Blogs For Your Personal Growth

Inspiration, Empowerment, Education, Tips, and More from Meredith Van Ness, LCSW.

Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Mastering Mindfulness: A Guide to Easy Practices for Stress Reduction and Inner Peace

Mindfulness is more than a buzzword; it's a powerful tool to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, alleviate chronic pain, improve sleep, and even address gastrointestinal difficulties.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Why Asking for Help Boosts Confidence and Reduces Stress

Why Asking for Help Reduces Stress and Makes You More Confident... Trying to do everything on your own can be incredibly stressful...

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Navigating High-Functioning Anxiety: Finding Balance and Well-Being

High-functioning anxiety shows up for people in overdoing, overthinking, and overperforming. Recognizing that you suffer from high functioning anxiety is tricky because often times it feels productive or even beneficial. On the surface, you may come off as organized, high-achieving, proactive, and outgoing but you may be suffering in silence.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Why Setting Boundaries is Crucial for Reducing Anxiety and Boosting Confidence

Setting boundaries is critical for maintaining good mental health. When we don't set clear boundaries, we can become overwhelmed and stressed, leading to feelings of anxiety, low self-esteem, and burnout.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, life coaching Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, life coaching Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

5 Ways to Maximize the Benefits of Therapy and Coaching

Are you already in therapy or considering this option as a way to improve your overall mental and emotional well-being? Here are 5 ways to make it even more productive.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Stress Management Made Easy: Unveiling Symptoms, Strategies, and Resilience-Building Techniques with Meredith Van Ness

Virtually everyone on this earth has experienced stress in one form or another. It is your body’s natural reaction to help you adjust to the changes and challenges of life. Whether these stressors include work, a big exam, or dealing with home life, some stress is normal. However, bad or chronic stress—the kind that negatively impacts our mental, physical, emotional health—occurs when stress persists over a long period of time. We become used to this type of stress as a part of our everyday lives and forget how to manage it.


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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

How to Identify Stress and Anxiety. 10 Tips that will help relieve and manage them.

We’ve all experienced more stress than usual in the last couple of years. So now normal and everyday stresses may be putting you in a constant place of feeling out of control or overwhelmed. Although some stress is a natural part of life, we must learn to handle it in healthy ways so our stress does not always spiral into anxiety.





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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

June Journal Prompts: Gratitude

I for one am so grateful to have gotten my kids through the school year! This was no easy task with homeschooling and working and running my business. In light of this success I wanted to take this month to spend some time reflecting on what we are grateful for.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

May Journal Prompts: Personal Growth in Spring

I view the month of May as a time of revival and rebirth. The weather is starting to change, and it makes me feel hopeful for the future. It shows me that nothing lasts forever, so I have to keep working towards my goals.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

The Downward Spiral of Automatic Thoughts

Even if you’re having a good day or you thought you succeeded at something, this voice is the first to remind you that you are not worthy. These negative, exaggerated thought patterns are called automatic thoughts or cognitive distortions and we all experience them from time to time.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Learn to Recognize the Symptoms of Stress

Virtually everyone on this earth has experienced stress in one form or another. It is your body’s natural reaction to help you adjust to the changes and challenges of life. Whether these stressors include work, a big exam, or dealing with home life, some stress is normal.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

March Journal Prompts: Reflection and Self Growth

Journaling helps to offer insight into our daily lives when we are amidst the daily hustle and bustle and don’t always have time to reflect at the moment.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Using WOOP to Reach Your Goals

Although it may sound funny at first, WOOP is an acronym for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Clever, right? Developed by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen—a professor and researcher who spent 20 years studying the science behind goal setting and positive thinking—this mental practice is an optimal way to help motivate us to attain our various life goals.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction, Anxiety Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

5 Ways to Cultivate Healthy Habits

Below are five healthy practices to pursue in the New Year, as well as a recap of some tools and practices that the Balanced+Well community encourages.

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Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching Vision, Goals, Planning, Purpose, self-love, Stress, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Direction Meredith Van Ness Therapy + Coaching

Happy 2022! Resources for Your Best Year Yet

My hope is the tools and resources below will help you to take a moment, a few moments or even longer to do some of your own personal reflection and goal setting.

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