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5 Easy Steps Toward Passion Exploration

June 2, 2019

I work with many clients who are frustrated with a lack of fulfillment in their life, whether it is in their personal or professional life. For some clients, they are hoping to find clarity of what their passions are, and then to implement them in their personal, professional, or for some lucky people, like myself, they are able to implement them in both. As a clinical therapist, I have always been passionate about connecting to people and…

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The Shift for Success

May 28, 2019

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…

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Anger Management 101

May 22, 2019

Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor Anger is an emotion that we have all felt at some point in our lives. While we have all experienced it, many don’t realize anger is considered a secondary emotion. A secondary emotion is defined as an emotional reaction we have to a primary emotion such as sadness, hurt, rejection, trapped, humiliation, etc. When we react with anger it feels automatic and sometimes uncontrollable, but we do it to protect ourselves from…

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How to be Honest with Yourself

May 18, 2019

Often times we are not honest with ourselves even though we can trick ourselves with being honest. We tell our friends to be honest and we try to be honest as much as we can, but we all have faults and we tend to fall off at times. You might have a friend that is not 100% honest with you at all times, and sometimes separation occurs. Don’t be that person that is being separated from their…

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How to Address Mental Health on Public Transportation

April 28, 2019

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) serves over one million passengers each day. If you live in Chicago or have ever visited the bustling city, you are likely familiar with the CTA and the “L” train system. With so many daily passengers and endless possibilities for mishaps or “interesting situations”, the “L” can at times be a stressful experience for anyone involved. How does this apply to individuals who utilize the CTA and have mental illness? Having either…

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The Hardest Person to Forgive: Myself

April 24, 2019

Steven Topper When I was young, I learned about forgiveness. My teachers and parents explained that when someone wrongs me in some way, it’s up to me to say, “I forgive you.” In fact, adults would typically place the person in front of me, ask them to say, “Sorry,” and wait for that very response. Often the reverse was true too, with me asking for forgiveness from another kid. For me, the conversation stopped there for many…

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Destigmatizing Self-Injury: What to Know and How to Help

April 16, 2019

While so much of mental illness is stigmatized through movies, television, and news, few topics are as divisive as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). In critically acclaimed movies such as Black Swan and The Wrestler, depictions of NSSI often come from wounded protagonists who clearly suffer from profound mental health issues. Clinical definitions of nonsuicidal self-injury describe the behavior as: Direct and self-inflicted destruction or alteration of body tissue occurring without suicidal intent or developmental disorder. The most common…

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Self-Care for Millennials

April 8, 2019

Matthew Cuddeback, LCSW The ideas that millennials are too disengaged or unwilling to put in hard work have unfortunately been taken as fact for years, regardless of the fact that nobody can agree on exactly what a millennial is or that those who make these arguments are ignoring how the world is so completely different now than it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. We live in a world in which social media looms over all aspects…

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How to Feel Unstuck

March 26, 2019

Often times we just feel stuck. It seems as if everything that we have tried is impossible to get out of this rut and we cannot feel any better. We have tried coping skills that we know and that others have encouraged us to use, we have tried to ignore it, we have tried to focus on it, and nothing seems to work. We often times feel stuck when we have a big decision to make and…

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Get Tested! Common Myths about STDs

March 25, 2019

Sexual Transmitted Diseases, also known as STDs, are more common that one would think. Educating not only yourself, but also your partner about STDs is very important and making sure that both of you are being tested frequently if you have multiple partners, especially in open relationships, polyamorous relationships, LGTBQ individuals. I would know if my partner had an STD You might think you know your partner(s) well, but unfortunately you cannot tell just by looking at…

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