Aging, Life Transition, Mental Health Topics Signs You are Having a Midlife Crisis and What to do Next by Lenora KM on May 5, 2017 The neighbor next door just traded in his minivan for a cherry-red Corvette Convertible. A coworker, who used to wear a modest amount of jewelry or none at all, is now sporting a three-carat diamond ring. Your best friend made an appointment to get Botox injections, because she wants to…
Mental Health Topics, Parenting Things to do Before Your Child Becomes a Teen by Lenora KM on May 2, 2017 You’ve watched your child as she slept in her crib peacefully, nursed her back to health when she had the sniffles, and held her tiny hand when you brought her to school for the first day of kindergarten. You watched your son play in every Little League baseball game, cleaned…
Mental Health Topics, Parenting Real Talk on Surviving the First Six Months With Your Newborn by Thriveworks Counseling on Apr 25, 2017 Mess + Magic: Real Talk on Surviving the First Six Months With Your Newborn Here’s an odd cultural quirk about pregnancy and parenthood in 21st Century America: while there’s a ton of focus on the stuff that swirls around having a baby (labor and delivery, decorating the nursery, how to…
Health & Exercise, Mental Health Topics The Important Link Between Physical and Mental Health: How they Go Hand in Hand by Taylor Bennett on Apr 10, 2017 Whenever I’m having a really bad day, all I want to do is slip on my neon Nike sneakers and dart out the door—to feel the gravel beneath my feet, the wind at my back, and sweat dripping down my brow. I plug my earphones into my iPhone, tap on…
Addiction, Media Use, Mental Health Topics Am I Addicted to Binge Watching Netflix? by Kim Matone, LPCA on Jan 20, 2017 One night I was sitting in my family room watching my third episode of The Office that night. I noticed the catchy theme song of the same show coming from the bedroom. My husband, son, and I had started “bingeing” this show together but my husband had gotten ahead of…
Depression, Mental Health Topics Depression Sucks by Dawn Gaden, M.A., LPC, NCC on Jan 17, 2017 The feeling of depression draws this image in my mind: you are at the bottom of a well. It is dark, musty, dirty and there is no way out. The only way is to claw your way out. Fingernails dig into the wet slimy bricks barely able to get a…
Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement, Stress Survive (and Thrive) This Holiday Season: 11 Seriously Good Tips by Amber Shimel on Dec 16, 2016 The holiday season is a time for good cheer and merriment! Or is it? For many, the mention of Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Year’s brings as many winces as it does smiles. The fact is, the holiday season can be as much of a burden as it is a celebration;…
Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement You Are Powerful Beyond Measure! by Dawn Gaden, M.A., LPC, NCC on Dec 2, 2016 What if you had within you to have all the joy, love, happiness that you want in your life? Sure you think that’s impossible. Society has taught us to look at external sources for our sense of joy, belonging, acceptance, and self-worth. Aren’t we worth while human beings just because…
Mental Health Topics, Relationships After a Breakup, 8 Things to Help the Heartache by Amber Shimel on Oct 28, 2016 We need to talk. Few words strike fear in the heart more than these four little words. What follows these words is rarely positive. If you have recently experienced a breakup, they may be all too familiar. Oftentimes in relationships, both members are experiencing turmoil, but when the final breakup…
Coping Skills, Grief & Loss, Mental Health Topics The holidays can intensify grief: Here are 9 tips for managing by Amber Shimel on Oct 17, 2016 During the holiday season, we think of family traditions, making memories, and spending time with loved ones. However, the holiday season can cause feelings of grief to become much more intense. The loss of a loved one can make even the most joyful celebrations difficult to bear, no matter how…
Mental Health Topics, Parenting 21 Parenting Tips for the 21st Century (Not For the Weak of Heart) by Michael Reffner, Ed.S. on Oct 13, 2016 The birth of new technologies in the 20th Century was supposed to make our lives easier and provide more time for family, personal interests, or just to relax. Instead, the pace has picked up. Work demands have become more hectic. Our schedules are overloaded. But our children – –…
Mental Health Topics, Relationships 4 Ways a Service Dog Can Help With Mental Illness by Guest on Sep 30, 2016 Service dogs are most commonly thought of as helping the physically impaired. However, as mental health becomes a more acceptable topic, psychiatric service dogs are starting to make a public appearance. Psychiatric service dogs help people cope with a mental disorder and improve their quality of life with specifically trained…