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By Eric Dean JD MBA MA MA LPC CADC Negative rumination is when we chew over and obsess about negative thoughts. When we ruminate, we tend to focus on what we perceive to be the causes, consequences, and symptoms of our distress, rather than solutions to alleviate it. Those who ruminate are more prone to anxiety, stress, and depression. In this post, I am going to review some reasons for why we ruminate. In future posts, I…
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By Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC 3 Quick Tips for Achieving Peace of Mind In this time of great uncertainty, many of us find ourselves in an almost continuous state of stress. Here are some ways to alleviate stress: Manage Expectations “Expectations are premeditated resentments” – Unknown. How we feel is not only based on what happens to us, but also how these experiences align with our expectations. For example, if…
Read MoreMatthew Cuddeback LCSW Something that I have been hearing more and more recently is a reluctance from people to admit that they feel good about something small. We all do this at times, we feel awkward admitting that something felt good, or we are proud of a certain achievement but feel we cannot indulge this feeling. We should always allow ourselves to feel good about the things that actually feel good instead of pretending we don’t,…
Read MoreBy Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC In the first part of this blog, we explored Point 1 and Point 2 of SMART Recovery’s 4-Point Program for behavior change. Next, let’s look at: Point 3 – Managing Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors This dives deeper into Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy tools and concepts. The key tool here is the ABC’s. I have written about the ABC’s of REBT previously, but in short, the theory of REBT says that we create…
Read MoreBy Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC SMART Recovery is a secular, evidence-based recovery program that emphasizes an individual’s ability to gain empowerment through making better choices. SMART is an acronym that stands for Self Management And Recovery Training, with a strong emphasis on “self management,” (you will also find that this program loves its acronyms!). SMART is a program of personal accountability by learning how to identify, challenge, and reframe patterns of thinking to make lasting behavior changes.…
Read MoreProductivity and efficiency are things individuals strive for in both their work and home environments. It’s frequently thought that the more productive you are the more successful you’ll be. Or the more productive you are the more leisure time you’ll be able to have at the end of the day. It can be frustrating when others are seemingly more productive than we are despite what we feel are our best efforts to stay on task and make…
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Kaitlin Broderick LCPC The word narcissist is thrown around quite frequently nowadays. Many of us have had experience with a narcissist, whether it be a boss, family member, friend, or significant other. Narcissism is a personality disorder characterized by grandiosity, an excessive need for admiration, a big ego, and a lack of empathy for others. Someone can have traits of the disorder without meeting the full criteria of the personality disorder. Narcissists can be very charming and…
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Kaitlin Broderick LCPC OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has become a term that is tossed around lightly. You probably have heard people say, “I’m so organized and like to keep things in perfect order, I have ocd” or maybe you have said this yourself. It is a common misconception that just because one values cleanliness and order this makes them have OCD. Liking things a certain way and being detail-oriented doesn’t mean you have the disorder. The…
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Kaitlin Broderick LCPC Happiness isn’t something that is easy to define. People often ask themselves, how can I be happier or how can I get more joy out of everyday life? Why aren’t I as happy as this person seems to be? Happiness is a subjective state of well-being, and what makes one person happy won’t necessarily make a different person happy. It is an emotional state that varies widely from day to day or even hour…
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Matthew Cuddeback LCSW Warning: we will be discussing some lite psychological theory, something that can be considered by those who are not psychology-nerds, boring. Hopefully, you find that an interesting prospect, but even if you don’t, I assure you that we are really talking about why you have the relationships you have, and hopefully that is more interesting to you. Attachment theory which originated with John Bowlby in the 1960s refers to the ways in which our…
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