My Insurance is Changing - Help!
As many of us in the Champaign/Urbana community know, Health Alliance is closing its doors at the end of 2025. While this leaves many of us confused, surprised, and saddened, it also brings up a lot of questions for those of us who have Health Alliance insurance, and some general questions. What happens now? What insurance provider will I have? Will my medical providers be in network? What even is a deductible?
It's Not Defiance: Understanding and Supporting Children with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is not an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, but it’s a pattern of behavior seen in some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or ADHD. Kids with PDA often appear “defiant,” but this behavior usually comes from anxiety, stress, and feeling out of control.
10 Summer Activities to Help Improve and Support Your Mental Health
The warmth, relaxation and flexibility that the summer months bring can be exciting for vacations and sunshine, but for some, summer months can have the potential to trigger feelings of being overwhelmed and losing control and structure. Expectations of being carefree can put a lot of pressure on those who may be struggling mentally.
Problem-Solving Skills for Kids
For some kids, problem solving comes naturally as they develop and parents give it little thought. However, for other kids, it is something they need to be taught. Almost all kids benefit from being taught such skills but kids diagnosed with ADHD and other developmental disorders especially benefit.
It’s Time to Stop Saying “I’m So OCD”
Social Media is a very common platform for self expression. This can be wonderful, but can also create some complicated views and experiences. A trend in social media is talking about mental health. Influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram will often talk about their own mental health diagnoses, what got them there, and what behaviors and challenges they have faced…Talking about these illnesses is extremely important. However, what is also happening is that people are misusing these terms.
Everyday Acceptance: Being Aware and Coping with Life’s Daily Annoyances
You’re doing the dishes, and a plate breaks. You’re really looking forward to going out with a good friend, and at the last second, they have to cancel because their babysitter can’t make it. You’re playing guitar, and a string breaks. There are many ways in which life provides us with minor annoyances that, because of the chronic uncertainty many of us face on a daily basis, may feel overwhelming. If we are not careful, things can build to the point where we feel we can’t take it anymore. We may “fly off the handle,” taking it out on the ones we love, or we may take it out on ourselves. Do you find yourself having difficulties coping with everyday events? Then this blog post is for you.
5 to 9 Pressure: How to Reduce Stress While Off the Clock
The idea of making the most of your time can cause a lot of stress, anxiety, and even depression. Social media only serves to worsen this, as any social media feed is bound to be full of people “living their best life”. In reality, these posts are only the highlights, and do not show someone lounging in bed in their sweats after work, or eating over the sink so as not to dirty another plate. These posts do not depict the nights when someone might want to make plans, but might not have someone to call. Or the nights when someone has to attend an after school recital for their child, take their child to an appointment, or sit at the table trying to do homework with a frustrated child.
Health Benefits of Animals
For those of us who are animal lovers, there is nothing better than coming home to a pet who is happy to see you no matter what your day was like. The warmth, affection, and love pets give to us can feel soothing, and draw out our own feelings of care and mutual connection. Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets who provide these feelings in a way that improves mental health for their human companions who have a diagnosed mental health condition. Emotional support animals can impact our emotions by alleviating worry, providing comfort, and mitigating feelings of loneliness.
The Impact of Eating Disorders on Athletic Performance
Athletes often experience temporary results from disordered behaviors like restrictive dieting and over-training/exercising. Although it can be difficult for an athlete to step away from their sport, pursuing treatment increases their likelihood of safely returning—and can be lifesaving. Coaches, parents, teammates, and providers have a critical role in ensuring athletes are prioritized over the sport. Understanding the risks athletes face is key to providing preventative support.
Protecting Yourself From Second-Hand Anxiety
Do you feel anxious when your child or teen is anxious? Can you feel your own anxiety rising as your child retells an anxious event from their day? In all likelihood, the answer is yes. This phenomenon is called second-hand anxiety. Second-hand anxiety simply means feeling anxious because someone else is anxious. This happens because our brains are equipped with mirror neurons. These neurons’ purpose is to imitate other’s movements and feelings. They help us learn just by watching someone complete a task. They also allow us to feel what other people are feeling. Studies have shown that observing someone expressing anger increases cortisol in the blood by 26%.
Mood Momentum, Building Mastery, and the Art of Getting Things Done
Two weeks ago, I wanted to watch college basketball and not work on necessary tasks. It’s March, my favorite month of the year. The weather is getting nicer, the sun is shining, and Madness is coming. Usually, I’m on top of it. On this particular weekend, I wanted to watch all of my favorite teams, and I was behind on the games for the week. So I sat there, petting my dog, and watched. I didn’t really enjoy it, because I was thinking about getting the tasks completed, but I sat there anyway. There were some plays that really got me excited, and it wasn’t the same as usual. The more that I sat there, the more I thought about the need to get it done (and the more guilty I felt for not doing it). It was extremely difficult to get started.
Does this sound familiar, especially this time of year when the projects seem to be piling up? Then this blog post is for you. I thrive in an environment where the train keeps moving, so to speak. These concepts help me to get there, and I hope they do the same for you.
I’m Tired - Help!
Tired is a word that can mean so many things. We use this word to mean in need of sleep, finished exercising, or even annoyed with a situation (i.e. “I’m tired of this”). You can be multiple kinds of tired at once, and they often overlap. We can be emotionally, spiritually, or physically tired. When someone says that they are tired, the advice is usually to rest. However, rest can look different depending on what kind of tiredness you are experiencing. If you are resting for a kind of tiredness that you are not feeling, the feeling will not go away. Seems pretty straightforward!
What is Stimming? Understanding Self-Regulation in Autism & ADHD
If you are neurodivergent, you may have experienced or noticed repetitive behaviors known as "stimming." What is stimming, and why is it essential for neurodivergent individuals? Discover how it helps with self-regulation, emotional expression, and advocacy for autism & ADHD. Stimming—short for self-stimulatory behavior—refers to repetitive movements, sounds, or interactions with objects that stimulate the senses.
The Worst Advice Given by Parents
Most parents strive to be great at parenting. We want “the best” for our kids so they grow up to be successful. However, research has shown that successful kids don’t come from what has classically been doled out as parenting advice. Healthy eating habits, self-control, social skills, and compassion for others are trademarks of a “successful” child.
How to Stay Informed Without Becoming Overwhelmed
Many, if not every therapist and therapy client are currently facing some version of the question: “How can I stay informed without being constantly overwhelmed by the news cycle?” The answer to this question is specific to each individual, but there are a number of suggestions to help form your own answer to this question. Examining your relationship with news and media consumption is worth doing, especially if you’re finding it hard not to become overwhelmed, despairing, anxious, and angry when checking the news. The most recent American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ poll shows that political and economic stressors are the highest sources of stress in adult Americans in 2024. The following 6 tips may help you fix your relationship with news consumption.
How Body Image Impacts Mental Health: Coping With the Ongoing Nature of Body Image Struggles
Body image isn’t just looking at yourself in the mirror to check on your outfit. It’s about the feelings you have about your body. These feelings can be about your height, shape, weight or how your body moves, as well as how your clothes feel on your body. The feelings can be about your body in the present – like when you’re looking in the mirror – or as you think about your body in the present, past or future. How we talk about our physical selves – our internal voice and monologue – is our body image. This blog will go into more detail about the different kinds of body image we have, as well as ways to better understand them.
Financial Stress
Many people are currently or in the past experienced a wide range of financial stressors, from being between jobs, having debt (student loans, mortgages, car payments, credit cards), or simply struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living. Financial struggles are real, and have real impacts on mental health. Day-to-day life can feel like a nightmare when you’re unsure if you can pay the bills, afford groceries, or be prepared for life’s emergencies.
How to Romanticize Your Life: Investing in Yourself and Your Relationships
With it being February, there is a lot of focus on relationships and companionship. There is a primary focus on romantic relationships. However, I want to challenge you to tap into another very important relationship: the relationship you have with yourself. Whether you are single or in a relationship, it is important to maintain a healthy balance between focusing on yourself, growing as a person, and building strong relationships with friends, family, and your community. While some people may associate solo time with being lonely, the truth is that it is a time full of exciting opportunities. When you invest in yourself and your connections with others, life can feel rich and full of joy.
Valentine’s Day Expectations
With relationships come expectations. Having a partner or dating more casually sometimes creates a need for certain types of celebrations or recognition of your relationship, either publicly or privately. With the amount of time we spend on social media, our feeds become nothing but photos of flowers, cards, and gifts that people have received from their Valentine and just cannot wait to show off. No matter if you are single, dating, engaged, married, uncertain, or none of the above, Valentine’s Day can create unnecessary stress and anxiety.
When Anxiety Comes Out Sideways
Oftentimes, when dealing with kids, teens and even some adults, anxiety doesn’t present itself as them saying “I feel worried” but, instead, as behaviors. These behaviors may include yelling, hitting, crying, kicking, and shoving. They may refuse to do what they have been asked, attempt to control the situation, or ask questions. Physical symptoms may include headaches, stomach aches, difficulty sleeping and isolating themselves. When working with an anxious child, it is important to see these behaviors as what they are: a form of communication. Something has happened that has made your child’s brain feel threatened or unsafe and now the amygdala has taken over.