Soul Connection Counselling

01/22/2026

Yesterday stirred up a lot for me. This piece came from a place of honesty—about functioning, masking, and the kind of mental health struggle that doesn’t always have a name. If it resonates, you’re not alone.

https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/let%E2%80%99s-talk---about-the-parts-we-hide

We are so glad that you’ve found us & we look forward to working with you & those you love! We want to make it as easy as possible to access the support that you need.

01/21/2026

Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day.

This post isn’t about statistics or slogans, it’s about the quiet kind of struggle that often goes unseen. I’m sharing a very personal piece about mental health, masking, and what “talking” can really look like. 💙

https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/let%E2%80%99s-talk---about-the-parts-we-hide

12/22/2025

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and a gentle start to the New Year

However this season looks for you, joyful, quiet, complicated, restful, or heavy, I hope there are moments of warmth, care, and ease woven through it.

I’ll be out of the office from December 19 to January 5, taking some intentional time to rest and recharge. During this time, I’ll have limited access to email, and responses may be slower than usual. I’ll return to regular availability on January 5.

Thank you for being part of this space and trusting me throughout the year. It’s truly an honour to do this work.

Wishing you care, kindness, and a soft landing into 2025

— Kate
Soul Connection Counselling

12/18/2025

“Children don’t leap from meltdown to calm on their own. They first need the steady presence of a caring adult to co-regulate, before learning the skills of self-regulation. And when things go wrong, repair is the bridge that restores connection and trust.”

Introducing the After School Restraint Collapse Toolkit for Parents & Educators - link in comments ⬇️

12/18/2025

If the holidays bring less bright moments and feelings for you, it's important to know you're not alone. It's okay to give yourself grace, too.

Need a little extra support? We’re here for you: optumin.co/find-support-you-deserve

12/18/2025

As this series comes to a close, I want to slow things down and leave you with one last truth: You do not need to “finish the year strong.” You don’t need to feel grateful, energized, healed, or optimistic. You don’t need to make meaning out of everything December stirred up. You don’t need to push through exhaustion just because the calendar is almost done. If all you’ve done is survive this season, that counts.

Twinkle lights can exist alongside tired nights.
Joy can sit next to grief. Rest can matter more than tradition. And showing up imperfectly is still showing up. If you’re carrying fatigue, sadness, numbness, or quiet overwhelm, I hope this series has helped you feel a little less alone in it. Nothing about your experience this season means you’re behind, broken, or failing. It means you’re human, navigating a season that asks a lot.

As we move toward the end of the year, my wish for you is simple:
-soften where you can
-rest when your body asks
-let go of what no longer fits
-carry yourself gently into what comes next

Thank you for walking through this season, and this series , with me.

If you’d like to revisit the final blog in this series, you can read it here: https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/tinsel-tears-the-mid-season-reality-check

12/16/2025

A little holiday stress check in for ya!
Read the full post: https://www.selfloverainbow.com/holiday-stress-scale/

12/16/2025

By this point in the season, many people aren’t overwhelmed because they’re doing too little, they’re overwhelmed because they’ve been doing too much for too long.

December has a way of convincing us that slowing down means we’re failing. That rest means we’re giving up. That saying no means we’re disappointing someone. But here’s the truth: your nervous system doesn’t care about the calendar.
It cares about safety, rest, and capacity.

If you’re noticing irritability, emotional numbness, exhaustion, or a strong urge to withdraw, that’s not laziness, it’s a signal. A signal that your system needs gentleness, not pressure.

Today’s reminder is simple: You’re allowed to slow your pace. You’re allowed to cancel plans. You’re allowed to do the bare minimum. You’re allowed to rest without explaining yourself. Slowing down doesn’t ruin the season. Sometimes it’s the only way to survive it.

If you need it, the final blog in this series goes deeper into nervous system care and end-of-season regulation: https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/tinsel-tears-the-mid-season-reality-check

Twinkle lights don’t disappear when you rest, but burnout grows when you don’t.

12/15/2025

The Final Letter in This Series: We’ve reached the final stretch of December, and the final letter in this holiday mental health series.

If you’re feeling worn down, emotionally flat, irritable, or like you’re just trying to get through the days, I want you to know: this makes sense.

By now, the twinkle lights are still shining…
but the energy is low. The patience is thinner. And the emotional reserves feel almost empty. This is often the part of the season where people feel the most depleted, not because they’re doing something wrong, but because they’ve been “on” for too long. Too many expectations. Too much emotional labor. Not enough rest.

This final blog is a gentle reminder that:
- You don’t need to push harder
- You don’t need to perform joy
- You don’t need to earn rest
- And surviving this season counts

This isn’t about making the holidays magical.
It’s about regulating your nervous system, softening expectations, and carrying yourself gently through the final days of the year.

Read the final post in this series here: https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/twinkle-lights-tired-nights

Twinkle lights don’t cancel out tired nights, and that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human.

12/11/2025

The holidays bring a constant stream of stimulation, noise, lights, decisions, social expectations, family dynamics, financial pressure, overstretched schedules. Individually, these things seem manageable. But together? They stack up fast.

You might notice:
• Being more reactive or sensitive
• Feeling “on edge” over small things
• Avoiding texts, plans, or conversations
• Trouble focusing or remembering things
• Wanting to withdraw, even from people you care about
• A sense of “I can’t handle one more thing”
This isn’t weakness.
This is your body saying, “I’m at capacity.”

Today’s gentle reminders: You don’t have to push through everything. Rest is not optional; it’s necessary. Honor your bandwidth. If something feels too heavy, that’s data. Create small, quiet pauses. Sit in silence for one minute. Step outside. Breathe slower than you think you need to. Lower the bar. Choose the simplest version of anything you need to do. Be honest with yourself and others. “I don’t have the capacity for that right now” is a real sentence.

Your nervous system is not a machine. It’s a living, responsive part of you, and it needs care, not criticism.

If you’re feeling emotionally or physically stretched thin, this week’s blog goes deeper into the why and the what-now.

Read more: https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/tinsel-tears-the-mid-season-reality-check

12/09/2025

By this point in December, the pace of the holidays starts to catch up with us. The early excitement fades, and what’s left is… a lot. A lot of commitments, emotions, reminders, and pressure.

If you’re waking up tired, feeling more irritable, or noticing your motivation dropping, you’re experiencing something very common: the mid-season energy crash.

Here’s why it happens:
• Emotional overstimulation from constant social expectations
• Sensory overload (lights, noise, crowds, events)
• Increased financial and family stress
• Reduced daylight and colder weather
• Less downtime, more obligations

The crash isn’t a character flaw, it’s your nervous system asking for a reset.

If you’re feeling the mid-holiday heaviness, today’s blog is for you.

Read it here: https://soul-connection.ca/unfolding%3A-therapy-chair/f/tinsel-tears-the-mid-season-reality-check