30 August 2016

Another 10 signs of burnout & 7 ways to fight back

10 sings you are burning out, from Globe & Mail.

1. Health problems.
2. Cognitive difficulties.
3. Difficulty with work and personal relationships.
4. Taking your work home with you.
5. Fatigue.
6. Negativity.
7. Decreased satisfaction.
8. Losing your motivation.
9. Performance issues.
10. Poor self-care.

7 ways to combat burn out from the same article above.

1. Disconnect (digitally/electronically).
2. Pay attention to your body signals.
3. Schedule relaxation.
4. Stay away from sleeping pills.
5. Get organized.
6. Take regular breaks during the workday.
7. Lean on your support system.

27 August 2016

Book Review: Dating Game Secrets For Marrying A Good Man

Title: Dating Game Secrets For Marrying A Good Man
Author: Alisa Goodwin Snell, LMFT
Publisher: Bonnevile Books (Springville)
Audience: Women and Men dating, Counsellors, Therapists
Subject: Dating tips for recorgnizing an abusive or manipulative personality
Summary: Goodwin-Snell goes through the dangers and risks of dating, but also discusses ways of being confident and successful while dating. The goal is being able to wade through the emotions and hormones of dating and look at a potential partner logically: risky behaviour, manipulative thought patterns, abusive traits, emotionally immature, etc. While tailored for a female audience, it is a fit for men too. I frequently use the appendixes to open discussen about taking responsibility and being emotionally mature.
Score: 9/10 - Very helpful, hands on and applicable.
Amazon: $7.50 on Kindle

25 August 2016

10 Things You Could Learn in Home Economics

1. Make Soup Stock
2. Cook Great Soups, Braises + Stews
3. Ferment Your Own Foods
4. Churn Butter
5. Grow Food
6. Sew (Simple Things)
7. Make Vinegar
8. Make Your Own Cleaning Products
9. Make Yogurt
10. Bake Bread

Read the whole story at Rodale's Organic Life.

23 August 2016

Dementia is more than memory loss


My mom shares her early experiences with dementia with the Alzheimer Society Canada.

My diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer's has helped me become better acquainted with my expressive side.
Surprisingly, I've started writing poetry. It's not something that's going to get published, but for me this has been amazing.
My form of Alzheimer's is particularly aggressive. I likely have no more than 10 years. You know how people say to live life as if you were dying? I get permission to do that.
Read the rest here.

20 August 2016

Book Review: The Art of Happiness: A handbook for living

Title: The Art of Happiness: A handbook for living
Authors: The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, MD.
Publisher: Riverhead Books (New York)
Audience: Anyone looking at increasing or understanding Happiness
Subject: Happiness in daily life
Summary: Cutler shares his experiences and insights he gathered from the Dalai Lama. So while the book was not penned by the Dalai Lama, it is his insights and guidance into the purpose of life, intimacy, compassion, suffering, and so on, that Cutler shares. While I believe in reading a book through, I often recommend Chapters 8-14 depending on what the struggle is: suffering, pain, anger, anxiety or self-esteem.
Score: 8/10
Amazon: $20.99 on Kindle

16 August 2016

12 ways to teach emotional intelligence at home or school


  1. Learn about the science of the brain. 
  2. See a live performance and talk about emotions. 
  3. Read related non-fiction books.
  4. Use an app like Happify. 
  5. Dissect the memory process. 
  6. Write about emotions and memory. 
  7. Talk (and listen!) with your kids. 
  8. Compare humans and animals. 
  9. Read fiction and talk about emotions. 
  10. Help kids recognise what they can and can’t control. 
  11.  Make memories your kids will draw from. 
  12.  Eat about it.

13 August 2016

Book Review: Between Husband & Wife: Gospel perspective on marital intimacy

Title: Between Husband & Wife: Gospel perspective on marital intimacy
Authors: Stephen E. Lamb, MD; Douglas E. Brinley
Publisher: Covenant Communications (American Fork)
Audience: Married or dating Latter-Day Saints, Mormons; Counsellors, Therapists
Subject: Marital intimacy in Latter-Day Saints
Summary: Dealing with intimacy amongst the Latter-Day Saint population is always difficult, as it is not a topic that is discussed openly and typically left to couples themselves to figure out. Lamb and Brinley take on the task of discussing the honeymoon phase, sexual intimacy, sexual dysfunction, and the mechanics of human sexuality; all with a doctrinal and scriptual backing. Concluding with 20 questions that they are frequently asked.
Score: 6/10 - A good read for the engaged and newly wed couple to open up the discussion of sex (which may have been a taboo subject for years)

Amazon: $4.12 on Kindle

12 August 2016

The Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) defines counselling

Dr. Glenn Sheppard wrote an article in the latest CCPA magazine, COGNICA, that contained a definition for counselling which was adopted by the CCPA:
Counselling is a relational process based upon the ethical use of specific professional competencies to facilitate human change. Counselling addresses wellness, relationships, personal growth, career develop, mental health, and psychological illness or distress. The counselling process is characterized by the application of recognized cognitive, affective, expressive, somatic, spiritual, developmental, behavioural, learning, and systemic principles.
The following is also the scope of practice. The counselling profession:

  • Is attentive to and responds to diversity and inclusiveness;
  • Works in the best interest of individuals, couple, families, groups organizations, communities, and the public-at-large; and
  • Works in the domains of cognition, emotion, expression, somatics, human development, behaviour, learning, and interactive systems.

09 August 2016

Core principles of attachment parenting



  • Stage 1: The Need to Be With
  • Stage 2: The Need to Be Like
  • Stage 3: The Need to Belong
  • Stage 4: The Need to Matter
  • Stage 5: The Need for Emotional Intimacy
  • Stage 6: The Need for Psychological Intimacy
Read the full article by Kids in the House here.

06 August 2016

Book Review: Weakness Is Not Sin: The liberating distiction that awakens our strength

Title: Weakness Is Not Sin: The liberating distiction that awakens our strength
Author: Wendy Ulrich, PhD
Publisher: Deseret Book (Salt Lake City)
Audience: Latter-Day Saints, Mormons, Christians, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Therapists.
Subject: Distinguishing the role of shame and sin.
Summary: I appreciated the way that Ulrich tackled shame, by helping to identify it and the ways that shame can be replaced with humility and godly sorrow. Ulrich shares insights and provoking thoughts that help challenge our beliefs about weakness and sin, in a comfortable non-shame-based way.
Score: 8/10 - highly recommended for the LDS population.

Amazon: $12.39 on Kindle

05 August 2016

BlackBerry shows how a wifi kettle could compromise your network



IMO - while it is great to have many things connected to your wifi for ease of use, this shows that without proper security, those extra gadgets may be an access point for hackers.

02 August 2016

5 Tips to break your screen addiction

I love the one line: "Addicted to Distraction"

Here are Jon Krop's 5 ways to quit your screen addiction:

1. The next time you take the subway, try not to pull out your phone, a book, or any other distraction from the time you board until you reach the next stop.

2. When you need to walk somewhere, experiment with leaving your headphones in your pocket.

3. Let's keep it real: You probably read on the toilet.

4. Make your morning device-free.

5. Speaking of notifications, do you really need to hear about it every time someone Snap-grams your Yik Yak?