How to be Honest with Yourself

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Often times we are not honest with ourselves even though we can trick ourselves with being honest. We tell our friends to be honest and we try to be honest as much as we can, but we all have faults and we tend to fall off at times. You might have a friend that is…

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10 Ways to Overcome Missing Out

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There are often times when our friends are hanging out and we have to say no, but we are watching where they are checking in on Facebook, what stories they are putting on Instagram, or what snaps they are taking on SnapChat. We tend to feel sad and mad that we have to work or…

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Reducing Social Media Use

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There’s no doubt that social media has been one of the most life-changing technological innovations that we’ve ever had access to — it enables us to feel connected to people all over the world. However, social media is not just a magical online space in which people enjoy greater access to their loved ones far…

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Keeping Calm While Parenting

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As a parent, do you ever feel like you get overwhelmed?  Or do you feel like you forget the “simplicity” of life before you had a child?  Or do you wish that you could get back the quiet and calm times you had prior to being a parent?  If you can relate to any of…

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Six Survival Tips for New Mothers

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As a clinician, I have encouraged clients with positive psychology tips in their daily lives, often mentioning ideas such as using “self-affirmations” or a “reframing” perspective. A self-affirmation might be an encouraging or praising thought for something they either like about themselves or felt they did well at. A reframing perspective is looking at a…

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The Easter Hope of a New England Family Part II

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A Part of the Past Shows up in the Present We pick up where we left the family in part I of the blog. DL is frozen at the moment afterhearing a voice from the woods saying, “If you build it he will come.” DL discovers the voice from the woods is Unc, who is…

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The Easter Hope of a New England Family Part I

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Steven Losardo The Setting For one family in New England, this Easter means Reactivity Weekend take LXXXV. But really, who’s counting? The weekend is usually made possible through a Good Friday argument exasperating stressors that seemingly began in 1920. Some family members know better and avoid the unfinished business. Others have good intentions and come…

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Brain Games: Learn Fun Ways to Manage Worrying

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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Worrying is anything but fun. Persistent, constant, and uncontrollable worries can cause severe anxiety. Moreover, intense worries such as those that we experience when we’re exposed to something we fear can be debilitating. If your worrying is causing you anxiety, you can implement simple cognitive methods, such as brain games, to…

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The Definitive Guide to Understanding Procrastination

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The New York Times recently spoke to a number of psychologists about procrastination. Summarized below are their findings. Procrastination: we’re all familiar with it, but we do we understand it? Most people think of procrastination as a failure in time management skills; some even equate it with laziness. The reality is that procrastination is misunderstood,…

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How to Address Mental Health on Public Transportation

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The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) serves over one million passengers each day. If you live in Chicago or have ever visited the bustling city, you are likely familiar with the CTA and the “L” train system. With so many daily passengers and endless possibilities for mishaps or “interesting situations”, the “L” can at times be…

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