Praus Guidance & Healing

10/08/2026

Fall self-care feels like:

Cuddling with the fur babies

Curling up with cozy blankets

Wearing your oldie but goodie chunky knit sweaters (even when it's 80 degrees!)

Sipping hot apple c***r

Burning your favorite fall-scented candles

Lounging in your fuzzy slippers

Eating your favorite festive snacks (here we come candy corn, mini donuts and caramel apples!)

Don't forget to care for yourself this fall!

Happy self-caring! 🧡

10/02/2026

How you talk to yourself matters! If you're constantly beating yourself up with unkind works or negative remarks about the things you said and did (or didn't say or do), then your inner critic has taken over.

Self-criticism leads to a cycle of shame and guilt. Shame and guilt rarely produces the outcome you want. Shaming yourself isn't going to help you build new, more productive habits and it isn't going to coax you into doing or being "better."

Shame and guilt leads to more shame and guilt, and you actually just end up doing more of the thing you don't like. So, instead of beating yourself up, trying saying:

"______ happened and that's okay. I'm not a fan of it, but sometimes it happens and that's okay. If I'd like to make a change, I can try to do _____ instead."

This statement provides compassion and empathy paired with accountability, so you can feel better about what you did/said while also working on doing something different.

Give it a try! Happy practicing my friends! And Happy October!

Samantha
P.S. If you’re struggling with shame, guilt or talking negative towards yourself and are looking for a little extra support, I’d love to connect!

I’m a Minnesota licensed counselor that specializes in helping high-achieving, high-functioning and highly sensitive women get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed all of the time.

If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation by clicking on the "Schedule Here" button on my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

Let’s chat and see if we’re a good fit. I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha

Please read the disclaimer in the featured post on Praus Guidance & Healing's page.

09/22/2026

Happy Fall Everyone! 🍂

Autumn is a spectacular time to engage in self-care.

Try out a couple of ideas from this post and invite some friends to join in.

Have fun caring for your pumpkin-spiced, apple-loving, all-things-fall self! 🧡

09/18/2026

"Shoulding all over yourself" is when you use the word "should" to talk about something you said or did (or didn't say or do) and it produces immense guilt and shame.

How does this happen?

It manifests out of internal judgment. You are measuring your actual self against a person you feel you "should" be.

These are general examples:

"I shouldn't have said that thing last night."

"I should have done something else earlier."

"I should just know how to do it."

"I shouldn't cry when I am upset."

Get the idea?

It may seem like talking to yourself this way may motivate you to do or not do the thing, but it actually ends up working against you.

When you treat yourself poorly, this leads to a cycle of shame and guilt instead of motivation.

Things you can do to help break this habit:

1. Replace the word "should" with "I want to," "I can," "I choose to," or "I would." This allows to replace shame and guilt with empowerment.

Example: Replacing "I should just know how to do it "with "I want to learn how to do it."

2. Practice self-compassion. You can do this by being kind and gentle towards yourself. You might say something to yourself like "sometimes I cry when I'm upset and that's okay. Even if I'm not a fan of it, it sometimes happens." This is a much more loving way of addressing your feelings.

3. Ask yourself where this thought is coming from so you can start to address any internal or external pressures. If it sounds like something one of your parents would say or a societal expectation, you can practicing saying "this isn't my belief and I release myself from it."

Happy practicing, my friend!
If you’re struggling with shame, guilt or "shoulding all over yourself" and are looking for a little extra support, I’d love to connect!

I’m a Minnesota licensed counselor that specializes in helping high-achieving, high-functioning and highly sensitive women get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed all of the time.

If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation by clicking on the "Schedule Here" button on my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

Let’s chat and see if we’re a good fit. I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha

Please read the disclaimer in the featured post on Praus Guidance & Healing's page.

09/01/2026

Is your harsh inner voice taking up a lot of space?

Are you finding that you're extra judgy towards yourself lately?

Wondering how you can stop feeling this way?

Challenge your inner critic using these simple, yet effective techniques:

1. Ask yourself if you would say this to a friend? If the answer is no, try saying something kind and supportive to yourself that you would say to a friend.

2. Remind yourself that this is just a thought and that doesn't make it the truth. You could think the sky is bright pink with unicorn-shaped clouds. This doesn't mean it’s true. Thoughts are not facts. A thought can just be a thought.

3. Separate yourself from your thought. Instead of saying “I’m such a failure.” Practice saying “I am having a thought that I am a failure.” This creates a buffer, allowing you to respond differently to the thought.

Happy practicing!

Samantha
Btw, if you'd like some support in managing your inner critic, I'd love to connect!

I'm a licensed counselor specializing in helping high-achieving, high-functioning, and highly-sensitive women get unstuck.

I'd love to help you feel empowered, challenge your inner critic, and take back control of your life.

I offer Telehealth therapy across the state of Minnesota, so I can meet with you from wherever is most convenient for you.

If you’re interested in learning more or connecting, you can schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation right from my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha

Please read the disclaimer in the featured post on Praus Guidance & Healing's page.

08/21/2026

High-functioning women tend to present as though they have it all together, but are often suffering internally.

They hide behind perfectionism and productivity, which can make it hard to identify anxiety as an issue or concern.

In the case of high-functioning women, your anxiety actually drives you to do more.

Although there are periods of time where this can appear to be helpful, it eventually catches up causing immense overwhelm and burnout.

Here are some patterns of anxiety in high-functioning women to look out for:

1. Perfectionism: setting impossibly high standards and an immense fear of making mistakes

2. People-Pleasing: difficulties saying “no” because you don’t want to disappoint or let others down

3. Over-preparation: overworking that’s driven by your fear or discomfort of uncertainty

4. Staying busy: used as a method to distract you from your anxious thoughts

5. Overthinking: predicting worst-case scenarios because you don’t believe you can manage the outcome

6. Overanalyzing: used as a false sense of control over situations that you can’t really predict or determine

7. Guilt: often feeling bad about what you’ve said or done (or didn't say or do)

8. Shame: often feeling bad about who you are

9. Imposter syndrome: the fear that others will find out that you’re not as capable as you present

10. Muscle tension: holding tension in your body, specifically in your upper back/neck/shoulders and jaw

11. Sleep disturbances: racing thoughts that keep you up at night or interrupt your sleep

If you resonate with the patterns above and would like some support in managing your anxiety, I'd love to connect!

I'm a licensed counselor specializing in helping high-achieving, high-functioning, and highly-sensitive women with anxiety get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed.

I offer Telehealth therapy throughout Minnesota, so I can meet with you from anywhere within the state.

If you’re interested in learning more or connecting, you can schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation right from my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha



Please read the disclaimer in the featured post on Praus Guidance & Healing's page.

08/19/2026

Overthinking is your emergency shield.

It's a false sense of protection from threats.

It has you believing you can prevent bad outcomes by overanalyzing and over-preparing.

This emergency shield is exhausting, depleting, and cyclic.

It only really works in the short-term, but gives you just enough relief that you keep doing it.

If you'd like to get off this runaway train, start by saying: "I trust myself. I am a capable human being. I can handle the outcome even if I don't like it."

Then practice this over and over again. Every time you notice a racing thought about some worry you have, say the script above.

You don't need protection from the bad thing or worst case scenario. You need to believe that you can handle it instead of preventing it.

Happy practicing!

Samantha
Btw, if you’re looking for a little extra support in managing your anxiety, I’d love to support you!

I’m a Minnesota licensed counselor that specializes in helping women get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed all of the time.

Anxiety is my area of specialty, and I’d love to help you manage your worry and fear in a way that feels doable and best for you!

If you’re interested in learning more, you can schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation using the scheduling link on my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com

Let’s chat and see if we’re a good fit. I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha


Please read the disclaimer in the featured post on Praus Guidance & Healing's page.

07/08/2026

Imposter syndrome is tough.

If you're a high-achieving woman, you're absolutely successful and great at what you do, but that doesn't mean you always feel that way.

You're trapped in cycles of perfectionism and procrastination, you're not a fan of the way you communicate, you can't take a compliment, and you're probably apologizing too much.

Here are a few practices to help manage your inner critic:

1. Practice progress over perfection.

Give yourself permission to let go of the need for things to be perfect and instead celebrate any progress you make.

2. Practice accepting praise.

Say "thank you" whenever someone acknowledges something you do.

3. Skip the apology.

Apologies are only necessary if you're planning to change something. If you aren't actually sorry or don't want to change something, you can skip the apology.

Happy practicing, my friend!

If you’re struggling with imposter syndrome and looking for a little extra support, I’d love to connect!

I’m a Minnesota licensed counselor that specializes in helping high-achieving women get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed all of the time.

If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation by clicking on the "Schedule Here" button on my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

Let’s chat and see if we’re a good fit. I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha

07/02/2026

Imposter syndrome is a common experience for high-achieving women.

This is when you feel like a fraud despite your success.

Imposter syndrome can often look like perfectionism, self-doubt, overworking, and a fear of others finding out that you're a "fraud."

This feeling can be quite exhausting, leading to heightened stress, anxiety, and burnout.

If you’re struggling with imposter syndrome and looking for a little extra support, I’d love to connect!

I’m a Minnesota licensed counselor that specializes in helping high-achieving women get unstuck, manage stressors, and not feel so overwhelmed all of the time.

If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a 15-minute phone or video consultation by clicking on the "Schedule Here" button on my website: prausguidanceandhealing.com.

Let’s chat and see if we’re a good fit. I’d love to hear from you!

Samantha

06/30/2026

Blog post alert: Self-Talk for Anxiety Management — Tips from a Minneapolis therapist offering simple, compassionate phrases and practical steps to help reduce anxiety and boost confidence. Read for quick, actionable strategies to use in daily life.

Are your racing thoughts getting in the way of your happiness? I'd love to be of support. I specialize in helping high-achieving women across the state of Minnesota manage stress and anxiety.

Visit my website to learn more: https://www.prausguidanceandhealing.com

You can schedule a 15-minute consultation from my website or give me a call to see if I'm a good fit. I'd love to connect!

https://www.prausguidanceandhealing.com/post/self-talk-for-anxiety-management-tips-from-a-minneapolis-therapist

Discover effective self-talk for anxiety management with tips from a Minneapolis therapist. Learn self-talk for anxiety management to boost confidence.