Consent Preferences

Anxiety

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Coping With The End of Semester Woes

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Coping With The End of Semester Woes

If you are searching for this, you may be feeling the pressure and stress from rapidly approaching deadlines and final exams. Perhaps the rest of the semester went without issue. Maybe you were living carefree, completing assignments whenever you could and sometimes skipping a class just to have a ‘me’ day. Perhaps you attended meticulously, taking very precise notes and studying very hard. Regardless of your college experience, final exams can be a very vulnerable and tense time for many students. If you are feeling the effects of that with late night study sessions, skipping meals and sacrificing sleep to catch up on assignments and material you might have skimped over before, here are some things that can help you with that. 

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Reacting vs. Responding

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Reacting vs. Responding

When an unexpected situation or conversation occurs that does not go in your favor, it is second nature to act upon the first thoughts and feelings that come to mind. However, these thoughts and feelings may not always be the most effective way to handle whatever the situation may be. It is important to respond to situations rather than to react. You may be thinking, what is the difference? Reacting and responding are similar in nature as both come from a place of wanting to be heard or understood. However, there are differences between these two.

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Is Your Relationship Healthy?

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Is Your Relationship Healthy?

As you go through life, it’s important to fully understand what makes up a healthy relationship. This is something that is not taught in schools & is usually learned through trial & error based on previous experiences. Personal relationships will develop within families, friends, colleagues & acquaintances. The shared experience of living, working & spending time together with similar interests is what creates emotional bonds, interactions & trusting relationships.

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How To Cope After Being Fired

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How To Cope After Being Fired

Getting fired is more common than some may realize.  A company can have numerous reasons for letting go of an employee such as budgeting, creative differences, or unsatisfactory performance.  It is important that you find ways to navigate this stressful life change. 

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Infidelity in Relationships: What to Know.

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Infidelity in Relationships: What to Know.

Infidelity in marriages has been a topic of interest for many years, with many studies conducted on the topic. Recently, with divorce rates being what they are in the United States, there has been an increase in the amount of research focused on understanding the causes and effects of infidelity as well as possible ways of minimizing the probability of it occurring.

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The Power of Language

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The Power of Language

Words and the language we use in our daily lives have a significant impact on how we view ourselves and the world around us. As many of us have seen or experienced, even how something is worded can influence our interpretation and reaction of what was said. However, this is not only the case for the person listening. The language we use can shape and reinforce our own views, thoughts and mood, for better or for worse. In both scenarios, whether we are listening to someone else or saying something ourselves, the language we use can contribute to how we respond or behave in any given situation.

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Understanding Mental & Physical Health

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Understanding Mental & Physical Health

Mental health and physical health have commonly been considered two entirely different and separate things. However, the two are very closely related in many different ways. At the broadest level, poor mental health negatively impacts one’s physical health and poor physical health may negatively impact one’s mental health. However, positive physical health promotes improvements in mental health and vice-versa. Many factors contribute to both one’s physical health and mental health; however, the benefits, or consequences, one has on the other are significant.

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How Mental Health Affects Physical Health

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How Mental Health Affects Physical Health

The mind and body are often seen as separate, but mental health and physical health are closely related. Having good mental health can positively affect your physical health, as well as the reverse.

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Winter Survival Guide: Protect Your Mental Health

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Winter Survival Guide: Protect Your Mental Health

You would not be alone if you are concerned about the possible negative effects on your mental health around the winter season. Many people label this season as one of the most stressful times of the year, while some stress is unavoidable, too much stress can challenge your ability to cope.

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Staying Mentally Fit in the Dark Winter Months

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Staying Mentally Fit in the Dark Winter Months

As we begin to prepare for the holidays, this is also the time we turn back our clocks to standard time. In order to remember which way the clocks move, we’ve named it “fall back” & “spring forward.” Falling back means changing the clocks back one full hour, resulting in earlier sunsets & later sunrises. This ultimately means more darkness throughout the rest of Fall & Winter. Darkness can feel increasingly isolating & is known to exacerbate already existing mental health problems such as depression & anxiety. Changing back the clocks also negatively impacts our circadian rhythm (body clock), disrupting our sleep/wake cycle & the production of melatonin. Darkness increases the production of melatonin, thus leaving us to feel more tired, sleepy & fatigued in the winter months. In essence, sunlight is directly linked to our circadian rhythm therefore it is no surprise that when the sun goes down, we begin to get sleepy, even if it’s only 5pm!

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What is Mindfulness & Why is Everyone Talking About It?

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What is Mindfulness & Why is Everyone Talking About It?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of our environment, bodily sensations, thoughts & feelings. It is a minute-by-minute sense of awareness that is often overlooked, ignored & unnoticed. It is the idea of stopping to smell the roses! Additionally, mindfulness is a form of acceptance. Acceptance of our current thoughts & feelings in a judgement free, unbiased zone. We are usually so quick to judge our thoughts & feelings in a way that can be harmful, therefore mindfulness encourages us to be kinder & more accepting of ourselves.

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Social Media and Mental Health

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Social Media and Mental Health

The rise of social media has been one of the greatest changes our culture has seen over the last two decades. What began as a niche activity for younger generations has become a worldwide phenomenon for everyone of all ages, genders and backgrounds. Social media has allowed us to talk to and engage with friends and family across the globe with ease, access professional services from our homes, receive news and information with the click of a button, and engage in our hobbies and interests anytime and anywhere. However, as social media use continues to become more and more prevalent, and many users find themselves using social media more frequently, many people have found themselves experiencing harmful consequences as a result.

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Sundays Don’t Have to be Scary

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Sundays Don’t Have to be Scary

The phrase “Sunday scaries” is one that has been normalized and frequently used in our society to refer to the “fear” or anxiety that comes on a Sunday when anticipating the upcoming work week. Due to this, Sundays have slowly become less of a relaxing weekend day and have become replaced with feelings of worry, restlessness, and a sense of dread. While it is okay to begin to anticipate the upcoming work week, it becomes problematic when the “Sunday scaries” completely take control and ruin the day. Overall, it is possible to take back control of your Sunday and not make it so scary.

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The Importance Of Saying “No”

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The Importance Of Saying “No”

The word “no” is just two letters but can feel so intimidating and off putting to say to others. To some, this can be one of the most difficult words to udder. Despite the want to say “no” to another person, the words “yes, absolutely” or “no problem” can come in its place. Next thing you know, you are committed to a task or an event that you did not want to complete or attend. Saying “no” is an important skill to acquire and practice in order to begin prioritizing your own mental health and emotional needs.

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Building Insight: Open Ended Questions

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Building Insight: Open Ended Questions

While building insight about any particular idea or choice, our minds tend to have little conversations or monologues weighing all the different aspects and facts around the situation. Sometimes we look to our trusted supports in our life to help in this process and offer an outsider’s perspective. As a therapist, insight-building is often a part of the therapeutic process. Sometimes it is a clear objective and other times it is a byproduct of the therapeutic process itself. Regardless, insight refers to our ability to use our wisdom to build a complete understanding of an idea or situation. This is very important when related to making a choice or building motivation for change.

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How To Increase Your GPA Without Studying: The impact of mental health on academic success.

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How To Increase Your GPA Without Studying: The impact of mental health on academic success.

For some reason, it has been a long road for both public and private academic institutions to take this link between mental health and academic functioning seriously. We are seeing more and more robust and dedicated mental health services and systems in our educational programs, however time spent with many families has shown me that the direct link between mental health struggles and academic struggles is hardly common knowledge.

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I’m tired of dieting but what else can I do?

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I’m tired of dieting but what else can I do?

If you are someone on a journey to learn more about your eating habits, in recovery from an eating disorder, or someone genuinely interested, this blog will discuss what intuitive eating is. Diet culture can be a difficult approach towards someone's weight loss goals. It often cycles between restriction and exercise which can put someone at risk to develop disordered eating or an eating disorder. This mindset of a transaction and “bad” food items to be earned through restriction, exercise, or calorie counting can be an unhealthy mindset towards someone's overall wellbeing. Our body is an amazing tool and vessel. Sometimes we can ignore what it is telling us it may need. Intuitive eating is an approach to shift our focus from what we know, towards a healthier relationship with food. Not one filled with anxiety, stress, guilt, sadness, and shame if we have a donut, or “ate horribly today”. Intuitive eating is an anti-diet approach where you are more mindful and connected with your body as it tells you what it needs. Through this, you learn not to judge yourself or listen to diet culture tones. Our body tells us when it is hungry, when it is thirsty, when it is starving, and what is satisfying.

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The Benefits Of Playing Video Games

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The Benefits Of Playing Video Games

Video games have frequently been portrayed in the media as, at best, a “waste of time”, and at worst, harmful to those who play them. However, there has been an increasing amount of research that not only contradicts these claims, but identifies numerous benefits of playing video games. Another common misconception of video games is that it is for children, particularly male children; however, the people who play video games has continued to become an increasingly diverse group. The age of the average video game player is 35 and it is estimated that approximately 59% of those who play video games are male and 41% are female (Halbrook, O’Donell & Mstefi 2019).

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Understanding Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

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Understanding Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation is what pushes us to do and accomplish both the things we want and need to do, from going to school or work, to spending time with friends and loved ones, spending our time enjoying our hobbies. Many times, our motivation is not something we are consciously aware of, especially when it comes to thinking how we are motivated. There are two main different types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic.

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The Connection Between Sleep & Mental Health

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The Connection Between Sleep & Mental Health

Why is sleep so important? Sleep is a critical aspect of our overall wellbeing both physically & mentally. There are two major phases of brain activity during sleep that we cycle through every night. These are called Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) & Rapid Eye Movement (REM). During NREM sleep, the brain slows down which results in decreased eye movement & muscle activity. This is when the brain is preparing the mind & body to enter into a state of deep sleep. About 1-2 hours after NREM, we enter into REM sleep. This is when activity in the brain increases at a rapid speed & usually results in vivid dreaming! Throughout the night we go in & out of these two phases of sleep.