Rooted Professional Counseling & Wellness

06/02/2026

05/30/2026

If you were told, “You have five minutes ⏰ to tell me 100 things you’re grateful for; in return - $1,000,000”. 💰💰💰Could you do it? Heck yes you could!

The practice of gratitude has substantial benefits - energizing the more rational part of our brain. 🧠

Struggle with anxiety? Practice gratitude. Why?

“It's true, you can't be anxious and grateful at the same time. The hippocampus in your brain acts like a switch, and when you have a thought or a feeling it will either switch that down towards your amygdala, the part of your brain responsible for fear, anxiety, fight, or flight, or towards your front lobes, which will help you make a rational decision about how you're going to respond. And the thing that reliably switches away from amygdala and towards frontal lobe is when you take a moment to find something to be grateful for in the midst of an anxious thought”. - Dr. Lee Warren

When my kids were young, on the drive to school, I’d have them say three things they were grateful for. Would they roll their eyes? 🙄 Sometimes, yes! One day, one of them just looked around and said, “stop lights, 🚦the road, etc.”. My response: “be serious”. His response: “really - if we didn’t have stop lights, there would be accidents”. Touché, kid. 🤔 But it made me think: how many things in my life am I overlooking that are going well, or even just ok?

We can always find what is not not going well, but we can also intentionally look for what IS going well. ☀️

Gratitude doesn’t negate hard feelings, but it can offer perspective in hard situations. The article below gives support and examples of this concept.

ADAA Blog Post by Ashley Smith, PhD - Research shows that the more present we are, the happier we tend to be, even when the present moment isn’t pleasant or enjoyable. Rumination is a sneaky mental habit that zaps us of joy. This is where gratitude can be particularly helpful.

05/19/2026

Why are we walking 🚶‍♀️ a mile a day for mental health? 🤔

A regular walking routine offers key mental and cognitive advantages:
➡️Lowered Anxiety and Depression: Walking triggers the brain to release endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, which naturally elevate mood and provide a sense of calm.
➡️Stress Reduction: It regulates cortisol (the primary stress hormone) and positively influences your central nervous response system, calming your nerves after a busy day.
➡️Enhanced Cognitive Function: Regular walks increase blood flow to the brain, which supports the growth of new brain cells, improves memory, and sharpens problem-solving skills.
➡️Improved Sleep: Brisk outdoor walks expose you to natural light, helping to reset your circadian rhythm and promote deeper, more restful sleep cycles.

Let’s do this!

05/14/2026

Today’s Miles for Mental Health prompt is to unplug - that doesn’t have to just be your phone. What do you need to unplug from? What noise in your head is stealing your peace? Intentionally find a moment of peace to gift yourself today. Maybe you take that walk without music or a podcast and focus on the beauty around you - the sounds 🐦, the sites 🌺 🌳, the smells, and the way your body feels as it experiences the gift of movement 🏃🏻‍♀️. Enjoy your day 💜💜💜

05/12/2026

How are you doing on your Mile for Mental Health? It’s not too late to start.
According to JAMA Psychiatry (2022), walking can provide the following benefits to your mental health:
 18%
Percentage lowered risk of depression among adults who got just half the recommended amount of physical activity per week—the equivalent of about 75 minutes of brisk walking—compared with adults who reported no physical activity.
25%
Percentage lowered risk of depression among adults who got the recommended amount of physical activity per week—about 2.5 hours of brisk walking. Getting more exercise than that does not seem to confer extra mood benefits.
1 in 9
Cases of depression that could potentially be prevented if all adults did just 150 minutes of physical activity per week, the minimal amount recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Today’s prompt is “choose optimism”. Focus on something positive. You have to look forward to today, even if it’s just making it through the day.

05/06/2026

Today's Miles for Mental Health prompt is to engage in positive self-talk. Positive self-talk isn't just a pep talk; it can be bringing awareness to your strengths that you practice throughout the day. Notice if you experience a mind shift after practicing for just one day. 🧠 💜

05/05/2026

May 5th: Today’s Miles for Mental Health prompt is “Let go. Release what you can’t control.” Easy peasy, right? 😉

If you take time to evaluate and reflect, you might find that you are trying to control areas of your life that you can’t realistically control: circumstances, people, the world. We can control our response to situations, we can control how we care for ourselves, how we treat others, and maybe other examples. Hold on to that; when you let go of what you can’t control and focus on what you can, you’ll find better peace in your life.

Make it a great day!

05/05/2026

For anyone looking for additional support navigating loss of a mother.

Three intimate video conversations exploring mother loss and the ways it shapes your identity. With grief expert David Kessler and author Hope Edelman

05/03/2026

Who got their Mile for Mental Health in today??? If you didn’t, don’t let one day throw you off track! You can still practice the prompt: breathe in peace, breathe out stress. You’ve got this! 💪🏼