Carrick Counseling & Consulting

This week marks a year of being in a pandemic. A year of isolation, six feet apart, pods, and zoom meetings/school/celebrations. A year of social and political unrest, financial ruin, deaths, fear and prayer for the frontline workers, an increase in depression and suicide rates, and crumbling of marriages and families.... All while no hugs are allowed. No physical connection. No feeding off of facial expressions. Learning how to cope in a world where there’s no manual on how to tell your kids over and over and over that I don’t know when you’ll be able to see your friends and teacher and normal consistent routine where you finally get a break from this new hard world that was thrust upon you. But then there were friendships and relationships of all kinds and marriages that thrived. It forced us to figure out a way to make this work. In business. In love. In money. It forced many of us, for the first time, to reach. Out. For. Help. It allowed time for us to reach out and help. For the first time in our lives, every single human being of every walk of life, from every corner of the world was experiencing the same thing. At the same time. A human experience is love, death, disappointment, rage, shock, confusion, guilt, helplessness, excitement, hope, isolation, masks, masks, masks, empathy, patience. It’s all the things. We were separate physically, and many times in our beliefs, but we all experienced the craziness. Together. We’ll remember 2020 and coronavirus and the pandemic forever. We all have stories. We all experienced heartbreak, and rise and fall, and heartfelt. We were in it. Together. It doesn’t get more human than that. And that’s what we are. When the lights go off. When the news is over. When the noise shuts down. Small as a peanut, Big as a giant, We're all the same size When we turn off the light. Rich as a sultan, Poor as a mite, We're all worth the same When we turn off the light. Red, black or orange, Yellow or white, We all look the same When we turn off the light. So maybe the way, To make everything right Is for God to reach out And turn off the light! - ‘No Difference’ by Shel Silverstein

Check your heart. Words can have lasting affects, for good and bad. We all have tender spots that, when touched, can illicit some unfavorable reactions from us. Check in with yourself. Be aware. What are those buttons for you? What feelings bubble up when they’re pushed? Anger? Resentment? Guilt? Shame? Loss? Unresolved trauma and past hurts can take up and clutter the space within us. ... When we don’t do the necessary and difficult and messy work to unpack it, the bitterness will find a way to come out. In unhealthy and unhelpful ways. Through words. Through addictions. Through isolation. Through self harm. Through self hatred. Do the work. Your relationships to others and yourself depend on it. #healingishealing #mentalhealth #atlantatherapy #georgiatherapist #playtherapy

It’s messy. It leaves us wide open and raw. It wakes you up to actions you should’ve taken long ago. Boundaries that are needed. Healing can shine a light on parts of you you’re not proud of or were trying to hide. Will you walk out of therapy sessions feeling relieved? Sometimes. But most times there will not be a big bow all wrapped up on a pretty box of our issues. You won’t walk away with rainbows and butterflies abound. ... Endure the dirty. Sit in the messy. Healing isn’t clean business. But healing is healing. #healingisnotlinear #atlantatherapist #mentalhealth #growth #growthroughwhatyougothrough

Deep breaths are your body’s natural way of regulating. You could be having monkey brain, mental exhaustion, stress or tension headaches, or on the brink of a major meltdown. Practicing proper deep breaths is nature’s Xanax. Repeated deep breaths will naturally bring your heart rate in sync with your breath (which it is not when you’re experiencing all of the aforementioned). When your heart rate and breath are in sync, your brain releases endorphins, which are the chemical...s that have a natural calming effect. Just try it. The calm that washes over you will make you a believer. #deepbreaths #deepbreathing #mentalhealth #decaturtherapist #atlantatherapist #playtherapy

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." - Plato

Happy New Year, friends! I wanted to update you with some great news: Carrick Counseling is now accepting Amerigroup insurance. If you know of any kiddos in Georgia, in need of counseling service, I’d love to see if I can help! May this fresh year bring about visions and blessings beyond your wildest imaginations.