Grief can catch us in surprising ways. When someone dies, our reaction may be gentle and accepting — or it may be unexpectedly unsettling. Our relationship with the person who has died may come up for reconsideration in uncomfortable ways. Old family concerns can arise, for example. Siblings may have had quite different experiences and argue about how the family story gets told. We may need to grapple with who this person really was, including the difficult parts of them. Counselling is a safe and neutral place to explore loss and find a story that makes sense.

People are afraid of the unknown. If an older adult is losing control over their physical abilities, independence, or cognitive abilities, their world gets filled with more and more unknowns. Establishing routine is extremely important for seniors. A daily routine offers a level of stability that individuals often enjoy, as it allows them to settle into a schedule that they understand. Doing the same basic activities like eating, dressing, and bathing at the same time every day is known to improve sleep quality. A predictable routine also helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

Brain-imaging techniques have revealed the brain’s plasticity and have identified networks that music activates. The brain areas activated by music are not unique to music. These networks also process other functions. Musical and non-musical functions share systems. For example, motor control and executive control share circuits with music. Music can activate and drive complex patterns of interaction between the other two, so that a stroke patient and someone with Parkinson’s increases movement, and someone with traumatic brain injury increases cognitive functioning, such as problem solving or decision making.

As we get older, health conditions, mobility limitations or a lack of energy can keep us from being as socially active as we once were. A diminishing social life might happen gradually as close friends experience the same conditions and family members grow busy. We may not even notice how long it has been since we last spent time with a friend! Isolation has many physical and emotional health risks. Especially if you live by yourself, staying socially active is critical to enjoying a healthy lifestyle. Volunteer at a local organization, join a senior living community or find a group that focuses on similar interests (e.g., knitting, water aerobics, cooking). Get back to living your best life!

As many may agree, wealth is about having money and possessions (our net worth). However, you may have also heard that ‘money cannot buy happiness’. By shifting the concept of wealth to “Wellth”, we shift the priority from finding the tangible/objective (wealth) to the internally realized/subjective (wellth), which leads to greater wellness and health for individual and for our community. By emphasizing “Real” we highlight that it is in the here-and-now, not focused on the future or past. Building wellness and health today is what really makes us wealthy, which supports our idea of “Real Wellth” and why it needs to be a priority.

Teens are still developing so it’s very important that they receive proper eye care to ensure the best possible vision heading into adulthood. Unfortunately, many don’t. The behavioural problems experienced by “troubled” teens may sometimes be due to undiagnosed vision issues that aren’t identified during the school years. Teens should have proper vision testing to catch potential issues such as astigmatism, convergence insufficiency, and poor tracking that may cause more problems as they get older. As well as making sure that they have a balanced diet and are getting exercise, encourage your teens to wear sunglasses with UV protection and to protect their eyes when playing sports or using tools and equipment.

We all want to live our best life. But sometimes life presses down on us and we can’t seem to find our way out. This can sneak up on us – maybe a bad boss reminds us of something in our childhood. Or maybe a breakup leaves us feeling vulnerable, coping in unhelpful ways. It can even be unclear where this feeling comes from. How do you act confidently towards your goals? How do you be kind to yourself when you’re stuck? What do you do with old feelings that come up? Counselling is a safe, neutral place to feel better about yourself, and explore what’s next for you.