Making an effort to conscientiously take care of yourself, no matter how small, shows self-respect and can help you thrive in all aspects of your life. As you choose to do something kind for yourself every day you will function better and have improved mental health. Self-care isn’t just doing [...]
We all struggle from time to time when it comes to how we feel about ourselves. The ups and downs of how we feel can be caused by many internal and external sources. These fluctuations are natural, normal, and typically temporary. Prolonged feelings of self-doubt, self-loathing, and a poor opinion [...]
Many people think therapy is just for those with mental health issues, trauma, depression, or other serious issues. The truth is, everyone can benefit from therapy. Therapy is not just for the hard times in life We all go through difficult times in our lives - times when we don’t [...]
Our brains are hardwired to compare ourselves to those around us and you are not alone in doing this. Our ancestors had far fewer resources and had to compete with those around them for food and shelter in much more intense ways than we do now. This forced humans to [...]
Have you ever stopped yourself from feeling something because someone else has it worse? It’s so easy to shame ourselves for feeling bad because we always know someone in a worse situation. Our brains like to protect us from harm, and it views painful emotions as dangerous. This is why [...]
When we begin feeling anxiety, it can be confusing. Are we feeling this because of a temporary stressor or new painful stimuli in our environment - like unexpectedly being laid off from work, for example. Or is this a chronic condition that has been brought to the surface recently? Will [...]
As we engage in counseling services, the symptoms that initially motivated one to seek counseling can worsen. This can be frightening. Learning how to look at anxiety as "something we have" compared to "something we do" takes time. Learning how the more our lives center around ridding ourselves of anxiety [...]
Russ Harris, MD uses a metaphor to describe recovering from panic and anxiety struggles called the “struggle switch”. With mental health problems worsening, it is important to learn how to respond to fear more wisely in order to live with more vitality. When we struggle to rid ourselves unsuccessfully from [...]
Have you ever been trying to fall asleep at night and are plagued by thoughts of all the things you have to do that week? Or worse, your mind starts to spiral as you think about how someday your dog will die, which then forces you to confront that everyone [...]
Growing up as the oldest child in my family, I was often asked to take care of my younger siblings. This request was made, in part, to help alleviate stress on my parents. While this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, this heightened responsibility and the added praise from my parents [...]
