can have the same effect as being an empath with no protection - emotional paralysis.  

• Ways to address this:  

  • Protection before you see people:  Here is one that I like to share with my clients

  • Meditation:  I know, meditation can be hard for some people.  There are days when I create my shopping list during meditation.  Here is a list of short meditations I like on SoundCloud

  • Learning to control your abilities: This is an area to take a psychic development class.  There are a lot of options (my private class link is here)

Is it an issue with a psychological issue that has happened in this lifetime?
Sometimes trauma that we experience in this lifetime can add to challenges like anxiety, depression, and other mental health roadblocks. Many times we know about the challenges but they become painful to "work" on and trip us up.  

• Ways to address this:  

  • Psychologist: Talking those issues out can be incredibly helpful with a good therapist.  

  • Hypnotherapy: Hypnosis or hypnotherapy can be very helpful (as is the next bullet) with trauma, post-traumatic stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder.  

  • EMDR: EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a therapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of trauma or what you have experienced as trauma.  

Is it an issue with generational, past life, or energy?
Issues from a past life or generational trauma can show up as mental health issues that you have tried to treat but can't get to the origin of, unexplainable phobias, or recurrent issues related to relationships or work. While these can be very disruptive to your life, a good, qualified past life regression practitioner can resolve those issues in one to a few sessions.  

In addition to challenges with past lives, sometimes we pick up energy that does not serve us from people we have encountered in our lives.  These energetic ties can hold us back and show up as mental health challenges.  

Ways to address this:  

• Past Life Regression: Past life regression can be done in person or on something like Zoom and generally involves hypnosis.  While in hypnosis, the practitioner will walk you through a process to help resolve those energetic or past life issues.  

• Energetic Clearing: A variety of energetic practitioners, many with their own techniques, are able to sever energetic bonds to help you move forward.  These can include cord-cutting, protection techniques, and Reiki, among others.  

As Mara James, Founder of the Extraordinary Lives Foundation, says, "Mental health awareness is important to encourage people to reach out for help. I believe that Mental health challenges can be healed.  It takes trust and patience, but it can be done. As we heal our hearts, our brain chemistry changes.  This is how I was able to be weaned off of my medication."