suicide
Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Communicating with your doctor, whether they be a psychiatrist, a primary care physician, or a specialist, can be difficult in this fast-paced health care climate. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer of PinnacleHealth, reported that patients’ chances of having their doctor’s undivided attention have decreased due to increased documentation requirements. Doctors are now expected to record and keep track of more information than ever before, and they are rarely given additional time to…
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It’s that time of the weekend again. It’s early Sunday evening and all of the sudden you realize the weekend with your friends flew by, and tomorrow is already Monday morning and back to work! You had so much fun meeting up with friends and catching up on your favorite Netflix series, but the dread of knowing you will be back to check all the unanswered emails starts to cause you some nervousness and anxiety. You’re having…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Imagine living in a world where you might be killed by a carnivorous wild animal at any moment. Only people who are hyperaware of danger and able to act quickly are likely to survive. This was the life lived by all our ancestors long ago, and they survived with the help of their primitive automatic responses to fear— to run away, to counterattack, to keep very still and escape notice. As human…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling In today’s society, the pressure for young adults to be “perfect” seems to be far greater than ever before. With social media so heavily present in our lives, it is easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to others or wondering how others perceive us. Many people begin to wonder if they are pretty enough, successful enough, smart enough, fit enough, or “liked” enough in the eyes of others.…
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Having trouble maintaining your New Year’s resolutions? Once all of the holiday festivities slow down, it can be tricky to settle down to maintain those intentions. It’s easy to throw out all of your goals and kind of get into a “funk,” and getting into this “funk” can make it easy to fall into old poor habits. Returning back to old bad habits from 2017 can make it challenging to keep up with your goals for 2018.…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC You can feel lonely in the presence of hundreds of friends and family members, and many people do. Loneliness is your perception of a lack of social connection, regardless of your level of social support or participation. People who spend most of their time alone do not necessarily experience loneliness, just as people who spend most of their time with others are not immune to feeling lonely. The experience of loneliness is more common…
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As Valentine’s Day approaches, it can be stressful for people with and without significant others to share it with. The culture we live in today promotes the idea that you have to have a significant other on Valentine’s Day to be happy. What about the individuals who do not have a significant other to share it with? It’s simply Single Awareness Day, which is not something some individuals want to be reminded of. What can you do…
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The world unrelentingly asks us to overextend ourselves. Self-care is praised in name, yet too often, we feel selfish or guilty putting ourself first. In a sea of never-ending external demands, it seems paradoxical to focus on one’s self. However, if we are depleted, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, our ability to manage life’s complex demands also becomes depleted. Learning to identify basic physical and emotional cues related to hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness is a practical…
Read MoreAndrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC, Symmetry Counseling Chicago Putting faces to statistics on mental health and substance use can help increase understanding and compassion for people struggling with addiction, mental illness, or dual diagnosis conditions. It can, however, be a difficult proposition to ask those in recovery to step into the spotlight of public attention. It is one thing for a mental health or addictions professional to be open about personal experiences in recovery, but many individuals in…
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Often, the media, TV shows, movies, and the occasional friends “therapy gone wrong” story can paint the image of what many think when hearing the word therapy. This paves the way for misconceptions and false ideas of what the therapy process is and can deter people from turning to a therapist for support. As a culture, we are not informed of the purpose and power of therapy. It is my hope that this reflection can help reduce…
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