Westlake Village Counseling

02/15/2025

Sending love to yourself and investing in yourself in this way is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself. Celebrate you and your loved ones today.

01/08/2025

Just remember to be kind to yourself. We all go through different phases and that’s okay. Some ways to help yourself is to focus on community and connection with loved ones. Also loving kindness meditations can really help you move through difficult times.

12/25/2024

What mindset will you hold onto into the New Year?

12/16/2024

Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean we need to get distracted by the hustle and bustle of it all. Please be sure to take some time for yourself to rest, recharge and love yourself. . . Image credit: Viktojadesigns

01/03/2024

I love this message. It’s so important to just take moments to look inward, pause, and listen so that we can connect with what feels authentic and realistic when setting intentions. What do you think about this message? Does it resonate with you?

06/26/2023

"A team of researchers led by University College London (UCL) and the University of the Republic of Uruguay has recently analyzed data from a large cohort of people aged 40 to 69 and found a causal link between regular daytime napping and larger total brain volume – a well-known marker of brain health leading to a lower risk of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. This surprising finding suggests that habitual napping may help preserve brain health by slowing the rate at which our brains shrink as we age.

“Our findings suggest that, for some people, short daytime naps may be a part of the puzzle that could help preserve the health of the brain as we get older,” said study senior author Victoria Garfield, an expert in Genetic Epidemiology at UCL."

Regular daytime napping increases brain health • Earth.com

05/14/2023

Sending support to those having a hard time navigating their feelings around Mother’s Day and the mother they do or do not have in their life.

These thoughts, words of support and flowers are for you 🌺

05/14/2023

Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, the caregivers, aunts and other motherly figures who raise us up and encourage us to grow, evolve and thrive. We see you, honor you and appreciate all that you do in helping us to feel loved, seen and supported.

11/25/2022

Happy thanksgiving to those who celebrate!

06/20/2022

How amazing is this? In about a month, on July 16th, there will be a version of 911 for mental health, 988. This will go a huge step towards destigmatizing reaching out for help, towards feeling like there is no place to go, and towards hopefully having mental health resources become for accessible to all. We should all understand that mental health is health, and just like going to a doctor for a broken bone or wearing glasses for vision issues, getting help for mental health should and can become normal.

05/08/2022

“In recent years, there’s been more acknowledgment that moms bear the brunt of domestic labor — both visible and invisible — whether or not they work outside the home. Moms are told they deserve self-care for their tireless efforts and they need to find time to practice it. But have these conversations actually lightened their load? Or have they just added more to their already very full plates?

People will point out that the martyr mentality is damaging and, in the next breath, glorify moms for attempting to “do it all.” Many women still feel immense pressure, internal and external, to keep all the balls in the air at the expense of their own well-being.“

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/good-mom-not-martyr-self-sacrific_l_6266d3bfe4b07c34e9e4ac0d?d_id=3475330&ref=bffbhuffpost&ncid_tag=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=us_main&fbclid=IwAR3yjE3YLKW9XPkA1-XXt5U-IeHsC6ry7PC1teViqnwCrN-g54nP9Zyq1oY

Let's stop praising moms for putting everyone else's needs before their own.

01/29/2022

“When Maia was a teenager, she noticed that in the winter, she didn't feel like herself. She says she was "just lying there for hours and hours, not knowing how to get out of bed and move or do anything." The songwriter from California doesn't use her last name to protect the privacy of her family. (She goes by mxmtoon, pronounced em-ex-em-toon, in her music.) It was hard for her to do basic things like eat a meal, drink water or even use the bathroom.

She tweeted about it. "I went on Twitter and I was like, am I crazy? Because I feel really sad right now." Lots of people tweeted back, telling her to look into seasonal affective disorder. So she talked to her parents and friends and realized they all felt the same way.

Rosenthal says if you feel like things are getting more difficult every fall when it gets darker earlier, but you feel better in the bright days of spring and summer, you may well have SAD.”

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/23/927135639/coping-with-sad-or-seasonal-affective-disorder?utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR3bWdwg9gIcQvu8wXBtVFb9U6B1KA8M5a9Wegwb5oG6KG5D-k3ZOoU9X1M

It's getting darker and colder, and there's still a pandemic. Oh, and then there's seasonal affective disorder. Here's how to spot it and what you can do.