Depression, Mental Health Topics Companion animals: The best pets for depression by Taylor Bennett on Feb 1, 2022 We all feel lonely sometimes—say, when we’re drowning in work and too busy to hang with loved ones, or after a tough breakup from a significant other. This loneliness is often discouraging and, for some, loneliness transforms into depression. Sometimes resolving depression isn’t possible by ourselves, especially when our friends…
Beginning Therapy, Mental Health Topics 7 professional tips to help you prepare for your first counseling session by Taylor Bennett on Feb 1, 2022 Are you feeling nervous about starting therapy or counseling? If so, don’t worry. It’s totally normal to feel a little nervous. That said, you can take some proactive steps to prepare for your first therapy session. These tips will help to lessen those nerves and also help make for a…
Health Conditions, Mental Health Topics Chronic pain and mental health: How to care for yourself or a loved one, from onset to diagnosis and beyond by Taylor Bennett on Jan 31, 2022 I’ve been in survival mode for the past 6 months. It started with a swollen knee, regret that I ever played soccer, and the fear of possibly undergoing my first-ever surgery — but ultimately, the promise of an end to a bizarre chapter of my life. It quickly turned into…
Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement, Work & Careers How to stay motivated when working from home: 8 tips by Kyle Risley on Jan 31, 2022 Staying motivated is one of the biggest challenges remote workers face. After working remotely for one year, job motivation stats show a drop from 56% to 36%. Most workers cite lack of interaction and distractions as the biggest factors affecting their motivation. Changing habits can increase motivation and reduce the…
Beginning Therapy, Family, Mental Health Topics, Trauma What family constellation therapy can reveal about intergenerational trauma (and Abuela in “Encanto”) by Wistar Murray on Jan 28, 2022 Family constellation therapy (FCT) is a way of helping individuals heal from family trauma and suffering that’s been passed down unconsciously through generations of their bloodline. Constellation work explores these intergenerational dynamics through body, mind, and spirit. The therapeutic approach is rooted in psychoanalytic thought as well as family systems…
Beginning Therapy, Feelings & Emotions, Mental Health Topics Music therapy: How the “Encanto” soundtrack and other forms of music can help us to process our emotions by Jason Crosby on Jan 27, 2022 Nothing else has the ability to power us through our workouts and make awkward elevator rides a little bit more bearable. That’s right; it’s hard to imagine a world without music. It’s probably an understatement to say that music is taken for granted; we don’t always recognize the mental sway…
Mental Health Topics, Psychology, Self-Improvement How to have a creative renaissance! (Even when you have artistic burnout. And kids. In a pandemic. When everything is awful.) by Wistar Murray on Jan 25, 2022 For every Taylor Swift flourishing artistically during the pandemic, there are millions of suffering and burnt-out people who aren’t composing songs or painting portraits or writing novels. What have they been doing instead? Well, if they’re anything like me, they’ve been drowning in domestic labor, work, anxiety, childcare, and other…
Health & Exercise, Mental Health Topics Dopamine fasting: An extreme form of modern asceticism by Jason Crosby on Jan 25, 2022 Dopamine is probably the only neurotransmitter that could be considered a household name. News sources, tech bros, and mental health outlets toss the word around like a frisbee. Everyone and their dog seems to know what dopamine is—a feel-good chemical that’s produced in the brain, which rewards us for performing…
Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement, Work & Careers Three types of memory important to learning: working, short-term, and long-term memory by Alannah Miller on Jan 24, 2022 Memory can make learning difficult, but the good news is that you can work to improve your memory. There are three main types of memory: working memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Working memory and short-term memory allow you to store and use temporary information, while long-term holds your lifelong…
Mental Health Topics, Self-Improvement Some unsolicited advice on seeking answers from advice columns by Wistar Murray on Jan 18, 2022 Last week the Twitter user @KingBraize asked the World Wide Web for advice on how to talk to his two teen daughters about boys. He Tweeted (paraphrasing), “Ladies, what are some things you wished your dads had said to y’all during these stages, like first love/first heartbreak, etc. I don’t…
Anxiety, Mental Health Topics Anticipation anxiety: How to stop the “what if” in our heads by Shannon Kersey, LPA on Jan 13, 2022 Do you remember the last time you rode a roller coaster? Unfortunately for me, it has been over 20 years. I have developed vertigo as I have gotten older, and I’m scared to go on one now. However, I can still remember the nervous butterflies as the ride creaked higher…
Media Use, Mental Health Topics The mental health impact of Instagram and TikTok on young adults by Jason Crosby on Jan 12, 2022 You’ve read it a thousand times: Social media apps can wreak havoc on our mental health. Many of us (if not all) have heard that distant “ding” that resonates off the kitchen counter and experienced the sudden surge of curiosity — only to discover it’s a spam message, or worse,…