Hi BASK friends. While this time of year is often characterized as a happy, joyful time, unfortunately, this season can be very painful when we are grieving someone who has passed away, gone through a major upheaval, or when a relationship of any kind has been damaged or has been broken and we have had to let it go.
The year of firsts when we have lost someone are often the most painful. If you have lost someone close to your heart, please know that you are not alone and don’t have to feel merry just because others do or want you to. When you are grieving and your heart is hurting, it is even more essential that you let yourself feel your feelings and take care of yourself. This is unapologetically doing what makes you feel happier, peaceful, and/ or more relaxed. If you need to be around others, seek opportunities to spend it with people you enjoy. If staying in and being alone is what you need, go for it. If you need a blend of that, that is perfectly okay. It can be comforting to practice traditions that help you feel closer to your loved one and honor him or her. If memories of the holidays remind you of pain and/or trauma, acknowledge and make space for your feelings and consider ways to start letting go of the painful memories. One way to do this is to start your own holiday traditions. Finally, with any kind of loss, be sure to talk to your loved ones about how celebrating the holidays makes you feel and collaborate and/or share what would help you feel more peaceful.
May the memory of your loved one and special times you shared carry you through this difficult time and may you find peace as you start to let go of painful memories.
I wish you peace in your hearts always and during this holiday season.
With a grateful heart,
Kerry
This has been an unbelievable time in our lives in which the role and tasks of motherhood take on a new meaning of their own. For most mothers I know, myself included, we are burned the eff out. It is a level of exhaustion that I have never felt before in my life. For so […]
Kristi from parentself-care.com and I did a special collaboration called Winter Break Wellness to support parents. There is great information in there for non-parents too. Click on our article below to read. Staying Sane (and Having Some Fun Too!) During a COVID Holiday Break Also, we have a wonderful Winter Break Wellness Guide summarizing our […]
Dear BASK friends, Today, I want us to hold space for what Mother’s Day means because it can be complicated. One of the main driving forces for me to create BASK is becoming a mom. In my motherhood journey, I quickly realized how much more I needed to learn and practice how to take care of […]
Hello my BASK friends! One very important part of self-care is getting to express yourself through being creative. Ever since I was a little girl, I have enjoyed making things whether it is through cooking, playing music, dancing, or my favorite, doing arts and crafts. Looking back, my creativity likely has a lot to do […]
Dear BASK friends, I am writing to share with you some words that I hope will help you cope during this scary and uncertain time due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. In my home, we are entering the second week of social distancing and staying to ourselves as a family. As we all know, […]
Hi BASK friends! I love Halloween and have ever since I was a child. I actually chose my college, Ohio University, because of their well known Halloween shenanigans. I am just kidding. No, not really. I still dress up because it is so freakin' fun to let your creative flag fly. 😉 As a kid, […]
Every morning when I see that the bed has been made by my husband, who has left for work, I feel so happy and relaxed. Literally, a weight is lifted and I can take a deep breath. I know it seems like a small gesture, but when I see this, I feel seen. I feel […]
Hello BASK friends! Sleep is the foundation of wellness. It has numerous health benefits, which include mood regulation, memory consolidation, focus and attention improvement, body restoration, and weight and food regulation. Unfortunately, sleep is not easy for all of us. Most of my clients report difficulty falling asleep at some point or points in their […]
Hello BASK friends! I hope you all have had a great week and whether it has been trying or not, I hope that you can take some time to recharge and fill your cup. One way we can fill our cup is through touch and in particular, hugs. It is well known that babies in […]
Dear BASK friends! I hope 2019 is off to a great start for you.Traditionally, many people make fitness and "losing weight" their top priorities and New Year's resolutions. However, these goals often don't come to fruition and some reasons are because the motivation for exercise is often about achieving a certain aesthetic, rather than "feeling […]
Hi BASK friends. While this time of year is often characterized as a happy, joyful time, unfortunately, this season can be very painful when we are grieving someone who has passed away, gone through a major upheaval, or when a relationship of any kind has been damaged or has been broken and we have had […]
Hello BASK friends! As a mother of two highly spirited (aka strong-willed 🙂 ) children and a psychologist, I have happily learned that there is a better path to peace and emotional healing than what has been traditionally taught in the last 20 years. I like to know why things are recommended instead of just […]
Happy Friday, BASK friends! This is a two-part series on winter holiday traditions. Many people do not live near their extended families and when you have good connections with your family, it can be really painful to not be there physically to celebrate. One way to take the sadness out of feeling homesick during the […]
Welcome! I am glad that you are here. Yesterday, I had a bad day. We all have them and this one was right before my birthday. Maybe it is to help my birthday shine.:) If you want to learn how to recover and deal with a no good, very bad, horrible day, please read on. Mine […]
Hello BASK friends! While today is a special day that brings many families and individuals in the United States together, for people who struggle with body image problems and eating disorders, it is also a time that is filled with tremendous anxiety and dread. This information is for those who struggle and it is […]
I am one of four children from a loving supportive family and have lived more than half of my life away from my family of origin. I have led a different path. Two of my siblings stayed in our city and my youngest who has lived on each coast, is back on the East coast. […]
Hello! Today is World Mental Health Day. It is so important to take care of our own mental health and not take it for granted. As a psychologist, I have the tools, training, and compassion to be able to help others. I have so much respect for my clients who are all so brave and […]
One of my favorite TV moments was when Claire Dunphy from Modern Family was on a trip to Hawaii and her husband urged her to relax. She said, "I'm a mom traveling with her kids. It's not a vacation, it's a business trip." I am here to tell you that we can and for the […]
Hello BASK friends! With my experience as a suicide prevention trainer, consultant, and mental health provider, I wrote this article to help you feel more empowered and skilled in helping someone who is suicidal. September is Suicide Prevention Month and today, September 10th, is World Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide prevention is everyone's job. Suicide is the 10th leading […]
Hello BASK friends! I hope you all have been having a good week and that you are enjoying the challenges from the earlier weeks. We are in Week 4 of the BASK Body Positivity Challenge. I am late in writing for the week because I am trying to take better care of myself, by getting […]
Hello BASK friends! We are already in week 3 of the Body Positivity challenge. For this week, I would like you to focus on "how" you can "unlock" your self-love by showing how you can love your body. This can sound really hard. Actually, it is easier than you think. I work with amazing, insightful, […]
Hi Everyone! Thanks for stopping by. I am excited to introduce myself since there are so many new faces here. This will be my longest post. I promise. I am having a blast starting out in this new realm of social media and have really enjoyed connecting with many enthusiastic, inspiring, talented, and supportive people. […]
Hello BASK friends, I am so glad that you are here. I want to remind you to sign up for the BASK Body Positivity Challenge, if you haven't already done so. To read more and register, please click here. It is not too late. For week 2, we are focusing on body appreciation and what […]
Summer overnight camp for a first-time camper is a huge decision for parents and their children. Many families experience worry about when and if they should send their child(ren) to overnight camp. Does this sound familiar? It is akin to my father’s advice of how life is full of happy-sad moments. Basically, as parents, we […]
Just like feelings, food is neither good, nor bad. It is just fuel. As a mother, psychologist, and parent of a competitive gymnast, I am well aware of the dangers of instilling unhealthy eating attitudes in others, especially children. When I think back to so many of my clients who have struggled with eating disorders, […]
Hello BASK friends. As you may know, I am a clinical psychologist and have the privilege to work with men and women who struggle with body image and other concerns. Body image struggles and eating disorders do not discriminate. Let's be real. Men feel just as much pressure as women to achieve or maintain a […]
I come from a family of smart asses. Yep. Some of the best are in my lineage. Thanks, Dad, Mom, Kev, Kris, Katie, Pete, and so many more. You have taught me really well. "Above my Paygrade"is a joke in our house that we say when someone asks us to do something that we really […]
Hi Everyone, You may have heard that May is Mental Health Month. For this month, I am excited to provide a roadmap about how to begin the process of finding professional support when one is suffering from a mental health problem. If you are suffering or are concerned about a loved one or friend and […]
I am a big believer in the power of positive thought. Not only have I seen it work with my clients, but there is evidence that shows what happens to the brain when one engages in negative thinking versus positive thinking. Dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (adrenaline), the three main chemical messengers in the body that […]
Hello friends! January is already over and I am really late to the party on making resolutions. Last year, I had a pretty kick a$$ list. My therapist even said so. 🙂 Thank you very much. This year, I am boiling it down to the most essential ingredients. My 2018 is all about intentionality and […]
Several days have gone by and I've been thinking about how to respond to the horror and explicit discrimination, hatred, and violence shown by white supremacists, white nationalists, the alt-right, KKK, NeoNazis, etc. to people of color and protesters against white supremacy this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia and so many other cities and states […]
Hi and welcome to Body Appreciation and Self-Kindness (BASK).com. Here at BASK, you will find all kinds of information about ways to celebrate body appreciation and embody self-kindness. Learning how to appreciate one's body and treat one's self with kindness leads to lives that are happier, balanced, and more fulfilling. When we follow this path, […]
My husband and I have vowed to teach our children about the value of money from an early age. We have a 3rd grader and a pre-schooler. The one battle that my husband and I find ourselves fighting is the war against marketing to children. Advertisers and marketers bi-pass parents and market directly to children. […]
I am a clinical psychologist with years of education and clinical experience. But, just because I am a clinical psychologist, it does not mean I have it all figured out when it comes to human behavior. Some of my most head scratching, challenging, yet rewarding moments have been as a mother of my two young […]
As my husband and I have started to learn more about connecting with our children, we have been getting down to basics thanks to our own family therapy support. It sounds so simple, but since it had not been part of our daily life, we have had to work at it. What is special […]
Everywhere you look these days, there is a book, a smart phone application, or an article about coloring for stress relief. Coloring books have been for kiddos for as long as I can remember. It all started to change when I had children. Seven years ago, I remember being at a gymnastics meet and seeing […]
