Online Counseling and Coaching for Tennessee

Empathy can be a beautiful gift to possess. To be able to understand and share the feelings of another can open the doors to healing unlike anything else. However, being empathetic with expectations--such as the expectation of acknowledgment, praise, or expecting an effort of equal or greater in the future--will leave you feeling burned out, used, and resentful. Likewise, your capacity to empathize and care for someone else is not a bottomless well. Acknowledging your personal limits doesn't mean you're selfish; it means you're human. Learn to love, care, and show empathy within the boundaries of your heart. #healthyboundaries #empathyquotes #mentalhealth #connections #relationships #therapy #counselingworks #healingjourney #kstherapygrams #kstherapyandconsulting

During this time of year, it’s easy to look all around and see the things we wish we had. Our minds are filled with the sounds and images of what it “means” to have achieved the perfect holiday. The perfect gifts. The perfect party. The perfect decorations. The perfect homemade meal. The comparisons are endless, and if corporate America has anything to say about it, that is exactly how it will stay. Sadly, striving for perfectly unattainable perfection leaves us blinded to all that is good… and beautiful…and real. Striving for better in life isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if it comes at the cost of losing our ability to recognize the good, we will be left emotionally and spiritually bankrupt—allowing our minds to constantly convince us that every achievement is somehow a failure and that every win is somehow a loss. When we process everything around us through a negative and highly critical filter, all we are left with are feelings like disappointment, envy, guilt, anxiety, and sadness. This holiday season (and every day after) let’s stop setting the bar of expectations so impossibly high that we lose perspective of what is good (family, friends, health, laughter, warmth, rest, time) if not maybe even…great. #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #perspective #expectations #peaceofmind #anxietyawareness #therapyworks #counselingworks #counselingpsychology #kstherapyandconsulting #kstherapygrams

Setting boundaries can be difficult enough, but even more challenging when your boundaries exposes someone else's poor ability to cope. Remember--you cannot thrive while others emotionally bleed you dry. #mentalhealth #boundaries #healthyrelationships #counselingworks #therapyworks #therapy #mentalhealth #thrive #kstherapyandconsulting #kstherapygrams

So much is talked and written about generation trauma, and for good reason. Research has shown how the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of trauma can be passed down from one generation, to the next, and to the next. It's important to understand this relationship and to acknowledge its power, but the work shouldn't end there. No longer does pain need to be your legacy, rather let it be peace...forgiveness...hope...acceptance...healing. Break the chains put in place by the mistakes of those who came before you. You were made for more. You are capable of more. You deserve more. #therapyworks #counselingworks #counselingpsychology #trauma #healing #traumarecovery #itsokaynottobeokay #kstherapyandconsulting #kstherapygrams #mentalhealth

Even the wounded yearn for connection, unfortunately they often get trapped in the push and pull of trying to connect (pull)with others, and trying to protect (push) themselves from pain. This can be exhausting for everyone involved. If this is you, or someone you love, there is hope. Working with a licensed mental health professional can help rewire the way you connect with others and build relationships. Don't let another day pass fighting to connect. Free yourself to love. #mentalhealthmatters #therapyworks #connection #counselingworks #itsokaynottobeokay #wounds #kstherapygrams #kstherapyandconsulting

Pain has a way of penetrating our souls. First, in the thoughts you have, to the emotions you feel, and then to the way you behave. And before too long, we find ourselves subconsciously choosing to reinforce this monstrous invader by continuing the same insults that broke you in the first place. Leaving you feeling exhausted, lonely, and hopeless. Healing from pain and trauma is hard! Understanding your power and personal responsibility in its continued existence can sometimes feel like a bridge too far. But…it’s not. Taking responsibility is a key step in taking back power—the power to heal…the power to forgive…the power to live the life God intended for you to live. Taking responsibility is not forgetting what caused you so much pain. It is choosing to no longer be a willing participant in your own suffering. Life is too short. Begin your healing journey today. #healing #mentalhealthmatters #therapyworks #trauma #pain #counselingworks #mentalhealth #healingjourney #kstherapygrams #kstherapyandconsulting

Don't let someone try and make you responsible for their pain by dragging you down with their insults, manipulation, and controlling behavior. Rise up. Be strong. Hurt people will hurt people, but that doesn't mean it has to be you. #kstherapygrams #kstherapyandconsulting #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #therapyworks #boundaries #counseling #bestrong #knoxville #counselingworks

Fear is a natural and normal response meant to keep us alive in the face of real danger. When not kept in check, it can dominate how we think, feel, and behave. Fear, when fostered and fed, can alter your sense of reality. Suddenly there is a threat where previously there was none. The places where you once felt safe and secure begin to feel as if they are shrinking while the darkness around you expands. Joy, peace, and contentment fade away, replaced with anxiety, suspicion, and paranoia. While there is no denying the darkness that exists in our world, letting ourselves become consumed with it allows it to morph into an even greater threat than originally feared. Ignoring all rational thought, fear will feed off the darkness like a starving beast in the wild—only this beast is never satisfied. If you have found yourself stuck in a place of darkness, it’s time to fire off the distress flare for help. A mental health professional can assist you in taking back control and finding your way back to the light. #kstherapyandconsulting #kstherapygrams #mentalhealth #therapyworks #counselingworks #fear #anxietysupport #therapy #psychology #hope #licensedprofessionalcounselor #itsokaynottobeokay