Living Tides Psychotherapy and Wellness

Thank you for visiting Living Tides Psychotherapy and Wellness. All humans are welcome here. ​

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Sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in repetitive patterns—familiar thoughts, emotions, body sensations, or behaviours that are hard to shift, even when they get in the way of how we want to live, connect with others, or feel connected to ourselves. At times, things that seem minor can trigger unexpectedly strong emotional responses, leaving you wondering why they hit so hard. These reactions often have deeper roots, even if they’re not immediately clear. What is clear, though, is that you're not actually alone in this, and there’s nothing wrong with you.

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Every struggle makes sense when we consider the full context of your lived experience, including your inner emotional world, personal and intergenerational history, culture, biology, intersecting identities, and the environments that have shaped you or continue to affect you. These environments may include your physical surroundings, your family and community, and broader social and institutional systems we all live within—many of which, like colonization, systemic racism, and other forms of structural oppression, have caused deep and lasting harm, particularly to those from historically marginalized and global majority communities.

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It can be frustrating, exhausting, and defeating to feel trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of unwanted patterns. And while these patterns may feel unhelpful or even harmful in the present, they often served an important purpose at some point. They may have helped you survive, stay safe, or stay connected in ways that were necessary at the time. It’s also important to recognize that some responses aren’t just echoes of the past. They may be active and appropriate responses to real, ongoing challenges in your current environment, such as a lack of safety at home, within relationships, or in the broader world. Naming this truth matters: the goal is never to pathologize your responses, but to understand them with compassion and care.

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What do these “patterns” actually look like in everyday life? They can show up in many forms: self-criticism, people-pleasing, emotional overwhelm such as anxiety, anger, or panic, emotional numbing or dissociation, or challenges in relationships, like anxious or avoidant attachment. These are often expressions of the nervous system’s natural survival responses—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—which may have been protective in the past or may still be trying to protect you now. These patterns and responses can also manifest in the body in chronic tension, pain, illness, or other symptoms that speak when words cannot.​

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​Why "Living Tides?"

 

As a child, I loved exploring tide pools along the Gulf Islands with my dad, an activity I can still easily get lost in for hours. There is wonderment in the tiny creatures who will show themselves beneath a salty ocean window should you be still enough for long enough. With such presence and attention, parts of a larger thriving ecosystem will suddenly come to life before your eyes: A hermit crab seeking new residence, sculpins hiding in a sandstone cave, green anemone’s closing in on a catch.

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Much like tide pools, our minds are composed of a beautifully complex interconnected system requiring intercommunication and balance in order to thrive. When one component is not functioning optimally or is cut off from the others, the whole system can be affected. This is where curiosity comes in. If we can look at all parts of ourselves, even (especially) parts we fear or dislike, with openness and curiosity, we may be surprised at what we find. I invite you to tap into your own version of the child in awe of the tidepools. That kind of gentle, curious attention can be a powerful guide toward self-awareness, understanding, and ultimately, healing.