Community News
Stressed about Stress?

Stress is often thought of as something that happens to us. However, stress is a response to an event and therefore mostly within our control. A major study found that when people view unpleasant physical sensations, like a racing heart and nervousness, as helpful instead of harmful, the risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death diminishes greatly. How can we change our mind about stress? By intentionally subjecting ourselves to a healthy stressor. Fifteen minutes of intense exercise releases endorphins – our body’s natural pain killers and stress fighters – which helps us associate a positive feeling with stress-inducing events.

Have you Explored Hypnotherapy?

Did you know that hypnosis and hypnotherapy have been around for a long time? According to The Wellness Institute [www.wellness-institute.org], “Hypnosis is one of the world’s oldest sciences. Amazingly, ancient hieroglyphics show that the Egyptians were using hypnosis as early as 3,000 B.C. There is evidence the Greeks and the Mayans understood it and used it as well.” You can visit their website for more background information on the subject and to explore numerous articles describing how hypnotherapy has helped people with various concerns, including PTSD, depression, migraines, addiction, weight problems, anxiety/stress, OCD, grief, cancer, childbirth, sleep, and even dementia. Dave Kelch, BPsych, DipMHA, OptimumWellnessFactor.ca

Counselling for SAD

It’s really difficult for most of us to get through the grey, dark winter days in November to March. Feeling changes such as a loss in energy, focus, concentration, passions, and hope; and increases in feelings of stress, worry, and guilt are typical symptoms of depression. If this is your experience, you have to live through a lot of invisible pain that many people cannot understand. Knowing about Seasonal Affective (or Adjustment) Disorder (SAD) may be a key to happier days. Contact a counsellor, your GP, or the Canadian Mental Health Association (www.cmha.bc.ca) to learn about SAD treatment. Barbara Gilmore, Registered Counsellor, www.bgilmorecounselling.com

The Movement and Learning Connection

Is your child feeling overwhelmed or frustrated about keeping up at school? Is he or she struggling with lack of focus or motivation? What if learning can be fun? Imagine your child learning multiplication tables while doing physical exercises. Boredom and fatigue slip away. It’s not long before your child lights up and realizes he is finally grasping and recalling math or new concepts in science. Confidence begins to grow. Movements that cross the midline of the body fire up the brain. Brain gym exercises release stress and flood the body with endorphins, which also help with depression or anxiety. Simply put, when the body moves, the mind moves.
Sophie von Herrmann, Expressive Arts Therapist B.Ed. M.A. VictoriaExpressiveTherapies.ca

How Do You Find Courage?

Brene Brown talks about the courage within vulnerability. But vulnerability can be scary and sometimes painful – you’re opening yourself up, and you don’t know what will happen! Will you get judged or knocked down? Will you fail? What if your worst critics were right? Luckily, it is possible to work through whatever feelings are in your way, whether it’s shame, self-criticism, or just a feeling of emptiness. You can start finding ways to support yourself in your quest! Counselling is a great place to be heard and supported, to find a path forward. MaryMunro.ca

Rhythm from the Inside Out

Digestion, blood pumping through our veins, and breathing are just a few of the functional rhythms inside us that we rely upon to live. When we are unwell, we sometimes say that we are feeling ‘out of sorts’ or ‘out of sync’; it is a bit like losing one’s rhythm. We know when we have found it again because we feel more ‘in the groove’. Music therapy can be helpful in re-discovering that intrinsic rhythm when retrieving it ourselves is a struggle (as with mood and social cognitive disorders; rehabilitation from brain injury, stroke, or heart attack; cerebral palsy; Huntington’s disease; etc.).
Nejama Ferstman, MTA Certified Music Therapist, ShiriMusicTherapy.ca

Do the Side Hustle

Have you ever thought about a side hustle? A little something on the side that would not interfere with your regular job or home life, but would provide something extra to the budget so that you could use less credit or none at all. Perhaps you want to save for a holiday or new appliance, or to give yourself a spa treatment. What about dog walking, painting, house or pet sitting, tutoring, yard work, and even joining focus groups? With gift-giving season approaching, it would be great to have the funds ahead of time, and side hustles can help you avoid holiday debt. Doris Minervini, Abakhan & Associates Inc., Abakhan.com

Fear of Intimacy

Often, we avoid intimacy out of fear and miss something that could be amazing for our happiness and well-being. The reality is that at a human level, all relationships end, whether through changes in life situations or because one of the parties made his/her transition to the “other side” of life.
One of the things we can explore before we enter into a close friendship or sexual relationship with someone is what our expectations are of each other. Most of the challenges couples and friends have are because they never asked each other what their expectations were.

Rev. Anne Ahokangas
www.cslwinnipeg.org

Resilience Is Critical For A Happy Life

Charles Darwin once said: “It’s not the strongest or the most intelligent that survive, but those who are most adaptable to change”. Control is an illusion that we all wrestle with in our own way. The “good” and the “not so good” comes and goes in everyone’s life, with the only real constant being change. One of the biggest source of unhappiness lies in not being able to adapt to the change that comes into our lives. When we dwell and cling to the dissappointment of unmet expectations of what was supposed to happen but didn’t see coming, it makes it more difficult to adapt, shift and change course. Being able to shift gears, grieve and welcome new direction and possibility opens flow. What we choose to focus on affects our happiness and how empowered we feel in the world.
D’Arcy Bruning-Haid, A Souls Journey, Souls-Journey.com

Time to Exercise Smarter

We know about the many physical benefits of strength training, such as stronger muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones; lower blood pressure; and increased flexibility and lung capacity. But did you know that strength training has added mental benefits?
People who participate in strength training on a regular basis are found to have increased self-esteem, energy, and productivity. In addition, those who strength train report better sleeping patterns, decreased stress levels, and decreased bouts of depression.
Many studies have proven that resistance-based exercise is a very effective way to achieve your health and fitness goals. ARX Fit Studios, ArxFitStudios.com

Community Event

Nov. 4, 9-5 p.m. Understanding the Face I See workshop. Use face reading techniques to predict your future, detect health conditions, and reveal your true character! 236 Lanark St. Cost: $150. Register early, as space is limited.