When I was a teenager and young adult, I feel like I couldn’t stop making impulse decisions and made most of my choices based on my gut feelings alone.

Now that I’m an adult, I feel like I can’t make an impulse decision to save my life! 😅

My anxiety drives the bus 🚌 so much more than it did when I was young- instead of being chronically impulsive, now I’m a chronic overthinker!! 

I think it’s important in all realms of life to practice skills we need to work on, so today I’m going to try and “trust my gut” on something and just go with it- obviously I’m not talking about anything risky or dangerous- but maybe ordering a coffee I don’t usually get or taking a different way to get to work, just to challenge the ol’ thinker. 

Love this art from @bethdrawsthings

Went for a hike this weekend in #ForestPark here in Portland. Trying to get out into the woods more since the weathers been cooler! 

Nature 🌼 has a hugely understated affect on our mental health. Studies show spending time outdoors can reduce levels of anxiety, increase our happiness and sense of connectedness, increase focus and attention, and helps us bounce back from stressful situations quicker.

Evidence shows that having more regular exposure to green spaces 🌿 decreases our chances for anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders. Spending time outdoors had also been proven to decreases cortisol levels, reduces blood pressure, and can even reduce chronic pain. 

As a society, we have not yet accepted that nature can function as such a strong protective factor for both mental and physical health!

Has anyone experienced positive effects of nature on their body or mind? I want to hear your stories! 💚

Some thoughts around trauma for your Saturday morning ☕️:

Trauma is such a strange beast- everyone’s experience of trauma is unique and each person copes with trauma differently. Two people could go through the same event and have completely different experiences and reactions to the what happened.

The new definition of trauma is when your internal resources (your mental health, coping skills,exercise, belief system, mindfulness, etc) and external resources (stable environment, financial factors, supportive people in your life, a therapist, etc) are inadequate to cope with a situation. 

Some people’s threshold for trauma could be much lower than others due to these internal or external factors. 

You never know what others are going through and it’s ok to have a different experience of trauma than others! 🌊 You are coping the way you need to, no judgements necessary!