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Home
Who We Are
Free Resources
Self-Help Shop
- Not Ready for Counselling?
- Online Courses
Counselling Services
Marriage & Baby Prep
- Prepare your Relationship for Marriage
- Prepare your Relationship for Baby
Get in Touch

info@illuminate-online.com

Online Learning

Invest in yourself, in the comfort of your home, at a fraction of the cost of counselling.

Our online courses are therapist-designed to be the shortcut to greater personal insight, improved relationships, and mental wellness.

What you can expect from our courses:

Video Lessons
Downladable Companion Workbook
+ Bonus Cheat Sheets

Peruse our course offerings below.

224 Esplanade West
North Vancouver, BC V7M 1A4

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The most difficult part of dream interpretation is

The most difficult part of dream interpretation is actually REMEMBERING THEM!⁠
⁠
A couple of key points:⁠
⁠
🌟 distractions when you first wake up are the most effective way to forget your dreams!⁠
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🌟 it's more difficult to access the details & authentic feelings of your dreams as time passes ⁠
⁠
🌟 there's a good chance that at some point you will feel resistance to writing down your dream, especially as you become more and more awake⁠
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🌟 this is because your logical brain comes online and will likely make a case for having 'more important' things to do, or jump too quickly to dream interpretation⁠
⁠
➡️ ➡️ SWIPE for our top tips to help you remember your dreams⁠👍🏼
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Save these tips for later! 👇🏼⁠

🛋️ Beginning in the early 1900s, Sigmund FREU

🛋️ Beginning in the early 1900s, Sigmund FREUD and Carl JUNG were the two heavy-hitters of dream analysis. Jung was actually a student of Freud's and broke away from him due to fundamental disagreements in their psychological theory.⁠
⁠
📚Jung contributed a great deal to dream theory in his writing (such as in Memories, Dreams, Reflections), and although his books are *NOT* light reading, they have provided the field of psychology, especially those who work with dreams, with an endless supply of ideas to ponder! ⁠
⁠
➡️➡️ SWIPE for a basic overview of FREUD and JUNG's different beliefs about dreams. ⁠

🌟Our favourite takeaway from Dream Theory? That dreams can help us become our BEST selves — as we acknowledge anxieties & fears, we can tap into a wisdom that we can’t access using our conscious mind!

WHY do we dream anyway?⁠ ⚱️Many ancient civ

WHY do we dream anyway?⁠

⚱️Many ancient civilizations held dreams as a sacred link to ancestors or as messages from the gods. Hypocrites believed they pointed to physical ailments or even predicted disease. ⁠
⁠
🧬More recently, science has suggested several evolutionary benefits to dreaming, including that they allow important biochemicals to be replenished in the brain, and even help us rehearse a response to a dangerous event, increasing our chances of survival. ⁠
⁠
🌟From a psychological perspective, dreams can serve several important functions in our lives, including:⁠
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✔️ a coping mechanism - a creative and healthy escape from the stress of daily life⁠
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✔️ because or logical brain is not very active during REM sleep (when dreams occur) this allows for creative problem-solving⁠
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✔️ signaling when we need to take action, such as having a hard conversation or making an important decision ⁠
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✔️ alert us to things in our life that need a closer look (which we may be ignoring)⁠
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✔️ serving as a direct gateway to our emotional world⁠
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If you are interested in understanding dreams in plain language, we love the book, How Dreams Speak, by Nicole Chilton 👍

This week we are delving into the rich world of ou

This week we are delving into the rich world of our DREAMS! 😴⁠
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🛋Although our team of counsellors are not formal dream analysts nor psychoanalysts, we are always excited at the opportunity to help our clients process and make sense of their dreams. ⁠🤔⁠
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Even if it's just a small part of our session, clients often feel empowered when we take an emotionally charged dream and make some sense of how it can be applied to their life.⁠
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💡Stay tuned this week as we honour dream theory, try to better understand their psychological function, as well as give tips for accessing the insights hidden within our dreams. ⁠
⁠

We bet you’re already doing 1 or more of these s

We bet you’re already doing 1 or more of these strategies!

Here are 3️⃣ ways to stimulate the Vagus Nerve & reduce stress & anxiety:

1️⃣ COLD EXPOSURE

2️⃣ GENTLE MASSAGE

3️⃣ THROAT STIMULATION

➡️ Doing these practices regularly increase your VAGAL TONE, which leads to overall improved well-being…Spending less time stuck in stress response, and more time feeling connected and vital. 💪🏻💃🏼

DID YOU KNOW??
Vagus Nerve stimulation has also been shown to help with:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- ADHD
- Epilepsy
- Migraines or cluster headaches

✨Research is showing that having a VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) device implanted can help with treatment-resistant depression, & significantly reduce epilepsy seizures.

🤔 Have you heard of the Vagus Nerve?⁠ ⁠ The

🤔 Have you heard of the Vagus Nerve?⁠
⁠
The Vagus Nerve is an important part of our biology that we think everyone needs to learn about!⁠
⁠
Why? ⁠
Because knowing more about what it does, and how to stimulate it, can directly benefit your mental health! 💗⁠
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🧠The Vagus Nerve is the longest cranial nerve coming out of the brain, extending into multiple areas of the body. When stimulated, it turns on many parts of the parasympathetic nervous system (AKA. REST & DIGEST).⁠
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Having GOOD VAGAL TONE means better emotional regulation, greater ability to connect to yourself & others, & overall greater resilience through trauma and stress.⁠
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💡Stay tuned to learn some strategies that help stimulate the Vagus Nerve!⁠

Being a 'good' parent doesn't have to be all-or-no

Being a 'good' parent doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. ⁠
⁠
Today we are collaborating with @sleepybabycoach to chat about keeping your expectations around baby’s sleep real, and celebrating small wins 🏆⁠
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👶🏼👶🏾 A baby's sleep is far from perfect. Their cues are confusing, their wake tolerance is affected by practically everything, and their sleep needs and cycles change rapidly over the first few years of their lives. ⁠
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For most mothers, getting your baby well-rested and fed is a daily goal. But achieving this every day can often feel insurmountable. And on those days, it's not about perfection. It's about preserving your sanity as a parent, and trying again tomorrow 😎⁠
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So give yourself permission to do that car or stroller nap on the go, if that's what's best for you today. ⁠
⁠
And here's something to put your mind at ease: Adela explains that if 80% of the time baby is taking good naps in the crib, then it's perfectly fine that 20% of the time baby naps on the go. ⁠
⁠
To ensure those on-the-go naps here are Adela's top tips:⁠
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🔵 don't miss baby's nap window by getting baby in the car/stroller 5-10 minutes before naptime ⁠
🔵 avoid transferring baby while asleep ⁠
🔵 keep driving/walking till baby completes a full nap cycle (45-60 minutes)⁠
🔵 bring a portable white noise machine⁠
🔵 bring your child's lovey (appropriate for 1+ years of age ⁠
⁠
If you're really struggling with your baby's sleep, get in touch with @sleepbabycoach for a free personalized sleep assessment!

SLEEP & your postpartum mental health. How are the

SLEEP & your postpartum mental health. How are they related?⁠
⁠
🧠 Without getting into the science behind it, sleep deprivation impacts the brain in all sorts of ways, including:⁠

~ how we take in information⁠
~ the meaning we make of it⁠
~ how we behave⁠
~ how we communicate with others⁠
⁠
And this can help to explain why you may be feeling overwhelmed!⁠
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⭐ Our goal here is not to blame everything on sleep or add pressure, but to name that it can be a major contributor to postpartum mental health. So you are NOT crazy - you are going through a difficult time, and you are NOT alone!⁠
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We hope this can remind you to have some compassion for your sleep-deprived self, and/or your sleep-deprived partner!⁠

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info@illuminate-online.com

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