Are you a people pleaser?  Do you know someone who is a people pleaser?  If so, this can be a helpful blog post to help improve assertiveness and healthy boundaries in order to improve mental and physical health and longevity of life. People pleasers are created, not born.  People pleasing is an adaptive response to an environment where expressing anger is not safe.  People pleasing is putting other peoples needs before your own and might

By Charlotte Santos, ASW – September 7, 2021 www.abalancedlifetahoe.com/our-therapists/ I was recently asked: “What can I do while in a crisis that will reduce the chance of long lasting trauma?” My Answer: “We have to turn off the override switch.” The cool thing about our brain is it is always looking to protect us. During heightened stressful times and traumatic events our brain can jump start our survival mode. You can think of our body and

Lindsay Simon, LMFT – August 25, 2021 Humans are creatures of habit and we like certainty.  The current wildfire situation is one of many current external crisis in the world right now that is bringing up many uncomfortable emotions. In California there are 12 active large wildfires that have burned over 1.6 million acres. In the face of uncertainty and potential threat, we experience anxiety, unease, discomfort, feeling trapped, fear, anger or possibly sadness. Currently

By, Lindsay Simon, LMFT When will this all be over? It’s a common question and though vaccinations are underway, it sometimes feels like the end to COVID life can’t come soon enough. A negative mentality can lead to frustration, anxiety, stress, or feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. It’s true that what we once knew as normal may not look or feel the same for a while. Here are some steps toward finding a sense of

How to Improve Your Relationship in Just 45 Seconds a Day July 21, 2021 by Lindsay Simon, LMFT, Clinical Director of A Balanced Life Research shows that happy, long-lasting relationships have at a minimum of a 5:1 ratio of positive encounters to negative throughout the day.  Every positive encounter adds to a couples “emotional bank account” which is depleted during a negative interaction at a rate 5 or more times stronger.  This is due to