Vancouver Clinical Counsellor, Julia Kristina teaches a quick and easy exercise to significantly reduce feelings of anxiety, worry, and panic immediately.

 It can be confusing when someone acts in ways that seem selfish, oblivious, disrespectful, self-centred, reactive, or rude. But the thing is, most of the time when people repeatedly act in these ways it's because they lack emotional maturity. They both don't recognize the impact of their words or behaviours on others, and they don't know what to do with their own emotions or how to regulate themselves. When we can see that the way someone is behaving is not about us, but about them not knowing how to cope with their own big [...]

 In this video I give a simple and straightforward explanation of what Mindfulness is all about and why it's all the rage right now.

 Anxiety tells you to stay small and hidden in order to keep you safe. But is stopping yourself from stepping more fully into your life by trying something new, putting yourself out there, going for what you really want, working toward a goal really keeping you safe? If you want to grow, if you want a full life, you have to be willing to stretch. But anxiety tries to convince you that this is not safe. BUT So often the things we are afraid of are not a threat to our safety - they [...]

 To become more mentally strong and emotionally intelligent we need to practice certain skills on a regular basis. Many of these skills are about becoming more conscious and aware of how we are reacting to certain things by default, and then intentionally changing that default. So often we keep ourselves in resistance and the stress, anxiety, anger, bitterness that comes with it, when we keep complaining about people or circumstances that we don't like. Sometimes we can do something to influence those people or circumstances to change, but if they are both uninterested in, [...]

 In this video I guide you through a short mindful deep breathing exercise you can do anytime.

 When we have big emotions it can be hard to know what to do with them - especially when they feel overwhelming, difficult or painful. But, the truth is, we don't have to be afraid of having big feelings - even the more challenging ones - especially when we know how to process them effectively. In this talk I teach you the top 5, research backed strategies, that include CBT skills, for processing and dealing with big emotions when they show up in healthy, helpful and effective ways.

 A clear, brief, and to-the-point explanation of what CBT is and why it's effective for treating anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and chronic stress.

 There are 2 types of mindsets that most people navigate the world with. A Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset. Many people also use a combination of both - depending on the situation they are in. When you have a growth mindset you see yourself as having say over the general direction of your life and believe you can achieve and accomplish things when you learn, stay committed and work at it to develop your skills and abilities. When you have a fixed mindset you see the world more as people who innately have [...]

 Healthy relationships are at the core of our mental health. In order to have good mental health, we need to have good relationships. But how what do healthy relationships look like? How do you know if any particular relationship is healthy, and if you'd like to have better, closer, healthier relationships with either friends, your family or a partner, what does it take? In this talk I'll teach you the 3 key elements of a healthy relationship so you can both assess where your most important relationships are at, and learn some straightforward ways [...]

 So you overthink... a lot. You overthink what you said, how you said it, what they're thinking about what you said or how you said it, what you should have said instead, maybe even the person you should be instead. It feels bad when you leave a social situation or interaction because of all the rumination, self-doubt and self-criticism that goes through your brain immediately. It also makes it so you feel anxious going into most social situations because you're afraid of coming across the wrong way, or looking awkward or uncomfortable and you [...]

 Here I talk about some of the emotional and mental health struggles that can come with having a new baby, and some strategies to help mama's cope and even feel good during this often really challenging time.

 It does NOT feel good to be used or taken advantage of - especially when you're someone who likes to be kind and generous, but when the generosity gets taken advantage of, it can turn into being used. But how can you make it stop? In this talk I teach you 6 simple ways to stop being used by others -some of them might surprise you.

In this video I talk about the type of people who benefit from going to therapy and what kinds of things people can talk to a therapist about. You might be surprised by the answer!

 Have you ever felt like you're being used, but don't know for sure? Do you feel like that person asks a lot from you, and when they do, something doesn't feel right, but you're not sure if it's because they're taking advantage of you, or it's just you not being as caring or generous as you think you should be? Being used is not always so obvious, but when we are in more one-sided relationships like this it can take a toll on our mental health and self-esteem. If you've ever felt like you're [...]

 Have a Mental Health or Personal Wellness Topic you'd like me to cover in a video? Feel free to leave your suggestions or questions in the comments section below.

 What does it mean to be emotionally mature, and how can you tell if you are? When someone is emotionally mature, they can manage their emotions and keep themselves grounded no matter whomever or what ever is going on around them. Emotionally mature people also tend to be able to see things from other people's perspectives, have more empathy and understanding and can handle and deescalate conflict well. So to help you become more emotionally mature starting today, here are 5 things you can do to get started.

 In this video I give a brief description of what CBT is and how it works. I also share an exercise you can start doing on your to help you become more aware of your emotional reactions to different upsetting situations.

 It can be hard to feel secure within ourselves when we constantly doubt whether we're good enough, loveable enough, capable enough, smart enough or in general, just, enough. Many of the things we believe about ourselves that make us feel insecure are stories our ego developed in childhood in order to get our needs met. But as adults, we are unconsciously falling into the same patterns, even though we no longer need to get these needs met in the same unhelpful ways. Here I teach you a step by step process to tame that [...]

 In this video I talk about 6 things you need to know about loving someone with Depression - and some meaningful things you can do to help and support them.

 When we think of ego, we often think of someone who has a big ego, or is full of themselves. But, the ego is not something bad... or good. It's just a term we use to describe our sense of self. A secure ego would mean that someone has a secure sense of themselves and an insecure ego means that someone has an insecure sense of themselves. Contrary to what we might think, someone with a big ego, actually has a fragile ego. A fragile ego can show up in many ways, and in [...]

 Being a Highly Sensitive Person is not a bad thing or a good thing. It's just a thing. It's a trait and part of who a person is. Research now suggests that there's even a genetic marker for ones level of sensitivity. There are several key features that most highly sensitive people share, and in this talk I tell you what they are. Being a Highly Sensitive Person can make some things in life harder, but it can also make many things much better, and by the end of this talk it will be [...]

 Although Highly Sensitive People often share several common traits, there are 3 main aspects of being a highly sensitive person that are shared among all highly sensitive people. Being sensitive is not right or wrong or good or bad - it just is. It's a trait - part of who a person is. Yes, it can make some parts of being human harder, but it also makes many parts so much better. In this talk, you'll learn specifically what the 3 main aspects are so you can know for sure if you, or someone [...]

 In this video I talk about 4 MORE things you need to know about loving someone with Depression - and some meaningful things you can do to help and support them.

 In this video I talk about what anxiety is, and what one of the most important things we can build within ourselves is to help us overcome excess or unhelpful anxiety. I then teach you a simple cognitive strategy you can use anytime you're having thoughts that are making you feel anxious or overwhelmed.

 Bad day? Yeah, we all have them. But even when you have a bad day, it doesn't mean it has to end bad. It's a lot easier to get over a bad day if we know what we need to do to end it well. In this video I'll teach you a really simple way to turn a bad day into a good one with a mood and mindset changing exercise you can use anytime, and any place.

Julia Kristina, MA, is a speaker, teacher, master therapist and mental wealth coach who helps smart, highly sensitive, heart centred humans get past anxiety, stress, and self-doubt so they can have better: Better relationships, a better life and feel better about themselves. Through her membership program, The Shift Society, she helps people identify their deep rooted thoughts and beliefs that are keeping them stuck and struggling, and then teaches them how to take charge of their minds and emotions so they can thrive in all areas of their lives. Julia’s expertise has been featured in [...]

 Sometimes people say or do things that really upset us, make us angry or that we find totally triggering. But when we're feeling this way, we often lose our cool and react by saying or doing things we regret and then end up with feelings of stress, guilt, depression, or anxiety. Here, I give you a simple and effective little acronym you can use anytime to help keep you from losing control of your emotions and then making a bad situation even worse.  

 Learning how to speak up for yourself in a way that people will listen to and respect can be challenging. So often we fear speaking up because we don't want to upset anyone, rock the boat, create tension or awkwardness in the relationship or because we don't want it to turn into conflict or a fight. Becoming a great communication and issue resolver is about learning how to say what you want to say, and cleaning up your thoughts and feelings before you address the issue in order to keep the communication clear and [...]

 Starting or getting into a mindfulness practice can feel a little overwhelming, if not totally daunting or unrealistic for many of us. Does it mean I'm going to have to sit cross-legged on the floor for and clear my mind and my thoughts completely into nothingness for hours on end? And the answer is, no. Becoming more mindful is something you can do anytime and anyplace and it is so easy and straightforward. No chimes, gongs or om's necessary. In this video I teach you exactly what you can do immediately to become more [...]