Hope In Healing Counselling Services

12/10/2025

The Psychological Impact of Divisiveness and How We Move Through It

When the world feels divided, people feel it in their bodies and relationships long before they name it. Constant tension online and in daily conversations can heighten stress, erode trust, and make it harder for people to feel grounded. Even those not directly involved in a conflict can experience a sense of heaviness, vigilance, or emotional exhaustion simply from being surrounded by polarized viewpoints.

Divisiveness doesn’t just sit “out there.” It shapes how safe people feel, how they interpret others’ intentions, and how connected they believe they are to their communities.

What helps us move out of this cycle?

• Taking time to pause before engaging gives the nervous system a chance to settle and helps people respond rather than react.

• Staying curious instead of certain. When individuals approach conversations with the mindset “I want to understand you,” it lowers defensiveness on both sides.

• Recognizing shared humanity. Even in disagreement, people tend to want safety, dignity, and belonging. Naming this reduces the sense of “us vs. them.”
• Setting boundaries around harmful conversations while still nurturing supportive relationships gives people space to breathe.

•Acts of kindness small and consistent counterbalance the emotional weight of division and remind people they’re not alone.

10/27/2025

Lately, I’ve noticed more and more people turning to AI for therapy.

I understand why — it’s free, available 24/7, and you don’t have to leave home or take time off work. The convenience is real.

But here’s the thing: AI can’t replace what psychotherapists, social workers, and trained therapists do.
It can’t hold space for you.
It can’t sense what’s behind the silence or notice the subtle shifts in your tone or body language.
It can’t offer the deep human connection that real healing so often needs.

My concern is the harm that may come when we start relying on algorithms instead of people — people who’ve dedicated years to learning, practicing, and caring.

AI is just that — an algorithm. Nothing more.

10/13/2025

Grief is something we experience.

08/24/2025

Thanks to Poetry Lovers for sharing this.

08/02/2025

Thank Beth Tyson for her insights.
Children can unintentionally trigger our unhealed childhood wounds (demons).

This dynamic often manifests as anger, anxiety, avoidance, and shutting down in reaction to children’s behavior when it reminds us of something that hurt us in the past.

We must be willing and able to confront our unmet childhood needs, and do the work towards healing if we want our children to thrive.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve worked with who want to point their finger at the child without looking in the mirror at their own unaddressed pain and how it is showing up in their caregiving, teaching, parenting, and counseling.

Let’s face our demons together. We all have them, including me, and we don’t have to do it alone. I am forever working on this in my own life.

Whoever wrote this quote is a genius, in my opinion.

07/06/2025

We only get one life. What legacy will your leave?

06/23/2025

06/01/2025

‘Healing’ or ‘healed’ is what we feel at the moment we finally open our hearts – to ourselves. The moment we forgive ourselves for whatever happened, let go of shame and accept ourselves fully – that is the moment of healing. When we are healed, we can feel a deep sense of compassion for that young child we once were, a warm and loving kindness toward ourselves.- Janina Fisher

02/24/2025

I heard this the other day on the DD podcast and I wanted to pass it along. Happiness is not derived on the outside but within. Live in gratitude. One day at a time. May your day be filled with gratitude.

02/19/2025

Healing is in the small, consistent choices we make every day. 🌱 Whether big or small, these choices shape our path forward. Just like climbing these stairs, you can’t reach the top without taking each step along the way. Progress isn’t about giant leaps—it’s about steady movement, one step at a time. Keep going!