Joelle Bangsund, LCSW, LLC

12/01/2025

12/01/2025

In moments of intense anxiety or panic, the mind can feel trapped in a loop of racing thoughts and overwhelming fear. But research and mental health experts are discovering that something as simple as sour candy may offer surprising relief, through the power of sensory distraction.

During a panic attack, the brain’s threat system goes into overdrive. Your heart races, breathing quickens, and you may feel out of control. Sour candy can help interrupt this cycle by shocking the senses. Its intense taste and sharp flavor instantly capture your attention and redirect it away from anxious thoughts.

This technique is rooted in grounding, a method used in cognitive behavioral therapy. Grounding helps people stay present by focusing on strong external stimuli. Sour candy works quickly because it activates both taste and salivary reflexes, forcing the brain to process something new and immediate instead of the fear-based signals it was stuck on.

Therapists often suggest keeping sour candies, like lemon drops or sour gummies, on hand for those who deal with panic attacks or high anxiety. While it’s not a cure, it can provide fast, effective support in the middle of an episode, helping to calm the nervous system and slow the spiral.

It’s a reminder that small tools can make a big difference. Managing mental health often comes down to having the right strategies ready in the moment.

So next time anxiety strikes, a tiny burst of sour might just bring you back to center.

11/21/2025

My brain is on overload after a great training today! Time for Thanksgiving break! 🦃

11/03/2025

Be the kindness. ❤️

“Tell her,” I whispered to my daughter as she pressed her body against mine.

She wrapped my free arm around her little shoulders while I finished loading the groceries onto the conveyer belt.

I smiled at the young cashier who had streaks of blue and purple swirling into her otherwise jet-black ponytail.

My daughter was right when she’d whispered to me, “Her hair is so pretty.”

“Tell her,” I repeated with a little nudge.

My girl only dug her pink cheeks deeper into my side as she nervously twisted the hem of my sleeve in her small fist.

The cashier looked down at my daughter, her expression mostly bland with a hint of concern.

“My daughter thinks your hair is beautiful.” I explained.

The cashier’s face lit up. “You do?”

This coaxed my little one from her hiding place. She looked up and nodded.

“Thank you so much! You made my day,” the cashier said with a smile brilliant enough to compete with her highlights.

My daughter returned it with a beaming smile of her own.

As I walked out of the store, holding my daughter’s hand, I stole a glance back at the young woman. Her energy was clearly brighter now than it had been when we first entered her line.

After loading my groceries in the trunk, I climbed into the driver’s seat. It was then that my daughter made a declaration, “Mom, I think I’m gonna start telling everyone when I like their hair.”

“You should, honey.”

And she did.

She still does.

It’s a rare occasion if we make a trip out in public without her telling someone that she loves their hair, or nails, or shirt, or shoes. To be honest, I think she even does so more than me. And it’s one of my favorite things about this girl.

She learned, at a very young age, the power in raising up others. She learned that by simply telling people when you see beauty in them, you elicit the beauty of human connection.

So maybe we should all take this lesson to heart. Maybe next time you see something you admire, whether it’s her hair, her clothes, or her actions… Maybe you should muster up the courage to tell her.

Because that small second of effort on your part could be the one thing that makes her entire day.

Just tell her. ♥️

©️ Mehr Lee
Raise Her Wild

10/31/2025

10/25/2025

It’ll pass soon! And then, the next one…. 🤦🏼‍♀️

😂

10/07/2025

Stop wasting your energy trying to control or convince people.

When you Let Them, you see who they really are. And then you decide what happens next.

This is exactly what it means to use The Let Them Theory 💚 Learn more at LetThem.com

09/24/2025

Keep going, the world needs you!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CEh51Pt81/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Ernest Hemingway once wrote: The hardest lesson I have had to learn as an adult is the relentless need to keep going, no matter how broken I feel inside.
This truth is raw, unfiltered, and painfully universal. Life doesn’t stop when we are exhausted, when our hearts are shattered, or when our spirits feel threadbare. It keeps moving—unyielding, indifferent—demanding that we keep pace. There is no pause button for grief, no intermission for healing, no moment where the world gently steps aside and allows us to mend. Life expects us to carry our burdens in silence, to push forward despite the weight of all we carry inside.
The cruelest part? No one really prepares us for this. As children, we are fed stories of resilience wrapped in neat, hopeful endings—tales where pain has purpose and every storm clears to reveal a bright horizon. But adulthood strips away those comforting illusions. It teaches us that survival is rarely poetic. More often than not, it’s about showing up when you’d rather disappear, smiling through pain no one sees, and carrying on despite feeling like you're unraveling from the inside out.
And yet, somehow, we persevere. That’s the quiet miracle of being human. Even when life is relentless, even when hope feels distant, we keep moving. We stumble, we break, we fall to our knees—but we get up. And in doing so, we uncover a strength we never knew we had. We learn to comfort ourselves in the ways we wish others would. We become the voice of reassurance we once searched for. Slowly, we realize that resilience isn’t always about grand acts of bravery; sometimes, it’s just a whisper—“Keep going.”
Yes, it’s exhausting. Yes, it’s unfair. And yes, there are days when the weight of it all feels unbearable. But every small step forward is proof that we haven’t given up. That we are still fighting, still holding on, still refusing to let the darkness consume us. That quiet defiance—choosing to exist, to try, to hope—is the bravest thing we can do.
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What’s the hardest lesson you’ve had to learn as an adult, and how has it shaped you?