Guts & Grit Counselling

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Guts & Grit Counselling Michelle Antoniak, MACP, RCC, RYT

Because it takes guts to ask for help and grit to do the work

ANXIETY ISN’T JUST OVERTHINKING. 🧠What if we stopped thinking about anxiety as simply a child worrying too much?New rese...
10/16/2026

ANXIETY ISN’T JUST OVERTHINKING. 🧠

What if we stopped thinking about anxiety as simply a child worrying too much?

New research examining nearly 3,500 young people has identified associations between anxiety and differences in how brain networks communicate, including networks involving the amygdala, thalamus and cerebellum.

These findings are a reminder that anxiety is more complex than an overactive fear centre.

🧠 The brain is a network.
💛 The nervous system is constantly processing information about the world.
🌱 And adolescence is a period of significant brain development.

For a young person experiencing anxiety, everyday situations can sometimes feel much more threatening than they appear to others.

That doesn’t mean they’re being dramatic, manipulative or difficult.

It means their experience deserves curiosity, understanding and support.

So, what can we do?

✨ Get curious instead of critical.
✨ Help young people build emotional awareness and regulation skills.
✨ Offer connection before jumping straight to problem-solving.
✨ Create opportunities to experience manageable challenges with support.
✨ Remember that understanding anxiety is not the same as excusing every behaviour.

And perhaps most importantly, we need to stop asking only, “How do we get this child to stop worrying?”

And start asking, “What is this child experiencing, and what support might help?”

Anxiety is not a character flaw. And a young person is so much more than their nervous system’s response to the world. 💛

🧠 Something fascinating I learned this week about stress…Researchers identified a brain circuit in mice that appears to ...
10/02/2026

🧠 Something fascinating I learned this week about stress…

Researchers identified a brain circuit in mice that appears to “remember” previous stress and use that information to shape how the brain responds to future stress.

In other words, previous stress exposure may change the brain’s sensitivity to what comes next.

That’s really interesting when we think about trauma and stress sensitization: why can one person experience a stressful event and recover, while another person’s nervous system seems to become increasingly reactive over time?

BUT.

And this is the part I wish more neuroscience posts would emphasize:

🐭 THE STUDY WAS DONE IN MICE.

We cannot take a mouse brain finding and announce that we have discovered “the trauma circuit” in humans. We haven’t.

What we can say is that researchers have identified a mechanism in mice that gives us another piece of the puzzle and a potential direction for future human research.

Science is exciting.

And good science requires us to stay humble about what we actually know.

A woman should never feel shame for a man’s poor behaviour.But we do.And we have been taught to.Shame is the painful fee...
09/30/2026

A woman should never feel shame for a man’s poor behaviour.

But we do.

And we have been taught to.

Shame is the painful feeling of being fundamentally flawed, inadequate, or unworthy.

Imagine your daughter, niece, sister, or friend…

She says a boy at school is bothering her, and she’s told it’s because he likes her.

She tells you a boy touched her while she was walking up the stairs in front of him, and she’s told, “Well, he liked what he saw.”

She tells you she got into a car with her boyfriend but doesn’t remember what happened for the rest of the night, and she’s told she probably drank too much because he would never do anything like that.

She tells you a guy climbed on top of her while she was sleeping at a friend’s party. She managed to get him off, and she’s told, “Yeah, those parties can get wild.”

Not once does she hear:

That shouldn’t have happened.

Tell me more.

How can I help you?

You didn’t do anything wrong.

Because being at school wasn’t wrong.

Walking up the stairs wasn’t wrong.

Going for a ride with someone you trusted wasn’t wrong.

Sleeping at a friend’s house wasn’t wrong.

None of it was wrong.

What happened to you was wrong.

And yet girls and women are so often left carrying the I should have’s.

The I could have’s.

The Next time, I will’s.

How devastating that we continue to teach girls how to manage boys’ behaviour instead of teaching boys to take responsibility for their own.

We teach girls to be careful. Watch their drinks. Don’t walk alone. Don’t go there. Don’t trust too quickly.

And yes, teaching girls to recognize risk matters.

But we also need to teach boys:

That harassment isn’t flirting.

That persistence isn’t consent.

That silence isn’t consent.

That another person’s body is never theirs to take.

And when a boundary is crossed, the question should not be:

“What could she have done differently?”

It should be:

“Why did he think he was allowed to do that?”

Because the shame was never hers.

It never belonged to her.

📚 Your reading habit might be doing more for your mental health than you realize.Research suggests that reading for plea...
09/25/2026

📚 Your reading habit might be doing more for your mental health than you realize.
Research suggests that reading for pleasure is associated with better mental well-being, cognitive functioning and potentially healthier cognitive aging.
But here’s what I find particularly interesting from a psychological perspective…
When we read fiction, we step into someone else’s world. We experience different perspectives, navigate complex emotions and explore relationships without ever leaving our own space.
Some research suggests that reading fiction may support our ability to understand other people’s thoughts and feelings, although the evidence is still developing.
And in a world where we’re constantly scrolling, consuming and being stimulated, sitting down with a book offers something else entirely: an opportunity to slow down, focus and become immersed in a story.
So if you’ve been feeling guilty about spending an entire afternoon with your nose in a book, consider this your reminder that rest doesn’t have to be productive to be valuable.
Sometimes, getting lost in someone else’s story is exactly how we give ourselves a break from our own. 🤍

Hello 🖤It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here, so I thought it was time to say hello and let you know—I’m still he...
09/07/2026

Hello 🖤

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here, so I thought it was time to say hello and let you know—I’m still here.

I’ve been a little quiet on the Guts & Grit side of things, but I certainly haven’t been sitting still.

I’m continuing to work online in private practice, supporting clients through their own hard things, big transitions, messy middle chapters, and everything in between. If you’re curious about working together, reach out for inquiries about booking.

I’m also still the Clinical Director of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team for the Ministry of Forests. It has been an incredibly busy season, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank our incredible peer support team, first responders, frontline heroes, and the people who support them.

My work in the critical incident world has also continued to expand. I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside different groups, learn from some amazing people, and take on a new contract that has opened another door into this work.

So, the bottom line is… I’ve been quiet, but I’ve been quietly working away.

I’ve been figuring out what this next chapter of Guts & Grit Counselling looks like—what I want it to be, how I want to show up, and where my work is going next.

And I’m here.

Still supporting.
Still learning.
Still growing.
Still doing work that matters to me.

If you’re looking for support and wondering if we might be a good fit, reach out. I’d love to hear from you.

— Michelle
Guts & Grit Counselling

Very excited to be having these conversations, thank you DPAC for hosting these evenings. Please check it out!
04/09/2026

Very excited to be having these conversations, thank you DPAC for hosting these evenings. Please check it out!

01/28/2026

What have you done for yourself today? Share below ❤️

12/11/2025

Sometimes your nervous system doesn’t want a deep breath first — it wants a way out.
When you’ve had an adrenaline dump, your body is still holding the charge… and asking for movement before it can find calm.

Shake. Walk. Dance. Roll your shoulders. Move your spine.
Let the energy leave your body so your breath can actually land.

Regulation isn’t always stillness —
sometimes it’s release → then safety → then calm.

Your body knows the way back. Trust it.

12/03/2025

“Safe mobilization” sounds fancy — but really, it’s just giving your body a gentle way to move the stuck energy that stress creates.
You don’t have to push. You don’t have to ‘work out.’
You just have to move enough to help your nervous system shift.”

Here are some safe, accessible ways to mobilize when your system feels tight, buzzy, or overwhelmed:

✔️ Slow marching in place
✔️ Shoulder rolls with a long exhale
✔️ Gentle shaking through the hands, arms, or legs
✔️ Cat–cow or a simple seated spinal wave
✔️ Step-touching side to side
✔️ Swaying your body (like you’re rocking to music)
✔️ Light bouncing on your heels
✔️ Neck + jaw wiggles
✔️ A 30–60 second walk around your space
✔️ Arm swings — cross, open, repeat

These are tiny shifts that tell your body:
“I’m here. I’m safe. I’m allowed to move this through.”

Let your movement be simple, low-stakes, and kind.
Your nervous system doesn’t need perfection — it just needs permission. ✨

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