This month's practice is for our friends who are in EMDR therapy and need help practicing their Safe/Calm place more regularly…
Regulation Practice for the Winter Blues
We are in the thick of winter and a lot of us are experiencing those seasonal affective symptoms like sadness, fatigue, and a lack of motivation. If that describes you, then try out this video.
It includes some mindfulness, affirmations, and breathing to help regulate your nervous system. Our brains learn through repetition so repeat this as often as needed during the winter months.
Regulation Practice for Dealing With Your Toxic Family
What You Can Expect from High Quality Trauma Therapy
Going to therapy is hard! It can be scary for a lot of people, especially trauma survivors. A symptom of PTSD is avoiding any reminders of the trauma, so the idea of going to a therapist specifically to focus on the one thing you’ve been avoiding is terrifying. Plus, most people don’t even know what to look for in a therapist or what the process of therapy entails which only causes more anxiety and overwhelm. That’s why in this article we’re going to discuss what you can expect (and, therefore, should be looking for) if you’re thinking about entering trauma therapy…
Self Love. It’s Something We Should All Be Practicing
What the hell is self-love? When I first heard this term, I thought it was the way you felt about yourself and that’s a small part of it but nowhere near the full story. Love is not just a feeling, it’s also an action word and we show the people in our life that we love them by what we say to them or about them, the actions we take towards them, and the way we treat them. When I started to think of self-love like that, things really started to change…
The Vagus Nerve and Your Mental Health
Using Mindfulness to Work With Your Anxiety
The word mindfulness seems like its everywhere. But what is mindfulness? A good working definition for this article is that mindfulness is being present, on purpose and non-judgmentally, in the current moment. Mindfulness is a broad concept but it includes awareness of thoughts, urges, sensations, feelings, and behaviors. We build mindfulness with intention and by returning to the present moment again and again. Furthermore, mindfulness is practiced with an attitude that is nonjudgmental, curious, and kind…
Seasonal Affective Disorder 101
Many people deal with seasonal mood changes. Whether it’s the “winter blues” or feeling fatigued on a rainy day or more active in the summer. It’s normal for people’s mood and energy levels to ebb and flow with the weather especially since things like sunlight, humidity, and other natural forces influence our body’s biochemical processes. However, for some people, their seasonal mood changes become so intense that they start to impact their ability to function and develop seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
Exclusive Interview on Unregulated Online Gambling with CER therapist Reginald Terry for Uscasinos.com.
As the American online gaming market gets bigger and bigger, regulation has become a hugely important issue. In this wide-ranging interview, Detroit-based therapist Reginald Terry considers player safety, looks at the dangers posed by unregulated iGaming sites, asks what can be done to combat the problem of underage gambling, and assesses the different was brick and mortar and online gaming sites deal with problem gambling….
Holiday Depression & Anxiety: What is it and how to deal with it.
Our culture depicts a very romanticized holiday experience that includes enjoying family, getting great gifts, and enjoying yourself. However, this isn’t everyone’s experience. Some people are isolated and only feel more lonely at the holidays. Some people have bad memories associated with them. Whatever the reason, it’s more normal than we recognize to struggle during this time of year….
PTSD vs CPTSD: What are they and what’s the difference?
Major Depressive Disorder: What is it and what are the signs?
Doesn’t Everyone Have Anxiety? What’s Normal and What Should I Be Concerned About?
Anxiety is hands down one of the most common mental health disorders there is. Its estimated that 62% of adults will experience some degree of anxiety and 31% will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Even before the pandemic, anxiety was one of the most common reasons people sought out therapy but after COVID, anxiety has only risen more…
Fear, Shame, and Guilt: Signs of Doing the Right Thing?
Fear, guilt, and shame are feelings that all of us have experienced and none of us enjoy. However, they are supposed to be uncomfortable as they are, along with pain, the body’s built in early warning system. They exist to get our attention and provide us with information about the people and environments we encounter so that we can keep ourselves safe and avoid or mitigate danger.
Dealing with COVID Anxiety and Exhaustion
Things feel different lately, don’t they? I’ve been out the last few weekends (almost as much as pre-COVID days!) and it felt so normal that it was weird. With vaccinations continuing and restrictions being loosened, it feels like we’re coming to the beginning of the end.
That’s a good thing right? Overall I’d say yes but for me, and a lot of the folks I know and work with, it’s also bringing a unique set of challenges. Mainly anxiety about returning to “normal” life and complete exhaustion during the transition….
Managing Emotional Flashbacks
What to Look For in A Trauma Therapist
Finding a therapist can be hard! And if you don’t know what to look for, it can seem downright impossible.
When looking for a therapist, it’s important to remember that fit is super important. In fact, the #1 factor to success in therapy is that you have a good relationship with your therapist so finding someone you can eventually trust and be open with is critical….
Harm Reduction: Using Mindfulness to Manage Your Substance Use
A few posts ago, we gave you a brief intro to Harm Reduction strategies (if you didn’t catch that article, you can find it here) and now we want to go into more detail about the different strategies you can use to help manage your substance use….
Avoiding What Makes You Anxious Isn't Helping
It seems simple, right? Just avoid the things that scare you. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. Avoidance behaviors only reinforce anxiety over the long-term and even make it worse. If you start avoiding everything that makes you anxious, you might just end up not able to go anywhere or do anything. I’ve worked with folks whose lives ended up restricted to their houses without any real reduction in anxiety symptoms….
COVID Trauma: Three Things You Can Start Doing Today to Mitigate the Impact
More and more lately, I’ve been hearing about people’s trauma responses from the pandemic. The folks who are tired no matter how much rest they get, or those who can’t relax despite having more time to do so than ever, or you have the people who are literally scared all day, everyday that they or someone they love is going to get sick and die. These are all symptoms of traumatization from the coronavirus…