Self-Care Lessons from Regenerative Braking
My family recent got our first electric vehicle. It’s been fun to get used to all the new ways EV’s work and gamify our commute to see how much battery we use or save. One of the exciting features of hybrids and electric vehicles is the concept of regenerative braking. It’s normal and good to need times to stop and recharge our batteries (this is part of why the importance of sleep cannot be overemphasized for our mental and physical wellbeing). Between re-charges, regenerative braking offers us a more holistic, and often realistic path forward. Our daily lives are full of moments that require us expending energy, and moments that restore our energy, sometimes even in the same experience! Self-care following regenerative braking encourages us to keep a mindful balance of our internal battery life, pushing and exerting when required, and then leaning into something restoring or slowing down
A Therapist’s Top Mental Health & Wellbeing Book Recommendations
Therapy is a big investment of time, energy, and financial resources. And while I whole heartedly believe that therapy can be a profoundly healing experience that equips people with tools to live healthier, more fulfilling lives, it really is what you put into it. Merely attending a 50 minute session each week isn’t going to magically change your life. The winning combination is a willingness to show up and do the work in session, and implement those changes throughout your week.
One of my favorite recommendations for my counseling clients is to supplement our work with some intentional reading. By adding some adjunctive therapeutic reading (psychobabble term: bibliotherapy) on certain topics you want to change, then working to make those incremental changes can really help your healing process. So here are my most recommended mental health/well being & personal growth therapy books:
Reciprical Relationships: How to Take Up More Space in Relationships
The idea of “taking up space” may feel a bit confusing. Imagine “manspreading” - that guy on BART who is sitting with his legs spread, even though the train is crowded, leaving those next to him squished to make themselves smaller. Ladies, I know you know.
That same idea can be true relationally.
Am I Codependent?
Codependency is a bit of a psychobabble buzz word - but what is codependency? Codependency describes a set of traits and features of unhealthy dependence on another for that one’s emotional well being. This term is often used within the realm of addiction, but codependency can surface in other relationships as well.
Ultimately, people who struggle with codependency will not feel okay unless others are okay. There is a blurred line between one’s own thoughts, emotions, and needs and the thoughts, emotions or needs of another person.