The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

I turned 50 last Monday. Even just typing that feels a little surreal.

I often get asked how to help someone through a panic attack.  When put on the spot, my mind used to go blank even though I’ve had lots of training and have learned how to help someone during panicking. 

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home and a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

“I can forgive, but I won’t forget.”  You either have said those words or have heard them at some point.  What exactly does it mean to forgive? 

     In a recent interview, the famous Tom Brady spoke these inspirational words, “As you get older, your life changes quite a bit.  Your life ebbs and flows; through the clouds and through the sun and through the rain and through the beautiful days.  And you appreciate the moments and you find joy in the little things.”

Back to school time is here! Pencils are sharpened, lunches are packed, and we are all struggling to get back into a regular routine. I for one was so excited to see Trapper Keepers were a thing again this year. That brought back some memories of my first one, a hand-me-down from an older brother with a T-Rex on the front. Ahh, childhood.

How many times a day do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and whatever new social media app is on the market? I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of picking up my phone to “check messages” and the next thing I know I am going down some random rabbithole on TikTok for 30 minutes or an hour.

In 2014, June was declared National PTSD Awareness month with the hope that it would help spur on more conversations about what trauma is and how it impacts our mental health, relationships, and lives. More importantly, conversations about how we can have hope in even the darkest times and find a way to bounce back and become even healthier, stronger, and happier than we were before the darkness descended.

If you are feeling unsatisfied, hurt, can’t stop arguing, or generally feel misunderstood in your committed relationship, then it may be a sign it is time to seek couple therapy (also called marriage counseling). 

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am not a fan of clutter. I find that keeping things organized and tidy helps me feel calm and relaxed. There’s actually a lot of research to support that living in lots of mess and clutter directly impacts our mental well-being.

Have you been stressed, fatigued, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands?  Has your motivation been waning; do you just want to sleep for days at a time?  Are you physically present but mentally detached? Have you become a cynic? In a nutshell, you may be experiencing burnout. 

If you are a parent, you are quite aware that children express and experience love in different ways. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell suggest in their book “The Five Love Languages of Children”, that once a parent learns a child’s primary love language it can have a profound impact on their relationship, happiness and overall development.