MK Rogers Counselling Services

10/31/2025

When You Don't Have Time, Pause

In this busy world
you may not feel you have time to slow down.
Hours rush past,
a blur of noise and tasks,
and you tell yourself
that rest can wait.

When your thoughts are tangled,
when your breath feels shallow,
when the day presses hard against you,
pause.
When you don't have time, that's when you need it most, pause.

Even for a few moments.
Let your shoulders drop,
unclench your jaw,
and listen
to the quiet that still lives
beneath the noise.

You don’t have to step away for long.
Start with a single breath,
a sip of something warm.
Notice the morning light
filtering through the trees outside.
Feel the soft weight of a blanket
around your shoulders.
Simply be,
right here, right now.

These small pauses are enough.
They remind you
that life isn’t only about doing, achieving, or moving forward.
It’s about being,
breathing,
returning to yourself.

Slowing down
doesn’t mean falling behind.
It means meeting the day with presence,
carrying quiet steadiness
into everything you do.

Even a few moments
can reset the world inside you,
letting calm bloom quietly,
patiently,
in the simplicity of this moment.

~ 'Whe You Don't Have Time, Pause' by Spirit of a Hippie

✍️ Mary Anne Byrne

~ Art by Heather Stillufsen

10/22/2025

The first time I realized I had no boundaries was when I started apologizing for being exhausted. For needing space. For not wanting to answer another “are you mad at me?” text. That’s when I found Anne Katherine’s books, Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin and Where to Draw the Line, and for the first time, I understood that loving people doesn’t mean losing yourself in them.

Reading Anne Katherine’s two boundary books back-to-back felt like therapy in paperback form, one that gently holds up a mirror and then hands you a map.

Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin is the emotional wake-up call, the “this is why you feel drained all the time” book. Katherine unpacks what boundaries are (and aren’t) with surgical precision. She explores the subtle ways we let others invade our emotional space, through guilt, silence, or the endless need to please. It’s not just a psychology lesson; it’s a reckoning. The book helps you see where your energy leaks and why “being nice” often comes at the cost of peace.

Then Where to Draw the Line picks up where the first leaves off, it’s the practical manual, the “okay, now here’s how to actually do this” version. It’s packed with real-life scenarios: work, friendships, family, intimacy. Katherine doesn’t offer vague empowerment talk; she gives language. Sentences you can actually use. Tools to build self-respect without turning cold or distant. She reminds you that saying “no” isn’t cruelty, it’s clarity.

Anne Katherine’s work is a masterclass in emotional maturity. Boundaries shows you why you need them; Where to Draw the Line shows you how to live them. Together, they are the permission slip every recovering people-pleaser has been waiting for to stop being everything for everyone, and start being whole for yourself.

Boundaries: https://amzn.to/3Jlhpmr

Where to Draw the Line: https://amzn.to/3J5t6h9

10/22/2025

We grow up, but parts of us stay behind, hurt, unheard, waiting to be acknowledged. In The Child in You, psychotherapist Stefanie Stahl masterfully explores this hidden inner landscape, showing how much of our adult behavior is driven by the emotional wounds of our “inner child.” The book isn’t heavy with theory, it’s simple, compassionate, and deeply practical. Stahl’s method helps you identify your “shadow child,” the part of you shaped by early fears and unmet needs, and nurture your “sun child,” the part that embodies confidence, love, and authenticity.

Key Lessons from The Child in You

1. Your inner child still lives within you.
No matter how old you are, your early experiences continue to shape how you think, feel, and relate. Healing begins when you stop ignoring that child and start listening.

2. The “shadow child” drives unconscious patterns.
This part of you carries old fears, shame, and coping mechanisms. It reacts defensively to protect you, but often ends up sabotaging your relationships and peace.

3. The “sun child” represents your authentic self.
When you connect with this part, you rediscover joy, courage, and compassion. It’s the version of you that can love and live freely.

4. Awareness breaks old cycles.
You can’t heal what you don’t see. Recognizing when your shadow child is in control helps you respond from wisdom, not from wounds.

5. Healing requires re-parenting yourself.
You learn to give yourself the safety, affection, and validation you once needed from others. This inner nurturing builds emotional stability and self-trust.

6. Relationships mirror your inner world.
The conflicts and disappointments you face with others often reflect unresolved parts of yourself. Healing your inner child improves every external bond.

7. Compassion is the key to transformation.
Stahl emphasizes that you can’t shame your way into healing. Real growth comes from kindness toward yourself, even the parts that once acted out of fear.

8. You can rewrite your story.
Your past shapes you, but it doesn’t define you. By befriending your inner child, you create space for a new narrative, one rooted in self-respect and emotional freedom.

The Child in You is not just a psychology book, it’s a roadmap to self-understanding. It teaches that healing isn’t about erasing the past, but about integrating it with compassion.

In the end, Stahl reminds us of something quietly revolutionary: the person you’ve been waiting to save you… has been you, all along.

BOOK: https://amzn.to/47iKxCV

05/20/2025

Lots of good tips .

How to Restart Yourself.
-
Follow booksforaspirants

05/20/2025

Some good suggestions for different types of rest .

7 Types of Rest :

05/11/2025

Good advice here .

DON’T DO ANYTHING. JUST REST.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing that doing nothing… means doing nothing for yourself.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that not being productive is somehow a failure.
That if it doesn’t have a visible outcome, it doesn’t count.
That rest is wasted time.

We’ve become so used to being busy —
to checking off boxes,
to tracking our progress,
to measuring worth in output —
that we’ve forgotten something essential:

Rest is productive.

It’s the moment your body heals.
Your mind exhales.
Your soul whispers.

Reading a magazine.
Taking a long shower.
Sitting in the garden with a warm cup of coffee.
None of it is a waste.

Because time spent resting… is time well spent.

We’re not machines.
We’re not meant to hustle 24/7.
We are human beings.

And sometimes, we just need to be.

— Becky Hemsley

01/07/2025

We're starting our New Year with our upcoming group sessions!

We still have space in our Anxiety Management Group - starting tomorrow, January 8th, at 9am!

We have one more spot open in our Women's PTSD Recovery Group, also starting January 8th at 12pm.

Starting January 16th at 5pm we will be having our Men's PTSD Recovery group.

We will be having our Staying Sober group starting up on February 12th at 4pm.

If you're interested or have any questions reach out at info@carrpsych.com!

12/31/2024

11/22/2024

Writing "Atlas of the Heart" changed pretty much everything I thought I knew about the science of emotions. On the website this week I'm sharing 10 learnings that changed how I think about stress and overwhelm. Full references are included.

Overwhelmed by many things. Grateful for even more — including this community. If you're celebrating next week, Happy Thanksgiving!

https://brenebrown.com/articles/2024/11/21/stressed-and-overwhelmed/