If ever an event to rouse your child’s nervous system, it’s returning to school. This annual life transition can bring up feelings ranging from happiness, relief, excitement and optimism, to ambivalence, fear, shame, anger, anxiety and depression. Whether your child is just starting or going back to school, it can be challenging as a caretaker to witness the less than positive reactions. But, learning to view your child’s school struggles through a nervous system and connection lens may provide context and solutions you hadn’t previously considered.

How to bring more ease and less dis-ease (originally defined as the opposite of ease) into your life when the world is filled with turmoil? We’ve been co-existing with suffering and uncertainty about what the future will look like for a long while. To be sure, these are beyond challenging times. I invite you to take a short break from dis-ease to spend some quality time with ease. I’ll leave it to you how much time you visit, even a few moments will reap benefits.

It’s never pleasant to acknowledge that you’ve experienced trauma, whether it’s a one-time occurrence or ongoing. But what about when you know something feels off and you can’t quite make sense of why? Due diligence at your doctor rules out physical ailments and you’re advised to manage your stress. While this seems like reasonable advice, what you’re experiencing feels bigger, yet vague. Noticing that something is happening in your mind and body that you can’t explain can feel scary and isolating, even surreal.