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?
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).
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.
A Study in FOMO
The fear of missing out has predated social media, but not by much. Social media has thrown FOMO into the spotlight since everyone can experience a daily dose of seeing the highlights of someone else’s day. In fact, the more that people use social media like Facebook morning, noon, and night, the more they tend to experience FOMO. But FOMO doesn’t originate from social media use alone. It also comes from general unhappiness and life dissatisfaction.
Building a Coping Kit
A coping kit is simply a list of skills and strategies a child can use when feeling anxious. It helps to practice these strategies when the child is already calm. Sometimes children can memorize their list of strategies but others may need to have them written down.
Anxiety - 5 Lesser Known Ways It Might be Affecting You
Anxiousness is part of the normal and healthy range of human emotion, and having a fear response is designed to keep us safe. It becomes a problem when it starts to affect your daily life, such as your health, relationships, work, or school.
School Refusal
School refusal is different from truancy. Children who are truant refuse to go to school because they want to do something else. They will often concoct elaborate schemes to avoid going to school. However, school refusal is related to anxiety about situations or expectations at school.
Laziness is a MYTH
For the most part, saying someone is being “lazy” is assigning a character judgment to them. This person has two options: either they continue saying that they’re just “lazy” because that has been determined as a part of who they are as a person, or they continue being labeled as “lazy” but they feel bad about it. This is a difficult pattern to break. By calling ourselves “lazy,” we are assigning the appropriate punishment for this terrible characteristic. By calling others “lazy,” we get the satisfaction of placing blame on them.
Where Did You Get That Idea?
We often repeat those phrases so frequently that we forget where we first heard them, but we probably have examples of situations in our lives that “prove” the idea. These phrases are often harmless and the reason they are well-known is probably because they do hold true in many cases. The problem is that when we have held onto an idea like these for so long, we sometimes forget to question whether or not it remains true for us any longer or whether or not it applies to our current situation.
Tips to Manage a Mental Health Crisis
If you are feeling as though you are in crisis, either you are concerned that you are having thoughts of harming or killing yourself, or are feeling out of control emotionally, the most important thing you can do is to tell someone. This can be done over the phone or in person. If you don’t have a support person you can contact, call a crisis line. Having a therapist can help to develop long term ways of coping so that crises happen less frequently.
Protecting Yourself From Second-Hand Anxiety
It is important to protect yourself from second-hand anxiety because chronic stress can lead to long-term health problems. In addition, as a parent, you are not helping your child if you are taking on their anxiety.
Surviving The Holidays
During this time of year, there are less daylight hours, the weather is not as pleasant, and there are significantly more social, financial, and familial obligations and expectations. With a few tips, you can survive the holidays and enjoy them too.
How to Cope with Anxiety Caused by Things Out of Your Control
While we can't necessarily stop our brains from perceiving “things that are out of our control” as danger that will trigger anxiety, we can control our responses once anxiety shows up and we can also retrain our brains to not perceive a lack of control as anxiety.
The Sunday Scaries
Sunday evening can feel like time where you are just waiting for that inevitable moment when the weekend is over, but Sundays also have potential to be relaxing and fun.