December 21, 2025 • 9 mins
Mindy and Mikaela speak with Anne Hurst from Open Arms Counseling!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is knocking at your door? Are you getting everything done?
It's a very stressful time. But if you look back
at this year in general, it's a lot of anger.
There's a lot of depression. There's a lot of very
upset Americans right now, Mikayla in general reason or another.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
So here to talk about it is Anne Hurst with
Open Arms Counseling, and we are curious what your last
year look like, kind of a summary, a wrap up
of what you've seen because we have had a lot
of people in tough situations, tough mindsets.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I agree, we have had a lot of people in
tough situations, tough mindsets. We've had a lot of people
that have been going through life transitions, transitioning from one
part of their life to a new one. People going
back to work, people who are going into college for
the first time, people who are finding new jobs and
(00:55):
deciding to change their careers. And because they've had, you know,
taken a look at themselves and wanted something different. It's
been kind of a transition here almost.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So when people come to you for the very first time,
what was it in different cases that they finally were like,
you know what, I've thought about it? And I've felt
like doing this, but enough is enough. I'm finally going
to go and speak to a counselor. I'm going to
go reach out and get the additional help that I need.
What is it in people's lives that they reach that
point where they finally do go and look for help.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
There's a lot of different reasons. Sometimes they have, you know,
they're having trouble working because of their mental health and
they want to come in and just they've realized that
it's getting in the way of doing things. Sometimes friends
will suggest, you know, I've noticed you've been having a
hard time lately, and here's a good place for you
(01:51):
to go to get some help with that. It can
be anything, but if something's starting to bother you in
your life, it's always a good idea to just go
and find somebody to talk to.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And we talk so much about mindset with you. I'm
curious what you have to say because mental illness is
a real thing, and I want to underscore that it's
a real thing. How many people are you seeing that
are like having trouble with their you know, thoughts like
regular anxiety versus people who are struggling with a mental
illness that really is impacting their life.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh wow, that's a hard question because honestly, I see
anybody who has any type of anxiety or it doesn't
matter what your diagnosis is, if it's something that's bothering
you and keeping you from reaching your goals or being
(02:48):
the person you want to be, I see that as
equally problematic for everybody. And I do think that everybody
has the same opportunity to find or live the life
that they want to live.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I do too. And you see headlines about schizophrenia, though,
and you can't fight schizophrenia by yourself. Thinking about Rob
Reiner's son and the awful, awful thing that we woke.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Up to seventeen times he where to get treatments seven
seventeen different times.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
He was on thirteen or fourteen medications over like a
three or four month period. And I know medication isn't
your area, and so no questions about that. It's just
that I agree that they're all issues. But what's the
tipping point? And how can families know that it's just
been like a stressful year versus someone is dealing with
something that's extremely wrong.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
The best way to know is to take your child
in or go in yourself and get an assessment with
a mental health professional. One of the best indicators is
has this been feeling this way for a long period
of time with no apparent beginning, no parents us to
(04:01):
start it out, Or is it something where you're having
a normal reaction to an abnormal situation like someone passed away,
or you're starting a new job and you're getting very
anxious about it, that type of thing.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Michaelab brought up a question in our Hot Topics about
the stress of the holidays as well, and the fact
of the matter is a lot of moms right now,
mostly moms. I'm sure there's some dads out there too
that just feel like they're trying to do too much
to please everybody, and it magnifies around Christmas time.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Inn Oh, it sure does. It absolutely does. Feels like everything's,
you know, crashing in on you and you have too
much to do and not enough time to do it
in And one of the things I really do encourage
is learning to say the word no and realize where
your boundaries are, what you can and cannot do.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, I think especially maybe for folks who have smaller kids,
and mine are now grown, so I am taking reasonable
expectations for my teenage Mindy's are out of the house,
but their pressure to make that magical holiday in an
Instagram society is really challenging. And I saw a great
headline when Mom's stocking is empty. The message is clear
(05:13):
that not everybody is focused on her, but she's focused
on everyone else. And to Minty's point, I do think
there are dads out there that help. I have one.
My husband helps out definitely. But yeah, sometimes we feel
like the CEO of Christmas. So it sounds like we
need to say no, that's one thing we need to do.
What else would you tell the parents who is busy
(05:34):
in the house trying to make magic happen.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Well, I totally agree with you. It's very hard in
this Instagram world. And the funny thing is if you
remember back to the most memorable Christmases that you ever had,
not one of them was one where you know somebody
was trying to make a perfect Christmas. Some of the
best memories are the things that went wrong, and those
make the best stories, and they bring you together as
(05:59):
a family because this is our story and we did
this together, and we got through this together. And some
of the most magical moments happen when you're not trying.
In fact, most of the magical moments happen when you're
not trying to make magic.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I would agree with that, and I think those are
the things that we really should capitalize on because we
do try to do too much. Really, it just kind
of live and let live and be merry. I thought
of something. I can't believe it's taking me fifty seven
years to think of this. And how do you like this?
From now on, when I write Merry Christmas to people,
(06:33):
I'm not going to spell it me e r r
y anymore. I'm going to spell it m A r y. Mary.
Christmas is because of the Virgin Mary that we even
are celebrating Christmas. So that's my new way of saying
and spelling Mary Christmas. Give Mary some credit for it. Well,
the beautiful I know. I like that. I should make
sure to make a million.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Oh yeah, you need to patent that.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
By patent that, yeah, copyright that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think. Another thing that's really important is to remember
why we're celebrating. We're celebrating together as a family. You
want to come together and enjoy and celebrate each other
instead of the presence and all of that, enjoy being
in each other's presence. It's just so beautiful when a
(07:21):
family can come together, especially you know, as the kids
start getting older and older, the family starts separating, and
these are the times when it brings everybody back together
and you get to celebrate each other again.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
What do you think about going into the new year?
And says this is the last time we'll talk to you.
And people are thinking about setting intentions and things like that.
I went to a Winter Solstice intention setting thing last
week and I loved it, And I think other people
are there. What would you suggest they consider as they
move into twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Oh, I think it's a wonderful thing to set intentions.
It's a beautiful thing. I would urage people to remember
to set realistic goals. Don't look at you know, don't
set something that's you know, fifty bazillion miles away. Don't
look to go to the moon right away. Just look
to you know, get into the air first, and keep
(08:10):
setting those goals as you go. But yeah, set realistic
goals that you can achieve, and to remember that you
can do anything as long as you decide that that's
what you want, and you put priorities on it.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
What about just saying to people, you know what, put
your guard down, feel better, let us help you. Why
should people come out and seek out Open Arms Counseling.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh, because we have a wonderful, diverse group of counselors
who are all there wanting to help you. That's what
they live for. They love to meet new people, they
love to help. They love to figure out how to
help you reach your goal. And they don't put their
own goals on you. They find out what you want
to do and then they figure out and they do
(08:55):
research and figure out how to help you reach that goal.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
How do you people get a hold of you to
do that? And wonder the different ways they can.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
They can give us a call it's six one four,
six two five seven one eighty three, or they can
just go online to Open Arms Counseling dot com and
make an appointment.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And m a r y Merry Christmas to.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
You, Mary. I'm looking forward to seeing the patent on that,
and I hope everybody has the most wonderful holiday and
Merry Christmas. It's merry Christmas time of year.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's a wonderful time of year. Yeah, I and thank
you so much. Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It's a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
It's a wonderful.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Life, a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yes, this is what Matters on six ten at WTVN
Is knocking at your door? Are you getting everything done?
It's a very stressful time. But if you look back
at this year in general, it's a lot of anger.
There's a lot of depression. There's a lot of very
upset Americans right now, Mikayla in general reason or another.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
So here to talk about it is Anne Hurst with
Open Arms Counseling, and we are curious what your last
year look like, kind of a summary, a wrap up
of what you've seen because we have had a lot
of people in tough situations, tough mindsets.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I agree, we have had a lot of people in
tough situations, tough mindsets. We've had a lot of people
that have been going through life transitions, transitioning from one
part of their life to a new one. People going
back to work, people who are going into college for
the first time, people who are finding new jobs and
(00:55):
deciding to change their careers. And because they've had, you know,
taken a look at themselves and wanted something different. It's
been kind of a transition here almost.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So when people come to you for the very first time,
what was it in different cases that they finally were like,
you know what, I've thought about it? And I've felt
like doing this, but enough is enough. I'm finally going
to go and speak to a counselor. I'm going to
go reach out and get the additional help that I need.
What is it in people's lives that they reach that
point where they finally do go and look for help.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
There's a lot of different reasons. Sometimes they have, you know,
they're having trouble working because of their mental health and
they want to come in and just they've realized that
it's getting in the way of doing things. Sometimes friends
will suggest, you know, I've noticed you've been having a
hard time lately, and here's a good place for you
(01:51):
to go to get some help with that. It can
be anything, but if something's starting to bother you in
your life, it's always a good idea to just go
and find somebody to talk to.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And we talk so much about mindset with you. I'm
curious what you have to say because mental illness is
a real thing, and I want to underscore that it's
a real thing. How many people are you seeing that
are like having trouble with their you know, thoughts like
regular anxiety versus people who are struggling with a mental
illness that really is impacting their life.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh wow, that's a hard question because honestly, I see
anybody who has any type of anxiety or it doesn't
matter what your diagnosis is, if it's something that's bothering
you and keeping you from reaching your goals or being
(02:48):
the person you want to be, I see that as
equally problematic for everybody. And I do think that everybody
has the same opportunity to find or live the life
that they want to live.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I do too. And you see headlines about schizophrenia, though,
and you can't fight schizophrenia by yourself. Thinking about Rob
Reiner's son and the awful, awful thing that we woke.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Up to seventeen times he where to get treatments seven
seventeen different times.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
He was on thirteen or fourteen medications over like a
three or four month period. And I know medication isn't
your area, and so no questions about that. It's just
that I agree that they're all issues. But what's the
tipping point? And how can families know that it's just
been like a stressful year versus someone is dealing with
something that's extremely wrong.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
The best way to know is to take your child
in or go in yourself and get an assessment with
a mental health professional. One of the best indicators is
has this been feeling this way for a long period
of time with no apparent beginning, no parents us to
(04:01):
start it out, Or is it something where you're having
a normal reaction to an abnormal situation like someone passed away,
or you're starting a new job and you're getting very
anxious about it, that type of thing.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Michaelab brought up a question in our Hot Topics about
the stress of the holidays as well, and the fact
of the matter is a lot of moms right now,
mostly moms. I'm sure there's some dads out there too
that just feel like they're trying to do too much
to please everybody, and it magnifies around Christmas time.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Inn Oh, it sure does. It absolutely does. Feels like everything's,
you know, crashing in on you and you have too
much to do and not enough time to do it
in And one of the things I really do encourage
is learning to say the word no and realize where
your boundaries are, what you can and cannot do.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, I think especially maybe for folks who have smaller kids,
and mine are now grown, so I am taking reasonable
expectations for my teenage Mindy's are out of the house,
but their pressure to make that magical holiday in an
Instagram society is really challenging. And I saw a great
headline when Mom's stocking is empty. The message is clear
(05:13):
that not everybody is focused on her, but she's focused
on everyone else. And to Minty's point, I do think
there are dads out there that help. I have one.
My husband helps out definitely. But yeah, sometimes we feel
like the CEO of Christmas. So it sounds like we
need to say no, that's one thing we need to do.
What else would you tell the parents who is busy
(05:34):
in the house trying to make magic happen.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Well, I totally agree with you. It's very hard in
this Instagram world. And the funny thing is if you
remember back to the most memorable Christmases that you ever had,
not one of them was one where you know somebody
was trying to make a perfect Christmas. Some of the
best memories are the things that went wrong, and those
make the best stories, and they bring you together as
(05:59):
a family because this is our story and we did
this together, and we got through this together. And some
of the most magical moments happen when you're not trying.
In fact, most of the magical moments happen when you're
not trying to make magic.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I would agree with that, and I think those are
the things that we really should capitalize on because we
do try to do too much. Really, it just kind
of live and let live and be merry. I thought
of something. I can't believe it's taking me fifty seven
years to think of this. And how do you like this?
From now on, when I write Merry Christmas to people,
(06:33):
I'm not going to spell it me e r r
y anymore. I'm going to spell it m A r y. Mary.
Christmas is because of the Virgin Mary that we even
are celebrating Christmas. So that's my new way of saying
and spelling Mary Christmas. Give Mary some credit for it. Well,
the beautiful I know. I like that. I should make
sure to make a million.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Oh yeah, you need to patent that.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
By patent that, yeah, copyright that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think. Another thing that's really important is to remember
why we're celebrating. We're celebrating together as a family. You
want to come together and enjoy and celebrate each other
instead of the presence and all of that, enjoy being
in each other's presence. It's just so beautiful when a
(07:21):
family can come together, especially you know, as the kids
start getting older and older, the family starts separating, and
these are the times when it brings everybody back together
and you get to celebrate each other again.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
What do you think about going into the new year?
And says this is the last time we'll talk to you.
And people are thinking about setting intentions and things like that.
I went to a Winter Solstice intention setting thing last
week and I loved it, And I think other people
are there. What would you suggest they consider as they
move into twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Oh, I think it's a wonderful thing to set intentions.
It's a beautiful thing. I would urage people to remember
to set realistic goals. Don't look at you know, don't
set something that's you know, fifty bazillion miles away. Don't
look to go to the moon right away. Just look
to you know, get into the air first, and keep
(08:10):
setting those goals as you go. But yeah, set realistic
goals that you can achieve, and to remember that you
can do anything as long as you decide that that's
what you want, and you put priorities on it.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
What about just saying to people, you know what, put
your guard down, feel better, let us help you. Why
should people come out and seek out Open Arms Counseling.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh, because we have a wonderful, diverse group of counselors
who are all there wanting to help you. That's what
they live for. They love to meet new people, they
love to help. They love to figure out how to
help you reach your goal. And they don't put their
own goals on you. They find out what you want
to do and then they figure out and they do
(08:55):
research and figure out how to help you reach that goal.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
How do you people get a hold of you to
do that? And wonder the different ways they can.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
They can give us a call it's six one four,
six two five seven one eighty three, or they can
just go online to Open Arms Counseling dot com and
make an appointment.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
And m a r y Merry Christmas to.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
You, Mary. I'm looking forward to seeing the patent on that,
and I hope everybody has the most wonderful holiday and
Merry Christmas. It's merry Christmas time of year.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's a wonderful time of year. Yeah, I and thank
you so much. Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
It's a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
It's a wonderful.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Life, a wonderful life.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yes, this is what Matters on six ten at WTVN
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