Blog
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.
What Parents Should Expect of Their Child’s Therapy
Your child needs therapy, and you aren’t sure what to expect. Maybe you’ve never personally been to therapy, or maybe you had a negative experience with it, and you’re not sure what it will be like for your child. You are understandably uncertain and may be apprehensive about bringing your child to a new therapist. You’re more familiar with the dynamics of parent-teacher conferences or sitting in on your child’s doctor’s appointments. Therapy is unique in a lot of ways, especially concerning the treatment of your child’s mental health. This post outlines some things you can expect to experience when you take your child to meet with a therapist.
New Year's Resolutions (That Have Nothing To Do With Weight Loss)
As we enter 2025, resolution season is upon us (or happening). From social media, media ads, pop-ups, news reports, and people we engage with daily, we are sure to hear about resolutions. About half of adults in the US will make a New Year's resolution this January, but very few people will be able to see those resolutions through. One study found that only 4% of those people will achieve their goals. There is a lot to unpack here, but first, what are people's most common goals?
Can I Be Friends with My Therapist? The Importance of Healthy Therapeutic Boundaries
Therapy is a unique relationship. You share everything about yourself with your therapist, but they don’t share much, if anything, about themselves. Many therapists are open to answering certain questions about themselves or may share a little bit about themselves if it’s appropriate, but the relationship is not a friendship. Some therapists will not share any information about themselves with their clients, but this depends on the client, the therapist, and the relationship. A therapist’s goal is never to move away from the client's best interest, and talking about themselves can do that very quickly.
How to Be More Productive: Goals vs. Systems
With the New Year upon us, you most likely have been reflecting on what you would like to accomplish this upcoming year. You may be thinking about different skills or habits that you want to add to your routine, like reading more books, being more physically active, or keeping your home and personal space more organized. Maybe you have a big goal in mind for yourself, like, "I will read 50 books this year," or "I will save $1,000 in an emergency fund." Goals can be great, however there is another way to increase productivity: setting up systems or routines. Let’s talk about the difference between goals and systems and which one might work best for you.