The Cactus Flower Blog
Biofeedback: A Promising Approach to Managing Stress and Improving Mental Health
Constantly feeling overwhelmed by stress and struggling to find effective ways to manage it? If so, you're not alone. We are more stressed out than ever, and stress impacts both our mental and physical health. But there is a promising approach that could help manage stress and improve your mental well-being: biofeedback.
The Power of Secure Attachment: Unlocking Emotional Resilience and Well-Being
In a world that often feels lonely and chaotic, finding connection promotes emotional resilience and well-being. We are hardwired for connection. One of the most powerful ways to achieve this is through secure attachment.
The Benefits of Therapeutic Wellness for Your Mind and Body
By addressing the root causes of stress and other mental and physical health issues, therapeutic wellness can help you feel better and live a more fulfilling life. Learn more about the benefits of healing your mind and body and how to get started on your journey to better functioning and improved quality of life.
Healing from Emotionally Abusive Relationships
Emotional abuse may not leave physical wounds, but it can leave emotional wounds that require healing and care. Healing from emotional abuse can take time, but it’s possible to heal and be ready to accept love from yourself and others, put your trust into others, and develop gentle and healthy relationships.
Body Acceptance: Tools for Using Compassion to Heal Your Relationship with Your Body
When it comes to body image, many of us cringe. My goal is not to tell you how to change your physical body, but rather, how you can change your mindset and the way you relate to your body - and create the body acceptance you (and your body) deserve.
Therapy for Women
Being a woman in today’s society can be filled with numerous struggles. From juggling major tasks like motherhood, having a career, taking care of others, while also somehow finding time to take care of one’s self, it can be difficult to handle. Seeking out therapy for specific women’s issues can be incredibly beneficial, and might even be vital for life improvement.
Connection and Compassion amidst Social Isolation
The world is indeed a different place than it was just a few years ago. Factors of assurance such as stable jobs, affordable housing, available food, and transportation resources are harder to find. If you are like many, you likely have dealt with a variety of emotions, sensations, and experiences during the last couple years. Learn how to create and nurture compassion and connection for yourself and in your community.
The Emotional Rollercoaster: Perimenopause and Mental Health
Menopause has been portrayed as the time in life when women lose both their fertility and their minds. Portrayals of hormonal, hysterical women who can turn on you in an instant are common - when menopause is even mentioned at all. But what about the period before menopause? What do we know about perimenopause and mental health - and why is no one talking about it?
Why Do I Dissociate During Therapy?
If you have ever “spaced out,” or lost track of time daydreaming, you have experienced dissociation. Dissociation is normal and a regular function of the human brain. It is a type of coping that our body learns in order to help keep us safe. If you’re in therapy, it can be confusing when you start to dissociate during session. You feel safe, you have tools, but sometimes it happens.
Treating Anxiety without Medication
If you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you know it can feel like you’ve lost some control over your life. Often times when we decide to reach out for help, we get prescriptions. Sometimes we begin to feel reliant on our medications and less confident in our own ability to manage and control anxiety. Here’s the good news: We can treat anxiety without the use of medication. Learn the tools you can use to manage anxiety without medication.
Mental Wellness for Mothers: Why it Matters Most
What are the words most often used to describe a mother? Strong. Brave. Patient. Perfect. And yet - mother to mother - we know the inside truths, sometimes we struggle with our mental wellness. What can we do to feel better when we carry so much? The best way to honor our mothers is to honor their needs for rest and wellbeing.
Losing It: How Anxiety Can Lead to a Fear of Going Crazy
If you have ever had a panic attack you know how uncomfortable and scary they can be. Maybe you start to fear that you are going crazy and losing control. If this sounds like you, know you’re not alone. And that there are ways to manage your anxiety and support yourself during panic attacks.
Attachment Styles and How They Affect Adult Relationships
If you’re wondering why you may be experiencing the same behaviors and patterns in every relationship, it may have to do with your attachment style! Are you jealous, pull away when your partner gets close, get too clingy or feel anxious when not with your SO?
Working Through the Past: When and Why We Should Forgive
Maybe you have always been told to, “forgive and forget,” or turn the other cheek. Why should we forgive others? Is not offering forgiveness holding us back in some way, or can it be helpful? It all depends on how you define forgiveness.
Why Do I Attract Toxic People
Ever wonder why all the mean and hurtful people seem to gravitate to you? Keep reading to learn about how you might be attracting toxic people. And learn how to repel them instead.
A “How To” Guide to Setting Boundaries with Parents
Maybe you’re wondering what boundaries are, why they’re important, and how to go about establishing them with your parents. If you are feeling like your parents won’t leave you alone, trust you to make decisions or give you unwanted advice, then you’ve come to the right place.
I Can't Handle Adulthood: What Do I Do?
Whether it’s your commute to work, work load, student loan debt, the pressures of dating, getting an oil change, doing household chores, or remembering to buy more toilet paper and dish soap, the responsibilities of an adult life can feel overwhelming and difficult to handle. Learn how you can embrace your life and start loving, OK…tolerating, being an adult.
Somatic Flashbacks and Trauma: How Your Body Holds on to Painful Memories
Painful experiences, and the trauma that can result, don’t just live in your brain, they are also stored as body memories. Learn how to cope with flashbacks and heal your body and mind.
5 Confidence Building Exercises
You are told to “be more confident,” “believe in yourself,” “don’t be so hard on yourself,” and you think, “well that’s a lot easier said than done.” It may seem hard, but it is do-able, you CAN feel better, using these confidence building exercises.
Struggling with How to Get Over Something: Tips for Letting It Be
You keep yourself distracted with social media, television, and constant background noise, but when it gets quiet, those negative thoughts creep back in. That horrible thing you did five years ago, the time that boy hurt your feelings in fifth grade, the painful breakup you had six months ago. You probably just want it to go away and wonder how to get over something that happened in the past.