Self-Love Harbor

Self-Love Harbor Our approach is centered on helping you reconnect with the ability to develop self love, and underst

Self-Love Harbor’s approach is centered around finding a wellness balance, through self love and understanding the role that thoughts have on our mood. The use of art, fitness, body movement, music, meditation, are some of the most popular techniques in our approach to mental health, wellness, and Spiritual coaching. Our Mind Body Soul program helps our clients achieve ultimate self awareness, balance and happiness. The Founder, Stella Vidal, authored the critically acclaimed book, "7 Intentions to a Happier YOU!,” available on Amazon.com or in our shop at www.stellavidal.com

My ❤️ is so full of GRATITUDE today. 🌈Thank you, from the bottom of my corazón, to every single person who has supported...
11/27/2025

My ❤️ is so full of GRATITUDE today. 🌈

Thank you, from the bottom of my corazón, to every single person who has supported my mental health & wellness practice, and my holistic vending machine, .loveclub1111 ** business. 🌱✨

Gratitude is one of the *highest vibrations* we can embody, right alongside love. When we choose gratitude, we tune into everything that’s vibrating at that same frequency — and our **neurons and cells literally rejoice**. 🧠✨🧬 Our bodies feel it. Our spirits feel it. Our relationships feel it.

To **my patients**: thank you for trusting me to be your partner in your **holistic mental health healing journey**. It is an honor to sit with your pain, your hope, your growth, and your joy. Your courage inspires me every single day. 🕊️💫

To **those who know me personally**: you know this year has been incredibly challenging *and* deeply rewarding. There have been tears, breakthroughs, endings, and beautiful new beginnings. Thank you for standing by me, holding space for me, praying for me, laughing with me, and loving me through it all. I am so, so grateful you are part of my personal journey. 🤎

I love you all. I don’t say that lightly.
Enjoy this day with your familias, your loved ones, and most importantly, with yourselves. May you feel grounded, loved, and held. 🌷

Love you! Stella

“Trauma is the loss of connection to self  stemming from the need to survive.  Healing is the reconnection to self and t...
11/19/2025

“Trauma is the loss of connection to self
stemming from the need to survive.
Healing is the reconnection to self and the restoration of a sense of safety.”

So many of us learned to disconnect from ourselves not because we were “broken,” but because, at some point, it was the safest and smartest thing we could do.

We shut down feelings.
We abandoned our needs.
We silenced our voice.
We left our bodies and lived in our heads.

That wasn’t weakness.
That was survival.

From a holistic lens, trauma isn’t only about *what happened* to you. It’s also about what had to *go offline* inside you so you could keep going – your intuition, your joy, your ability to feel, trust, and rest in your own body.

Healing is not forcing yourself to “move on.”
Healing is a gentle homecoming.

It looks like:
- Learning to feel again, at a pace that feels safe
- Letting your body know, slowly, “You’re not in that moment anymore”
- Reclaiming your voice, your boundaries, your needs
- Finding safety in relationships that honor who you are
- Remembering that you are more than what happened to you

This reconnection is sacred work. It’s slow, non-linear, and deeply personal. Some days it looks like breath, a glass of water, and saying “no.” Other days it looks like grieving what you lost while honoring how brilliantly you survived.

If this resonates, please remember:
There is nothing wrong with you.
Your nervous system did exactly what it needed to do.
And it is possible, over time, to feel safe enough to come back to yourself. 🌱

🕊️ You deserve a life where your body feels like a home, not a battlefield.

If you’re on this journey of reconnection, you’re not alone. I hope this helps. Stella🤍

“It is safe to overrun the patterns of the past and be open to a new timeline.” This 1111 portal is here for you to rele...
11/11/2025

“It is safe to overrun the patterns of the past and be open to a new timeline.”
This 1111 portal is here for you to release what no longer serves you without fear. It is time to allow faith and gratitude to guide toward a life of newness and joy. And so it is!

“ Breathe, expand— take up space, it is your birthright.”Taking up space isn’t arrogance; it’s a regulated nervous syste...
11/05/2025

“ Breathe, expand— take up space, it is your birthright.”

Taking up space isn’t arrogance; it’s a regulated nervous system, secure attachment in action, and a reclaiming of agency. Many of us learned to shrink through fawning or going quiet. Clinically, expansion increases connection, engages the vagal nerve, and widens the window of tolerance—supporting voice, posture, breath, and authentic presence. 🌿

What expansion looks like in the body:
- Posture: align head over heart over hips; soften jaw; widen collarbones; feel both feet on the floor. This counters collapse and signals safety. 🧠
- Breath: slow, nasal, diaphragmatic with a longer exhale (e.g., inhale 4, hold 2, exhale 6). Longer exhales cue parasympathetic regulation. 🫁
- Gaze: soften your eyes and take in the whole room (panoramic vision). Orienting decreases hypervigilance and supports ventral vagal tone. 👀
- Movement amplitude: reach a little farther, take a fuller step, let your gestures match your words. Increasing range helps the body learn “there is room for me.” 🌀
- Voice prosody: steady pace, full volume, natural melody. Audible, resonant speech helps the brain register “I am here and safe to be heard.” 🔊
- Environmental choices: sit at the table, take the middle seat, place your water and notes where you can see them. Small spatial claims build somatic evidence of belonging. ✨

You don’t need permission to be seen. Let your breath widen, your posture rise, and your presence take its rightful space. This is nervous system safety, not ego. You belong here—fully. 💛

I hope this helps. I love you. Stella. ❤️

🌿✨

“We have to feel our trauma to heal it.” ❤️‍🩹When we stop suppressing and allow ourselves to feel (safely, in tolerable ...
10/27/2025

“We have to feel our trauma to heal it.” ❤️‍🩹

When we stop suppressing and allow ourselves to feel (safely, in tolerable doses), real changes happen in the brain and body:

- Emotional brakes turn back on: the prefrontal cortex re-engages, helping you think clearly while the amygdala (alarm system) quiets. 🧠
- Memories update: recalling pain in a safe context allows “memory reconsolidation,” so the brain stores it as past, not ongoing danger. 📚
- The body completes stress cycles: trembling, tears, heat, or sighs are your nervous system releasing stored activation; over time cortisol and adrenaline settle. 🫁
- Fragmented becomes coherent: the hippocampus time-stamps events, stitching scattered flashes into a story you can understand and carry. 🧩
- Triggers lose power: through exposure-like learning, your “window of tolerance” widens, so feelings feel manageable instead of overwhelming. ⚖️
- More compassion, less shame: language and perspective return, making space for meaning-making and self-kindness. 💛

- Seek support from a trauma-trained therapist (e.g., ETF-CBT, somatic approaches).
- If you feel overwhelmed, pause and re-ground.

Gentle note: This is general education, not medical advice. If you’re in crisis, contact local emergency services or your country’s crisis line right away. I hope this helps. Love you. Stella ❤️🫶

😵‍💫Shame isn’t the enemy — it’s a protector 💛As a Latina holistic psychotherapist, I want you to know: shame often shows...
10/23/2025

😵‍💫Shame isn’t the enemy — it’s a protector 💛

As a Latina holistic psychotherapist, I want you to know: shame often shows up to keep us safe from the pain of old memories. It’s like a protective part that whispers, “Stay small, stay quiet, don’t risk it,” so we don’t have to feel grief, fear, or rejection again. Mi gente, that makes sense — especially if staying invisible once helped you survive.

Clinically, shame is a self-conscious emotion tied to safety and belonging. In the body it can feel like a dropped gaze, tight chest, nausea, freezing, or wanting to hide. Over time, shame can plant core beliefs like “I’m not worthy,” “I don’t deserve a new beginning,” or “good things aren’t for me.” Then we self-sabotage, isolate, or choose the familiar over the healthy — not because we’re broken, but because our nervous system is trying to protect us.

Gentle ways to move through shame (mind–body–culture)

1. Name it kindly.
- “This is shame, not truth. Hi, “protector” — thank you, and I’ve got us now.” 🫶

2. Differentiate guilt vs. shame.
- Guilt: “I did something wrong.” Shame: “I am wrong.” We can repair behaviors; we don’t have to condemn ourselves.

3. Ground your body.
- Press your feet into the floor, inhale 4, exhale 6 (5–10 rounds). Look around and name 5 things you see. Let your body feel “now,” not “then.” 🌿

4. Soften the inner critic.
- Swap “I’m too much/not enough” with “I’m learning to take up space.” Try: “Estoy practicando ser amable conmigo.” Use self-compassion instead of judgement.

5. Take micro-steps toward joy.
- 15 seconds of courage: send the email, step outside, say yes to the invite. Celebrate tiny wins — they rewire safety and worthiness. ✨

6. Protect your energy.
- Gentle boundaries with people/situations that trigger old shame. Curate your feed; mute what feeds comparison.

You are not your past. You deserve love, joy,and a life that fits your spirit. If this resonated, save it, share it with alguien you love, and drop a 💛 to claim your new beginning.

Amores, where we place our attention… our feelings follow 💗🧠✨ When depression, shows up, one of the most healing moves w...
10/15/2025

Amores, where we place our attention… our feelings follow 💗🧠✨ When depression, shows up, one of the most healing moves we can make is to align our attention with our values, our purpose, our pasión.

Clinically, this matters: purpose and passion give the nervous system an anchor, reduces rumination, and supports action over avoidance.

When we’re lit up by passion, our brain shifts. The reward system releases dopamine (motivation and momentum), the prefrontal cortex comes online (focus and decision-making), and emotion centers can settle. Over time, those “purpose pathways” strengthen—hello, neuroplasticity—making it easier to choose what matters even when anxiety whispers otherwise. 🔥🌿

As a Latina psychotherapist, today I’m living in my dharma y pasión. I opened my holistic wellness mental health center, and every single day I get to witness humans move through grief, panic, heartbreak, and self-doubt—toward courage, connection, and meaning. With my passion as fuel, I aim to be a steady force for others, a reminder that yes, you can overcome the hard things and write a new story. Mi gente, your path is sacred and your presence matters. 🤍

If you’re navigating anxiety and depression :
1. Name your intention for today (e.g., compassion, creativity, familia).
2. Aim your attention there—one small action.
3. Notice how your body shifts when you act in alignment.
4. Repeat gently; tiny steps rewire the brain.

You are not behind. You are becoming. Keep going. 💫

Photo dump October! One of the most transformative months of my life. What I’ve learned:✴️It’s not about our timing. It’...
10/14/2025

Photo dump October! One of the most transformative months of my life. What I’ve learned:

✴️It’s not about our timing. It’s God’s timing.
✴️ Anxiety is our inability to feel safe when we don’t know the answers or what is coming ahead. Happiness lies in sitting in the discomfort and breathing until our nervous system feels safe.
✴️It’s ok to say no even if it upsets people. Your boundaries are as important as other’s expectations of you.
✴️It’s ok to rest but don’t give up.
✴️The way we look on the outside is a direct connection to how we feel on our inside. Take time to nurture you.
✴️It’s never too late to start over. You are meant to be happy not matter your age.
✴️ When life throws you a curveball learn to use whatever bat you need and keep hitting that damn ball!
✴️ Cherish the people who see your worth and stop sweating those who can’t see your value in their lives.

I hope this helps. Love you!! Stella
❤️

Quiet reminder from your holistic psychotherapist 😉: the answers you’re seeking are already within you. 🌿Buddhist teachi...
10/06/2025

Quiet reminder from your holistic psychotherapist 😉: the answers you’re seeking are already within you. 🌿

Buddhist teachings invite us to turn toward our inner experience with curiosity and compassion. When we pause, breathe, and listen, we reconnect with the quiet wisdom beneath noise, fear, and comparison. This is not about “fixing” yourself—it’s about remembering yourself.

What happens when we chase validation:
- Anxiety rises as our worth depends on others’ approval.
- We abandon our inner compass and over-index on “shoulds.”
- Dopamine spikes from likes/attention create a fragile feedback loop.
- We people-please, overperform, and feel emptier afterward.
- Our nervous system stays on high alert; rest and joy feel out of reach.

Inward practices to anchor your worth:
1) Hand-to-heart breathing: 4 slow breaths. Whisper, “I belong to myself.”
2) Inner check-in: What am I feeling? What do I need? What’s one kind step I can take?
3) Truth statement: “Even if no one sees this, it is still meaningful to me.”
4) Boundaries audit: Where am I saying yes for approval? What would a self-honoring no sound like?
5) Gentle presence: Place one palm on your chest, one on your belly. Feel the support that’s here now.

Journal prompts:
- “When I seek approval, the part of me that’s afraid is saying…”
- “If I trusted my inner wisdom 5% more today, I would…”
- “Validation I can give myself right now is…”

You don’t have to earn your worth. You can breathe into it. Your inner teacher is patient—and always available. ✨

This post offers general support and isn’t a substitute for therapy. If you’re struggling, reaching out is an act of self-respect.

🧚The power of our imagination is merely our connection to the field of all possibilities.🧚‍♀️Visualization is one of the...
10/03/2025

🧚The power of our imagination is merely our connection to the field of all possibilities.🧚‍♀️

Visualization is one of the most powerful tools when we are attempting to manifest our desires.

I speak to my mental health patients about the importance of visualizing while engaging their senses, as if they are living through their imagined desires. It’s not enough to simply want something, it’s imperative to spend quiet meditative time tapping into the field of all possibilities where all of possible timelines exists.
I hope this helps. Love you. Stella 💕

❤️

Uncertainty isn’t the enemy—it’s the doorway out of old conditioning 🌈As an immigrant Latina psychotherapist,  I learned...
09/26/2025

Uncertainty isn’t the enemy—it’s the doorway out of old conditioning 🌈

As an immigrant Latina psychotherapist, I learned this when the familiar was gone and found myself n a whole new world. Our latin culture and the familiar scripts—“no te equivoces,” “no hagas olas”—“don’t make mistakes, “don’t make waves,” were my guide once.

I left my home at 17 only 6 months into coming to the US due to difficulties at home. I quickly embraced uncertainty and made it my blueprint for life. I realized that safety and freedom aren’t the same. 💜
When we step into uncertainty, we loosen the grip of those scripts and meet our authentic self.

Believing in yourself in the middle of chaos is an act of liberation. 🦋 Your nervous system may crave the predictable, but your soul knows when it’s time to grow. Familiar doesn’t mean aligned.

Try this gentle practice to break free from past conditioning

- Name the script: “This is the part of me that fears mistakes.”
- Choose one small brave action in the direction of your desires.
- Ground in your body: feel your feet, exhale longer than you inhale.
- Tell yourself: “Estoy conmigo. I can trust myself.”

You don’t need the whole map or plan to move. Cada paso con fe te libera. Every step forward with faith frees you. Even within the chaos, you are becoming. ❤️

Flowing, Not Forcing 🌊When we try to force things to happen, the nervous system slips into fight/flight: cortisol rises,...
09/23/2025

Flowing, Not Forcing 🌊

When we try to force things to happen, the nervous system slips into fight/flight: cortisol rises, the prefrontal cortex dims, and we get tunnel vision.
😳

Presence and awareness of the present moment widens the Window of Tolerance, strengthens vagal tone, and brings back clarity, creativity, and connection. 🫶🏼

Flow isn’t passive—it’s aligned action. As seen in Taoism, it’s “wu wei”: effort that doesn’t strain. 💕

Non‑attachment isn’t apathy; it’s commitment without clinging. Make sure to hold the intention, release the timeline, and breathe within faith 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Try this:
Take 4–6 breaths focusing on longer exhales to cue the vagus nerve and engage the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
- Orienting: name 3 things you see and 3 you hear—come back to now.
- Micro‑pause: “Is this push or pull?”
- Body-led planning: organize by energy, not anxiety.

When you root in the present, life stops being a project to control and becomes a relationship to trust. ✨I hope this helps. Love you. Stella ✨

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17800 W. Dixie Highway
Aventura, FL
33160

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