Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Seven Types of Rest - Why Time Off Didn’t Recharge You

If you’re resting but still feel drained, sleep may not be the kind of rest you actually need. This article explores why guilt around rest can keep you exhausted and introduces the seven types of rest—physical, mental, emotional, sensory, creative, social, and spiritual. By reframing rest as essential rather than lazy, it offers practical ways to restore energy, reduce burnout, and support your overall wellbeing, helping you feel more refreshed, present, and resilient in everyday life.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

If Go to Therapy’ Is on Your Resolutions List, Read This First

Deciding to start therapy can feel both hopeful and intimidating, especially if you’re not sure what to expect. This article offers clear, supportive guidance for finding the right therapist, understanding different credentials and approaches, and preparing for your first session. It walks you through what typically happens in an initial appointment, how to assess fit, and what to do if it doesn’t feel right—helping you begin therapy with confidence, clarity, and realistic expectations as you move into the new year.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

IFS Therapy For When The Holidays Make You Feel... Off

The holidays can stir up grief, anxiety, impulsivity, loneliness, and old family patterns—often all at once. When familiar stressors activate different “parts” of you, it’s easy to feel out of control or frustrated with yourself. This article offers a compassionate introduction to Internal Family Systems, helping you recognize common holiday-driven parts and understand their protective roles. Through acknowledgment, Self-leadership, and support, it explores how to navigate seasonal stress with more clarity, steadiness, and self-compassion—without losing yourself in the chaos.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Finding Calm and Joy in the Holiday Season—Without Forcing Cheer

When stress runs high, even small moments of warmth or appreciation can help your nervous system settle and open the door to joy. This article explores how tiny positive experiences—like sensory awareness, gratitude, and intentional reflection—can shift your perspective without denying what’s hard. Through gentle journaling prompts that look back, around, and forward, it offers practical ways to reconnect with calm, meaning, and emotional warmth during the holiday season and beyond.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

What Is Emotional Acceptance? Learning to Make Peace with Your Inner World

We all face heavy emotions—anxiety, grief, anger, and fear—that can feel uncomfortable or overwhelming. When they show up, it’s tempting to push them away or judge ourselves for feeling them at all. This article offers gentle guidance on emotional acceptance, exploring how mindfulness, cognitive defusion, and ACT principles can help you make space for difficult feelings without letting them control your life. Through practical techniques, it shows how acceptance builds resilience, clarity, and deeper alignment with what matters most.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Tis The Season To Be Stressed Out (But You Don't Have To)

As winter closes in and the year-end rush intensifies, stress can creep in fast—leaving you overwhelmed, overextended, and unsure how to keep functioning without burning out. When deadlines pile up and expectations rise, it’s not just the workload that feels heavy, but the pressure to perform, please, and hold everything together. This article offers compassionate guidance for understanding the “parts” within you that drive this stress, and explores how IFS, boundaries, and somatic tools can help you stay grounded, capable, and connected to yourself through demanding seasons.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Why Should I Go To Therapy When They're The Problem?

Arguments with loved ones can leave you replaying every word and wishing things would change, especially when it feels like someone else is the source of the problem. When conflict becomes a pattern, it can leave you feeling powerless, unheard, or unsure what to do next. This article offers compassionate guidance for understanding your emotions, reclaiming your agency, and considering therapy as a supportive path—helping you navigate challenging relationships without sacrificing your peace or sense of self.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Do I Hate Winter or Is This Seasonal Depression?

For many people in Saskatchewan and beyond, winter brings more than just cold weather—it can trigger seasonal depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). While occasional frustration with snow and short days is normal, SAD is a recurring condition that deeply impacts mood, energy, and well-being. This article explores how to recognize the signs of seasonal depression, why self-care alone may not be enough, and how therapy can offer hope, support, and a path toward feeling like yourself again.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

Supporting a Spouse Through Mental Illness: How to Love Without Losing Yourself

Loving a spouse through mental illness can be both beautiful and exhausting. When depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges affect your partner, it can shift the rhythm of your relationship and leave you feeling unseen, drained, or unsure how to help. This article offers practical and compassionate guidance for supporting your partner while protecting your own emotional well-being—exploring empathy, boundaries, communication, and self-care so you can love deeply without losing yourself in the process.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Stillness as a Spiritual Practice (and How You Can Practice It Even When Life is Anything But Still)

Life rarely slows down, yet the Christian practice of stillness invites us to pause, breathe, and reconnect with God—even in the midst of chaos. Rooted in Scripture, embraced by centuries of believers, and supported by modern science, stillness nurtures our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. This article explores why stillness matters, how it impacts mental health, and practical ways—like breath prayers—you can weave it into your daily rhythm, no matter how busy life gets.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

A Student's Guide to Staying Well in University: Building Resilience to Support Mental Health

University can be exciting, challenging, and overwhelming—all at once. Between new freedoms, heavy workloads, and shifting identities, it’s easy for stress and mental health struggles to creep in. This article is a practical guide to staying well in college, offering grounded, evidence-based tips for building resilience, creating supportive routines, managing stress, and knowing when to reach out. You’ll learn how small, intentional habits can protect your mental health now and strengthen you for the future.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Attention as Connection: Recognizing and Responding to “Bids for Connection”

Relationships thrive on the small, everyday moments we often overlook. Psychologist John Gottman calls these “bids for connection”—the subtle ways people ask for attention, affection, or understanding. Whether it’s a casual question, a gentle touch, or a sigh at the end of a long day, these signals are opportunities to strengthen closeness. This article explores what bids look like, why we often miss them, and how therapy and intentional responses can help deepen connection.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

What Being Present Actually Means (and How to Get There)

If you’ve ever felt like life is a blur of tasks and distractions, you’re not alone. Many of us move through our days on autopilot, missing the small moments that make life meaningful. Being present isn’t about clearing your mind or achieving perfect calm—it’s about awareness, grounding, and noticing what’s happening right now. This article breaks down myths about presence, explores why it’s challenging, and offers practical strategies to help you slow down and reconnect.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

Untangling Depression: What Attachment, Brain Science, and Psychology Can Teach Us

Depression is more than sadness—it’s a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and relational factors that can impact the brain, body, and emotions. Shaped by early attachment patterns and neurological processes, it’s not a personal failure but a treatable condition. Insights from neuroscience, attachment theory, and trauma-informed therapies offer hope by addressing root causes, promoting healing, and leveraging neuroplasticity to rewire the brain. Understanding depression opens the door to recovery, resilience, and renewed emotional connection.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

How Therapy Can Help When Everything Is Changing

Change can be overwhelming—even when it’s expected or wanted. Whether you're facing a life transition that’s cracked open old emotions or simply struggling to adapt, therapy offers a steady, supportive space to navigate the chaos. This article explores why change feels so hard, how therapy can ease the burden, and how working with a therapist (especially one who honours your faith) can help you process, adapt, and grow—without having to do it all on your own.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Understanding Your Window of Tolerance: Why You’re Not “Too Much” or “Too Numb”

Do you feel like you’re constantly overreacting—or not reacting at all? That might not be a personal flaw, but a sign your nervous system is outside its window of tolerance. This article explores what that means, why it happens, and how you can begin to expand your emotional capacity. Whether you’re often anxious, shut down, or both, understanding your nervous system can help you respond to stress with more compassion, calm, and control.

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Bryce MacEwen, BSW, RSW Bryce MacEwen, BSW, RSW

Towards Human Flourishing: What Christian Counselling Can Gain from Humanistic Psychology

What can Christian counselling learn from humanistic psychology—without compromising biblical truth? This article explores the shared values and important differences between these two frameworks, offering a thoughtful look at where they align and where they diverge. From empathy and dignity to identity and moral authority, we consider how Christian counsellors can integrate helpful tools while remaining grounded in Scripture. The goal? To offer care that is both compassionate and Christ-centered, rooted in grace, truth, and transformation.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

Finding Calm Within: How Guided Visualization Supports Anxiety and Trauma Recovery

When anxiety or trauma overwhelms your body, it can feel like there's no safe place to turn—even inside yourself. Guided visualization offers a powerful, science-backed way to reconnect with calm. This gentle practice helps you soothe your nervous system, build inner safety, and develop emotional resilience. Whether you're in therapy or exploring self-help tools, guided imagery can be a grounding, healing practice you can return to anytime stress rises or past pain resurfaces.

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Jess Trachsel Jess Trachsel

Somatic Practices for Dealing with Stress in Your Body

When stress takes over, it’s easy to feel stuck—either revved up with anxiety, flooded with anger, or totally shut down. Somatic practices offer simple, body-based techniques to help you self-soothe and return to a sense of safety and presence. In this article, you’ll learn accessible tools like butterfly tapping, box breathing, and movement-based regulation to calm your nervous system. These aren't just therapy tools—they’re everyday strategies for anyone feeling overwhelmed and wanting to feel better.

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SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness SoulSoothe Counselling & Wellness

Social Media, Self-Esteem & Mental Health: How to Set Digital Boundaries That Work

Social media is deeply woven into our daily lives—but its impact on our self-esteem can be more powerful than we realize. From comparison traps to the constant craving for validation, our digital habits shape how we see ourselves. This article explores the psychological effects of social media, the science behind why it affects us so strongly, and practical ways to set healthier boundaries—so you can reclaim your confidence and foster more meaningful connection, both online and off.

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