By Dr. Sara Michelson Licensed Psychologist Chapel Hill N.C. Insomnia, the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, can have wide-ranging effects on both physical and mental health. When chronic or severe, it can significantly impair an individual’s quality of life and overall well-being. Here is a breakdown of some of the primary effects of insomnia: 1. Cognitive Impairment Memory …
Where does anxiety begin – How do you treat it in therapy?
How are you doing? Most of you have probably seen the recent post that went viral from Elmo asking the question “How are you doing?”… It is no surprise the number of responses the post attracted. This is one of the many ways Sesame Street seems to often understand what the world needs more than we often acknowledge! Why were …
Counseling services Orlando: Anxious Thinking
We all know the sensation of being caught in a spiral of negative thoughts, unable to break away. The name for this kind of intrusive and repetitive thinking pattern is called perseverative cognition; this post takes a look at ways in which this particular thinking pattern contributes to anxiety and how we can effectively manage it. Counseling services Orlando Choosing …
Breathing into Winter
Well, here we are. Another chapter ending and a new year beginning in linear time – all the while the earth in the northern hemisphere quiets. The tension in these rhythms is palpable to me as I practice surrendering into wintering while the world rages. – Current Practice: With this chapter of the moon, in the daily practice, we are …
Five Reasons Emotions Are Important
Emotions can play an important role in how you think and behave. The emotions you feel each day can compel you to take action and influence the decisions you make about your life, both large and small. Emotions can be short-lived, such as a flash of annoyance at a co-worker, or long-lasting, such as enduring sadness over the loss of …
Understanding and Managing Anguish
Anguish is an intense and complex emotional state caused by mental or physical suffering. When people experience anguish, they often feel extreme distress, sadness, torment, turmoil, and inner pain. While such feelings are often associated with losses or trauma, other overwhelming life challenges can also trigger this emotional state. Anguish feels like deep sorrow and pain and it can lead …
Introducing Austin Texas Counselor Carolyn Maurin, LPC, LCDC, MA
Austin Texas Counselor Carolyn Maurin is now offering Online counseling. Online counseling has revolutionized the accessibility of making positive changes in your life. As a Texas-based online counselor, I witness my clients thriving and conquering challenges while receiving therapy from various locations, such as the comfort of their homes, during work breaks, between classes, or even while on vacation. The …
Getting Through Grief
Getting Through Grief and Letting Go Letting go of grief is no easy task. Grief is something you might be holding tight to—a reminder of your loved one or a connection to their memory. Loosening your grip and ultimately surrendering your grief can seem like a scary and daunting task but it’s a necessary process you must go through to …
Shifting red flags to green flags: how to avoid the “situationship”
By: Alison Printz, LSW Swipe right on a picture of a cute stranger. Match with them. They message you. Go out on a few dates. A few dates turn into a couple months of dating. They’ve met your friends, they spend Sunday mornings with you having bagels, they’re best friends with your dog. Then when it’s time to define the …
Does Self Help Help?
Self-help books and resources can provide valuable insights and strategies for personal development and growth. They often encourage us to “Eat the Frog” or “Do Hard Things” as a means to overcome challenges and achieve our goals. While these principles are helpful, many of us find that there are deeper reasons why we struggle to implement them in our lives. …
Exploring the Greek Forms of Love: A Therapist’s Perspective on Understanding the Dimensions of Relating
Love is a complex and multifaceted emotion that influences our relationships and overall well-being. As therapists, we strive to unravel the intricacies of human connections, seeking to guide individuals on their path to healthier and more fulfilling relationships. In this article, we delve into the ancient Greek forms of love, shedding light on how they can help us better understand …
Why EFT tapping is a great form of therapy
The daily grind sometimes seems to just build up and build up over time. We often don’t realize how much we are carrying or how much pressure we are experiencing until something minute tips the scale. When that happens, we may become increasingly aware of the discomfort, emotional or physical, that is present for us. Sometimes just the ability to …
Open Letter – Learning to Connect
The following is part of an email thread between a client and myself. I thought I would post it as there is value here for everyone feeling the effects of what I call “parenting anomalies”. “Q: How can I fix my childhood neglect? A: The problem is there is no one magic thing that anyone can say, that will immediately …
Carving Your Riverbed
Creating boundaries Looking back through an old journal, I read a reflection on the function of boundaries during a time I was feeling the impact of a lack of them in my life. Our boundaries exist in us. Even if we aren’t aware of them, we feel when they are crossed. There’s an emotional cost that, over time, can become …
Grief Counseling Redbank, NJ
Getting Through Grief and Letting Go Letting go of grief is no easy task. Grief is something you might be holding tight to—a reminder of your loved one or a connection to their memory. Loosening your grip and ultimately surrendering your grief can seem like a scary and daunting task but it’s a necessary process you must go through to …
How to Channel Your Mind’s Inner Chatter
How to Channel Your Mind’s Inner Chatter As naturally as we breathe, we “decouple” from the here and now, our brains transporting us to past events, imagined scenarios, and other internal musings. This tendency is so fundamental it has a name: our “default state.” It is the activity our brain automatically reverts to when not otherwise engaged, and often even …
Anxiety Therapy Los Gatos: Researchers Reveal How Trauma Changes The Brain
Researchers are learning more about how traumatic events may physically change our brains and how anxiety therapy can help. Neurologists have revealed changes to a brain mechanism used for learning and survival may play a role in how someone responds to a threat following a traumatic experience. Another study found that another mechanism responsible for emotion and memory is impacted …
About Seasonal Depression
Depressed again for no apparent reason? Do you or someone you know consistently feel depressed as we head into fall and winter? Seasonal Depression, also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a type of depression that recurs for some individuals during the same time each year. SAD usually starts during adulthood and is rare for individuals under the age of …
What causes insomnia and what is sleep therapy?
What are the Causes of Insomnia? Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects as many as 35% of adults. It is marked by problems getting to sleep, staying asleep through the night, and sleeping as long as you would like into the morning. It can have serious effects, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness, a higher risk of auto accidents, and …
Breathing for Calm
Our breath is a something we always have with us (hopefully), and it can be accessed and utilized in diverse ways to achieve different mental and physiological states. There is a myriad of different breathing techniques available out there to try. Box-breathing, Alternate-Nostril breathing, Sama Vritti and even the “Tummo” method recently popularized by “The Iceman” Wim Hof to increase …
Parenting Advice From D. H. Lawrence, Don’t Smother Your Children With Love.
Children Are More Sagacious Than You Think As parents, we are assailed by injunctions to protect our children, to engage with them creatively, athletically and intellectually, to feed them nutritious food and make them floss their teeth. Even when not being given direct advice, we listen out, comparing ourselves with others, wondering what we’re getting right or wrong. Usually, I …
What are the ways to reduce the impact of childhood trauma and how do we forgive?
Children who experience trauma tend to have health problems later in life. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris explains why—and how we can help heal those wounds. Patrice Hooke, LMFT offers Couples counseling Costa Mesa Newport Beach Orange county California working with Individuals, Couples, Adults, and Adolescents. Specialties: Depression Grief Loss Relationship Dating Issues Stress/Life Transitions Anxiety Mid-life fertility Issues. When Dr. …
The Ridiculously Awesome Practice of Surrendering
Every day in this world is a shaky, uncertain, constantly changing landscape — and that causes us to try to get control. Anxiety and Depression Counseling Chicago Jana Fuchs, LCPC Owner and Founder of JF Counseling and Consulting specializes in therapy anxiety counseling for depression. My goal as a therapist is to help you find solutions that work for you …
Are You Stuck in Constant Self-Judgment?
Depression Treatment Raleigh Do you feel down? Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy? Are you critical and judgmental towards yourself? We can help you find the Inner Path that can lead you out of your depression. Therapist near me 144 Wind Chime CT. #1 Raleigh NC 27615-6433 Are you a good enough friend, employee, partner, or …
Anxiety and Depression – How To Help Your Partner And Yourself
Living with anxiety and Depression can be tough. Your thoughts might race, you might dread tasks others find simple (like driving to work) and your worries might feel inescapable. But loving someone with anxiety can be hard too. You might feel powerless to help or overwhelmed by how your partner’s feelings affect your daily life. If so, you’re not alone: …
Why Letting Go of Control Can Help You Enjoy Life
Feeling the need to be in control is natural. It’s something we all inherently want, and we feel best when we know exactly what is going on in all the different areas of our lives. It’s important to realize, though, that we can never control everything. Trying to do that leads to many different negative emotions when things don’t go …
What Is Breathwork and is it Beneficial?
Breathwork is about being able to control how you breathe and it has many health benefits for your mind and body. But what exactly is is breathwork? Is it the same as meditation? How do they differ, and what benefits do you get from breathwork? Let’s find out! What Is Breathwork? Breathwork is a breathing exercise or technique performed to …
Why Perfectionism Stops Us from Creating New Habits
When we decide to create a new habit — exercise, healthy eating, meditation, writing — we can get excited and optimistic, and have an idea of how it will go perfectly. This is such a hopeful time! Unfortunately, reality has other plans. Our perfect idea of how our new habit will go is pretty much never how it actually goes. …
How To Tell Your Friends You’re Depressed
Deciding to tell the people you love that you’re struggling with depression is a big step. Not only is it challenging to find the energy to reach out to people, but there are naturally worries about how the news of your diagnosis will be received. Unfortunately, there are too many misconceptions about mental health and what it means and the …
Can Counseling Help With Depression?
Depression is a serious mood disorder. with an estimated 16 million American adults having at least one major depressive episode in the past year.1 It can affect how you think, feel, interact with people, and handle daily life. It can cause feelings of sadness and a loss of interest or pleasure in things you once enjoyed. Anyone can be affected …
Therapist near me: the reasons why your ADHD brain needs more sleep
As a therapist I’m usually a good sleeper. In fact, sleep and I have a bit of a thing going on. But last night? We weren’t friends at all. I was tossing and turning, my body ached, and my mind raced. I tried all my tricks, but it just wasn’t happening. And my alarm went off after I managed maybe …
Anxiety Treatment & Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety Disorder Occasional anxiety is an expected part of life. You might feel anxious when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. But anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. …
THE ADHD ADVANTAGE: The 10 greatest benefits of ADHD brains
Is ADHD a gift? Yes. No. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe. It depends. And everything in between. ADHD brains are different. And with difference comes great strength and great struggle. There are some indisputable advantages to ADHD brains- they work in some unique and marvelous ways. But living with a brain that works differently than much of the rest of the world? …
Choosing to Live Your Life over Anxiety
Remember that anxiety list you keep? It might not be a literal list, but it is a list somewhere in your psyche. I am referring specifically to that list that gets added to every time you say “no” to your desires. Whether you are aware of the painful “no moment” when it comes up, a little part of you sulks …
Effective Therapy for Distressed Couples
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term (8 – 20 sessions) and structured approach to couples’ therapy developed by Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg in the 1980’s. It is grounded in research while focusing on negative communication patterns and love as an attachment bond. Attachment Theory in Couples Therapy “Attachment” between people typically provides a safe haven: a retreat …
Questioning for Clarity: Online Counseling New Jersey and Nutrition Coach Philadelphia
We have all struggled with uncertainty at one point or another in life, and you may find that the more you search for an answer, the muddier everything becomes. While using our analytical skills is important to help us weigh out the costs and benefits of various options, our analysis only takes us so far. What can you do when …
The Guilt of Not Working More, When We’re Done for the Day
At the end of a day of work, there can be a simple practice of wrapping things up and shutting down for the day. Boca Raton Therapy Christiane Blanco-Oilar, Ph.D., ABPP is a Board Certified Counseling Psychologist, specializing in Boca Raton Therapy. Dr. Blanco-Oilar has expertise in helping you through life transitions, grief and loss, intimacy issues, relationship difficulties – Couples …
How To Experience More Wow
Awe might seem an unobtainable luxury to many but, with the right approach, you can enjoy it daily – no mountain required. On a crisp, clear day in January about four years ago, my children and I joined a few thousand Rhode Islanders in a protest march against a recent change in law that restricted the number of refugees who …
Active Listening – Online Counseling New Jersey
When communicating in counseling It can be easy to focus more on what we are saying than how we are listening. If we are not truly hearing what someone is saying to us, then communication is not successful and misunderstandings occur. While listening may seem straight forward, there are many ways to practice poor listening skills that you may not …
Menstrual Cycle and Mood
The menstrual cycle is composed of four different phases, which vary in duration from woman to woman, and may fluctuate in length. The phases are menstrual, follicular, ovulation, and luteal. While the length of a menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman, many experience a cycle that lasts 28 days. During the fluctuations of a cycle, key hormones – testosterone, …
Cortisol, Stress, and Overall Nutrition Health
Cortisol is our body’s primary stress hormone. Our levels of cortisol fluctuate throughout the day, with morning typically being when we have our highest levels of cortisol with a decrease throughout the rest of the day. The changes in our cortisol levels throughout the day is known as diurnal cortisol slopes.1 What is the function of cortisol in the body? …
Staying at the Edge of Uncertainty & Anxiety
When we get into a situation that feels uncertain, most of us will immediately try to get to a place of certainty. Instead of writing a blog post, I’ll find myself wanting to check emails or my favorite websites. Instead of having a difficult conversation, we’ll stay in a crappy situation for longer than we need to. Instead of putting …
12 Ideas for Establishing a Calming Routine
One of the most rewarding changes in your life can be finding peace with a morning routine. I’ve made it a habit to wake before most of the world, at about 4:30 a.m., and just enjoy the quiet and solitude. It has made all the difference in the world. I sit quietly with a cup of coffee, and enjoy the …
How to Do the Thing You’re Avoiding
Most of us have something on our task list we’re avoiding or a project we’ve been putting off. Think for a moment: what’s the task or project you’ve been avoiding lately? Some possibilities: That report you don’t want to write Your book or blog you’ve been meaning to write The business you’ve been wanting to create for years Your garage …
Healing from Narcissistic Abuse
If you’ve decided to read this article, it’s perhaps because you, or someone you know, is trying to heal in the aftermath of a toxic relationship. Or maybe you have been wondering how to leave a toxic relationship and how you will be able to heal. Whatever drew you to read this article, I want you to know that you …
Trauma Therapy, how does it work?
A therapeutic approach in treatment planning has focused on the initial healing of individuals who have survived Post-Traumatic injury. A consultation, and comprehensive assessment of the client can direct that individual to an improved and motivated quality of life journey. Though the integration of theory, intervention, insight and to multi-cultural awareness, my goal emphasis has been on clients who are …
What is a website builder?
Looking for a therapist website builder? Website builders are tools that typically allow the construction of websites without manual code editing. They fall into two categories: online proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies. These are typically intended for users to build their private site. Some companies allow the site owner to install alternative tools (commercial or open-source) — the …
Unstuck: Create a New Path for Yourself
Sometimes it can feel like we’re stuck in life, doing the same things we’re unhappy with, over and over again. Maybe you’ve been procrastinating on your meaningful work, or getting stuck in indecision or perfectionism. Maybe you’ve been putting off exercise or meditation, getting your finances in good shape, or making some other important change in your life. Depression Treatment …
The Effect of Oxidative Stress on Mental Health
Understanding oxidative stress is important because we are exposed to many environmental and dietary stressors that can contribute to an imbalance in our body that impacts overall health. Oxidative stress is defined as “a disturbance in the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and antioxidant defenses.” 1 Oxidative stress occurs when your body has an imbalance …
Anxiety treatment NYC: How To Help A Child Struggling With Anxiety
Childhood anxiety treatment is one of the most important mental health challenges of our time. One in five children will experience some kind of clinical-level anxiety by the time they reach adolescence, according to Danny Pine, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the world’s top anxiety researchers. Pine says that for …
A Guide to the Basic Anxiety and Depression of Life
Underlying much of what we do is an uncertainty, an anxiety, a fear, doubts, dissatisfaction, and ultimately depression. And we react to these anxieties, dissatisfaction and uncertainty in so many unhelpful ways: we seek distraction, we eat unhealthy food, we procrastinate, we get caught in a cycle of anxiety and unhappiness, we lash out at others, we dwell in our …
Are You Sabotaging Your Relationships?
Warning signs that you might be sabotaging a good thing You meet someone new and happily date for a little while. The connection is great, there is chemistry, and sex is fun. You start spending more and more time together and begin considering becoming a couple. But then, you stop replying to their texts right away. You cancel dates. You …
Finding Mindfulness in an Age of Depression & Anxiety
We live in uncertain times. Actually, things have always felt uncertain to the people who live in those times, but these days it might feel even more heightened, with the hyperconnectivity of the internet, social media and constant messaging, comparing ourselves to everyone else, and a very tense, divisive political situation (not just in the U.S., but in many countries). …
For Men Only – Men’s Mental Health
At A New Day Family Counseling, we understand the challenges men face today to improve their mental health. Men typically engage in fewer health-promoting behaviors, have fewer social supports, possess less effective behavioral responses to stress, and use fewer health care services than women. Men are 4 times more likely than females to die from suicide attempts (Centers for Disease …
Understanding Alcoholic Neuropathy – Addiction Counseling Westwood New Jersey
Alcoholic neuropathy is one of the most common and least recognizable consequences of heavy alcohol use. People with a long history of alcohol misuse might experience pain, tingling, weakness, numbness, or loss of balance as a result of alcoholic neuropathy. Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholic Neuropathy Signs and symptoms of alcoholic neuropathy can progress gradually, and they are usually subtle …
What America Can Learn from Couples Therapy
The principles of good communication for Couples Therapy Palo Alto could also apply to divided Americans. At family gatherings, in bars and restaurants, relatives and friends are shouting at each other instead of engaging in what used to be called political discussions. These high-volume, emotionally charged exchanges are also increasingly the norm in venues ranging from local governments to national …
Online Counseling for Work Stress New York City
Online Counseling for Work Stress New York City What does your reflection reveal? There are times when we see parts of our character we don’t like. The moments are often fleeting, yet can be haunting. Did I snap too harshly on the person again? Was I too passive in the meeting as usual? Am I too smothering to my child …
Online Counseling in Texas
The Pros of Online Therapy Are you considering Online Counseling in Texas? The internet has opened up new avenues for mental health treatment, but there are some pros and cons you should consider before you decide if e-therapy, also known as teletherapy,1 is right for you. In the face of the social distancing measures required in our COVID-19 crisis, many …
Online therapy in Texas
online therapy Texas Online counseling is the provision of professional mental health counseling services through the Internet. Services are typically offered via email, real-time chat, and video conferencing. Some clients use online counseling in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, or nutritional counseling, and a growing number of clients are using online counseling as a replacement for office visits. While some form …
Online Counseling
Depression Treatment Raleigh Do you feel down? Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy? Are you critical and judgmental towards yourself? We can help you find the Inner Path that can lead you out of your depression. Therapist near me 144 Wind Chime CT. #1 Raleigh NC 27615-6433 Relating in Isolation As depicted in the graphic above, …
Psychologist Chapel Hill N.C. – Telehealth
Recent developments in the COVID-19 pandemic have motivated me to transition to an entirely virtual practice. I believe firmly that social distancing is the safest and most ethical way to ensure the well-being for everyone and protect my clients. I use a HIPAA-compliant platform that can be accessed by phone, iPad, or computer. No set-up needed; you simply click a …
Social Media and Suicide Among Teens
Digital media, including social media, became a centerpiece of day to day life at a seemingly exponential rate. Before I graduated high school in 2006, I remember many evenings spent on ICQ (used to chat with friends), making simple websites with shout outs to my friends which included obnoxious lists of inside jokes, and playing The Sims Online. I whiled …
Couples Therapy Palo Alto: Relationships in the Tech World.
Being a Marriage and Family Therapist in the Bay Area specializing in Couples Therapy Palo Alto, means I have the privilege to meet clients from very diverse backgrounds. One of them is the Silicon Valley background which is a culture in and of itself. Clients and couples with this background share some distinct characteristics: high achieving, hard working, intelligent, ambitious, …
Family Stress Test
Family Stress Test Stress is a natural and normal “by-product” of every family’s life. In fact, family stress can bring out the best of us: as we stretch to meet the challenges we face, we become better parents, our children blossom and our families grow. But too much stress can spiral our families in the other direction. Take this Thriving …
Disorganized Attachment
Mary Ainsworth’s work on attachment identified three attachment categories (secure, insecure avoidant, and insecure ambivalent/resistant). The development of the disorganized/disoriented classification evolved as a part of Mary Main’s doctoral research in which she noticed that approximately 10% of infants in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure were difficult to classify.1 Disorganized attachment is an additional attachment category that was identified in 1986 …
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely used evidence-based treatment for depression and anxiety. In CBT, the focus is on thoughts, and how they directly affect emotions, and behaviors. If you are having a lot of negative thoughts, you are likely to have a lot of negative feelings. During cognitive behavioral treatment, you and your therapist will work together …
How Well Are You Listening to Your Children and Others?
When our children come to us with a problem, we usually want to help them. So we console, interpret, advise, distract or praise. Other times, we feel we must teach our children, and so we interrogate, lecture, moralize or order. And probably more often than we’d like, we respond angrily—blaming, criticizing, ridiculing, shaming or withdrawing. However, all of these responses …
A therapist near me offering online counseling
Your Reaction to “The New Normal”: Are My Thoughts And Feelings Normal? How Are You? No, Really, How are you? The answer to this question is often a resounding, “Eh.” As therapists, we see the silver lining in this: emotional honesty (we can see your eye roll). We have found that because we are in a difficult common experience, we …
What is ADHD?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a multifactorial neurobiological disorder (Curatolo, Paloscia, D’Agati, Moavero, & Pasini, 2009) that affects between 3% and 7% of school aged children in the United States and is the most prevalent neurobehavioral condition among this population in many countries (Findling, 2008). Although it may be the most studied condition in child psychiatry worldwide, its exact causes and …
Grief: Have We Moved Beyond the Five Stages?
At first thought, you may associate grief with death and losing someone close to you. Grief over the loss of a loved one is specifically referred to as bereavement. However, if you’ve experienced any kind of significant loss, such as the loss of a relationship, career, health status, or any other loss that triggered strong emotional distress, then you are …
Combing Through Someone’s Phone Could Lead to End of Relationship
For some people, the thought of their partner, friend or colleague snooping through their phone, reading their texts and emails, is an automatic deal breaker. However, some relationships can survive the snooping, a new study examining the motivations behind phone snooping has found. Researchers from UBC and the University of Lisbon recruited 102 individuals and asked them to recall a …
The Perfect Marriage: Solution-Focused Therapy
Abstract Medical family therapy has many potential uses in behavioral medicine and primary care. Current research was reviewed to determine the most advantageous way to apply solution-focused therapy and motivational interviewing as a perfect marriage in medical family therapy. An extensive literature review was done in the following databases for medical family therapy: Proquest, EBSCO, Medline, and PsychInfo. The search …
A moody gut often accompanies depression: New study helps explain why
For people with depression, gastrointestinal distress is a common additional burden, and a new study suggests that for some, the two conditions arise from the same glitch in neuron chemistry — low serotonin. The study, conducted in mice, shows that a shortage of serotonin in the neurons of the gut can cause constipation, just as a serotonin shortage in the …
Thoughts on Short-term Psychodynamic Therapies
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in the client’s present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are client self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior. In its brief form, a psychodynamic approach enables the client to examine unresolved conflicts and symptoms that arise from past dysfunctional relationships and manifest themselves in …
Depression: Ketamine prevents loss of pleasure in primates
New research, which features in the journal Neuron, shows that primates lose excitement in anticipation of a reward when a specific area of their brain becomes overactive. The study also shows that ketamine affects this brain region and prevents the loss of pleasure. Depression is “the leading cause of disability worldwide” and one of the most common mental health problems …
How Do You Know When It’s Time To Break Up?
Many of us don’t break up with a significant other when we should, for many different reasons. Some of us are afraid to be alone; others give in to what is called the sunk cost fallacy (“I’ve already invested so much time and effort in this relationship, I can’t give up now”). But most of us just ignore the signs …
Coping With Re-Experiencing Symptoms in PTSD
Re-experiencing—having sudden and unwanted traumatic memories that intrude into or even seem to replace what’s happening now—is a core symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you have PTSD, chances are you’ve had symptoms of re-experiencing. Symptoms The particular content which is re-experienced varies from person to person based on their history of trauma, but the way this trauma is …
Medical Marijuana Works on Endocannabinoids to Improve Depression
Some of the best treatments for depression are those that interact with the body’s own chemistry. For example, you may already know that the most common form of treatment for depression is SSRIs. These work with the body’s levels of serotonin. Serotonin already exists in the body, but when levels aren’t correct it can lead to depression. There are also …
On Being Interesting
Most of us know and value pleasant experiences. We savour the taste of a freshly picked strawberry. We laugh more than an event warrants, just because laughing feels good. We might argue about the degree to which such pleasant experiences are valuable, and the extent to which they ought to shape our lives, but we can’t deny their value. So …
A Toxic Brew
Adult children of alcoholics face down denial, but it’s a trauma they carry throughout their lives. If alcoholism seems like a lot to handle, imagine growing up with addicted parents. The alcoholic family is one of chaos, inconsistency, unclear roles, and illogical thinking. Arguments are pervasive, and violence or even incest may play a role. Children in alcoholic families suffer …
Atypical Depression
An Overview of Depression with Atypical Features What is it? Common depression leads individuals to feel sad and not enjoy everyday life. Depression with atypical features1 or more commonly, atypical depression, refers to a depressive state where individuals experience improved mood when encountering pleasurable events. This type of major depression, or dysthymia1, is atypical of melancholic depression, where mood improvements …
Nightmares and Imagery Rehearsal Therapy
Problems with nightmares are reported by a sizable proportion of individuals with a history of trauma and by approximately 5% to 8% of the general population. Chronic nightmares may represent a primary sleep disorder rather than a symptom of a psychiatric disorder, and direct targeting of nightmares is a feasible clinical approach to the problem. Of the treatments proposed, imagery …
Sleeping Pills That Don’t Let You Sleep
The Health Journal column in Monday’s Wall Street Journal discusses the dangers of taking sleeping pills and the rise in somnambulism that is more likely to occur taking nonbenzodiazepines (NBZs). Ambien is the leading brand-name NBZ; others are Lunesta and Sonata. Last year the FDA required that “sedative-hypnotic” drugs carry strong warnings, following reported cases of people sleep walking, eating, …
Are You in a Co-Dependent Relationship?
Co-dependency is not a standalone mental health problem but a learned behavior. The term “co-dependent” was originally coined to indicate adults living with someone (usually another adult) who is an addict. The addiction can be to alcohol – and that was how the term was intended – or to drugs, gambling, sex, relationships, work, food, shopping, or any behavior that …
Divorce: Statistics and how to not become one
In America, a divorce occurs every 36 seconds. That’s over 2,400 divorces each day. A common statistic that you hear is that 50% of marriages end in divorce. Luckily, this information slightly off: the divorce rate peaked in the 1980s at 40% and has been decreasing slowly for most age groups ever since. This number is definitely little better, but …
How to Cope With Shame
Strategies for coping with shame that can help you get out of the shame cycle. Shame can be a devastating feeling that never seems to go away. It’s that pestering embarrassment and sadness that never lets you feel validated. It’s a feeling that’s corrosive, shameful, and difficult to overcome. It often starts in childhood, continues to adolescents and keeps rearing …
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
As one of the most innovative and modern types of cognitive – behavioral psychotherapy, the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has revolutionized the way an approach to treatment of a borderline personality disorder was taken up to the late 1980s, when DBT was introduced by Marsha M. Linehan. The initial approaches to treatment provided highly efficient results, proving that DBT is …
5 critical communication skills that everyone needs to know
5 critical communication skills that everyone needs to know. One of the primary reasons that couples enter counselling or therapy is because they don’t properly communicate with each other. Strong communication is the cornerstone of any relationship and can have wonderfully positive effects on all parts of your professional and personal life. If you don’t have excellent communication skills, your relationships can …
Should We Break Up Or Stay Together?
Relationships go through phases. At one point in time, for example, both life partners can literally do no wrong. Toilet paper backward on the roll, coffee too weak or too strong, calling a former love interest more than once, refusing to have dinner with the in-laws. It’s all good. Then come those times when nothing is right. She has PMS, …
Tips for Surviving Infertility in a Marriage
Infertility can be one of the most difficult experiences a couple can go through, both individually, and together. The feelings of loss, confusion, and stress are enough to put a strain on any relationship. If you’ve decided to seek out fertility treatments of any kind, that add even more stress because most of your focus will be on those strategies. …
Couples Therapy: Myths and Reality by Ruth Jampol
Maintaining a positive, supportive relationship with one’s partner in the face of expected and unusual life stress is one of the biggest challenges many couples face. Not uncommonly, instead of pulling together to face life’s difficulties, partners become disengaged or even hostile. The person you expect to always have your back begins to feel like the enemy. And sometimes it …
What’s the Problem with Conscious Uncoupling?
It is far easier to meet a series of strangers and think we have relationships than build and grow a relationship with one individual or a family of individuals over time. So you meet someone for the first time in a place you like to go, a place of habit you frequently find yourself visiting, or a place that has …
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The Benefits of Forgiveness in Couple’s Therapy
“You have wronged me” she said. “You have been unfaithful, deceitful and uncaring.” His expression is one of remorse. “I’m so sorry” he replied. “How can I make it up to you?” The therapist observes. She believes there is hope for this couple. It’s her turn now. She has been trained in various healing approaches but which one will she …