Ashlee Stumpf
By: Ashlee Stumpf, LPC Do you refute or downplay compliments? Are you continually hard on yourself and wonder why others would want to spend time with you? Do you take criticism as a personal attack? Will you often accept your feelings as facts? (i.e., “if I feel this strongly, therefore it must be true”) Do you tend to discount achievements as “luck” or “no big deal” while highlighting your mistakes? Do you regularly engage in negative self-talk?…
By: Ashlee Stumpf, LPC Nearly two years ago, I enrolled in a yoga teaching program for educators and counselors. I wasn’t particularly fit, coordinated, or practiced yoga on a regular basis. I was just a counselor who read enough to know yoga has a high correlation with good mental health, more than most other exercises, and I thought I owed to myself and future clients to find out why. What Type of Yoga Will Best Serve My…
By: Ashlee Stumpf, LPC Streaming platforms have changed the way entertainment fits into daily life. Entire seasons are available in one sitting, and autoplay keeps the next episode rolling without pause. Lunch breaks, commutes, and late nights can quickly turn into hours of back-to-back viewing. Conversations about how binge-watching affects mental health have grown as this habit becomes more common. In fact, a 2018 poll found that about six in ten U.S. adults who use streaming platforms…
Ashlee Stumpf MA, LPC I don’t like summer. Nope. Not a fan, probably because I always need a fan and an air conditioner or two on at all times. The days of just leaving my windows open vanish and just like that my once reasonable electric bill becomes one of my biggest expenses of the month. And my critiques go on from there. Bugs come back. Humidity is relentless. Wearing less/shorter clothes makes me feel uncomfortable. My…
An emotionally healthy connection grows through trust, respect, and shared responsibility. Domestic abuse disrupts that foundation with behavior rooted in control. These patterns appear in many relationships and take several shapes. The physical and sexual aspects receive the most attention, yet several other forms of domestic abuse impact people every day. Domestic abuse involves a pattern of behavior used to gain or maintain power and control in a close relationship. This includes partners, family members, roommates, or…
By: Ashlee Stumpf, LPC COVID-19 has caused countless issues for us this year; some directly, some indirectly. One indirect consequence of this virus is the rise of domestic violence. To be clear, domestic violence has been at epidemic levels for years, but with recent stay-at-home orders, job losses, and lack of out of the house interaction the reports have gone up. However, no matter the situation, it is NEVER appropriate to abuse another person. Whether your relationship…
By: Ashlee Stumpf, LPC While working in a men’s group for the past four years, I have heard of numerous hardships. One which continues to strike me is the number of these men who had suicidal thoughts or made previous attempts to take their own life. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. According to the World Health Organization, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. As a result, much study has been done…
Ashlee Stumpf, LPC Sobriety is hard in the best of times; add a global pandemic in the mix and it can almost seem as if the world is wanting you to relapse. However, for many with substance use history, COVID-19 is not the most difficult time of their lives. They have and/or continue to battle against a more personal foe. And many people have adapted before to achieve a healthier, sober lifestyle, here are five ways to…
Ashlee Stumpf, LPC It’s unlikely you will go to a doctor’s office and come out with a prescription of J.R.R. Tolkien, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t help. Storytelling is an art form as old as time. We grow up on stories to learn morals, culture, history, and the human experience. Sometimes they may take place in a fantastical world or have characters living lives extraordinarily different to our own, however that doesn’t mean we can gain…
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