Alex Elle

How are we nourishing ourselves in a way that is healthy and sustainable?

So they don't default to the others. I actually see this with my 14 year old. So she has anxiety as well. And a part of her anxiety is skin picking. And that she doesn't skin pick or self harm to end her life, but she does it because it feels good to her. Or because she's trying to punish herself for something, right?

So they don't default to the others. I actually see this with my 14 year old. So she has anxiety as well. And a part of her anxiety is skin picking. And that she doesn't skin pick or self harm to end her life, but she does it because it feels good to her. Or because she's trying to punish herself for something, right?

So they don't default to the others. I actually see this with my 14 year old. So she has anxiety as well. And a part of her anxiety is skin picking. And that she doesn't skin pick or self harm to end her life, but she does it because it feels good to her. Or because she's trying to punish herself for something, right?

And so something that we've been working with her psychiatrist on and therapist on is like redirection of that. Okay, so if you're picking because you're nervous, what can we do instead of picking? Or if you're picking because you are excited, what can we do with our hands, right? Instead of that, right? So it is the redirection, the intentional redirection.

And so something that we've been working with her psychiatrist on and therapist on is like redirection of that. Okay, so if you're picking because you're nervous, what can we do instead of picking? Or if you're picking because you are excited, what can we do with our hands, right? Instead of that, right? So it is the redirection, the intentional redirection.

And so something that we've been working with her psychiatrist on and therapist on is like redirection of that. Okay, so if you're picking because you're nervous, what can we do instead of picking? Or if you're picking because you are excited, what can we do with our hands, right? Instead of that, right? So it is the redirection, the intentional redirection.

So when I see her picking, I'll say, hey, don't pick. I have Band-Aids. And you want to put a Band-Aid on? Because that'll redirect her to, oh, okay, let me not do that and let me cover. And then we can move on to finding something else, right? And as someone who... Part of my anxiety is I pull my hair out, which is why I've been keeping my hair short lately.

So when I see her picking, I'll say, hey, don't pick. I have Band-Aids. And you want to put a Band-Aid on? Because that'll redirect her to, oh, okay, let me not do that and let me cover. And then we can move on to finding something else, right? And as someone who... Part of my anxiety is I pull my hair out, which is why I've been keeping my hair short lately.

So when I see her picking, I'll say, hey, don't pick. I have Band-Aids. And you want to put a Band-Aid on? Because that'll redirect her to, oh, okay, let me not do that and let me cover. And then we can move on to finding something else, right? And as someone who... Part of my anxiety is I pull my hair out, which is why I've been keeping my hair short lately.

I have, it's called trick and I literally will pull my hair out. And so what I do when I get highly anxious and I feel myself tooling with my hair, I start snapping. So there's another self-soothing thing like, oh, I can't pick and snap at the same time. It's impossible. Right. So like even if even starting small, I'm mentioning those things because our kids deal with it.

I have, it's called trick and I literally will pull my hair out. And so what I do when I get highly anxious and I feel myself tooling with my hair, I start snapping. So there's another self-soothing thing like, oh, I can't pick and snap at the same time. It's impossible. Right. So like even if even starting small, I'm mentioning those things because our kids deal with it.

I have, it's called trick and I literally will pull my hair out. And so what I do when I get highly anxious and I feel myself tooling with my hair, I start snapping. So there's another self-soothing thing like, oh, I can't pick and snap at the same time. It's impossible. Right. So like even if even starting small, I'm mentioning those things because our kids deal with it.

We deal with it starting small. Maybe it's not going for a walk every day, but maybe it's snapping. Maybe it's not, you know, writing in your gratitude journal as self-soothing tool. Perhaps it's going to make a cup of tea with intention. Bringing your mind back to the moment and slowing down is really what self-soothing is. That's the nourishing act, the slowing down and the redirection.

We deal with it starting small. Maybe it's not going for a walk every day, but maybe it's snapping. Maybe it's not, you know, writing in your gratitude journal as self-soothing tool. Perhaps it's going to make a cup of tea with intention. Bringing your mind back to the moment and slowing down is really what self-soothing is. That's the nourishing act, the slowing down and the redirection.

We deal with it starting small. Maybe it's not going for a walk every day, but maybe it's snapping. Maybe it's not, you know, writing in your gratitude journal as self-soothing tool. Perhaps it's going to make a cup of tea with intention. Bringing your mind back to the moment and slowing down is really what self-soothing is. That's the nourishing act, the slowing down and the redirection.

My mom's favorite phrase growing up is tears don't fix anything or crying doesn't solve problems. And Charlie, who is my oldest daughter, is a crier. And something that I have committed to not doing is telling her to stop crying. Yeah. I will say, it's okay for you to cry. If you want to excuse yourself, go ahead, get yourself together, and you can rejoin us when you're ready to talk.

My mom's favorite phrase growing up is tears don't fix anything or crying doesn't solve problems. And Charlie, who is my oldest daughter, is a crier. And something that I have committed to not doing is telling her to stop crying. Yeah. I will say, it's okay for you to cry. If you want to excuse yourself, go ahead, get yourself together, and you can rejoin us when you're ready to talk.

My mom's favorite phrase growing up is tears don't fix anything or crying doesn't solve problems. And Charlie, who is my oldest daughter, is a crier. And something that I have committed to not doing is telling her to stop crying. Yeah. I will say, it's okay for you to cry. If you want to excuse yourself, go ahead, get yourself together, and you can rejoin us when you're ready to talk.

Something that I will say is I can't understand you when you're crying. And so I love you. Go ahead and get yourself together. And it's no rush. But I'm never going to tell her, stop crying. Tears don't solve anything. Because for her, crying is a self-soothing mechanism. And I didn't cry for a long time. Or I would cry in private because I didn't want my mom to see me.