Your Zen Friend

Send Lauren a text!

On this episode I'll tell you about the benefits of tweens and teens engaging in activities such as participating in sports or clubs. I'll also tell you about the downside of tweens and teens being overscheduled. From kids who have no time to get their homework done to kids who experience constant stress or even have their mental health impacted negatively by doing too much. 

Not sure if your child is overscheduled? I'll give you three signs to look for to help you determine if your teen could benefit from some regular free time.

Mentioned on this episode:
To join Amanda Jefferson's, "Get it Done Club:"  https://indigoorganizing.thrivecart.com/the-get-it-done-club/
Remember to enter code GETITDONE for $5 off your first month

Kindle Paperwhite:
https://a.co/d/cVYsqAh

Join me in reading Lian Dolan's book, "The Marriage Sabbatical," and send in your questions or comments to me. They could be read during my interview with Lian which will air in early May. Get your questions to me by April 20, 2024!
 https://a.co/d/dpuCcw0

I'd love to hear from YOU! Here's how to connect with me:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourzenfriend

Email me at: [email protected]

Find me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/yourzenfriendpod/

For information on Lauren's counseling services for kids, teens and families check out: https://www.laurencounseling.com/

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short meditation designed to help you feel safe and grounded. 

This is a great mediation to do anytime but especially if you are feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed. 

Enjoy! 

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this episode fan favorite, interior designer Don Richards is back once again! Zen Friends have written in with their home decorating dilemmas and Don has answers. Don will answer three different listener questions including, grandparents who needs a solution to a room in a home that they will sell in the next two years, a newly single mom who has a brand new rental home and a mom with a large family room that she would like to make more visually appealing as well as cozy and functional.

Don is on a mission to make home decor affordable for everyone. And in this episode Don will talk about how to get a bargain on Facebook Market Place, how to find designer deals at Target, the least amount of money you should spend for a well made couch as well as what to look for on Amazon.

To see photos of some of Don's recommendations, join our private Facebook group by searching for Your Zen Friend, in groups on Facebook.

Don's Bio: Consumed by architecture, design, and home since childhood, Don graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia with a degree in Historic Preservation. For the last thirty years, his obsession with home has seen him in the worlds of interior design, visual merchandising, and real estate. A Litchfield County native, Don has designed spaces in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Florida, while vowing never again to work in NYC because of elevator constraints. Can a sofa be disassembled and put back together? The answer is yes. Should it be? LOL, the answer is no. He believes the key to a space being home is personality and quirk. Try and think outside the box with vintage and unique. Look toward the architectural style of the property and let that guide you. If you love it, it will usually work. Just no 75'' flat screens, please. Don is passionate about BLTs, turtlenecks, and his orange tabby, Ernest. Not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Don:
email: [email protected]
Find him at Middle Furniture and Home Design in Middlebury, CT: https://www.middleburyfurniture.com/
instagram: @dwrhomedesign

I'd love to hear from YOU! Here's how to connect with me:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourzenfriend

Email me at: [email protected]

Find me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/yourzenfriendpod/

To join Amanda Jefferson's, "Get it Done Club:"  https://indigoorganizing.thrivecart.com/the-get-it-done-club/
Remember to enter code GETITDONE for $5 off your first month

For information on Lauren's counseling services, including her upcoming group counseling for children and teens check out: www.LaurenCounseling.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short meditation designed to help you understand why your anxiety is present right now and allow you to be with it in a way that will help to decrease it. 

This guided meditation will help you to connect with the sensations of anxiety and help you to check in to better understand why your anxiety is present for you right now. Whether you are having a stressful time at work, are worried about your health or out of balance in how you usually care for yourself, this meditation will help you to identify what is going on. 

This meditation will also help you to be with your anxiety. And when we can sit with our anxious part and allow it to be present and seen it often gets smaller. With practice, being with our anxiety in a curious way is helpful in decreasing anxiety symptoms and experiencing less anxiety in your life. 

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

This episode is the 2nd in a two part series on anxiety. If you haven't listened to Ep# 75, "How to Prevent Anxiety Symptoms," it might be helpful to listen to Ep#75 first. 

On this episode I'll tell you how my anxiety symptoms show up for me. Think racing heart, loss of appetite and some other not so fun symptoms that I'll share with you. I'll also tell you how I think of anxiety as an alarm bell that can be helpful to understand what is worrying us or what is out of balance in our lives. I'll tell you the exact steps I take when my anxiety shows up and how those steps help me get back to feeling calm and grounded. These steps include:

• identify why I'm feeling anxious
• identify what I need to do to move towards a more balanced life
• notice my anxiety as a part
• check in with my anxiety part to do some parts work (I'll tell you how)
• journal 
• meditate

Whether you experience anxiety symptoms or have a child or family member that experiences anxiety symptoms, this episode will help you to better understand anxiety and how to decrease it.

On the segment, "Listener Questions," I'll tell you about how I was on two reality television shows and what that experience was like. Spoiler alert, it's not quite as realistic as it might seem.

And stay tuned to the end of the episode where I'll tell you, "What's Bringing Me More Zen Lately." If you have a spring break trip planed this will be a great item to have with you at the airport, beach or pool side.

To join Amanda Jefferson's, "Get it Done Club:"  https://indigoorganizing.thrivecart.com/the-get-it-done-club/
Remember to enter code GETITDONE for $5 off your first month

****Preorder Lian Dolan's book, "The Marriage Sabbatical," and send in your questions or comments which could be read when Lian is interviewed for the podcast in April: https://a.co/d/dpuCcw0

Credit to author Nicole Sachs and her podcast, "The Cure for Chronic Pain," for her journaling/meditating technique called, "Journal Speaks."

Credit to Richard Schwartz for the concept of Parts Work and his Internal Family Systems Therapy

Also mentioned on this podcast, the book: "The Sweet Spot," by Amy Poeppel https://a.co/d/2DbXNbO

I'd love to hear from YOU! Here's how to connect with me:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourzenfriend

Email me at: [email protected]

Find me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/yourzenfriendpod/

For information on Lauren's counseling services for kids, teens and families check out: https://www.laurencounseling.com/

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a short meditation designed to help you feel less anxious. 

The guided meditation will help you to connect with the sensations of anxiety and help you to be less afraid of feeling anxious. When we can sit with our anxious part and allow it to be present and seen it often gets smaller. Doing this meditation on a regular basis is a good way to experience less anxiety symptoms in your life. 

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

As a a mental health therapist I specialize in helping individuals to heal from anxiety disorders. And one reason why I have a  good understanding of anxiety is that I too experience anxiety at times. And while anxiety is zero fun deal with there is some good news. There is a lot you can do proactively to help prevent anxiety symptoms.

On this episode I'll share what I do on a regular basis that helps me to prevent anxiety. And all of these strategies are things that you can do as well.

I'll tell you what my daily habits are for preventing anxiety, how they help me and what I do to make sure that I practice these helpful strategies on a regular basis.

This is part one of a two part series. On next week's episode I'll tell you what I do if I do experience anxiety symptoms. I'll share the techniques that work for me to get back to feeling calm and grounded quickly.

I'd love to hear from YOU! Here's how to connect with me:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/yourzenfriend

Email me at: [email protected]

Find me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/yourzenfriendpod/

For information on Lauren's counseling services for kids, teens and families check out: https://www.laurencounseling.com/

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through a mediation designed to help you rest in wellbeing. This meditation is perfect for when you would like to feel deeply relaxed and let go of stress or tension. 

This meditation was loosely taken from the book, Resilience; Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty and Even Disaster by Linda Graham, MFT - You can purchase it here: https://a.co/d/7hob5UC

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this episode naturopathic physician, Dr. Shawn Carney is here to talk about ADHD, (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and other challenges with focus and how he treats this symptom in children and adults.

We will talk about how Dr. Carney searches like a detective to get to the root cause of  focus issues, how Dr. Carney's approach differs from traditional western medicine and the various ways Dr. Carney treats individuals to improve their ability to focus. We talk about neurotransmitters, genetic mutations, the role nutrition plays in focus issues and more!

And stay tuned till the end of the episode when Dr. Carney tells us what's bringing him more zen lately.

If you enjoy this episode, check out episode number 29, "Using Naturopathic Medicine to Decrease Anxiety with Dr. Shawn Carney." 

Dr. Shawn Carney's Bio: Dr. Shawn M. Carney is a naturopathic physician with a long history of helping patients of all ages with many different health concerns. After graduating with honors as a double major in environmental science and philosophy from Purchase College in New York, Dr. Carney continued to pursue a fusion of these interests by undertaking a career in integrative medicine. He received a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the University of Bridgeport after having worked for several engineering and environmental science firms and serving as a full-time
emergency medical technician. Dr. Carney has studied in a wide array of settings including physicians from the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS) and treats patients with a wide variety of concerns including ADD/ADHD, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, diabetes, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and thyroid disorders. He practices at Northeast Natural Medicine, LLC in Newtown, CT.

Here's how to contact Dr. Carney:
website: https://www.nenaturalmedicine.com/
phone number: 1-800-723-2962
email: [email protected]
instagram: @dr.shawncarney 
facebook: drshawncarney 

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health. 

Send Lauren a text!

On this Drop of Zen I will guide you through setting an intention for your day. Whether it's the beginning of your day or smack, dab in the middle, this is a great mediation for being more mindful and intentional. 

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended to be a replacement for diagnosis, mental health therapy or psychological treatment of any kind. Please consult with your doctor or mental health provider in order to care for your physical or mental health.