10 Tips to Help with Seasonal Affective Disorder
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

10 Tips to Help with Seasonal Affective Disorder

As the seasons change, and the days seem to become shorter some people feel a little more sad or more tired than usual compared to the warmer months. This is called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short. It usually happens in the fall and winter when there is less sunlight, and the temperatures begin to shift. But don’t worry! There are ways to feel better and make the most of every season of life. Here are 10 tips and strategies to help you feel happier during the colder months.

Read More
Holiday Anxiety: Ways to cope this Season with Quick, Practical Tips to Help
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Holiday Anxiety: Ways to cope this Season with Quick, Practical Tips to Help

Holiday anxiety can turn what’s often considered the most joyful time of year into a period of stress and dread. During the time of year marked by twinkling lights, cooler air, and the aroma of holiday scents, a silent struggle looms for many people: a holiday season marked by increased anxiety and mental health challenges. We are told that we should relax, savor the joy of the season, spend time with loved ones, and lean into all the season has to offer. And while all of that sounds great in theory, many people face a myriad of complex emotions that challenge the notion that the season is supposed to be marked with simplicity, relaxation, and joy.

Read More
Burning the Candle From Both Ends: Are You Living to Work?
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Burning the Candle From Both Ends: Are You Living to Work?

It can be so easy to find yourself going through the motions:  going to work, coming home, watching TV for a few hours (some of us are checking our work email while we do it), and then going to bed.  Rinse and repeat, day after day, just on autopilot.  It can be so easy to take the work with you, to stress about all of the tasks you need to get done.  Your needs matter!  If you need to take time off, do so.  If you need to attend to your needs, I invite you not to feel guilty for taking care of yourself.  And if you see that things, no matter how many times you try and speak up, aren’t changing, then it’s time to try and look for something else.  

Read More
Your First Therapy Session
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Your First Therapy Session

Therapy is a common recommendation when someone discusses stress, anxiety, depression, or relationship issues. As therapists, we love to see therapy being recognized as a valid treatment option, as well as normalized to reduce stigma. We love hearing people talk about their experiences in therapy on social media and in casual conversation. But what about those of us who have never been to therapy before? What is it like? How do we know it’s a good fit? Is every session like the first session? What is going to happen?

Read More
How to Set Boundaries in 3 Steps
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

How to Set Boundaries in 3 Steps

 At what point do you start to feel like a situation or interaction is uncomfortable? Do you feel you are being taken advantage of? Perhaps you’re pushing yourself beyond your limits out of guilt, or someone has crossed a boundary. 

Read More
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

The holidays are a reminder of family, which can be a sore subject for a lot of reasons.  This could be a yearly reminder of those that have passed, or those that have left.  When we compare our families to others (thanks social media), and it doesn’t look like the Lifetime family (or if we don’t measure up in other ways), this can amplify those unpleasant feelings. 

Read More
Introvert or Extrovert?
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Introvert or Extrovert?

An introvert is someone who gets energy from alone time, while an extrovert is someone who gets energy from being around other people. While some introverts are shy and some extroverts are outgoing, some can be introverted and outgoing, or extroverted and shy. Someone who is extroverted will feel energized after social encounters, and more drained from alone time. An introvert may feel drained after a social encounter and need a few hours by themselves. An ambivert is a term used to describe someone who experiences both things- energy from being alone, and energy from being with others- depending on the scenario. 

Read More
Simple Ways to Work on Self-Improvement
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Simple Ways to Work on Self-Improvement

Many individuals want to invest in self-improvement to be more mindful, to learn new skills, or to improve their overall well-being. But just how do you improve yourself? While there’s no one way of working on self-improvement, there are some strategies that have been proven to help. 

Read More
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Exercises You Can Do At Home!
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Exercises You Can Do At Home!

At its simplest, CBT is designed to change unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors to improve emotional regulation and solve problems with coping strategies. In other words, with practice you can change negative thoughts (“I am terrible at everything I do,”) to thoughts that allow for positivity and growth (“I didn’t do as well as I hoped but I will be better next time”). Over time, you will become more self-confident and have a better outlook on life. Reaching your goals will suddenly become a much easier task. A therapist can help you through the process of deconstructing and redirecting negative thoughts and behaviors, but there are many ways you can get started at home.

Read More
Finding Coping Skills That Actually Work
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Finding Coping Skills That Actually Work

Sometimes we don’t know what we need to feel better, and sometimes our usual coping skills just don’t feel like they’re helping enough. Let’s build on commonly known coping skills, such as breathing, and think about the basics of coping skills. If you’re needing to add something new to your box of coping skills, are stuck with finding some good ones or your old ones aren’t working anymore, keep reading. 

Read More
Limit or Permit?: A Parents’ Guide for Monitoring Social Media
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Limit or Permit?: A Parents’ Guide for Monitoring Social Media

Having a conversation with your kids about online safety rules is a crucial step.  This will help your kids grow up using social media wisely. This post is intended to act as a guideline for parents who share some of these questions about when to limit or permit their kids’ online activity. 

Read More
You Know… That Thing That’s Happening on November 5th…
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

You Know… That Thing That’s Happening on November 5th…

The differences in political views, the directions that our future leaders could take us, could not be more different.  I want to be in tune with the struggle that so many of us (including myself) have had during this difficult time.  Uncertainty is driving us to respond in several ways, whether that be avoidance, feeling a lack of caring or powerlessness to engage in our civic duties, or unhealthy use of media (among many others). 

Read More
Is It Time to Break Up With Your Therapist?
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Is It Time to Break Up With Your Therapist?

Therapy is a relationship. In order to be effective, you need to feel connected to your therapist. So what happens when you no longer feel like your needs are getting met? Do you stop coming in? No show? Something many people don’t realize is that therapists do want you to be honest with them, especially if the relationship isn’t working. 

Read More
Climate Anxiety
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Climate Anxiety

Climate anxiety can both prevent and motivate people to address climate change through action. Different levels of climate anxiety have effects on motivation levels to act, which can ease the effects or address the causes of climate change. Surprisingly, some anxiety about climate change can be helpful in pushing us to take action, although too much or too little may result in not taking action at all.

Read More
Learning From Failure
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Learning From Failure

The reality is failure is an inevitable part of life.  Allowing children to fail early and often when they have your support prepares them to deal with failures as a teen and adult.  But in a world where there is so much pressure on kids to succeed, as parents, it can be difficult to allow them to fail. 

Read More
Breathing Doesn’t Work For Me
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Breathing Doesn’t Work For Me

Intentionally breathing a bit deeper (also, doesn’t have to be deep enough to blow out 98 birthday candles) and exhaling longer sends signals to the brain that say “things are going to be ok,” so the brain stops sending stress hormones and fight/flight signals to the body. The brain is able, slowly, to tell the heart to beat regularly instead of rapidly, the lungs to breathe normal instead of shallow and muscles to be at ease instead of tensing. This is a physical process that takes time, minutes not seconds.

Read More
Talking to Teens About Mental Health
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Talking to Teens About Mental Health

Ask questions. It is okay to be direct when it comes to checking in with mental health, it sends a message you take this topic seriously. It is also okay to bring mental health up in a roundabout way. You can bring up an article you recently read or discuss well-known individuals such as Simone Biles and Harry Miller who are making their mental health a priority.

Read More
Good Days Gone Bad
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

Good Days Gone Bad

The inner critic often struggles to accept an alternative dialogue, but with support, it can learn to. The supportive dialogue often sounds like something our best friend would tell us. It’s helpful, encouraging and often more truthful than what the inner critic would like us to believe.

Read More
This is Your Brain on Meditation
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

This is Your Brain on Meditation

If you hear the word “meditation” and think “that’s not for me,” “I can never get my thoughts to quiet down,” or “I don’t have time for that,” you are far from alone. You might picture someone sitting (or laying) with their eyes closed and an unmatchable willpower to simply send their thoughts packing. While this image isn’t entirely wrong, it certainly isn’t the only type of meditation.

Read More
10 Fun Sober Summer Activities for People In Recovery
Champaign Counseling Champaign Counseling

10 Fun Sober Summer Activities for People In Recovery

Summer is here, and it's the perfect time to enjoy the sunshine and have fun with friends and family. If you're in recovery and looking for fun and creative activities that don't involve alcohol or drugs, there are plenty of exciting things to do. Here are 10 fun ideas to make your summer memorable.

Read More