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Kaitlin Broderick LCPC We have all had days where we wake up and feel energized, motivated, and productive. On the other hand, we also all have days where we wake up tired and feeling like we don’t want to do anything at all. Sometimes it is ok and may be necessary to take a day off and relax. However, if you’re consistently struggling with staying productive and filled with regret at the end of the day because…
Read MoreBy Eric Dean JD MBA MA MA LPC CADC In the 1960’s, researchers conducted multiple studies with rats on the effects of drugs. The experimenters placed rats in a cage with two levers, one with drug-laced water and the other with plain water. Rats would obsessively press the lever for the drug-laced water until they overdosed and died. The conclusion then was that the chemical hooks in the drug were the most important factor in addiction; that…
Read MoreCourage may seem like a strange area to discuss in relation to mental health. However, courage presents itself every day and various capacities and can help us conquer life’s challenges. In today’s world, simply getting out of bed, calling up a friend, or making it through the day can be an act of courage. As the rate of mental health struggles rises, whether due to COVID-19 or other life challenges, asking for help and support is an…
Read MoreToxic positivity is not a phrase many of us are used to hearing. Isn’t positivity, well, positive? Some of the time yes, and some of the time no. To better understand, it’s important to know the definition of toxic positivity. “Toxic positivity is the idea that we should focus only on positive emotions and the positive aspects of life. It’s the belief that if we ignore difficult emotions and the parts of our life that aren’t working…
Read MoreKaitlin Broderick LCPC Do you constantly find yourself saying “yes” to activities that you don’t even really want to do because you are afraid of hurting someone else’s feelings? For some of us, turning someone down and saying “no” can induce feelings of guilt and anxiety. Our automatic response may be to say yes to everything even when we’re already feeling overwhelmed, because we want to be liked and want others to see us as a competent…
Read MoreBy: Emily Brennan, MA, LAC, NCC You have probably heard the phrase, “It’s nice to be nice.” An accurate statement, indeed. What about being nice to ourselves? It may sound cheesy, but how “nice” we are to ourselves and our ‘self-talk’ in general is more important than we think. Self-talk is our inner dialogue and it can sound harsh and critical or tender and loving. For many of us, it is much easier to be self- critical…
Read MoreBy: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC “In an age of research when it is tempting to reduce emotions to biochemical reactions and to rely heavily on the technology of medicine, it is refreshing to find that a person’s health and well-being may be improved by prescribing contact with other living things.” — Michael J. McCulloch, MD, co-founder of Pet Partners When it comes to mental health, research proves that there are many benefits behind pet ownership and interaction.…
Read MoreBy: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC “Today is a wonderful day…I haven’t seen this one before” – Maya Angelou Recently, I listened to an insightful podcast titled “The Anatomy of Gratitude” with David Steindl-Rast, a ninety-three-year-old Benedictine monk and teacher on the subject of gratitude. He makes useful distinctions about experiences that are “life-giving” and “resilience-making.” He shares interesting perspectives on the ideas of gratefulness, joy and anxiety. If you haven’t listened to it yet, I highly…
Read MoreBy Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC This is the third and final installment of this blog series on recognizing your triggers for substance use and/or emotions such as anger. In this post, I will present some more common internal triggers and ways to cope with them. This post’s acronym is FINE. FINE stands for: Fearful: Fear is a powerful and universal human emotion, which is often driven by uncertainty, lack of control, and lack…
Read MoreBy Eric Dean JD MBA MA MA LPC CADC To create plans for how we are going to achieve our goals, we need to know our starting point. SWOT Analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a tool used by organizations and people to evaluate their current positions. SWOT analysis can help elucidate information that would otherwise be hard to uncover and provide a baseline assessment for evaluating progress. Here are a small sample…
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