mental health
“It’s hug time!!!” If you have children, you are probably very familiar with that declaration. The film Trolls came out in 2016 and until the end of 2018, I had been very successful in sidestepping that movie. I always knew it had a positive message, but I couldn’t get past how annoying Poppy’s voice was. Thus, I avoided it. Don’t judge me. But one day, my daughter asked me to watch the film with her. She really…
Stress is an outside of factor of our lives that tend t take over who we are, even if we do not want it to. We tend to not achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves due to being stressed out at work or in our own personal lives. Understanding how stress impacts you is important and being able to cope and manage it is very important. In this blog, I will identify ways for…
We are not always nice to ourselves which can cause a lot of anxiety or stress. If we are able to be kind to ourselves, then more than likely, our mood will change and we will feel more confident in who we are and how we hold ourselves. You have to love yourself in order to others to love you. That also applies to being kind to yourself. Be kind to yourself so others will also treat…
Social media is a prevalent platform that many, if not most, people in our society participate in. Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, or a combination of them, you know how easy it is to get caught up in the medias and the interactions that you have on them. Social media is perceived to be an outlet that allows us to stay connected with our friends and peers, as an easy tool that allows us…
Steven Topper, LCPC On any given day we’ll be asked one question that, for the most part, afford only three acceptable answers. When I get asked, “How are you?” I know that I can say: I’m great; I’m good; or I’m alright (though for that last one, make sure there’s a bit of cheer and smile in my voice!). It’s all well meaning, people don’t want to bother others, often we’re only being asked because the asker…
Steven Topper, LCPC Many of us have a clear idea of what therapy is going to look like. We’ve grown up with images of a stoic and mysterious figure in a large chair while the patient is totally vulnerable. For anyone who has been to therapy, it’s typically quite a different experience than they were expecting. And as our understanding of mental illness has grown and evolved, so has our understanding of how to conduct effective therapy.…
The human brain is a complex organ that serves many functions. However, there are times when our brain and its thought-processing function do not serve us in the most productive way. Our mind can sometimes play tricks on us, and it can emotionally and mentally wear us out to the point of exhaustion if we let it. We oftentimes fall into the negative thought trap, where we start having one negative thought and then it transitions into…
Life often feels like a routine of responsibilities, deadlines, and to-do lists. Yet beneath all of that structure, there is usually a quiet voice asking for something more. That voice is the desire for passion. Passion exploration involves uncovering the activities, values, and experiences that spark energy and joy. Some people stumble upon their passions early in life, while others spend years searching, but the process of discovery is always worth it. Why Passion Exploration Matters Passions…
Work: we have a love-hate relationship with it. Many of us believe in the importance of hard work and search for passion in our careers. The first question out of our mouths when we meet someone new is typically, “What do you do for a living?” School preps us to be thinking throughout our whole childhoods about what we want to do when we grow up. Our work can give great meaning to our lives — many…
How did you develop the way that you think about the world around you? Did you learn it from your parents, from school, or from your job? I recently read an article titled “The 2 Mental Shifts Highly Successful People Make” by Benjamin P. Hardy. Hardy discusses two major changes in thinking people make that ultimately lead to a higher likelihood of success. To begin this process, we must unlearn the way we think about the world…