Stress Management Louisville, KY

Chronic Stress is Bad!

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chronic stressI love Audible! It gives me a chance to listen to books and lectures when I’m driving across the country or around town. I recently listened to a series of lectures about chronic stress. 24 hours worth of lectures by the author of the book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.”

I learned two things (well, actually I learned a great deal):

  1. Chronic stress is bad!
  2. Much of the stress we experience is psychological stress – a result of our thinking process.

And third (I guess I did learn some other important things), one remedy for dealing with psychological stress is “Learning to adjust to the things that will not adjust to you.” The Serenity Prayer states it something like this: Help me to accept the things I cannot change, and give me the courage to change the things I can.

I am also learning that meditation and mindfulness help with chronic stress. And I cannot think of a better mantra (something you repeat over and over during meditation) than the Serenity Prayer or your version of it.

Chronic stress is responsible for a lot of issues including excess weight gain, cardiovascular disease, infertility, poor brain functioning, and premature aging, just to mention a few. You may not be able to remove the stressors in your life, but with help, you can learn to change the way you think about them.

True North Counseling and Therapy

Body-Mind Connection

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body-mind connectionI remember sitting in the conference room during college; maybe February 1980. I know, I’m ancient. But the speaker made this point. Our bodies and our minds are so closely connected that they catch each other’s diseases. Today we call it the body-mind connection.

The practical application of this statement is that you can affect your mental wellbeing by addressing your physical wellbeing and vice versa. A poorly maintained body can and, most likely, does create mental health problems. This includes a lack of exercise and poor nutrition. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that a good gut-health promotes positive wellbeing. It can also be said that exercise can create a state of euphoria.

Because of this connection, I decided that counseling, although very important, was not enough to help people find peace and serenity. I decided to seek out additional interventions and certifications to address this body-mind connection and became a nutritional and fitness professional.

At True North Counseling, we believe that people benefit from counseling that addresses the whole person. This means helping people “map out” a journey that involves eating that promotes a healthy body, a moderate exercise plan, and the practice of mindfulness. We are guides for you on this journey and we practice it every day in our own lives.

True North Therapy

Acting Yourself into a Way of Feeling

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Sometimes you simply feel stuck. You feel stuck in a relationship, or a mood, or in a standoff with a workmate or employer. And on top of this, you feel hopeless. The way out involves “acting as if.” The saying goes, “It’s easier to act yourself into a way of feeling than feel yourself into a way of acting.”

In a marital or romantic relationship, this means: If you want to feel romantic, then act romantic. You can rekindle the romantic flames by doing the things that will promote positive feelings. This could include what has become known as the Five Love Languages.

When people experience depression, they tend to withdraw from activities that previously contributed to their wellbeing. One approach to helping them is to encourage them to slowly re-engage in these activities, acting themselves into a way of feeling.

None of this is easy. Relationships are complicated. Feelings are slow to recover from loss or trauma. But little changes can lead to bigger changes and healing. We are there to act as coaches to help instill hope.

True North Counseling therapists have a history of instilling hope in our clients. Our hopefulness comes from seeing our clients use this principle in their lives by acting and feeling differently.

Family Therapy Louisville, KY

Easy Does It!

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true north therapyIt disturbs me when I hear clients tell about previous therapy sessions, therapists, or treatment programs that have told them, “This is going to get worse before it gets better!”

Certainly, things might get worse, but they don’t have to. We at True North believe in the “easy does it” approach to therapy. As a younger therapist, I tried the “hardcore” or “double down” approaches to bringing change in the lives of individuals and families. I learned that those approaches do not respect people. And typically, they do not teach people to respect each other.

A slower, kinder and gentler approach to therapy helps people change.

At the same time, focus on maintaining important bonds and positive feelings that they have for each other.

Going slow doesn’t mean that it will take longer to see positive change. Slowing things down often prevents the damage that can take place in a faster, harsher approach to therapy.

We at True North see ourselves as Change Agents. There is a pace and a cadence to change that you and your family can tolerate. We will work with you to find them. We will nurture you through this process, slowly.

True North Child Therapy

What is True North?

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true northTrue North differs from Magnetic North. Basically, it is a fixed point where the latitude lines meet. Magnetic North changes every day.

In our lives, we seek out things that will make us happy or hope will make us happy. We discover later, instead, that we are headed in a direction that creates chaos and unhappiness.

Think about True North as a direction or journey.

One that helps us discover a life that is lived consistently with our values, passions, ambitions, and emotions.

When the “real you” is lived consistently with the things that you value, the things that are in your heart, you are headed “True North.”

However, life can be complicated and confusing. Things pull us off course. There are distractions. There are losses. We have relationships that create conflict. We have family members that are in distress. Life loses its luster and we find ourselves in despair.

True North Counseling is a place that can help you restart your journey.

We listen. Our staff can help you rediscover the adventure of living.

Helen Keller said, “Life is a daring adventure.” Here was a person that discovered how to live life despite her very severe disabilities. We hope that we can help you, in light of your obstacles, discover how to live life and find your True North.