authenticity Archives - Sienna Forest • Somatic Ecotherapy

Trailblazing Therapy: Embracing Nature’s Healing Pathways

On February 5, 2024, the New York Times published an article titled “Therapists Trade the Couch for the Great Outdoors”. The impact of this article rippled through my life unexpectedly, with approximately seven friends reaching out to me about it, followed by a flood of inquiries from graduate students and fellow clinicians curious about my experiences with hiking therapy. It was evident that this article had struck a chord, whether due to its prominence in one [...]

Sienna Forest2024-09-10T22:34:27+00:00April 1, 2024|Tags: alternative therapy, authenticity, benefits of nature, hiking therapy, imposter syndrome, mental health, nontraditional therapy, outdoor therapy|

Is it oversharing to share this blog post?

I have been thinking a lot recently about the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. For the past few years, I have taken pride in my ability to be authentic and vulnerable with many people, but I have begun to wonder about the line between sharing openly and sharing too much. Is there a point where my desire to share becomes a pretense for creating connection that simply isn’t there? And with whom should I share vulnerable [...]

admin2024-09-11T01:37:00+00:00May 29, 2023|Tags: authenticity, breakups, connection, embarrassment, healing, heartbreak, oversharing, shame, vulnerability|

When Little Miss Sunshine feels anxious, things get intense

Over the past two weeks, I haven’t felt like myself. I injured my forearm due to an unfortunate collision on the dance floor, and this incident occurred right before moving into a new house. For a week my arm was constantly aching–the tendon on my inner right wrist creaking from the injury–and moving just exacerbated the symptoms. My arm was starting to feel a bit better, then last week, over two years into the pandemic, I [...]

Sienna Forest2024-09-10T20:37:30+00:00July 25, 2022|Tags: anxiety, authenticity, COVID-19, energetic, exercise, grounding, meditation, overwhelmed, self-care, self-regulation, shame, somatic therapy|

Anxiety can feel debilitating: What helped me regain presence in the midst of the monkey mind

Yesterday, I was having a bad mental health day. I had insomnia the night before because I was on my phone late at night and experienced a trigger, which lit my brain up to the point where I lay in bed for 5 hours wide awake, thinking about everything and anything. I woke up irritated and anxious, and I felt like my skin was crawling with tension. My mind could not focus because my body was [...]

Sienna Forest2024-09-10T20:37:21+00:00July 14, 2022|Tags: anxiety, authenticity, climbing, flow state, insomnia, mental health, mental health awareness, monkey mind, therapy, transient hypofrontality|

Objectification: An internal inquiry

I have been thinking a lot recently about the word “objectification” and what it means for me as I explore what makes me feel beautiful in my body. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “objectify” means “to treat as an object or cause to have objective reality; to give expression to (something, such as an abstract notion, feeling, or ideal) in a form that can be experienced by others”. I have spent my life trying to live [...]

Sienna Forest2024-09-09T19:29:55+00:00March 23, 2022|Tags: addiction, authenticity, beauty, beauty myths, body dysmorphia, body image, community, eating disorder, exercise, objectification, objectify, overexercise, overtanning, patriarchy, tanning, vulnerability|