Daring to Change and the Power of Doing Nothing

In this episode Jim interviews fellow LCC mental health counselor Pam Davis who describes herself as a casual person who loves her job and spending recreational time with friends. Pam's been at LCC 28 years and even as she gets ready to retire, she still plans to practice as a professional counselor. Pam highly values interacting with people with a variety of perspectives.

Pam shares how she came from a family that simply expected her to go to college. She found herself moving a long way from home and attending a few different colleges (including MSU as a Wolverine fan) and changing majors a few times before she finally discovered vocational rehabilitation counseling out of a desire to help people on an emotional level.

Pam talks about how she dealt with feeling overwhelmed going to a large university and reminds us that each of us have the power to make solution-focused decisions. Pam highlights the necessity of keeping our stress level low (self-care) and to share our inner emotional experiences with a trusted friend, family, or peer. She also talks about how self-care can take many forms, shares tips on how to schedule time for each of our various roles, and to value the power in doing nothing to restore oneself.

1. Self Care Wellness Toolkits, National Institutes of Health.
2. Emotional Wellness Toolkit, National Institutes of Health.