Consent Preferences

Anxiety

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Ride the Waves: Learning to Surf Your Feelings

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Ride the Waves: Learning to Surf Your Feelings

Emotional experiences can feel so overwhelming. So much so that they can make us convinced that they are insurmountable, like a large wave coming over you as you stand in the shallow waters. It turns out that this is a very fitting metaphor for emotional spikes. Just as one can be overtaken and overwhelmed by a large wave, so too can one learn the skills needed to read the onset of the wave, position themselves effectively with it, and surf the wave which allows one to experience emotions with mastery and confidence. Additionally, because we experience emotions everyday of our lives, learning to surf your emotional waves can be practiced every day. This starts with seeing your feelings as a wave; strong, influential, and temporary… yes… temporary. Many cognitive patterns that lead to mental health disorders are habits that take single-emotion events and reinforce them again and again until they feel chronic. The emotion typically only lasted a few seconds or a few minutes at most and any secondary or lingering feelings are being upheld by what your thoughts, beliefs, and responses create. With this understanding, one can experience the emotional wave effectively in the moment before allowing that wave to return to the ocean never to come back in that exact form ever again.

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Let's Get Physical?: The Challenge of Movement During Periods of Depression

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Let's Get Physical?: The Challenge of Movement During Periods of Depression

Depression is one of the most commonly reported mental health challenges. The need for coping skills to help manage depressive spikes, as well as chronic depression, remains important whether you are in treatment for depression or not. There are many skills that can help battle depression that use multiple methods. However, depression is also one of the most debilitating mental health challenges, as it is effective at significantly reducing motivation across many areas of life. This can include activities and/or hobbies that you once enjoyed and took pride in. This lack of motivation can also lead to a feeling of helplessness when you have the opportunity to use coping skills and other interventions. Many strategies for this include using behavioral change to help facilitate mood and thought changes. Others use cognitive approaches to help build a more factual perception of one’s self and the world. Whether you seek out supportive relationships, get back into jogging again, or reflect on the steps needed to go back to school and get that degree you want, all of these steps require a version of movement. Depression is easily reinforced by stagnation therefore movement is one of the strongest tools in your toolbox.

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Talk To Me: Differences in Communication Styles & How This Impacts Relationships

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Talk To Me: Differences in Communication Styles & How This Impacts Relationships

Do you ever realize some conversations that you walk away from end on a positive note, where others can feel daunting and discouraging? To break this down, everyone has a unique way in which they communicate and express themselves to others. It is important to be aware of how you communicate with others because it can make it easier in navigating conversations. These habits impact how others perceive you and your needs. There are four basic types of communication styles, all of which can promote different outcomes of a conversation.

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New Year, New Thoughts: Starting The New Year with Positive Thoughts

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New Year, New Thoughts: Starting The New Year with Positive Thoughts

As we start the New Year, the phrase “new year, new me” often resurfaces. This phrase brings up many different thoughts and reactions, first starting with, why do you need to create a “new you”? This has the connotation that you need to completely recreate yourself. Rather, why not focus on crafting the best version of yourself. The New Year tends to bring pressure to create a big resolution, but often these goals do not seem attainable and are often forgotten. This year, instead of formulating one overarching specific resolution, why not try something new? The following are just some ideas of how to be kinder to yourself while creating goals.

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Healthy and Happy Holidays: Setting Healthy Boundaries During the Holiday Season

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Healthy and Happy Holidays: Setting Healthy Boundaries During the Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, there is often talk of it being “the most wonderful time of the year” with increased emphasis on joy and celebration. However, the topic of stress and/or increased sadness related to holiday functions are often overlooked. Whether it may be feeling increased pressure, toxic family dynamics, financial difficulties, or any other concern; the holidays can negatively impact our own mental health if we are not taking care of ourselves. In gearing up for the holidays, it is important to develop and be aware of our own personal, healthy boundaries.

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Tough Topics: Talking to Your Child About Mental Health

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Tough Topics: Talking to Your Child About Mental Health

Talking to your child about any topic can be difficult at times, however, the discussion of mental health can be particularly tricky. There could be many reasons why this topic is tip-toed around, but it is important to address if you are worried about your child, so you can assist them in receiving proper mental health treatment.

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G.L.A.D. Technique: An Engaging and Effective Grounding Skill for Depression and Anxiety.

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G.L.A.D. Technique: An Engaging and Effective Grounding Skill for Depression and Anxiety.

When one is feeling depressed and anxious, the G.L.A.D. technique is a grounding skill one can use to be more mindful in the moment and to experience positive distraction until strong negative emotions pass, as to reduce the possibility of impulsive reactions as impulsive reactions may not be an effective response in the moment. Try this practice out daily in order to notice positive shifts daily.

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Managing Stress for Working Mothers

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Managing Stress for Working Mothers

Working mothers juggle many responsibilities and play many roles to maintain the stability and happiness of their families. From the basics such as groceries, paying bills, maintaining a home, to of course dedicating time to raising strong, healthy, children, to having a successful career can be demanding and stressful. Read on for some strategies to manage the stress of balancing work and parenting responsibilities.

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Harnessing the Power of Your Habits

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Harnessing the Power of Your Habits

I don’t know about you, but sometimes throughout my day, I have a moment where I stop and think about what it is I am doing because part of me does not remember making the decision to do it in the first place. Some of these behaviors or actions I find myself doing are productive, some are neutral, and some are ones that I wish I didn’t do as much, especially without thinking about it. According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, about 43% of what most people do every day is out of habit (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 83, No. 6, 2002). This is almost half of your daily life decided for you based on routine. Once again, if you are anything like me, there are parts of that 43% that I would rather be different, so here are some tips to better understand how habits work.

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Mindfulness is The First Step

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Mindfulness is The First Step

Many theories of change agree that you cannot change something if you are not first mindful of what needs to be changed. Mindfulness is a term and idea that is used a lot in different areas and in different ways. Some people refer to it as a type of meditation, some people refer to it as “being in the moment”, some people might not be sure exactly how to define it. Building mindfulness as a strong habit out of a clear and value-driven goal to be more aware and purposeful in your own life is one of the bedrock skills used to treat and protect against mental health challenges. This is done by keeping judgments and perceptions to a minimum while increasing the informative power of facts on your thoughts and emotions. This is a skill like any other; the more you practice, make mistakes, and then try again, the more effective you will become.

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Can Judging Be a Good Thing? Identifying What Are and Are Not Helpful Judgments

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Can Judging Be a Good Thing? Identifying What Are and Are Not Helpful Judgments

The idea of a “judgment” is a loaded concept. The word judgment can bring to mind the memory of feeling insulted by someone else, assumptions you find yourself making, or a wise-minded choice that made a large desirable impact in your life. However, what is a judgment really? There are many different meanings to the word judgment, depending on what arena in which it is being used. A legal judgment is determined in a court, a religious judgment is usually linked with an almighty figure, but a psychological judgment is the kind of judgment we make every day, that have great effects on our lives and our experiences.

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Wishing Love and Kindness to the World= Your Increased Quality of Life

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Wishing Love and Kindness to the World= Your Increased Quality of Life

Having challenges with your quality of life can come from many sources. When you take what happens to you and combine it with your reactions (thoughts, feelings, beliefs, choices, etc.) you get the formula for your quality of life. Most of what happens to us lies outside of our control, which can influence thoughts and feelings we often feel initially, in new situations. However, it is important to understand that the subsequent thoughts and feelings we have, and the beliefs they form, are very influential on our overall quality of life. It is here that a skill referred to as Loving Kindness was developed from eastern meditative practices as a way of reducing stress-reinforcing beliefs and improving overall quality of life.

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Stress Management: Keys To Coping With Stress

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Stress Management: Keys To Coping With Stress

One of the best ways to start managing stress is to focus on your daily habits and routines. Do you have the so-called “basics” covered? You have heard and maybe even read about them before: exercising, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and so on. But have you evaluated how well you do each of these well-being habits and even if you are doing them consistently? Consistency is the key to building and maintaining healthy habits.

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Your Body: The Doorway To Your Mental Health

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Your Body: The Doorway To Your Mental Health

Using your body to get your “foot in the door” with your mood regulation can be done in many ways. These include breathing techniques, balanced sleeping and eating habits, soothing sensory-based skills, using open and confident body language, and using exercise and exhausting your muscles to allow your brain’s natural endorphins to regulate emotions. For those of you who feel that you cannot yet find an effective coping skill for your challenging thoughts and feelings, consider starting with your body first. Discuss with your therapist or trusted supports as to what behavior changes may effectively lead to desired changes in moods and thoughts, and then, allow the new behavior to have an impact.

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Flourishing Into Fall

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Flourishing Into Fall

Flourishing is a term within the field of positive psychology that focuses on a multi-dimensional, complex approach to what true wellbeing and happiness look like. There are a lot of factors that make up flourishing, from personal development, self-love, self-awareness, financial freedom, and more. You might experience flourishing when you are trying new things, exploring a new hobby, and spending time with loved ones. Flourishing isn’t just one of these areas, it’s focusing on all of these pieces of the puzzle; a complete picture of wellbeing and happiness.

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Hydrated and Happy: Why Keeping Hydrated Is Good for Our Mental Health

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Hydrated and Happy: Why Keeping Hydrated Is Good for Our Mental Health

We’ve always been told it’s important to stay hydrated. But has anyone ever explained why? We know there are physical implications of dehydration however did you know that staying hydrated is crucial to supporting your mental health as well? Dehydration can impact your mental health in a few different ways. So grab your water bottle, fill up, and read on.


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Summer Vacay in a Healthy Way: Maintaining Emotional Wellbeing in Summertime

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Summer Vacay in a Healthy Way: Maintaining Emotional Wellbeing in Summertime

For many the summer is a time for relaxation, sunshine, vacations, and more. However, for others, the summer can be stressful. The heat, co-workers going on vacation and leaving more tasks, and others can lead to negative emotions. No matter what time of year, we all need self-care. If you find yourself struggling more so in the summertime, consider these strategies to boost your mood.

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Executive Functions: What Are They and How Do We Improve Them

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Executive Functions: What Are They and How Do We Improve Them

We are always using executive functioning skills. But do you know what they are or why they’re beneficial? Executive functions are mental skills that focus on emotion regulation, memory, impulse control, and being flexible thinkers. We are constantly using our executive functions to help us on a day-to-day basis. When we struggle with executive functions, we might might ourselves struggling with directions, having difficulty concentrating, and struggling to manage difficult emotions. With all of the work our executive functions do, there are ways to help support and improve these areas over time, when we find ourselves struggling.

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On Being Mindful: Meditation As Part of Your Daily Routine

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On Being Mindful: Meditation As Part of Your Daily Routine

May is Meditation Month however it doesn’t just need to be May to practice the daily benefits of mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is the practice of staying present, and focusing on the moment. Research shows that practicing mindfulness through meditation or other relaxation strategies daily can lead to many benefits for both our physical and emotional wellbeing.

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Coping for All Occasions: Why a Self-Care Tool Kit Is Crucial

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Coping for All Occasions: Why a Self-Care Tool Kit Is Crucial

We know we all need to engage in self-care. It makes us feel good, it helps us destress, and we know that there are long-term benefits for our mental and physical health. However, in difficult moments, it’s often difficult for our brains to remember all the self-care activities we know as our nervous systems take over and attempt to fight or flee. Thus, developing a self-care toolkit for any moment can be helpful. By having these on hand, you can use them anytime you feel stress or need something to help you regroup.