Karen Tompkins

Children don’t come with a comprehensive instruction manual… and some children’s needs are not discussed in the mainstream parenting books. Karen shares her poignant story of navigating the medical and educational systems for her daughter’s rare disorder. Participants will leave with tools to develop a ‘label of care’ for themselves or the people they support.

It is very difficult to make rational decisions when you are in fight-flight-fight mode. Our neurochemistry is designed to keep us focused on solving the problem that is causing the stress… which is great if the problem is almost getting hit by a truck… that problem goes away. Not so great if the problem isn’t yours to resolve--- work environment; negative relationships, etc. There are concrete ways, backed by research, to increase the serotonin in your system to help you think clearly again.

Anxiety, and its close friend anger, seems to be unavoidable in today’s world. This session will explore specific techniques, backed by current research, designed to re-set your neurochemistry so that your body and brain can take a break from trying to solve problems that are out of your control. After learning how your brain reacts to stress, participants will leave with activities to ‘trick your brain’ so you can rest. It’s time to step back from that ‘red line zone’ to calmly and clearly process your day.