Find Rest Counseling, LLC

07/03/2025

We live in a world that teaches us to move on quickly. To push through. To stay productive.
To smile, even when we’re hurting.

Maybe you learned early on that there wasn’t room for your pain.That it made others uncomfortable. That it got dismissed, punished, or ignored.

So you adapted.
You shut it down.
You got really good at surviving.

But over time, those survival strategies—numbing, avoiding, over-functioning, pretending—can become prisons.

Maybe overachieving once kept you safe—but now you can’t rest without guilt.

Maybe shutting down helped you survive chaos—but now you feel numb even in moments that should bring joy.

Maybe people-pleasing kept the peace growing up—but now you don’t know what you want or need.

Here’s what I’ve seen again and again: Unattended pain doesn’t disappear.

It burrows deeper—into the body, the nervous system, the way we relate.

It leaks out sideways as anxiety, chronic tension, irritability, disconnection.

It begins to shape how we see ourselves, how we love, and how safe we feel in our own skin—and in the world.

And yet—slowing down to feel can feel terrifying. Especially if no one ever taught you how to feel without judgment or shame.

That’s why curiosity is such a powerful—and radical—act of healing. Curiosity says: “I don’t have to fear this pain. I can learn from it.”

It invites us to sit beside the part of us that’s hurting, rather than trying to silence it.

It might sound like:
✨ “What is this emotion trying to tell me?”
✨ “Where have I felt this before?”
✨ “What part of me is showing up right now?”
✨ “How did this reaction once keep me safe?”

This is the heart of what I guide people through in integrative trauma therapy. Not just symptom relief, but reconnection.

Because when pain finally feels heard, it doesn’t have to build walls. It begins to soften.

And that moment of listening? That’s where healing begins.

It’s not always fast or easy. But it’s honest and real. And it ultimately leads to transformation that lasts.

06/18/2025

Some of the most resilient people I meet in trauma therapy don’t look like they’re struggling at all.

They’re highly capable. Driven. Empathetic. They hold it together in public, take care of everyone else, and have mastered the art of “pushing through.”

But here’s the thing:
Functioning isn’t the same as healing.
Adapting to pain isn’t the same as moving beyond it.

Our minds and bodies are incredibly smart when it comes to survival. We learn to cope in ways that help us keep our pain at bay - like staying overly independent, avoiding conflict, overachieving, or putting everyone else’s needs first.

These patterns often start as protection. And they work - until they start getting in the way of what we actually need.

While you might look fine on the outside, your body might still be bracing. Your relationships might still feel distant. Your joy might still feel like something you have to earn.

Healing is what happens when we stop just performing wellness and start tending to the parts of us that never got the chance to feel safe, held, or whole.

It’s slower. It’s messier. It’s deeper.

And it doesn’t mean erasing the ways you adapted. It means understanding them, honoring them - and slowly giving your system permission to live beyond them.

Not perfectly. Not all at once. But in ways that let you feel more present, more connected, and more at home in your own life.

05/21/2025

For years, terms like “big T” and “little t” trauma were used to help explain that not all trauma looks the same.

Big T trauma usually refers to events that are obvious and acute ( accidents, abuse, violence, or natural disasters).
Little t trauma is often quieter, but just as real (chronic disconnection, emotional neglect, bullying, growing up unseen or unsupported),

The terms were meant to help us make sense of it all. But over time, I’ve realized: they can also get in the way.

When we call something “little t,” we risk minimizing it - not just to others, but to ourselves. We start to wonder: Was it really that bad? Shouldn’t I be over this? Do I even deserve to call this trauma?

But trauma isn’t about the size of the event. It’s about the impact. We each carry different histories, nervous systems, and relational wounds - so what overwhelms one person might not even register for another.

That doesn’t make it “less”. It just makes it yours.
The language we use shapes how we heal. So instead of asking, “Was it big T or little t?”- what if we asked:

🔹Did this experience overwhelm a part of me?

🔹What story did it leave me holding about myself or others?

🔹Is there a part of me that still reacts as if I’m not safe?

🔹Have I ever felt truly seen in the pain this caused me?

🔹What would it look like to bring compassion to that part now?

05/18/2025

The vagus nerve! It's like the unsung hero of our nervous system. Often forgotten about it’s so important.

1. *Regulates heart rate and blood pressure to reduce stress.

2. *Aids Digestion and gut health*: It stimulates digestive processes, including the release of digestive enzymes, and helps regulate gut motility. Gut/Brain connection!

3. Modulates inflammation & affects immunity.

4. Influences mood and stress response*: The vagus nerve produces neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.

5. Supports respiratory function .. influences breathing & conditions like asthma.

These activities can help promote relaxation, reduce stress, and support overall well-being.

05/02/2025

03/26/2025

03/26/2025

Two things can be true at once!

01/29/2025

Thought about counseling?
Give us a call to begin your healing journey!
All of our clinicians have openings at this time 😊

01/19/2025

Save this if you’d like to learn more about CPTSD… 💫

Complex post traumatic stress disorder, thank flip, is getting talked about more both in the psychology world… which is rippling out into platforms like this one…

CPTSD is a mental health difficulty that results from prolonged &/or repeated exposure to traumatic events, particularly when you were powerless to these events (think little children, in abusive households - they’re not able to escape, they stay in these abusive homes for years…)

This type of trauma often includes experiences like long-term domestic violence, childhood physical or s3xual abuse, & or situations of neglect & deprivation.

Your mind & body hold onto these memories, over many, many years. And what this does is wreak havoc within your nervous system.

As a little person it would have meant you needed to spend extended periods in freeze/ or shutdown, but as an adult now this nervous system response is likely to cause difficulties for you.

In my client work I am all about working in the phased base approach.

This is where we:

1. Develop an understanding of the trauma through psychoeducation/ learning skills drawn from polyvagal theory
2. Processing the trauma through somatic therapies like EMDR or DBR
3. Reconnection back into life again

If you’d like to learn more about polyvagal theory/ your nervous system…

I have a FREE webinar, just say REGULATE & I’ll send you it!