Anna Schäfer Edwards, LMFT, MBA

12/19/2021

Still looking for a holiday gift?

Here are 5 new book recommendations by therapists that you can give as gifts this holiday season.

03/07/2020

"A cookie can distract you from bad feelings. A child may learn that the good feeling of eating relieves a bad moment. Neurons connect at that moment and your brain can wire in the idea that food relieves problems. Each time it works, the pathway builds."

Healthy habits get wired in when they’re linked to happy chemicals

01/26/2020

Good co-worker relationships, good work-life balance, colleagues that share goals, in-person connections are some factors that may help decrease loneliness. Therapists are helpful to work with those who need to improve their professional connections.

A new survey of 10,000 Americans finds 61% of us are lonely. Young people, men and those new at their jobs are some of the hardest hit.

12/21/2019

How was your 2019? Not too many goals accomplished? Yes, that seems to happen every year.

Most likely you had a lot of wishes or plans for 2019, now the year is almost over and you're contemplating what you didn't achieve or that it was a bad year.

Even if not much has improved for you, have you perhaps learned a few lessons? Maybe you learned a lesson out of a mistake or out of a difficult situation.

So, what have I learned this year?

Exactly one year ago I had a panic attack. Overworked with my job and my classes, internship taking my weekends, no time out, no exercise, a lot of caffeine in the morning and drinks in the evening.

The body takes the score. I found myself in an emergency room, and at my doctor's office having a panic attack with a lot of heart fluttering. I told my doctor:

"I just want to know what's happening to me". He told me:

"your blood pressure is 180/150 and you're having a panic attack"

(Wow!)

I slowed down and we put a plan together. No more stressful internships over the weekend, reduce caffeine, reduce alcohol, take beta-blockers, join some exercise routine and get some problems solved around the house that has caused stress for a few years.

The lesson I learned is that stress can kill me.

Every time I feel I am going faster than my life's pace, I have to remember to slow down. Some times is really hard because I am the Director of Operations at my household.

Honestly, making sure things are done and life is moving on is part of who I am. I also learned I can't help myself being an executioner and I pay a heavy price for caring a lot about doing things right.

This year was a good year for me, so many lessons learned. I will continue to grow as an individual.

Thank you for reading so far, thank you for liking my page and supporting me in my new project. I'll be back in the new year and I hope we will learn something together.

Happy Holidays!

12/11/2019

Need ideas for books to give as gifts? Here are my top 5 recommendations on books about Therapy and Psychology for friends and family.

11/08/2019

Researchers have found that the type of sleep most apt to calm and reset the anxious brain is deep sleep, also known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow-wave sleep, a state in which neural oscillations become highly synchronized, and heart rates and blood pressure drop.