Have you ever made a mistake? I certainly have, and I want to share two significant experiences from my career in human resources over a decade ago. These moments taught me invaluable lessons about tolerance, grace, and the power of embracing our imperfections.

In this week’s TGIF, Kerry shares how we can step out of people-pleasing, solution-fixing, advice-giving, and return to ourselves and our own happiness through practices such as gratitude, boundaries, finding joy and forgiveness. “Our natural instinct is to want to restore harmony. But what happens when this constant state of "fixing" leaves us feeling drained, resentful, and even a little lost ourselves?”

In this weeks TGIF, Kerry emphasizes that change is inherently positive, despite the common fear it incites. Change, including progress and embracing the unknown, are crucial for growth.

Hey Kerry, I need some advice to help my kid with anxiety starting the school year. We had a great summer but their anxiety has increased a lot since starting school, making it hard to focus and get motivated.

In this week’s TGIF, Kerry shares TOOLS, GRATITUDE, INNOVATION and FEELS as she answers a reader’s question about supporting their child with back-to-school anxiety.

It’s getting colder, summer is over and I’m feeling blue. Did I enjoy summer enough? Did I make it magical enough for my kids? I don’t want warmth and sun to end, I’m afraid of coming colder months. What is this?

I think a lot of people already know this statistic, but let’s talk about it anyhow. What, traditionally, are the top five most stressful times in someone’s life?

Death of a loved one.

Divorce.

Moving.

Major illness or injury.

Job loss.

I say all of this because climate change action requires each of us to show up as our authentic selves. It requires us to be living by our values, stay open to connection and have the space to notice opportunities to do something.

Preventative mental health care is essential. As a practice, we have known that for years, and thus why we have developed tools and systems to get ahead of the problem in children so that mild anxiety, depression, and risk factors do not develop into more extreme and intense disorders later in life.

Turns out, social anxiety in adults is on the rise. Maybe we just didn’t have the words for it before, but if you too are feeling extra nervous, avoidant, and in your head facing social situations: you are not alone.

I know I am not alone in struggling with all the “what ifs” and “what now?” as things remain unsettled, undetermined, and well, kind of scary.

Even if your life looks no different as the season changes, the world and people around you are affected and impacting road rage, dinner moods, conference calls and child behavior.

Fear divides. We know that. Fear also brings out the ego in us - the parts of us that react and the thoughts and emotions that are unobserved and therefore unchecked. Reckless.

There has been a clear theme this week with clients: the feelings that come along with re-entering the world as Covid lessens. We’ve talked boundaries, body image, anxiety and pacing. I’m sharing all of it below.

I do not think I knew the depths of pain until I had children. Not the pain of labor, nursing or pulling my earrings. But the pain of love.

We are all probably used to Michigan winters - the cold, wind, snow and the early sunsets - but we’ve not lived through a Michigan winter in the middle of a pandemic.

Fear is a natural, instinctual human response. The fear response is important when we are facing real, imminent danger. Immediate threats to our survival necessitate a response like fight, flee or freeze.

Growing up, many of us internalized messages of what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, and how things should or shouldn’t be. We may have been shamed for crying. We may have been punished for yelling or throwing tantrums.

We are living through a pandemic. And so it makes sense that a lot of big feelings are happening right now. And a lot of triggers.

With each step towards the cave entrance, I thought about how that one time my vertigo was triggered by darkness, how being in a small space can on rare occasions make me feel somewhat claustrophobic.