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Real Life Self Care?

By Fran Westwood

emotions human flourishing mental health

Posted: October 28, 2025

As October winds down, there is less and less natural sunlight in the morning, and the days darken earlier.For many people, less light contributes to less energy in the body. Historically in northern climates, late autumn and winter were seasons of slowing down and conserving energy and warmth in order to survive harsh winters. In our current world we don’t slow down for any season of the year, save a few days or weeks of vacation booked when we can afford the time off.

Thanksgiving: Gratitude (or Grace)

By Fran Westwood

Thanksgiving

mental health gratitude self compassion

Posted: October 9, 2025

Thanksgiving: Gratitude (or Grace) Practices of gratitude are mentioned often in the world of mental health, and for good reason. Intentionally identifying something you’re thankful for can encourage both slowing down in the midst of our frantically busy days, and it shift in attention helpful...

Self Compassion

By Fran Westwood

mental health

self compassion wisdom of your body

Posted: September 16, 2025

Cultivating self compassion introduces a kinder way of being with yourself. This translates into how we treat ourselves, and each other. It may not completely replace the harsh voices, the judgements, shame or angry outbursts. But self compassion invites noticing of our inner world and how we speak to ourselves, which over time translates into growth. It invites a pause, a noticing, even the recognition “wow, I am having such an unkind thought about myself” can create awareness, and that means distance between ourselves and that thought. When we can realize a part of me is thinking, feeling or acting a certain way, but not the whole of me, it stops feeling like the ultimate truth.

From Individualism to Interconnectedness

By Fran Westwood

mental health

interconnectedness therapy human flourishing

Posted: September 16, 2025

Many people living in the Western world have been shaped by predominantly individualistic values that view a person and their problems in isolation from other factors. This could be understood as part of the heritage of Western rationalism that was furthered during the Enlightenment period beginning in the 17th century. The focus on scientific reasoning in this period placed a high value on breaking things down into their smallest parts to study and make sense of them, as well as prioritizing the mind and mental reasoning over the body and emotional life. The Western world of mental health is shaped by this individualism; historically this has looked like the tendency to pathologize issues related to relational and cultural traumas, as well as viewing symptoms through a mental and scientific lens of diagnosis rather than a holistic view that includes a person’s emotional life, trauma, culture and history of relationships.

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