Danielle Austin, LMFT, Shine Counseling Services, LLC

12/30/2025

12/23/2025

12/17/2025

There’s something 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 about this quote by Gabor Maté. It names what so many of us feel but don’t always know how to explain. That the pain we carry isn’t because we’re broken, but because at some point we maybe learned to move away from who we really are in order to cope, survive, or even belong.

Most of us didn’t disconnect from ourselves on purpose. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. Through needing to be strong. Through needing to be liked. Through learning not to feel too much, not to say too much, not to need too much. Over time, that distance can show up as anxiety, exhaustion, self-doubt, or a sense that 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, even when life looks fine on the outside.

What I love about this quote is how it reframes healing. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰. It’s about coming back. Returning to the part of you that was always there beneath the patterns, the defences, the ways you learned to protect yourself.

A simple place to begin is noticing when you override yourself. When you ignore your body. When you silence your own truth. And then gently asking, “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐲?”

That kind of reconnection doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen when we slow down, when we allow ourselves to feel, and when we create space to listen inward again. 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬.

If any of this resonates with you and you feel ready to let go of the patterns that keep you disconnected from your own inner voice, I’d love to invite you to join us:

𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝟏-𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 • 𝟏𝟎𝐚𝐦–𝟔𝐩𝐦 • 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐨. 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐤

The new year invites us to pause, breathe, and reconnect with what truly matters. To let go of what we’ve been carrying and step forward feeling 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞.

If this speaks to you, 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 👇

12/17/2025

When a child is melting down, our instincts can take over — and not always the helpful ones.

We might lecture, rush to fix, or tell them to calm down… but these actually block co-regulation rather than build it.

Let’s talk about what not to do — and what to try instead — so we can truly help a child borrow our calm instead of our chaos.

via The Contented Child, Child Wellbeing Consultancy