The Balanced Path ~

Voices of the Collective

Resilience Isn’t About Moving On—It’s About Moving Forward
MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW

Resilience Isn’t About Moving On—It’s About Moving Forward

Loss can be like a powerful tornado that wrecks everything you once knew. When it hits you, you hold on to something as tight as you can, and you manage to survive the violent gusts of wind that come and go. You wonder if you will survive this. You worry about your loved ones, and wonder if they will survive it. You hold your children tightly. You are in survival mode, just going through the motions.

Read More
Anxiety is Grief’s Unwelcome Companion
MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW

Anxiety is Grief’s Unwelcome Companion

Death reminds us of the finality of life. We normally push that bitter awareness out of our conscious mind. Most people don’t think about death until it walks in, uninvited, to remind us that everything that matters to us will eventually go away. It doesn’t mean you didn’t know people die. It just means that up to this point, you weren’t expecting it to happen to you.

Read More
Boundaries and Grief: Listening to Yourself While Grieving
MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW

Boundaries and Grief: Listening to Yourself While Grieving

When you're grieving, your body and mind are working overtime to adjust to the reality of your loss. It’s completely normal to feel exhausted and need more sleep than usual. This is your nervous system doing the hard work of trying to protect and heal you.

Read More
The Invisible Workload: A Beach Scene I Can’t Shake
MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW MacKenzie Bradke, LCSW

The Invisible Workload: A Beach Scene I Can’t Shake

I sat there quietly, pretending to read while sipping my iced drink, but I was watching her.

The mom. Doing all the things.Watching her hit me harder than expected. Because how many moms are just like her?

Read More