Millions of people deal with stress and anxiety on a daily basis. Whether it’s a result of phobias, depressions, or post-traumatic stress, anxiety can take a toll on our mind and health.If you deal with anxiety you most likely have looked into ways you can help calm your emotional rollercoaster. Perhaps you’ve even tried some self-help techniques in the past. While these methods can provide some relief, it’s often temporary.To rid yourself of ...read more
5 Strategies to Calm Your Anxiety Quickly
When you live with an anxiety disorder, any moment can become one that causes slow-rising panic in you. Life is normal one second and the next, you feel your chest tighten and your heart begin to race. You may begin to hyperfocus on future events and find yourself getting lost in “what-ifs.” Luckily there are many powerful tools and techniques you can use to manage your anxiety effectively. Breathe Deeply If you feel anxiety coming on, one ...read more
Are You a Man Suffering from Suicidal Thoughts? Therapy Can Help You
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, men die by suicide more than three times as often as women. In fact, white males accounted for 69.67% of suicide deaths in 2018. Therapy for Suicidal Thoughts Should you or someone you know be experiencing thoughts of suicide, it is critically important that you seek help. While a high level of risk may require hospitalization or intense inpatient or outpatient treatment, those not ...read more
3 Things People get Wrong About OCD
According to the International OCD Foundation, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is “a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings.” While the definition seems straightforward, there are many misconceptions about OCD. Here are 3 of ...read more
The Impact of Grief on Relationships
Experiencing the death of a loved one is one of the most painful things life brings. Everyone Mourns Differently Everyone reacts differently to the death of a loved one; your instinct may be to reach out and connect, and the instinct of your friend or relative may be to retreat, distract themselves with work or hobbies, or shut down. Your relationship with the person you lost was a unique one, so naturally your grieving process will also be ...read more
Let’s Talk About Adult ADHD
A lot of discussion is given to childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But ADD greatly affects adults as well. While the exact cause of ADHD isn’t yet understood, recent research seems to indicate that genes and our environment play key roles. Symptoms of Adult ADHD Many adults who are eventually diagnosed with ADHD have always “sensed” that something was off, but they were too embarrassed or ashamed to seek help. Others ...read more
Will I or Won’t I? The Science of Willpower.
Thinking about how to stick to all those New Year's resolutions? Check out this guest post by Meladie Burke, LPC. Every night I think, “I’m going to get up and exercise in the morning”, but I just keep hitting the snooze button. I know I should keep walking by that dish of candies without stopping, but I just can’t help myself. I know I need to get to bed by 10:00 PM to feel rested, but I then I find myself watching just one more ...read more
Starting Therapy: How to Prepare Your Child
For many parents, it’s difficult to imagine how to tell their child that she is about to begin seeing a child psychologist. While every family is different, here are a few guidelines to keep in mind when planning this conversation: • Be honest It’s crucial that kids begin therapy with a foundation of trust. They need to feel they will be a respected part of the process and understand that you and their therapist can be trusted. ...read more
The ABCs of Getting Your Child to Talk About School
How often do you hear about the importance of being involved in your child’s school life? That it’s crucial to know what happens during your child’s day and talking to your child about the important events that have occurred with teachers and peers? These are essential, but in order to do so your child has to talk - and it’s not always easy to get kids to do so. How often have you asked your kid what happened in school and heard simply, ...read more
Help! My Child is a Bully.
When parents hear that their child has been bullying other kids, some have the impulse to deny the problem. Others panic and worry that their child is doomed to be a serial killer or just plain mean. Yet others find themselves defending their child without investigating what really happened. Most parents fall somewhere in between. So what can you do to address the problem? First and foremost, remember that even if your child has bullied ...read more