Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

The holidays are not all cheer and joy for a lot of people. Sometimes it is a time where we feel the most lonely, the highest levels of grief.

I have put together an online group clinical hypnotherapy session for next Tuesday December 23rd where we can get together and experience some deep peace, community and relief. It’s only $15 to join ❤️

Comment “hypnosis” below for a link ❄️

#grief #loneliness #lonely #chronicpain #chronicillnesswarrior

5 days ago | [YT] | 6

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

My newest book is available now! Simple tools you can use each day for 30 days to support and regulate your nervous system.

type “regulate” below and I’ll send you a link! It’s also available in a print version on amazon ☺️


#regulate #nervoussystemtips #nervoussystemhealing #nervoussystemhealth #nervoussystemregulation

2 months ago | [YT] | 10

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

You are allowed to have joy in your grief. Every small moment of joy counts. What brings you small happiness?

#joy #grief #chronicillness #mentalhealth

2 months ago | [YT] | 19

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

Sometimes even our healing practices can turn into a kind of dissociation. If we’re using them to push feelings away instead of letting ourselves actually feel, we miss the point of healing.

Distraction does have a role. There are times when the body is too overwhelmed and it’s kinder to shift our focus for a while. A walk, a light show, or chatting with a friend can give the nervous system a chance to settle.

But if distraction is the only thing we reach for, emotions can get stuck. Somatic practices help with this. Slowing down, breathing, moving gently, or just noticing sensations gives the body a chance to process and release what it’s holding.

The difference is in the intention. Am I giving myself space to come back to this feeling, or am I trying to run from it? Both can be supportive.

#somatichealing #nervoussystemregulation #traumahealing #mentalhealthawareness #selfregulation #somatictherapy #embodiment #mindbodyconnection #healingjourney #emotionalwellness

2 months ago | [YT] | 8

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

Find those things that bring the smallest smile to your face. The friends that make you laugh. The videos that make you feel a little closer to humanity. The activities that light you up. It can be hard to feel our joy when we are deep in suffering but those micro-moments count! Build from there and before you know it, your life is sprinkled with so much more joy. The suffering might still be there, but so is the happiness.

#healing #mindbody #health #chronicillness #invisibleillness

2 months ago | [YT] | 17

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

Am I meditating right? Am I doing this exercise perfectly? Am I doing it enough times in a day and for long enough?

I get these questions all the time as a therapist and truthfully, trying to do it perfectly causes more stress and tension in your system.

Maybe we can gently invite the questions: does this feel nourishing? How can I soften a bit more? Where can I release trying a few percent and do a little less? What would it be like to notice what this tool is bringing up in my body rather than trying to control it?


#releasecontrol #surrender #acceptance #mindfulness #chroniccondition #spoonie #spoontheory #chronicfatigue #mecfs #healing #healingjourney #mentalhealth #mytherapy

3 months ago | [YT] | 14

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

Forcing energy is tense, it is a huge energy drain and it brings even more symptoms.

It is SO HARD to trust, accept and allow. But gently practicing this is what gets us through. Can you trust your nervous systems ability to relax even 1%? Can you let go of trying to push yourself even 5%? What would it be like to take a deep breath, put a hand on your heart and say “I trust my body can move through this moment of suffering” or give yourself compassion and acceptance “I know this is hard and I know it’s temporary”

What if it was an experiment and a curiosity rather than a pre determined set of exact things to “get better.” What if it’s constantly evolving and changing and your only task is to be with what is and meet yourself where you are at?

#spoonie #invisibleillness #chronicfatigue #chronicpain #chronicillness #acceptance

3 months ago | [YT] | 17

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

We literally suit up to do battle. We get in the ring. We fight tirelessly, violently. We throw all kinds of hate and vitriol at our bodies… blaming them, shaming them, cursing them.

But please hear me when I say this: your body is not the enemy.

Your body is a soft, tender, gentle creature that is scared. It needs compassion. It needs love and support. It needs genuine care.

Fighting yourself is abandoning yourself in moments of most need.

Your body knows how to heal. Your body WANTS to move toward more health, toward balance. But we have to give it a safe enough space to do so.

Be gentler today 🩷

#chronicillness #chronicfatigue #mecfs #spoonie #chronicpain

3 months ago | [YT] | 17

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

What do you believe?

Do you believe there’s something wrong with you? That you are not worthy? That you are beyond hope? Your brain will literally seek out evidence all the time to confirm these beliefs. And when you find evidence, your brain rewards you.

What if instead of trying to convince your brain of an opposite belief, you seek out evidence that your beliefs are not true? What if you used the power of visualization to imagine yourself with a new belief? What if you thought about how a new belief might change your body and you started walking like that and talking like that? Affirmations are great but there are more powerful ways to shift your thinking. For more on this, check out my VIBE technique on YouTube and in my book.

#rewire#brainretraining#spoonie#nervoussystemhealing#mentalillness

3 months ago | [YT] | 7

Zara Dureno, MOT: Uplift Virtual Therapy

If your chronic pain or fatigue started with years and years of pushing your body (perfectionism, people pleasing, adrenaline rushes, doing everything at 110%), then your body will fear going back to that. It needs a break. We need to apply different parts of our personality to healing.

Intuition, trust, compassion. Your body needs to trust you are not going to heal just to ignore it again in the future. It needs to trust that you’ll continue to listen to it and continue to develop your compassion.


#ChronicIllness
#ChronicIllnessCommunity
#ChronicLife
#ChronicPain
#ChronicFatigue
#ChronicFatigueSyndrome
#ChronicPainWarrior
#ChronicIllnessWarrior
#Spoonie
#SpoonieLife
#SpoonieCommunity
#InvisibleIllness
#MEcfs
#Fibromyalgia
#LongCovid
#ChronicCondition
#AutoimmuneDisease
#ChronicHealing
#MentalHealthAndChronicIllness
#HopeForHealing

3 months ago | [YT] | 15