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- Your Uplift - November 2025
Your Uplift - November 2025
Patricia's Resiliency eNewsletter ❤️🐞
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ONE: On a Personal Note
Hard Stuff
Acknowledging My Need for Connection
Because my darling Les is immunocompromised due to chemotherapy, we’ve decided not to have more than three guests, without sniffles, in our home at one time, and he is stepping back from social gatherings. It’s the right choice for his health — and still, I feel sad letting go of our home events. . . for now.
I’ve always thrived on hosting gatherings. My friend Mintie once said, “I moved to Calgary, met Patricia, and within a year had attended seven of her gatherings.” I love our home and the joy of welcoming people into it.
Recently I attended the Tooth Fairy Foundation fundraiser and was escorted by three charming young men. It was fun, and I was grateful to go — but of course, nothing compares to having Les by my side. Still, I’m making room for connection because it supports my well-being. Researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad highlights that:
• Strong social ties reduce the risk of early mortality as much as quitting smoking.
• Isolation increases rates of depression and anxiety.
• Meaningful connection strengthens immune functioning.
So while we protect Les’ health, I’m also tending to mine. Love can hold both.
What about you, how much connection and how much private space supports your well-being?
Uplifting Stuff
Like a Pig in Mud
I absolutely love women’s conferences—especially rural ones—so November 13 was a highlight for me. I delivered the closing keynote at the Rural Women’s Conference in Lac la Biche, and I was happy like a pig in mud to do so. Being there felt like being back with my aunties and cousins in the rural community where I grew up.
Tickets for 250 women sold out in just 30 minutes, and the conference committee—an energetic and multi-talented group—created an atmosphere that was thoughtful, warm, and welcoming. The lively and witty emcee, Paulette Plamondon, kept everyone engaged as she introduced the other four speakers before I took the stage to close the day.
Every attendee received a door prize plus a beautiful canvas bag filled with useful items, and all of this was included in the $69 ticket price—along with a generous buffet lunch.
A special bonus was having our Kelly join me on the six-hour drive, making the whole experience even sweeter.
When do you feel “happy like a pig in mud”?
And by the way, you’d help me be like a pig in mud if you considered my Return to Center holiday offer. See below!
In the meantime I wish you continued resilience,
Patricia ❤️🐞
TWO: Patricia’s Helpful Blogs/Articles
Even close relationships can drift. Life gets busy, misunderstandings pile up, and emotional walls rise between people who still care deeply for one another. Here we explore ways to reconnect when disconnect happens. Whether you’re repairing a bond with a partner, friend, or family member, healing begins with small, intentional steps toward understanding and trust.
Even the strongest bonds can break under stress. Relationships can be repaired . . CLICK HERE
It was such a thrill when Patricia O’Gorman read and endorsed my book From Woe to WOW: How Resilient Women Succeed at Work. Her own classic, Dancing Backwards in High Heels: How Women Master the Art of Resilience,was one of my inspirations for writing it.
Long before “resilience” became a buzzword, O’Gorman was exploring women’s resilience—how women navigate life’s challenges with grace, grit, and a deep sense of connection.
She recognized that women’s greatest strength—their focus on relationships—can also make them vulnerable to losing touch with their . . CLICK HERE
THREE: Resiliency Research
Loneliness Can Shorten Your Lifespan
John Cacioppo’s research shows that loneliness is not merely being alone, but perceived social isolation, a subjective feeling of disconnection from meaningful relationships. He found that this loneliness triggers changes in brain activity, hormonal regulation, immune function and gene expression, and in some cases shortens lifespan by about 20%!
He argues that interventions addressing how lonely people think about social relationships — rather than just “get more friends” — are among the most effective.
Source: Cacioppo, J. T. “Toward a neurology of loneliness”. Psychological Bulletin (2014).
FOUR: Resiliency Video Picks
The Silent Crisis of Men’s Mental Health | Dustin Hogan TEDx (14.59min) Note: November is Men’s Health Month
How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime | Nadine Burke Harris | TED (16.02min)
Patricia’s Videos
FIVE: A CALGARY OPPORTUNITY
Burnout, Busyness and BS!
Calgary fitness and health experts, Tim Borys and Robin O-Grady are excited at what will be the results of this 2026 Reset!
Remember, what you do today will become the outcomes you see tomorrow. This 3-hour workshop will be the beginning of that next phase for you!
Registration is still open and they have a few spaces still available (although it is filling up quickly!)
SIX: Online Opportunity with Patricia
Online FREE Presentation
The holidays can bring both joy and stress. Between decorating, shopping, and expectations, many people end up exhausted. Reports of depression rise about 15% around Christmas in North America. This one-hour session invites you to pause and reflect: Are your holiday rituals bringing joy—or just pressure?
Turn the season into one of calm, connection, and meaning. You will explore how to:
Examine your current holiday habits.
Simplify and downsize with intention.
Create meaningful and fun rituals.
Rethink gift giving for joy and creativity.
Restore laughter, play, and connection.
🕚 11:00 a.m. MT — Saturday, December 06, 2025
FREE and Open to the Public
Part of the Microlearning Collective
📋 Register at: https://forms.gle/xj5vtN2HkqDFbq9N7
📧 For more information: [email protected]
💻 Join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7646502286
SEVEN: Return to Center HOLIDAY Offer
A counselling therapist friend arranged to drive from Red Deer to Calgary to pick up ten copies of Return to Center for Christmas gifts. She previously had emailed me the recipients’ names so I could write a personal message in each copy. She took me up on an offer!
Buy SEVEN or MORE copies of Return to Center and receive
20% off $21.95 . . . and I will absorb the shipping within CANADA.
Just email me at [email protected] with “Give me the Return to Center Deal for ______ (# of copies)” Optional: Add names of your lucky recipients.
Or you can purchase for $21.95 + S&H at Amazon.ca . Here’s a review from there:
“What I loved most is how approachable it is—Patricia takes complex ideas like Polyvagal Theory and makes them easy to understand and apply. The exercises are gentle yet effective, and the tone throughout is kind, encouraging, and never preachy.
If you’re feeling stressed, low, or just out of balance, this book is a beautiful reminder that healing is possible—and that you don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be coming back to this one again and again. Highly recommend!” Kinka B.
EIGHT: More Opportunities for Resilience
Presentations — In-Person or Online
Keynotes/Workshops: CLICK HERE.
Presentation Skills: For those who want guidance to develop a speaking business or simply craft and deliver an engaging message CLICK HERE.
Counselling Therapy: Can be delivered online or in-person. CLICK HERE.
Publications: To view resiliency books and ebooks CLICK HERE.
Please let me know how I might be of service at patricia@Solutio
Your Spunky Patricia ❤️🐞