10 Gentle Signs That You Are Stressed(& that your soul is asking for care and renewal)

On November 5, 2025 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection, spiritual healing5 Comments

“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~ Joan Borysenko

I used to think I can take any amount of pressure in my 20″s. And I did excel under pressure at the time. I would study until late for exams and then go take them on 2 hours of sleep. I did and still do work well under stress. However, while I could achieve results under stress, I did not realize how I was harming my own body and mind in the process.

It was about a year after my daughter was born, when I started to see the full effect of the stress taking over my mind and body. It took the form of persistent migraines, lower back aches, dark circles under my eyes and forgetfulness. It was then that I realised something was seriously wrong. Physically, all my tests were normal, and that was a wake up call for me. I knew I had put so much pressure on myself, and needed to take back control of my life. For my sake and my baby’s.

Stress is the psyche’s way of signaling that something within or around you feels out of alignment. It arises when your inner sense of harmony is disrupted by a perceived challenge or demand that seems greater than your current capacity to meet it. In essence, stress is the body’s sacred messenger, alerting you to areas where balance, boundaries, or deeper presence are needed. When experienced in small doses, it can awaken growth, focus, and resilience. But when it lingers, when tension becomes your constant companion, it can fragment both body and spirit, calling for restoration, compassion, and mindful recalibration of your inner world.

Here are 10 gentle signs that your spirit may be stressed and is asking for care and renewal… along with reflections and healing practices for each.

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6 Guiding Principles To Nurture Your Emotional And Spiritual Maturity

On October 30, 2025 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection, spiritual healing9 Comments

Part of spiritual and emotional maturity is recognizing that it’s not like you’re going to try to fix yourself and become a different person. You remain the same person, but you become awakened. ~Jack Kornfield

Part of healing is also growing emotionally. To be specific, emotional and spiritual maturity is what happens as we heal.

I’m more of a personal growth and personal development junkie, always have been. In the early days, I would buy every book, course and go for every event that was even mildly in that arena. I loved every moment of it all, but as I keep growing and healing, I have realised that I don’t need to read every book, or do every course or go to every event. All I need is to apply everything I already know, consistently and gently.

I have also realised that Emotional Maturity is not measured by the number of years you’ve lived or the experiences you’ve collected, it’s actually measured by how deeply you understand yourself, others, and the flow of life itself. True maturity is a sacred unfolding of awareness, patience, and compassion. It’s the quiet transformation that allows you to meet life with calmness, clarity, and grace.

Here are 6 Guiding Principles To Nurture Your Emotional And Spiritual Maturity:

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The Many Faces of Healing(Four Ways We Actually Heal)

On October 6, 2025 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection2 Comments

Positive Affirmation: “I am healing with every breath I take.”

There isn’t just one kind of healing.

Over the course of my own healing journey, I have realized that healing isn’t linear, and it’s rarely graceful. It doesn’t always look like doing yoga flows early in the morning or journaling in a cozy corner or meditating to the sound of ocean waves. Sometimes it looks like lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, and wondering if you’ll ever feel like yourself again. And believe me, I’ve been there!

Healing is messy. It’s cyclical. It asks for your honesty more than your control. It meets you in the small, ordinary moments and whispers, “Here, too.”