

Carla Friesen / Carla Friesen Counselling & Coaching / ©2020 carlafriesen
- Nov 26, 2020
- 2 min
Seeking Comfort in Difficult Times
I was listening to our public radio station the other day and they were talking about Pantone’s “color of the year" and how they go about choosing a color to represent each year. In 2020 they chose the color "classic blue" because it brings a sense of peace and tranquility. They went on to talk about how, when the economy is doing well and the world is stable, then everyone wants to paint their walls fun colors and take risks, but when things are unstable, then people seek


Carla Friesen / Carla Friesen Counselling & Coaching / ©2020 carlafriesen
- Nov 19, 2020
- 2 min
Motivating your Child, Even When they are in Pain
What is something that has been motivating for your child, even when they are in pain? I call these strange medicines. They are activities that activate our kids’ internal pharmacy and release happy hormones like serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin. Some of Greta’s strange medicines have been… Selling things on Facebook Marketplace – even in her worst pain she would get up to answer the door when someone wanted to buy something. Getting out of bed to take phot


Carla Friesen / Carla Friesen Counselling & Coaching / ©2020 carlafriesen
- Nov 12, 2020
- 2 min
Did you Know there is a Healthy Way to Cry?
I used to rarely cry. In fact, I remember sometimes thinking maybe it was strange how rarely I cried. Now I cry easily. I have had a lot of practice in the past 4 years. There was a period of time that I was always so close to my crying threshold that I would cry anytime asked me "How are you?" Now I don’t cry quite so easily, but still pretty easily. And I am ok with that. I have learned that there is a healthy way to cry. A way that allows the stress to move through you an

Carla Friesen / Carla Friesen Counselling & Coaching / ©2020 carlafriesen
- Nov 5, 2020
- 3 min
Chronic Pain can Transform Into a Pain Syndrome
Greta’s 24/7 migraines were baffling. How could a migraine start and never stop? What could be going on in the body to make that happen? We couldn’t figure it out, the doctors didn’t seem to be able to give us any clear answers either. Medications, treatments and rest didn’t seem to ease her pain. Or maybe they would for a short while but then the pain would come back again. When Greta finally got diagnosed with Amplified Pain Syndrome (4 years later) her 24/7 pain started t