Naturopathic and Spiritual Approach to Mental Health and Overall Wellbeing (Ep.26)

Naturopathic and Spiritual Approach to Mental Health and Overall Wellbeing (Ep.26)

There are times in life when we feel amazing and there are times when we don’t feel so hot… This is especially true when we struggle with our mental health and have possibly even been diagnosed with a mental health disorder…

Our relationship and our life can be a real struggle if we struggle with our own wellbeing… For it is difficult to show up with our best self if we are not feeling our best. Anxiety, depression, bipolar and other mood disorders and things like OCD, ADHD, BPD, PSTD, and other diagnoses can really make it challenging to manage ourselves and our lives and how we show up to interactions with our loved ones and others…

But we don’t have to struggle, there are so many approaches and modalities we can utilize to have our own back in feeling optimally and creating our best self, best relationship, and best life! We don’t have to suffer. We don’t have to be on medications that might make things worse. We don’t have to feel limited and miss out on joy and happiness, deeply and meaningfully connecting with our partner, doing the most gorgeous parenting, having a successful career or business, and everything else our heart desires…

In this episode, I have a super resourceful and inspiring conversation with Dr. Serena Goldstein, a Naturopathic Doctor, who is with us for a second time, and this time addressing mental health and overall wellbeing. We discuss a more natural, holistic and even spiritual approach to healing, wellness and feeling on top of the world. Addressing conditions is not just about taking medicines, but about how we do our life experience… 

We discuss a range of modalities and approaches to support your wellbeing.

Hope this information serves you and helps you get on the path to your Successful Relationship and Meaningful Life.

 


ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Serena Goldstein is a Naturopathic Doctor who guides you to trust and understand what your body is telling you. She has a diverse, deep and growing knowledge base around conventional medicine, natural modalities, energy medicine modalities, and spirituality, where she seeks to find and address the root cause of symptoms with an individualized plan that feels like relief. Dr. Serena works with those experiencing weight gain, hormone imbalance, poor sleep, stress, thyroid, mood, and gut health issues who want to learn more of what their body is saying and needs. She has shared her expertise on outlets such as MindBodyGreen, Forbes, and Shape.com, has appeared on NYU DoctorRadio SiriusXM, written multiple research articles on mind/body healing, presented at numerous conferences, and serves as an Advisory Board Member for Natural Practitioner Magazine. You can find her HERE.

Find her also here:
LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Gift from Serena:
Spirituality in Medicine – Mange Symptoms for Mind-Body Connection

ON THE RELATIONAL SIDE

A rich softer approach to mental health and relationship success

Creating a healthy, happy, and successful relationship doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentionally to create the relationship we desire. It requires we invest in bringing our best selves to our relationship…

As challenging as this might be at times, it is even more challenging when we struggle with our personal wellbeing and mental health…

And nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything is interconnected. So, if we are not feeling well, that will impact our relationship and our life. And if we are going through a rough patch in our relationship and our life, then our wellbeing suffers…

But let’s not get stuck in what came first, the chicken or the egg.

Let’s instead focus on taking care of ourselves no matter what and investing in our relationship as we go… These ensure we can tackle anything life throws at us, and that we live our best life…

We are embracing a practice makes progress approach. No shaming and guilting ourselves about anything!

Then, we implement a soft Self-Love Practice… And a soft Partner-Love Practice… Where we focus on delighting our partnerSoft means not grinding but with compassion, joy, grace, and generosity.

It’s all about the intention behind our rhythms and our lifestyle we choose day in and day out.

Give it a thought, design what days and life you want to experience, and then put in the routines, habits, rituals, traditions, practices to enrich your relationship and your life.

Your investment in your overall wellbeing and your relationship success will reward you with the relationship and life you love.

RESOURCES

~~ Related to Episode

Prior Guest Appearance: Demystifying Women’s Hormonal Journey Throughout their Life Cycle w/ Dr. Serena Goldstein (Ep.21)

~~ Watch our related videos on our YouTube channel

~~ Get our FREE 1-pg downloadable Connecting for Change Guidelines for creating a strong partnership with your partner and a life you love!

~~ Do you need support taking yourself, your relationship, and your life to the next level- actually living a healthy, happy, harmonious and overall abundant life?

Interested in Couple Therapy, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Coaching, Individual Therapy or Support Sessions?

We can help with our select memberships:
Radiance Membership – Transformational content and experiences subscription (only $29 per month!)
Success Membership – Private sessions and Radiance Membership access! (start with an Initial Session)

~~ Interested in being our Guest? Interested in having Emma be a Guest in your Podcast?

Contact us about a possible collaboration!

 

DISCLAIMER: This content is meant to support your Journey and not as a replacement for professional assistance. Additionally, the ideas and resources provides by our guests are their ideas and recommendations alone and not necessarily a reflection of mine.

Copyright (c) 2024 Emma K. Viglucci. All rights reserved.

Experiential Awareness for Repairing, Connecting and Relating Beyond Words (Ep.25)

Experiential Awareness for Repairing, Connecting and Relating Beyond Words (Ep.25)

Even though words are important sometimes they are overrated… Hence, we say things like, A picture is worth a thousand words… And in this case, there is so much more communication going on between partners than what words can say…

We know we communicate in a lot of different ways, including non-verbal communication and body language… But what if I told you that those are also very basic. We connect at other levels that we usually don’t take into consideration…

Like through being interconnected and using our intuition and knowing… 

And, like using our felt body, our sensing abilities, to feel into our selves, our partner and our relationship…

There is a ton of information available through sensing that we usually use automatically. But what if we were to tap into this intentionally and leverage it for a more authentic, deeper, and meaningful connection?

In this episode, I have a lovely and inspiring conversation with Carmela Bennett, a somatic psychotherapist, who shares about what somatic and experiential relating is and the benefits of relating from a sensing place, how to use it to manage and repair conflict, how it’s healing and repatterning, how it enhances interactions with deeper emotional and physical intimacy, and how to use it for enriching and upleveling our relationship.

We discuss over a dozen practices partners can use immediately to elevate their relating…

Hope this information serves you and helps you get on the path to your Successful Relationship and Meaningful Life.

 

 

 

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Carmela Bennett has been a psychotherapist for the past 25 years and maintained a private practice for individuals, couples, and families in NYC since 2016. She has a Doctorate in Leadership, a Masters in Marriage in Family Counseling, Somatic Experiencing training and holds a CASAC addiction specialist certification. She blends years of training and experience with holistic, somatic, experiential, and psychodynamic modalities and specializes in working with relationships, addiction, anxiety disorders, PTSD and developmental trauma treatment using somatic experiencing. Her lifelong participation in the expressive arts, especially dance and movement, inspires integrating creativity, imagination, and intuition into all aspects of her life and work. She considers our basic human need for connection and individual purpose a fundamental resource for meaningful change. You can find her at CarmelaBennett.com.

Find her also here:
Linkedin

 

ON THE RELATIONAL SIDE

We don’t need words to create a radiant relationship

We use our words to get on the same page, resolve conflict, repair, connect, and collaborate, and so much more. But a lot of times, we get entangled in words… Even though we try to align and connect, sometimes we create a drift…

We make things worse. Wrong words can be used. Words can be misinterpreted. Meaning and intentions can be totally lost in translation… This is why we invest in honing in our communication skills and tools.

But there is another way to “communicate” that’s beyond words and the usual communication skills… We can use it to repair, connect and enrich our relationship… And, it has to do with Sensing…

We don’t realize how much we know through our sensing… This is a totally taken for granted human technology that’s right under our noses… We know more through our sensing than not… Yet, we don’t intentionally use this gift.

~We can sense our partner…

~We can sense the relationship- the space between us…

We can leverage the information we draw through our sensing… We can use it to make repair, to connect more deeply, and to enrich our relationship.

 

RESOURCES

~~ Related to Episode

Book – How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It
Blog Post – Communication Skills and Tools are a Must
Blog Post – Remove Roadblocks to Great Communication

~~ Watch our related videos on our YouTube channel

~~ Get our FREE 1-pg downloadable Connecting for Change Guidelines for creating a strong partnership with your partner and a life you love!

~~ Do you need support taking yourself, your relationship, and your life to the next level- actually living a healthy, happy, harmonious and overall abundant life?

Interested in Couple Therapy, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Coaching, Individual Therapy or Support Sessions?

We can help with our select memberships:
Radiance Membership – Transformational content and experiences subscription (only $29 per month!)
Success Membership – Private sessions and Radiance Membership access! (start with an Initial Session)

~~ Interested in being our Guest? Interested in having Emma be a Guest in your Podcast?

Contact us about a possible collaboration!

 

 

Copyright (c) 2024 Emma K. Viglucci. All rights reserved.

20 Relationship Enrichment tactics you need

20 Relationship Enrichment tactics you need

What positive and healthy tactics have you embraced recently that are having a good impact on you? That are allowing you to be your Best Self?

As you might know, when we show up with the best version of ourselves, we can conquer anything… This includes creating our radiant, authentic and successful relationship.

What does showing-up with our Best Self mean? It means we embrace a Relationship Enrichment approach, we:

  1. Set empowering effective boundaries so we honor ourselves and don’t get in each other’s way
  2. Fully own ourselves in all we do so we build trust with ourselves and our partner
  3. Mind our lens and perspectives so we look at our partner as our ally and not the enemy
  4. Rewrite old running scripts so we don’t enact self-fulfilling prophecies and confirmation biases
  5. Address limiting believes so we Become, individually and together, all we desire
  6. Embrace a growth mindset so we consistently evolve toward our full potential
  7. Are life learners so we consistently upgrade our skills, tactics, tools, resources and know-how
  8. Use the skills and tools we have so we get along with our partner and properly shower them with love
  9. Moderate our feelings, self-regulate, and self-soothe so we remain available for positive interactions
  10. Meet our needs and address unresolved past issues so we prevent power struggles and recurring dissatisfying patterns
  11. Be mindful of meeting our partner’s needs and giving them love in their love language so we touch their heart
  12. Operate purposefully and intentionally so we properly take care of ourselves and care for our partner
  13. Participate in a rich self-care practice so we consistently connect with ourselves and don’t depend on receiving attention from others
  14. Build courage and vulnerability so we are able to pursue deep connection and intimacy
  15. Apply relationship nurturing tactics on an ongoing basis so we stay fresh and crisis free
  16. Exercise understanding, compassion, giving grace, and letting go so we can have smoother, more rewarding and more meaningful interactions
  17. Close any exits and change unhealthy habits so we protect our bond and energy and tap into our synergy
  18. Create proactive routines and rituals so we create a harmonious and joyful home
  19. Establish efficient systems so we can easily collaborate and our home runs like a well-oiled machine
  20. Dream our big dream and pursue it with gusto so we ongoingly show up with vibrancy, enthusiasm, and passion

This is personal-relational work you can do to enrich your relationship and create the relationship you desire. This is work you can do by yourself or you can invite your partner to do with you. But note, you both do your own work regardless, alone or together…

There is immense beauty in doing it together as you see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together, you see the synchronicity around the patterns, and you can see your dynamics more clearly. You also get to experience deeper levels of understanding, compassion, connection and intimacy. But, when one partner is resistant or more laidback about the work, the other can totally do their side and still create a shift in the relationship…

So, no more excuses. If you want an amazing relationship, you do the work! If your partner joins in even better, but not required…

ASSIGNMENT: Select a personal-relational tactic to embrace and integrate into your life to start creating the relationship you desire.

The Tactics can be sorted into 3 types:

Thoughts/Mindset

Feelings/Energy

Behaviors/Actions

Note, they also flow from the 5 Elements of our Successful Couple Strategy™:

Context / Mindset – Getting Unstuck, breaking the impasse (effective boundaries, personal ownership, personal empowerment) – Tired of feeling stuck in your relationship?

Communication / Alignment – Improving communication and getting on the same page (deescalating fights, resolving conflict, detailed communication protocols) –  Tired of fighting without resolution?

Clarity / Dynamics – Changing patterns, getting needs met, resolving recurring issues (self-healing and growing, self-reprogramming, self-regulating) –  Tired of the same old issue?

Connection / Intimacy – Increasing connection, intimacy and fun (feeling connected, rekindling desire, dating each other) –  Tired of feeling disconnected?

Collaboration / Partnership – Creating a strong partnership (synchronizing, sharing the load, creating your dream home, relationship and life) – Tired of feeling overwhelmed?

Step 1 – Select the type or element that resonates the most, identify the related tactics and choose one to focus on

Step 2 – Play with that tactic till it feels like second nature. You can create a Habit (repeatable behavior) of it to more easily integrate into your repertoire…

As you can see you are not at the mercy of your partner and their wish to improve the relationship or not. You have all the control and power needed to create the changes you want…

The choice is yours. You can continue to put up with dissatisfactions, annoyances, triggers and a mediocre relationship, or you can create the relationship you desire, alone or together. Regardless, it can be done!

Here is to creating your radiant, authentic and successful relationship!

Complete the Assignment, and share your takeaway, insights, and results with a note in the Comments box at the end! I’d love to hear how you are using this content.

Happy Creating!

 

   Copyright (c) 2020 Emma K. Viglucci. All rights reserved.

 

Want to Use this Article in Your Own Website or Publication? 

Be our guest! Here is how, you MUST include: 
Emma K. Viglucci, LMFT is the Founder and Director of Metropolitan Marriage & Family Therapy, PLLC, a private practice that specializes in working with couples, she is the creator of the MetroRelationship philosophy and a variety of Successful Couple content that assist couples succeed at their relationship and their life. Stay Connected™ with Emma and receive weekly Connection Notes in your inbox with Personal Growth and Relationship Enrichment insights and strategies, visit: www.metrorelationship.com

 

Be who you want to Be

Be who you want to Be

Does it feel like we are turning a leaf to you? It feels like that to me, so grateful, though we are still dealing with significant restrictions around here.

I know some are feeling burnt out with all pandemic related topics and impact.

I know some are enjoying aspects of the temporary new normal.

I know some are still getting their bearings as this thing threw them for a loop.

I know some days are better than others.

I know most are wondering what the future brings…

Regardless of where you are, and you have your own spectrum, it’s all good. It’s part of your own Journey… As I’ve been writing, the key is to find the good in this for you and how to make that work even better for you…

Do you miss in-person contact? I’m sure you do.

Do you miss getting about? I’m sure you do.

Do you miss not having access to things that make life richer and easier? I’m sure you do.

Is the amount of screen-time zapping your energy? I’m sure it is.

Just like I’m sure you miss other things as well. Or worse, you’ve been impacted in more significant ways. Yes, this thing has not been easy.

But are you going to let it define your existence? Are you going to let it kick you in the teeth? It doesn’t have to. Things happen, we survive them, we even become better because of them. That’s the Human Experience we signed up for! This is the point…

So, our batch of experiences included 911, the market crash of ‘08, the pandemic of 2020 to name a few, and who knows what else is in store for us. Not claiming to enjoy crisis, but hey they give us life content to work with…

What are you doing with your experience? You don’t have to be the next Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and such people that revolutionize the world (all politics aside). Though you can be if that is what’s burning in you. I’m talking much simpler than that. I’m talking about you becoming your better you through this… You 2.0. Taking this opportunity to up your game…

You don’t have to tackle that massive project you’ve been putting off.

You don’t have to declutter your whole house.

You don’t have to do, whatever you think you have to do, that you don’t want to do… LOL

This is not about doing… I think the more enthusiastic among us might be getting this confused…

This is about Becoming… This is about how we show up differently, how we lead differently, how we create, and co-create, differently…

This is about starting again differently. For those of you dying to go back, please stop that! We do not want to go back!

We want to reStart… We want to go into a New Normal that is better than what we were doing before… This is the whole point… This is the reset button you’ve been waiting for, even if you didn’t know it… So, don’t miss it…

I’d really hate to see people throw away this opportunity to Be in their lives differently… To learn better Self-Mastery…

I’d love to see you be who you’ve longed to Be…

Feeling your feelings and being your full authentic self because of them… To not depend on any numbing…

Meditating or embracing a Quiet/Silence Practice, or some other form of mindfulness, if you believe meditation is not for you.

Owning your calendar and your time. Learning how to flow in your days with ease, joy, love and great results in all you put your mind to.

Expanding your self-care practice. If you still think you don’t have time, I challenge you to clean this script… Make the time! The same goes for the interests, the hobbies, the relaxation, the leisure, and like we call it in our house, the “lazy time”.

Trimming and honing your socializing with whom and on what inspires you. We are now in-touch, and long-distant-in-touch to boot, more than ever before!

Designing and creating a new lifestyle that honors and serves you. That flows from your values, priority, goals and mission… Then bringing this with you into the reopening, into your New Normal…

This is your chance to set up what you want…

This is your chance to influence and impact…

This is your chance to course correct, pivot, or just align more…

I implore you to take on this perspective and don’t merely survive this pandemic and this shutdown…

ASSIGNMENT: Let’s get a grip and start creating what we want and how we want to be!

~~ Select 3 areas you want to focus on decoding and mastering, i.e.:

Wellness

Relationship(s)

Finances

~~ Select 1 tactic for each that you’ll integrate now into your lifestyle, i.e.:

Wellness – meditating, journaling, taking supplements, exercising, eating low carb and intermittent fasting, doing skin care regimen, keeping a gratitude ledger

Relationship(s) – starting the day aligned, staying in touch, connecting for lunch, doing the little things, having intentional dinner, being courteous and mindful, doing Appreciations, having a nighttime ritual, planning fun dates

Finances – knowing your numbers, staying current, having a place for important documents and sharing access, having clear goals, having a debt reduction strategy, having a savings system, having an investment partnership

~~ Schedule an action for each into your calendar now! Then keep taking actions to master that tactic. Move on to another one once the first is completed or integrated.

And, this is how you design and create the life you want and how you want to show up now that you can bring into your New Normal…

It doesn’t have to be complicated. New us 2.0, innovating for the future, and other such lingo can sound overwhelming… But all we are looking to do, is what we were supposedly always trying to do – have our Best Life!

It doesn’t have to be about creating a new world out there. It totally has to be about creating a New World with us…

Here are recent Blog posts for quick reference, for you to grab what fits your current state and situation…

9 Tactics for weathering your quarantine (lockdown)

5 Insights for your physical and mental health

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

Focus on building stamina and resilience

Ready for positiveness yet?

Do you know you create your reality?

Coping with healthy vs unhealthy habits

How to manage the fatigue

Having post trauma growth?

Complete the Assignment, and share your takeaway, insights, and results with a note in the Comments box at the end! I’d love to hear how you are using this content.

Happy Becoming!

 

 

   Copyright (c) 2020 Emma K. Viglucci. All rights reserved.

 

Want to Use this Article in Your Own Website or Publication? 

Be our guest! Here is how, you MUST include: 
Emma K. Viglucci, LMFT is the Founder and Director of Metropolitan Marriage & Family Therapy, PLLC, a private practice that specializes in working with couples, she is the creator of the MetroRelationship philosophy and a variety of Successful Couple content that assist couples succeed at their relationship and their life. Stay Connected™ with Emma and receive weekly Connection Notes in your inbox with Personal Growth and Relationship Enrichment insights and strategies, visit: www.metrorelationship.com

 

Having post trauma growth?

Having post trauma growth?

I’m hearing a whole range of experiences from people, depending on who they are, where they are and how much of an impact the lockdown had in their life for starters. Just know that whatever your version is, whether you are bogging out, are having a reaction, or are feeling guilty for being fine, it’s ok and you are not alone…

We are all on our own Journey, and this includes what we make of and take away from this Pandemic…

This is a collective experience that will have a long-lasting effect… We don’t know what that will look like yet, but we are beginning to experience the shifts already…

> Most have been dealing with the immediacy of the lockdown.

> Some are thinking of the longer-term impact.

> A few are thinking, What is the bigger picture here? What is the larger global and humanistic impact? What is the longer-longer-term impact? What are we deconstructing…? How do we reconstruct better…?

I notice that the type of thinking and focus people allow themselves determines how they feel, how they show up, and how they embrace the good of this situation… And, yes, there is good!

I challenge you to embrace a personal development approach, to entertain different perspectives, to engage in progressive conversations… To stretch yourself. To ask poignant questions. To shift your focus. To take charge of your wellbeing and your influence… To own your power, your gifts, your impact. We all have these… You have these also!

How? One way is to think of this situation as traumatic… It has been traumatic in a global scale, albeit to different degrees for different people but non-the-less traumatic… This is a good thing. Because once you get in touch with your trauma, then you have the option to experience your Post Traumatic Growth.

Post Traumatic Growth is learning to deal with the impact, manage what comes of it, and do better because-of it, not in-spite-of it…

Let me repeat that: You will do better ~ Evolve ~ because-of it, not in-spite-of it…

Note, in-spite-of implies victimhood… Whereas Because-of implies an opportunity, a Gift… Everything in our life happens For us, not To us. We are all on a Journey…

You experienced the Pandemic and lockdown just how you needed to experience it for your own Evolution… Don’t shoot the messenger! I’m sorry, if you are offended by that… But, please see what is true about that for you… This is where you’ll find your growth opportunity, your chance for the better… Don’t miss out on the gift!

Are you one of the Most, one of the Some or one of the Few? The choice is yours…

So, what are you making of your Pandemic Experience? How are you Evolving because-of it, how are you evolving during this? How is that impacting how you show up to your life? How is that impacting what you create in your life? How is that impacting how you design and create your life? What will you be doing differently in the New World?

Isn’t this line of thinking so super exciting? This is where you create your juice! I always get compliments on my energy and how energetic I am… I’m always asked how I do it. I have a bunch of tactics up my sleeve, but minding my perspective and approach is a powerful one…

ASSIGNMENT: Embrace the built-in opportunity to up-level your life because-of the current situation…

-Pay attention to what you have been struggling with during the lockdown… (i.e., feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious)

-Translate the struggle into your growth opportunity… (i.e., owning self more)

-Choose a tactic to help you address this opportunity… (i.e., improve self-management)

-Create a repeatable action from it and integrate it into your daily routine… (i.e., get grounded and in control with a brain-dump at the end of the day and then planning the next day)

-Monitor your progress – Are you sticking to your daily action? How many out of 7 do you have each week? Keep increasing that number… 

Enjoy the Evolution! 

When people are faced with other’s position on having a Productive Pandemic, they feel intimidated and coward. This approach and perspective does not have to be intimidating. It’s not about you taking on the world and changing it by tomorrow.

It does have to do with you doing You well. It has to do you still properly showing up to your life. And, it has to do with you seeing any inherit benefits in the situation and milking them for what they have to offer…

Don’t feel intimidated and stick to binging on Netflix. All you have to do is make a commitment to having a growth mindset and growing/evolving one tiny bit at a time. You can do it!!

Here are recent Blog posts for quick reference, for you to grab what fits your current state and situation…

9 Tactics for weathering your quarantine (lockdown)

5 Insights for your physical and mental health

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

Focus on building stamina and resilience

Ready for positiveness yet?

Do you know you create your reality?

Coping with healthy vs unhealthy habits

How to manage the fatigue

Complete the Assignment, and share your takeaway, insights, and results with a note in the Comments box at the end! I’d love to hear how you are using this content.

Happy Evolving!

 

 

   Copyright (c) 2020 Emma K. Viglucci. All rights reserved.

 

Want to Use this Article in Your Own Website or Publication? 

Be our guest! Here is how, you MUST include: 
Emma K. Viglucci, LMFT is the Founder and Director of Metropolitan Marriage & Family Therapy, PLLC, a private practice that specializes in working with couples, she is the creator of the MetroRelationship philosophy and a variety of Successful Couple content that assist couples succeed at their relationship and their life. Stay Connected™ with Emma and receive weekly Connection Notes in your inbox with Personal Growth and Relationship Enrichment insights and strategies, visit: www.metrorelationship.com

 

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