Posts in mental health
Embracing Nature in DBT: How the Outdoors Support Emotional Regulation
Embracing Nature in DBT: How the Outdoors Support Emotional Regulation

Emotional Regulation is not an easy task. Especially for those receiving DBT treatment. The blessing & curse of DBT is that it's heavily skills-based. If you find difficulty sticking to your plan of skills, homework from a full DBT Program or being so activated that you can't even practice skills then consider the benefits of walking out your door. Nature will always be accessible & welcoming to you. I'd strongly encourage you to utilize Mother Nature's availability to your advantage during all times of the year. Even during our bitter mid-western winters. With the right layers & mindset, a little time outside in all seasons is wonderful for you. You will be able to thrive in your wise mind. Keep going!

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mental health, nature, connection, relationshipsAaron Shoregokcnature therapy, dbt, calming, intense emotions, bpd
Nature Therapy: How Nature Heals Us
Nature Therapy: How Nature Heals Us

Nature therapy is a wonderfully accessible & broad practice. Gardening, walking through a park, landscaping, mowing - maybe that’s a stretch! Regardless, nature therapy is completely accessible to you wherever you live!

We’ll be digging into nature therapy throughout this entry. Take a breathe and settle in, as we’ll be jumping into several components:

  • Defining Nature Therapy

  • Ways to Practice Nature Therapy

  • Dietary and Health Practices

  • Benefits of Connection to Nature

  • Local Community Agencies to Get You Into Nature

Keep going to learn more about how our connection to and within nature is wonderful for us. And keep an eye out for a couple of personal stories that have impacted me along the way.

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nature, connection, mental healthAaron Shoregokcnature, green, connection, spiritual, movementComment
The Calming Effects of Nature on Trauma Survivors & PTSD
The Calming Effects of Nature on Trauma Survivors & PTSD

Okay, just breathe!

C'mon, you can do it. This happened a lifetime ago. What's my calming plan?!? Count backward slowly - that didn't work. Somatic breathwork?! Yeah right! What's next? I'm not calling Katie again...I can do this. Oh yeah - get outside! 

If you have ever noticed the fantastic difference it makes being outside versus in our home, office or car? If so, you are NOT alone! Maybe you've forgotten the impact of the warmth of the sun, the gentle touch of a spring breeze, songbirds calling out to one another or the touch of your plants as you stroll through your backyard native garden. Spending time in our natural world offers tremendous opportunity for calm. Nature provides significant effects on our bodies, minds and psyche. This post will examine nature's calming effects on our lives. Specifically, we're going to learn about how outdoor activities give us the most positive effects for healing from our traumas.

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mental health, nature, trauma recoveryAaron Shoregokctrauma, nature, nature therapy, trauma therapy
Borderline Personality Disorder: How to Cope with BPD
Borderline Personality Disorder: How to Cope with BPD

If you ever experienced an episode of intense emotions, mood instability, impulsive behaviors exploding into suicidal thoughts and/or self-harm then it's possible you've encountered an episode of Borderline Personality Disorder. We've come a long way in identifying the BPD experience of folks who are suffering from them regularly. This post is not intended as an extensive dive into all components of BPD. Rather, today's post is going to dig into the components of a bpd episode, distinguishing characteristics of personality disorders from other types of mental health conditions and review effective treatments of BPD.

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mental health, connectionAaron Shoregokcmental health, bpd, intense emotions, healing, recoveryComment
Can Trauma Cause Memory Loss? Brain Injury and PTSD
Can Trauma Cause Memory Loss? Brain Injury and PTSD

In this post, we'll detail several types of traumatic events and how they impact memory loss, difficulty retaining new information, memory impairments and dissociative amnesia. We will also discuss the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how memory loss due to trauma can affect your daily activities. Last, you will learn about the top evidence-based protocols & proven strategies to help you heal from your traumatic past. You are more than your tragedies. You will heal and thrive.

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mental healthAaron Shoregokcmemory, trauma, emdr, recovery, healingComment
Welcome to the gokc blog
Welcome to the gokc blog

Welcome, good morning, how do you do? This is our initial blog post - yay! I hope to add some value to your day, as well as to provide opportunity to stay focused about the things that matter to me. And just maybe we’ll be lucky enough for those topics to matter to you too. This post will cover three things:

  1. Introduce ourselves to you - gokc is a leading mental health private practice in KC

  2. Provide a roadmap for the gokc blog in 2024

  3. Encourage you to keep going no matter what!

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mental health, nature, connectionAaron Shoregokcgokc, mental health, nature therapy, welcome, introductionComment