Live Better. Love Better. Work Better.

mental health

Categories

Giving Too Much of Yourself?

June 28, 2020
Giving Too Much of Yourself 5eed3ebc6816c

Kaitlin Broderick, LCPC We grow as people by getting outside of ourselves and being able to think of and help others. Some people even say this is a necessary component of finding happiness. However, how do you know when you are giving too much of yourself and neglecting the one person you need to take care of the most (yourself?) The following guidelines can help you in becoming a “successful giver”, someone who thinks of others while…

Read More

Decision Fatigue: What Is It and How to Manage It

June 26, 2020
Decision Fatigue What Is It and How to Manage It 5eed3c78e4778

Megan Mulroy, LPC  We make a lot of decisions every day. We make simple decisions like what shirt to wear, and we also make more complex decisions like to stay or leave a relationship. You may have a job where you make a lot of decisions, and people may even depend on you to make important decisions. Sometimes there are so many options that make deciding something so hard! Think about the number of times you may…

Read More

Catastrophizing During Corona: A Three-Pronged Approach, Pt. 1

June 24, 2020
Catastrophizing During Corona Pt 1 5eed3582eb03c

By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC This is a two-part blog series that breaks down how to effectively combat the negative habit of catastrophizing into small and realistic steps. Check out my next blog post to put all of the pieces together. Here goes part one!  Are you a catastrophizer and would like the ability to think more positively? More than ever, many people are practicing catastrophizing with all of the unknown we are facing amidst this…

Read More

Accepting the Tough Stuff: What To Do With Distressing Emotions

June 20, 2020
dreamstime xxl 34228847 1 5ed168641c4f0

Steven Topper, LCPC In her article on acceptance-based strategies and their long-term outcomes, Lila MacLellan asserts that the path to psychological well being is tied directly to acceptance. This may be something that has long been in the zeitgeist of Eastern cultures, as we can often cite ancient poets (MacLellan cites Rumi’s poem “The Guest House”, see below) for their depth of understanding around acceptance. Yet it’s mostly evaded our Western culture for a few notable reasons.…

Read More

Your Stress Response

June 16, 2020
dreamstime xxl 133948705 1 5ed1643297474

Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC Stress is universal: everyone at some point in their lives will experience it. Stress can stem from work, relationships, anxiety or pretty much anything. In fact, stress can happen without a direct cause, or stimulus. Stress, understandably, has a negative connotation. However, it is not always a bad thing to be stressed in certain situations. A moderate amount of stress is beneficial to athletic and academic performance, for example.…

Read More

Asserting Needs

June 14, 2020
dreamstime xxl 95903800 1 5ed163027d4e6

Danielle Bertini, LPC It can be hard expressing needs directly to someone, especially when our wishes aren’t aligned with the other person’s. Asking for what we need is the principle behind assertiveness (Gillihan, 2018). Being assertive often gets confused with being aggressive, as if being assertive means demanding that others give you what you want. However, according to Alberti and Emmons, being assertive actually falls between being passive or being aggressive. It’s a fine line to walk,…

Read More

Singles are Doing Better Than Ever

June 12, 2020
dreamstime xxl 137253707 1 5ed161b4de1b6

Megan Mulroy, LPC Single people are often stereotyped and stigmatized as miserable and lonely, when that could not be farther from the truth. Recent studies have found that married people become no happier after their nuptials than they were when they were single (DePaulo, 2019). Furthermore, research shows that if a couple divorces, they become less happy than when they were single (DePaulo, 2019). Although recent research found that singles are doing increasingly well amidst the stereotype,…

Read More

So, Can Nature Actually Help Reduce My Anxiety?

June 10, 2020
dreamstime xxl 96947943 5ed15f1f4bb18

I work with many clients who are stressed and overwhelmed related to their jobs. My job as their clinical therapist is to better understand why the client is anxious at their job and then possible coping strategies to better manage their anxiety at work. One thing I often recommend to clients is utilizing a holistic approach in managing their anxiety, specifically using nature as a way to help reduce their anxiety. I recently read an article from…

Read More

Should We Always Look on the Bright Side? Probably Not!

June 4, 2020
dreamstime xxl 99174761 1 5ed15a0a2c857

Kyle Lawell, Licensed Professional Counselor It’s common for us to grow up being told to “look on the bright side” or “focus on the positives,” but this mentality may not be as useful as we always want it to. Susan David, instructor in psychology at Harvard University, suggests in her TED Talk on saying yes to negative emotions that the act of avoiding or suppressing our negative emotions actually impacts our ability to effectively interact and deal with…

Read More

The Four Agreements: Simple Steps to a Better Life

June 2, 2020
dreamstime xxl 134519040 1 5ed15899578c8

Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Interested in improving upon your life? According to NewsWire, 82% of adults within America plan to make changes to their personal well-being, so hopefully your answer to this question is yes. If your answer to your question is no, take five minutes to hear me out in regards to how The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz can make a significant positive difference within your life. With these agreements, you can rely…

Read More