We’ve all been there. Heated arguments with our boyfriend reminding him that dirty socks belong in the hamper. Yelling at the girl next to you in the study room because she just won't shut up. Flipping the bird to the guy who hopped into your cab after hailing it.

Due to popular request for instant notification to our blog postings and updates to our activities, Empathic created our very own Reader's List. Since it's creation, our list has been growing!

Welcome back from the holidays y'all! I hope you're all feeling relaxed, refreshed and rebooted, ready to take on the new year! January has always been one of my favourite months of the year. It is a representation of a fresh start, new beginnings, and hope for growth.

I'm going to give me some credit. I managed to avoid 4 out of my 5 Christmas NO NO list items. Pat on the back for me for sticking to (most) of my guns. The stressor that I failed to avoid was my last minute Christmas shopping habit. I usually almost always leave it to a few days before Christmas.

This weekend I thought it would be a great idea to put a twist on a Christmas tradition that I have been doing for years now. Typically, a week before the holidays, you can find me in the kitchen baking up a storm.

Christmas season is an excellent time for reflection. The year is coming to an end and the new year is upon us. December/January has always been a time for me to take a look at the past year and think about the amount of change I have gone through in the span of 12 months.

Christmas has always held a special place in my heart. Not because of the gifts or because of all the free time it blesses me with, but because I have always associated the Christmas season with being with family. I remember at a young age.

Learning to say NO on any other day is hard, but learning to say NO during the holidays is worse. You could be pulled in all sorts of directions with family gatherings, potlucks, gift exchanges, reunion Christmas parties, Christmas traditions, etc. etc. where does it end?

In Day 1 of our Coping with the Holidays series, we talk about the art of shopping for gifts without the stress. What's Christmas without presents- am I right? In the spirit of the season, it's easy to get caught up in giving and receiving gifts to our loved ones and friends.

Picture the halls decked in holly, steaming cups of hot chocolate, colourful gift wrapped presents bundled below the extravagant Christmas tree and the meticulously organized table setting with a juicy turkey taking centre stage.

Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the anticipation of Christmas and rising stress levels. The more that you look forward to the Christmas season, the greater amount of stress you feel.

I am an avid avoider of Christmas songs in November. I simply don't understand how we can jump from Thanksgiving one day and right into the Christmas season the next day.

Welcome to Day 1 of our Twelve Days of Christmas: Coping with the Holidays Series. For the next few weeks, Empathic Counselling Centre will be sharing our secrets to dealing with holiday stress and our life hacks that have been tried and tested.

When I decided to open Empathic Counselling Centre, I knew that I didn't want to just be another practice. I didn't want to simply meet clients all week and think that I was done (not that there's anything wrong with this - some practitioners are very content in doing so). However, I knew that I wanted more from Empathic.

Self-esteem is a reflection of one's emotional evaluation of their self-worth. There is such thing as negative and positive self-esteem, each with it's own defining features. Negative self-esteem occurs when we have little value in ourselves.

Stress is a normal part of life. Without it, nothing would get done. We need stress or motivation in our lives to pay bills on time, put food on our table, or to do well at our jobs.

It’s normal to feel defeated and to succumb to life’s challenges- we’re human. However, it’s your resilience that helps you re-focus, re-prioritize, and gets you back into your A-game. Resilience is what keeps you going. Here are a few tips to help you build your resilience in times of great difficulty.

I read an amazing blog post entitled, Technology, the Third Wheel of your Relationship by Kelly Bishop from the Thought Catalogue. Bishop opens your eyes to how consumed we are by technology that it deprives you from being fully present and fully attentive to the people you choose the spend your time with. But are you really choosing to spend your time with them? I would argue no.

For a change, I'd thought I'd share some inspirational quotes that can help get you through this week, especially because it's Monday, the day where motivation hits an all time low (don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure that's accurate)

Let's set up a scenario. You are on the subway on a groggy Monday morning and as the car door opens at the arriving station, you see Becky, someone who you went to university with, enter through them.