Michelle Pettengill, LCSW

Happy September! It is cooler weather today, which I am very grateful for!!!  As I love learning more and more about how nutrition plays a role in our mental health, I thought I would continue to talk about it!  For me, when I began to learn about this, I knew this wasn't just a trend or a fad, but a lifestyle change. In fact, I don't like the words DIET, FADS, KETO, ATKINS....they may work for a short period of time and I commend them for what they stand for and try to do. However in the long run, these diets don't last. We discussed your relationship with food in the last blog, and let me tell you, that is truly the key to long term success. Asking yourself, when I eat this nightshade vegetable (bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes) how do I feel? When I eat a whole bowl of pasta, what does my tummy feel like afterwards and what is my mood like? Being in tune with you, is so crucial to mental health wellness! This is a long term lifestyle or way of eating because once you fig...

Hello Hello!!! Catching up here for our August blog!  To recap, we have learned how self care relates to our anxiety, hormones, cortisol, adrenals, and stress. In addition, we have learned about next steps in taking a pause to ask ourselves what the best for you right now, as well as you were given tools to track your food, mood, and stool. So now with this blog and upcoming blogs, we will dive into daily tools that you can use to increase self care, and to help you regulate your moods, so that you can feel more balanced, nurtured, and energized!!  We will start with nutrition.  It is not a secret that what we eat can have a significant impact on our mental health. I have done a ton of research and have found that there is a strong connection between nutrition and mental health, with certain foods being so important for our brain function, gut health, and mood regulation. Now, what I am saying does not mean that you have to go cold turkey and eat all fruits and vegetables...

Hello All!  My apologies for the MONTH long delay in my next blog! Where did July go?!! Hope you are all doing well and becoming more and more aware of your bodies and how they respond to different things, most importantly, stress.  One of the most important things we can do as humans, is keep learning and growing forward by listening to our bodies and asking ourselves, what is the best way for ME to respond. For example, if I eat this really mouth watering chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream, it is going to taste amazing, however I know, that my tummy is going to grow big like I am 3mo pregnant, its going to hurt, and I know I will not sleep well. SOOO, is it worth it? Another example, let's say is at work, and you have just received feedback that your project you finished didn't complete the requested criteria and you need to re do it. Before reacting and wanting to defend yourself, ask yourself, what is the best response for me right now? It may be taking a pause, ta...

 Hello again! Thanks for coming back!  Last months blog was about how self care can relate to anxiety and this months blog is about how self care relates to stress: cortisol levels, hormone balance, and adrenal care.  When I was growing up, I didn't know what cortisol levels were, or let alone, adrenal glands. I thought being tired was a normal part of growing up, being a student, playing outside all day, but as I grew older and learned about what these things are, I realized I was not supposed to feel this tired! 😫 Just so you know, I am a pretty simple person when it comes to explaining things. I am not clinical. I just want the information to be simple and easy to understand, so it sticks in my brain! I want to know if things work and if it doesn't, and do not need a huge explanation for it either!  This is the way that I would like to communicate with you, and is definitely the way, I communicate with my clients. So let's go through a couple of definitions to st...

Welcome to my blog! My name is Michelle Pettengill, and I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a passion for helping people manage their anxiety and stress through self-care techniques. As someone who has struggled with anxiety in the past, I know firsthand how important it is to take care of your physical and mental health. I am passionate about self care, as I recently found out my own symptoms of worry, headaches, negative self talk, and lack of time for me was crippling me. I felt bloated for most of my life, have had migraines since a little girl, and would constantly be saying to myself "well what if this happens or that happens", and I was driving my own self nuts! I tried talking to other people, I tried seeing doctors, and I tried "eating healthy." Nothing was working for me. Then, I finally listened. I listened to me, what my body was really saying, and what my mind was really telling me. My self awareness grew more than I thought was possible. ...