Healing Hearts Family Counseling

10/22/2026

We’re picking back up with our therapists’ Top 6 book recommendations, one at a time.

Book 2: Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

Have you ever felt anxious when a text goes unanswered, or found yourself pulling away when someone gets close? This book offers a helpful starting point. It explains attachment styles in plain language and shows that our need for closeness and our need for independence both make sense.

That’s part of how we approach relationships at Healing Hearts. Instead of labeling someone as “too needy” or “too distant,” we get curious about which needs might be going unmet and where those patterns first took shape.

Have you read this one? Did you recognize yourself, or someone you love, in it?

10/21/2026

When anxiety pulls you out of your body, grounding techniques can help bring you back into the present moment, fast.

1. Try a splash of cold water on your face or wrists.

2. Run through the 5-4-3-2-1 senses exercise: five things you see, four you hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, one you can taste.

3. Hold something with a little weight and take a slow, steady breath.

4. Name the objects around you out loud.

None of these fix everything. They just give your nervous system a foothold back into the present.

Save this post for the next time you need it. We’re here when you’re ready to talk to someone too.

10/17/2026

Two and a half years ago, I almost missed the class that changed my recovery.

Our dojo, Columbus WI. Black Belt Academy offers a free Mother’s Day class. The moms stand in the front row, the kids stand behind them, and the kids help teach their moms.

I usually miss it. Mother’s Day weekend lands on a conference I attend, so our family spends it at a hotel with a water park. We have a lovely time, but my son misses out.

In 2024, the dojo said I could come on a different day. So I took a class with my kiddo.

I had done kickboxing and body combat at the gym for years, so I thought I knew how to punch. I didn’t. Where my thumb goes. How to rotate my fist. Where to hold my hands by my face. Sensei kept coming over and moving me.

With a brain injury, that’s a lot. Remember where your arms go. Remember where your fists go. Hear the next instruction. Make your body follow through. It was hard as heck.

That night, I went home and did the dishes.

That might not sound like much. But after my brain injury, dishes had become so many steps: gather them, put them in the sink or dishwasher, wash, set aside, dry, put away. It could be a half hour of constant steps.

That night, I could organize it. Almost overnight.

The next day, I went back to the dojo almost in tears. “You guys have no idea. This is a game changer.”

I kept coming, and I signed up. I had no interest in a belt. I just knew I needed this.

I want to be honest. If they hadn’t offered a free class to honor moms and build that connection with our kids, I never would have considered it. Bouncing around at the gym and punching the air? Absolutely. Working toward a black belt? Never.

Two and a half years later, I help teach.

Sometimes the door that changes everything is one you never planned to walk through.

— Pat Ann

10/16/2026

Anxiety doesn’t only live in your head. It lives in your body too.

A tense jaw. A racing heart. A stomach that won’t settle. Nights when your mind won’t stop even though you’re exhausted. These aren’t separate from anxiety; they’re anxiety, showing up the only way your body knows how to get your attention.

Your body isn’t malfunctioning. It’s trying to protect you. The work isn’t fighting it; it’s learning to work with it instead.

If this sounds familiar, give us a call. We’re here to help. (608) 834-1122

10/15/2026

Did you see Jake Bauers’ home run last night?! ⚾

Two years ago, he was done with baseball. He’d had a rough season and told his agent he was retiring.

Then his wife told him she was pregnant. “We needed health insurance,” he said. So he kept going.

Last night, he fouled off pitch after pitch, refusing to give up, and on the 11th pitch he hit the home run that gave the Brewers the lead for good.

This year, he realized he was holding himself back, and he went for it. And look where we are now because of his investment: one win away from the World Series!

When we get out of our own way, we can finally achieve. And look at the greater impact it has. Sometimes we forget the impact is greater than just us. 🥰

What’s one thing you’d try if you stopped holding yourself back? 💙

Go Brewers! ⚾💙💛

LOS ANGELES – At his lowest point, Jake Bauers didn’t merely want to walk away from baseball. He wanted to get so far away it required an airplane or a cruise ship.

10/13/2026

Every pilot starts somewhere. ✈️

Last Saturday, Dodge County Flyers EAA Chapter 897 took kids up for their Young Eagles flights, and this plane carried three kids from three different families, with a female volunteer pilot at the controls. The kids were so excited to get up in the air, and the parents were just as excited, tracking the flight from the ground!

Young Eagles is about so much more than one ride. Kids get introduced to aviation, try out simulators, and meet pilots from all walks of life. They see how a pilot checks the plane before takeoff, and they learn so much along the way. But most importantly, they learn to love flying.

One young man was so fearful on his first Young Eagles visit that he couldn’t get in the plane. But that experience sparked something. He went on to pursue aerospace engineering, and today he’s being scouted by SpaceX. 🚀

You never know what can begin with one introductory flight, or one brave step toward something that scares you.

Thank you to Chapter 897 and every volunteer who gives their Saturdays to open up the sky for these kids. 💙

10/10/2026

Sometimes you forget where you came from until you meet someone who’s right where you started.

Last night at the Columbus WI. Black Belt Academy, I was talking with a newer taekwondo student who was having a hard time following directions. As I shared what helped me, I remembered how hard my own beginning was.

I don’t think I knew how bad off I was when I started.

After my brain injury, Sensei would tell us what to do, and I would stand there for several seconds thinking, “What is he asking?” Then I had to make my body do it. Sometimes I asked, “Can you move me? Can you show me?”

The whole class would go, and I would still be figuring out where to put my arms and legs.

The hardest part was switching sides. I would finally get a sequence of punches and kicks down with my left foot forward. Then we’d jump and turn, and I’d have to do it all again as a mirror image with my right foot forward. I had to stop and literally tell my arm what to do, especially my left arm.

Then we’d add something new, and I’d think, “Seriously? I just got those down!”

It was unbelievably hard. And it was exactly what my brain needed.

So I told her what helped me:

I chose classes with little kids and newer students, because I needed a slower pace.
I carried a little book and wrote everything down, because I would forget.
I came every day the dojo was open, and did YouTube classes on the weekends.

She said she never would have guessed. What she sees is a student who is strong, competent, and successful. She wonders how she could ever get to my level.

I used to be the one asking, “Can you show me?” Now I get to be the one who shows her that it’s possible.

Maybe you’re at your beginning right now, comparing yourself to someone else’s progress. Just remember, we all have beginnings, and they usually aren’t pretty.

Keep showing up. 🤗

— Pat Ann

10/07/2026

None of these are weakness. They're signals.

Burnout doesn't always look like lying on the floor exhausted. Sometimes it looks like snapping at the people you love most, feeling nothing instead of feeling tired, or wanting to disappear for a while, not forever, just a break from being "on."

If this list felt a little too accurate, that's information, not a failure. Contact Healing Hearts today, DM us or visit the link https://healingheartscares.com/

10/01/2026

Boundaries don't mean you love someone less. They mean you get to stay in the relationship without losing yourself in it.

Prentis Hemphill's words come up a lot in our work because boundaries get a bad reputation. People hear "boundary" and picture a wall, or a punishment, or distance. It's really the opposite. A boundary is what makes closeness sustainable.

If you need the reminder today: you can love someone and still say no. You can show up for the people you care about and still protect your own peace. Both are true at the same time.

What's one boundary you're proud of holding onto this year? Tell us below.

09/24/2026

Please join us in welcoming Kirsten to the Healing Hearts team! 💛

Kirsten is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where she's earning her M.S.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She brings more than eight years of experience as an educator and Infant Mental Health Specialist, supporting neurodiverse children and their families with trauma-informed, strengths-based care.

Her focus is early childhood development, attachment, and family support. Fairness, empathy, and optimism guide her work, and she's passionate about helping children and individuals with exceptionalities grow through understanding, connection, and hope.

Leave Kirsten a warm welcome in the comments! 👇