How to Relax After a Nightmare
Andromeda Peters, LICSW Nightmares can be disturbing and frightening. Our minds and bodies respond to the dream, as if it is a real-life event. Waking up from a nightmare cannot only make it challenging to fall back asleep, but it can also make it challenging for us to feel safe in the moment. We may…
Read MoreHow Can I Calm Myself Down? Cognitive Self-Calming Methods
Megan Mulroy, LPC We’ve all been in overwhelming situations that feel unbearable and intolerable. There are a variety of things that cause us pain and distress. Maybe you are in a fight with your partner, or maybe you were disciplined at work or school. Maybe something completely out of your control happened like a car…
Read MoreHow Can I Work on Apologizing?
By: Danielle Bertini, LCPC Let’s face it, sometimes apologies can be tough. They require us to put our egos aside and acknowledge that we may have hurt someone we really care about. And what people don’t realize is that understanding how to apologize is something that can be a learned skill. Phillips (2021) offers five…
Read MoreHow Can I Improve Communication With My Partner?
Natalia DeSouza, LPC Many couples struggle to find ways to improve their communication skills and deepen intimacy. Conflict in relationships is completely normal, however, it is important for couples to learn how to navigate difficult moments without adding more strain on the relationship. Dr. John Gottman describes three skills and one rule for positively communicating…
Read MoreHow Can I Grieve After a Breakup?
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified The end of a romantic relationship can be devastating due to all the losses that you are forced to experience all at once. You have lost the relationship, future plans/aspirations, financial/physical/emotional support, and perhaps, even aspects of your own identity. These losses need to be grieved so that you…
Read MoreHow Can I Calm Myself Down? Physical Self-Calming Methods
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, sadness, or excitement, you might need to calm yourself. But do you know how? Are you aware of the self-calming methods that might work best for you? Self-calming methods are often considered coping skills and are ways of exercising self-care, yet different…
Read MoreHow Can I Calm Myself Down? Cognitive Self-Calming Methods
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, or sadness, you might need to calm yourself. Do you know how? It’s important that you find self-calming methods that work best for you. There are physical and cognitive methods for self-calming, and they often overlap (for an account of common methods of…
Read MoreSigns of Emotional Neglect in Your Relationship
Hannah Hopper, LCPC Emotional neglect is typically something we think about in association with childhood. it can also take place in a committed relationship. It’s the absence of enough emotional awareness and response, and it can be a painful experience at any point in life. Because emotional neglect is invisible, a couple may be experiencing…
Read MoreRAIN: How Can I Utilize Mindfulness During Difficult Times?
By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Anxious? Depressed? Worried? Stressed? It happens to the best of us, at least every now and then with all of the many curve balls and unexpected things that life throws at us. Mindfulness exercises allow us to stop what we are doing, take a breath, observe thoughts, feelings, and…
Read MoreThe Benefits of Making Space for Anger
Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC I recently found myself instructing a patient who had expressed feelings of anger to utilize relaxation techniques in an effort to mitigate the emotion. The patient responded by telling me that relaxation, including meditation and deep breathing, had proved useless; they still felt angry, overwhelmed, and worked up. This got me…
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