It’s almost Thanksgiving in the US and I’m trying to be reflective (and patient while I wait for Black Friday deals so I can buy an adorable mini label maker for 4$ off!)

I think every therapist knows how having a gratitude practice is good for you.

They’ve been shown to improve mood, lower stress hormones, help people sleep better, strengthen emotional resilience, and lose weight. Nope, not that last one. Especially if you love stovetop stuffing as much as I do! (Not an affiliate but if they want to send me free boxes I won’t return them!)

And I actually have a daily practice already and have been doing it for years!

I send an email to my self (almost) every night listing 5 specific things I’m grateful for and something I learned.

Last night this is what I wrote:

Great intakes and clinic (yes, I love my clinic!)​
Amelia made a delicious dinner (my 12 year old can cook!)​
Darla came over and notarized my form for NY! (it's awesome to have a notary neighbor, but she's awesome even without her stamp!)​
A solid workout (I felt the burn)​
Some good writing and ok sketching this morning plus I found some body images for my character (I'm working on making some perimenopause stickers. I know. I need a less-weird hobby.)​
​I learned more about Norway from Madi when she was showing me her presentation board like how they put babies out in the cold to make them tough!

*To be clear this may not be an actual thing. My daughter is 10 and googled stuff with her friend at school while they were making their power points and then shared this delightful tidbit over dinner. Feel free to let me know the truth.

I don’t really do anything with this, but the little bit of time it takes to think about this and type it out helps remind me that there’s a lot of good even when I’m tired or grumpy or don’t want to go to bed early so i can get up to work out (ugh, leg day again!).

All this to say I have a lot to be grateful for and hopefully you do too!

And so I’m going to share something from my neurofeedback mentor, Dr. Hogan Pesaniello. It’s her excellent resource list! And I think she’s even mentoring people again! Which could be an amazing opportunity for a curious, motivated therapist!

I’ve included my resource list here too but I also want to (sadly) share I think the Focus Calm device is no longer available. A therapist who was at the conference where I presented (shout out to Aloha Summits!!) was interested in purchasing one of their devices but it was sold out. I’ve sent some emails and received nothing back over the past 2 weeks and many of the pages link to that dreaded 404 page not found. Which is a bummer bc it’s a cool device and I know someone who just bought one in Sept! Wonh wonh. 😕

Anyway, just wanted to let you know about Focus Calm since I was so positive on it and now it may not be available.

But instead you now have my resources AND Dr. Pesaniello’s!!

Hoping you have a delightful Thanksgiving whether you celebrate or not (isn’t every Thursday deserving of a celebration? I vote yes!)

I’ll be camping, rock climbing, hiking, and “refueling” with pumpkin-y everything! And keeping track of all the things I’m appreciative in my life, including you!

Cheers to healthy brains,

Dr. B
Jessica Beachkofsky, MD MSCP
Your friendly online psychiatrist!

P.S. Here are your resources: from Dr. Pesaniello and mine​

P.P.S. Do you ever wonder how to look at those articles that come out shouting “It triples your risk of cancer!!” Or try to figure out if the amazing sleep supplement your friend takes will work for your crappy night's sleep too (and be worth the extra $57.99 each month)? That’s what I’m working on now! Let me know if you have a poignant story or burning question I should include. I’ll keep you posted.