Mental Health Topics

Journaling has always been a favorite pastime of mine. When I was a kid, I wrote in this rainbow paneled notebook every single night before bed—sure to jot down every little detail of my day. And a few years later, in the heart of my teenage years, I picked up…

We are just about halfway through December, which means winter is in full effect! Some delight in this snowy season, while others spend these cold months counting down the days until the warmth returns. Either way, it’s smart to protect yourself from the potentially harmful effects winter can have on…

Just this morning, as I was walking out of my apartment building, I froze at the bottom of the stairs. Did I turn the stove off? Like every other morning, I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. And again—like every other morning—I worried that I forgot to turn the burner off….

When you hear the word “therapy,” you probably picture a patient lying down on a couch, with a psychiatrist sitting opposite of them. And the psychiatrist, of course, has glasses atop their nose and a notepad in their lap. This is a common and conventional depiction of therapy—and sometimes it…

When a pet dies, it is a loss that feels just as big and real as losing a friend or family member-sometimes it is bigger and more real. Pets and animals give us a type of love that humans usually don’t. When a dog follows us around, and waits on…

Social media has gotten a bad rap lately: it’s been blamed for growing feelings of low self-esteem, loneliness, and bouts of depression. And not without warrant. Not only have users of the platforms reported these negative effects, but studies have shown that social media is, indeed, a likely culprit of…

When asked my biggest flaw, the first thing that comes to mind (if I’m being honest) is my indecisiveness. This issue dates back to when I was just a little kid. I experienced extreme distress over choosing between the chicken nuggets or the mac & cheese and could never pick…

It’s no secret that the teenage years are often characterized by rebellion—there is, however, an ongoing argument about how parents should properly handle this phase. Should they step in or back off? Do they need to crack down on the rules or prove their trust? What’s the most effective approach?…

Perhaps the most stressful part of the holidays: brainstorming gifts for your loved ones. You pester them for weeks about what they want, but they fail to give you any good ideas; instead, they insist they don’t need a thing. Which you match with an eye roll and a sigh,…

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed today? Is your head on the verge of exploding? Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask for any details, a simple yes or no will do—because I know the feeling, and I know it well. Every couple months of college, I would start to…

The infamous “Big 5” personality traits make up a five-factor model (FFM) in psychology, which is often used to evaluate an individual’s core qualities. These traits include openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—you can easily remember these with the acronym OCEAN. We all possess the “Big 5” traits…

If we’re being technical, therapy is the process of meeting with a counselor to tackle unhealthy or troubling behaviors, beliefs, feelings, and issues. But if we’re being honest, therapy is so much more than a straight-forward definition: it’s healing and revealing; it’s a life-changing journey; and it’s difficult… yet oh-so…