Mental Health Topics

Stress is inevitable, but suffering through it isn’t. The difference lies in having healthy, beneficial coping mechanisms—strategies that actually help rather than just temporarily mask the problem. Coping strategies, also known as coping mechanisms or coping skills, are behaviors designed to help us manage difficult emotions from challenging events, situations,…

When someone seeks mental health care, they are not looking for reach, scale, or a recognizable logo. They simply want the person sitting across from them to truly understand their unique journey. Environment plays such a crucial role in the experiences that shape our worldview, which is why community-centered care…

Have you ever paused mid-conversation and wondered if you’re using a mental health term correctly? Maybe you’ve described feeling “triggered” by something at work, or found yourself questioning whether a situation was really “toxic” or just frustrating. These moments of uncertainty have become part of a cultural shift where mental…

Your mind won’t stop racing. Maybe it’s replaying that awkward thing you said three hours ago, or spiraling into worst-case scenarios about tomorrow’s presentation. You’ve tried telling yourself to “just stop thinking about it,” but somehow that makes the thoughts louder. If this sounds familiar, you’re definitely not alone. Research…

If you’re reading this, you might be wondering if your grief feels “too intense” or has lasted “too long.” First, know this: you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. While grief is one of life’s most universal experiences, sometimes it gets stuck, and that’s when complicated grief (now clinically known…

If you’ve succumbed to a full-blown temper tantrum as an adult, you’ve likely come face-to-face with your inner child (even if you didn’t realize it mid-meltdown). Your inner child isn’t a mere flashback to your past self—it’s a piece of who you are now. “There’s a space inside of us…

At some point, you may have heard someone talk about ADD and wondered, “Is that the same thing as ADHD or is it something else?” The difference between ADD and ADHD confuses many people—largely because there really isn’t a difference. Attention-deficit disorder (ADD) refers to people who have a specific…

First, let me put your mind at ease: Feeling sad when a celebrity dies is completely normal. You’re not weird for crying when an actor, athlete, or musician you’ve never met passes away. Look at the collective grief over Robin Williams, Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, or Betty White. The sadness…

Many lists of depression symptoms don’t come close to capturing what depression actually feels like. Clinical facts can describe the condition, but they rarely show the profound emotional weight carried by those experiencing severe depression. What does depression truly feel like from the inside? Why does it seem so overwhelming,…

You’ve decided to start therapy, and now someone’s asking you about your goals. Maybe it’s your therapist, maybe it’s the intake form, or maybe it’s just that voice in your head wondering what you’re hoping to get out of this. If your mind goes blank when you try to think…

As parents, we want to help our children to the best of our abilities. If we could take away their worries altogether, we would in a heartbeat. But childhood anxiety is common, affecting 7% of children and adolescents at any given time, with up to one in three people experiencing…

“Only-child syndrome” is a popular but controversial term used to describe a set of traits or characteristics thought to be common in children who grow up without siblings. These traits, often painted in a negative light, can include selfishness, loneliness, introversion, difficulty sharing, and an overdeveloped sense of independence. However,…