Developing A Culture Of Love & Kindness

May 12, 2020

Moms, whether you’re parenting single or with a partner, this episode is for you. All the stress that quarantine is bringing us, including being at home with our kids and partner 24/7, is bound to cause some anxiety and tension in the household. I’m thrilled to have Amber Trueblood, author of Stretch Marks, on to talk about how to develop a culture of love and kindness to see us through this difficult time - and beyond.

About Amber Trueblood

Amber is first and foremost a mother of four boys under the age of 12, then an author and retreat host. She has an MBA, an MFT, and is unequivocally a parenting expert. Her expertise, experience, compassion, and humor result in that perfect unique combination of entertainment and effectiveness.

On this episode of The Girlfriend Doctor, Amber starts by telling us why we need to keep track of how often we’re saying “I should” - and to what. Women are often faced with feeling like they “should” be doing something, but in reality, is it necessary? The first step to leveling out your anxiety and increasing your happiness, mama, is to treat yourself with kindness.

Amber shares her insights into what she calls your emotional bank account. When your emotional funds are running low, you’re more susceptible to shorter tempers and higher anxiety. Amber talks about some of the ways we can replenish our emotional bank account.

Next, Amber explains a few techniques to connect with your family through gratitude, appreciation, and growing as individuals. When we acknowledge who our family is, our connection with them grows, even between siblings, and paves the way for greater acceptance. Amber also tells us why it’s so important to share with your children how you’re feeling and what you’re experiencing.

On a more practical level, Amber tells us how simple breathing techniques can help us control our anxiety levels. She also gives us the inside scoop on how to stay in the present moment and why this is something we should actively strive to do. Finally, Amber explains what emergency emotional management is and why you need to figure out its role in your life.

What makes you happy? What can you do, starting today, to create that loving environment to encourage growth? As always, you can ask me anything and let me hear your thoughts in the comments on the episode page. If you have questions, email team@drannacabeca.com.

In This Episode:

Why you should keep an eye on your “I shoulds”
Why you need to treat yourself with kindness
How you can replenish your emotional bank account
How you can check-in with your family to really acknowledge who they are
Why it’s so important to share with your children how you feel and what you’re experiencing
What impact breathing has on your anxiety levels
Why you should focus on one moment at a time
What role emergency emotional management has in your life

Quotes:

“Sometimes being kind to ourselves and being honest to ourselves is so important. Let’s maybe not jump to beat ourselves up for situations. And even if it was related, does it serve you at all to go into that negativity spiral?” (31:47)

“Bringing yourself into the present moment can also really be a wonderful way to reduce your anxiety.” (36:21)

“When we try to treat all of our kids the same, it’s doing a disservice. That’s really not treating anybody fairly because they’re not the same and they don’t have the same needs. Give yourself permission to treat people differently because they deserve to be treated differently because they are different humans.” (52:33)

“At the end of the day, I think kids, like all humans, want to feel loved, they want to feel like they belong, they want to feel safe, and they want to feel respected and accepted.” (55:57)