postpartum depression
Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified In my previous blog, Manage Your Anxiety by Grounding to Your Environment, I explained how to manage anxiety by grounding to your current environment. However, this method may not work for you. You might struggle to focus on your environment, you may be in an environment that lacks sufficient stimuli, or your environment itself may be anxiety provoking. Another option is to achieve grounding by using a physical object. This object can…
Read More
I work with many clients who struggle with approaching their partners with difficult, yet very important requests. As their clinical therapist, I help the client better understand why they are struggling to ask their partner for their needs and possible coping skills to express their feelings, emotions, thoughts, and needs. I recently read an article from the Mindfulness Muse that touched on this very topic utilizing a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) technique known as the ‘DEAR MAN’…
Read More
Hannah Hopper It’s that time of year again in Chicago when the days are shorter, the sky is grayer, and it feels a lot harder to get out of bed and face the piercing wind. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a mood disorder that typically begins and ends around the same time each year, and often takes place in the winter months. For most people the symptoms begin in the Fall as the colder weather sets…
Read More
We get to a certain age (it is different for everyone) where we finally realize our bodies have changed- the realization that we are not as young as we think they are. My boyfriend recently pulled his hamstring playing flag football and this realization has hit him hard. When talking with him, he mentioned that he pushed himself as hard as he used to and he said that his body could not carry him as quickly as…
Read More
I work with many clients who are struggling with a stressful life transition in their personal and/or professional life, and for some clients possibly both at the same time. My job as their clinical therapist is to help the client better understand why this life transition is causing stress, what impact it has on the client, and how to better manage this life transition. Some clients, due to their life circumstances, cannot fully change the life transition,…
Read More
Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Socrates was certainly onto something when he stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” However, the overly examined life isn’t so spectacular either. Countless people, mostly women, have a bad habit called rumination that contributes negatively to their “physical and emotional well-being.” Rumination: What’s Happening in My Brain? People who ruminate dwell repetitively over negative thoughts in their head that are typically related to “failure, rejection, humiliation, loss or retaliation.”…
Read More
Danielle Bertini, LPC Between family, friends, self-help books, and the media, there is no shortage of dating advice. Although some of the advice given from these different sources can be helpful, much of it is either mistaken or based solely on personal experiences and opinions rather than actual research. Siedman (2018) discusses five common dating advice fallacies. When you meet the right person, you’ll know right away. Many people offer this piece of dating advice as an…
Read More
Today, “self-care” has become somewhat of a trigger word when discussing mental health. If you’re stressed, feeling down, or are having a crappy week people’s go to response tends to revolve around what you should be doing for self-care. While it’s great that more and more people are becoming aware of the necessity of self-care, I wonder if we really understand what self-care means. Is self-care using a facemask? Is self-care going for a run? Is self-care…
Read More
Our attachment style is highly influenced by our early childhood and romantic experiences. There are many resources out there that explain attachment, the four core styles of attachment, and how each is displayed in individuals and in romantic partnerships. Interestingly, there is less research and discussion around how attachment influences our relationships with the deceased, and how our attachment to that deceased loved one will influence our grieving process. One thing to note about this is that…
Read More
It is not uncommon in today’s world to work extremely hard as still feel unhappy and unsatisfied. It has become the “norm” to work well over 40 hours a week, be consistently accessible via phone or email outside of work hours, and even put in time on the weekends. It’s vital to ask ourselves what is the motivation for working this hard and this much just to feel unfulfilled. In data previously collected by the Conference Board,…
Read MoreDo You Need Help?
Not what you were looking for?