by Richard Amaral | Nov 20, 2022 | Counselling and Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Stress, Thinking, Trauma
It’s easy to be hard on yourself and doubt your abilities. When discussing the role of thoughts and self-talk with my counselling clients, I’m always attentive to the kinds of words a person uses to describe themselves and their feelings. Using phrases...
by Richard Amaral | Nov 12, 2022 | Emotions, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Psychology, Thinking
In my previous post, I wrote about the masks you and I wear from time to time. We don’t want others to know what we’re thinking or feeling, so we put on a mask – a front – to help cover or protect our internalized world. One mask that...
by Richard Amaral | Nov 5, 2022 | Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Thinking
I enjoyed seeing my kids dress up for Halloween this year. Then, as I walked them to school on the morning of October 31st, it was also fun to see all the other children arrive as superheroes, princesses, witches, and cartoon characters. It also got me thinking...
by Richard Amaral | Oct 23, 2022 | Depression, Emotions, Lifestyle, Mental Health
In January 1999, I moved to Portland, Oregon, in the US. It was my first semester of graduate school at Lewis and Clark College. I spent my undergraduate years attending the University of Toronto at Mississauga – a 15-minute car ride from the comforts of...
by Richard Amaral | Sep 24, 2022 | Emotions, Mental Health, Mind-Body Health
Death is a part of life. And no matter how prepared you are for someone’s death, you are never ready for it. All the best laid out funeral plans can never prepare you for the emotion of losing a loved one. Before her death, Queen Elizabeth II had approved...
by Richard Amaral | Sep 3, 2022 | Mental Health, Mind-Body Health, Thinking
Now that the summer is quickly coming to an end, I find myself reflecting on some of the moments that stood out for me – moments when I felt balanced; when I felt like things were just perfect. Looking back, some of those perfect moments happened when I...
