Annie Amirault MSW, RSW

11/15/2024

Come on over for some cool resources (building and building and building), a few chuckles and maybe an eye roll or two.

Casual & fun Psychotherapy content at your own pace

11/15/2024

Is Annie unhinged? Is Annie tired of conventional therapy? Connect with Casual Sesh to find out more:
https://patreon.com/casualsesh

10/24/2022

We’re live! Thank you for clicking, exploring and being present as we play in this new space.

Just like us, this site is aLive. Have a peek around, see what you think and as always, thank you for joining us on this journey of understanding, compassion and acceptance.

Thank you .co for listening, for seeing us as we are, understanding us and giving us space to be ourselves.

10/19/2022

Great resource for folks wanting to practice recognizing and accepting their body sensations.

10/18/2022

When other people approve or agree with us, we feel great! We contort and manipulate ourselves to avoid judgement, and criticism, to be liked and cared for. And when they don't, we feel like s**t. This dynamic stops us from tuning into our own needs and leaves us at the whim of others.

10/11/2022

Its been 2 years since I’ve posted on this account. Wow, where have I been? I could perseverate as to the reason behind the hiatus or I could just accept it. I have decided to intentionally practice the latter.

2022 has offered me opportunities to continue walking with my fears and I feel honoured to announce that Kavita Patel and I have formally combined our practises and created . A space where human-ness can be explored, supported and managed with great compassion. I look forward to seeing you and hearing from you on this next stage of the journey.

With immense gratitude,

Annie

05/23/2020

Virtual therapy allows folks to continue their deep relationship with their therapist. Not only is virtual therapy as effective as in-person, you can have a session from the comfort of your own home, car or green space.

Dr. Brian Goldman takes listeners through the swinging doors of hospitals and doctors' offices, behind the curtain where the gurney lies.

05/21/2020

So really, how are you? Often times we blurt out “I’m fine” “all good” “managing” as a way to ease the person we are speaking with, to avoid being seen, to be socially appropriate, to ‘be positive’. Sometimes it’s necessary to keep our hypothetical mask on with certain folks in order to stay protected. And the mask has to come off sometimes. We have to be seen, be vulnerable to feel loved. Find someone who you can take your mask off with - even if it’s you standing in the mirror. Say “I’m not doing great, feeling really anxious” or whatever it is that you are feeling. And keep standing there, looking at yourself without your mask. You are worthy of love, worthy of space and worthy of your own honestly. Get honest with yourself today, even if it’s brief.
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05/21/2020

During this uncertain time I’ve noticed my body struggling. I’ve felt heaviness in my heart, sinking in my gut and tingling in my limbs, general fatigue more than my-usual. I recognize this as my anxiety response protecting me. My body (as all of our bodies) has been through so much in the last two months and I’ve offered myself MUCH more “self-love”. My self-love sounds like compassion and generosity towards my self-judgement, asking for help, looks like mindful and gentle movement and boundaries with family and friends (saying thank you and no!). This ability to recognize this experience is a privilege. I have time to do this. Time is my self-care routine. Taking time, showing up for myself.
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05/21/2020

Posted • I found some Facebook messages from like 6 years ago when I was cleaning out my inbox. Someone was sharing something pretty distressing with me and I quickly responded, “you’ll be fine!!!” and changed the subject. CRINGE

Ok we all make mistakes. But seriously, I am really guilty of this one. It’s a phrase that just flies out of your mouth. For me, it’s usually when I am distracted or just don’t have the bandwidth to handle it. Instead of setting a boundary or letting someone know, I try to just quickly throw this out. It’s a lazy attempt at empathy and allows me to get on with my day.

Some of you might even be reading this and rolling your eyes like, “what now I can’t say this either??!” You can say it. But lets be honest, there are only a few reasons why you might use this phrase:
1. You can’t handle the unknown and really want to reassure yourself that this person will in fact be fine.
2. You want to change the subject.
3. You know with 100% certainty they will be fine (how often do you really know this??) .

Don’t worry, you’ll be fine usually translates to…
“I know you’ll be fine so let’s not talk about it” .
“I know you’ll be fine so let’s not take the time to discuss your feelings” .
“I know you’ll be fine so let’s talk about me instead” .
“I can’t even face the fact that you might not be fine, so let’s just skip over that” .

I have heard this phrase in response to new diagnoses, getting a new job, an impending natural disaster…and more. Never once has it been helpful.

Maybe you’ll be fine, but that’s not the point. If someone is worried about something, they’re in the middle of a process and they have to work through that safely.

If someone is telling you they’re scared and you have the capacity to listen, do it. Ask questions. Get curious.

If someone is telling you how they feel and you don’t have the space, don’t leave them wondering. Tell them. Say that you can’t take this on right now.

How do you feel when people say things like, “Don’t worry! You’ll be fine!” ?? Also, yes the title of this post should be “things **you can say” whoops. 😬