Katie Mead, Registered Psychotherapist

12/17/2025

We keep asking teens to be more resilient while giving them less room to breathe.

Teen anxiety isn’t a sign of weakness: it’s a response to a world that asks a lot of developing minds and bodies.

Between academic pressure, social comparison, constant online stimulation, and chronic sleep loss, adolescents are carrying more than most adults realize. Their brains are still building the skills to regulate these intense emotions, which makes anxiety a natural response: not a failure.

What really helps isn’t telling teens to “calm down” or “toughen up.” It’s:
✅ Providing safety and connection
✅ Offering structure and realistic expectations
✅ Creating space to regulate and recover

When we respond with understanding instead of judgment, we give teens the conditions to build real resilience.

💬 Question for the community: What small action have you found helps a teen feel safe and supported? Share below!

12/16/2025

Teen anxiety isn’t a character flaw or a parenting failure.

It’s often a nervous system responding to pressure, uncertainty, and overload.

When we shift from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What’s happening for you?”, real support begins.

12/16/2025

A kid who hasn’t given up. Parents who haven’t either. Frustration on both sides—until the moment they finally meet each other there 🥰

The most meaningful sessions are the ones where everyone is trying—and suddenly, something clicks. They see each other. Real contact happens. And it’s deeply...

12/12/2025

12/10/2025

After 16 years, I reconnected with a dear friend I first met in Barcelona back in 2008. I’ll admit: I had a brief moment of “What if we don’t click anymore?”

But the second I stepped out of my rental car in front of her dreamy Alcossebre home, it felt like no time had passed. Four days of sunshine, wine, laughter, dogs, and easy conversation reminded me how deeply I’d missed this kind of connection.

She welcomed me not just into her home, but into her community: people who opened their arms without hesitation. In a world that’s getting more AI-driven by the minute, these human moments feel even more essential.

This trip has shown me, again, that community is at the heart of everything I want LUMI Retreats to be. Real connection. Real belonging. The stuff you can’t manufacture.

Feeling grateful - and excited to build, alongside my amazing friend, what comes next...

12/10/2025

Driving from my friend’s tiny village in Pézènes-les-Mines toward Barcelona, my playlist suddenly dove into classic Canadiana. Blue Rodeo + the Pyrenees = a surprising mix that stirred up all kinds of feelings about going home.

It made me think about what home really is. A place? People? For me, this trip clarified that home is something we carry: held in the relationships and communities that shape us. And we can build new ones without losing the ones that came before.

It’s also clearer than ever that community is the first pillar of LUMI Retreats. Everything starts there.

12/09/2025

Episode 31 has dropped...and it's all about discomfort & adventure :)

Step outside your comfort zone and embrace the thrill of the unknown. 💪 What’s the last new thing you dared to try?

12/06/2025

A single green shoot growing out of an ancient stone wall in Pézènes-les-Mines.

A reminder that resilience isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like quiet persistence in unexpected places.

Opportunities don’t always show up where we expect them. But they are there.

12/06/2025

12/06/2025

Present Now, Future Bright 🌞