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When people share their experiences with depression with me, the most common theme I hear is a sense of feeling “heavy,” as though they are carrying a ginormous weight on their shoulders. Another visual often shared is a feeling of walking through knee-deep mud. That ubiquitous experience of heaviness is the proverbial shot in the foot that often interferes with a person’s ability to recover from depression.
Read MoreSuicide took 47,173 lives in 2017 (CDC, 2018). It took away our wives, husbands, children, friends, and beloved family members. It took doctors, teachers, and famed celebrities. Suicide does not discriminate and is no respecter of person. It is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and has seen a steady increase since the year 2000.
Read Morelove all things summer. Long, hot days with seemingly endless sunshine. Swimming. Vacations. Staycations. Outdoor sports. Beach days. Watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple. The list goes on. The only two things I don’t love about summer are mosquitos and the end of my favorite season. As the sun starts setting earlier and the temperature drops, so does my mood. This dreary, rainy Tuesday, I’m really feeling it.
Read MoreYou see them everywhere… Every magazine, every billboard, every TV commercial, every banner ad on your computer screen… They are all telling you and selling you the fast and easy way to get fit. To get shredded. To get a 6-pack. To get the perfect J-Lo/Kim Kardashian/Beyoncé butt. Everywhere we turn, we are sold exercise as a way of achieving the impossible goal of the perfect body.
Read MoreWhen we picture the nervous system, most of us probably imagine a little pink brain connected to a curvy white spine. And while that picture is certainly accurate, it’s not actually the whole story. What’s missing from that mental picture is the all-important enteric nervous system, the complex web of over 100 million nerve cells that line our digestive tract. In fact, among scientists within the neurobiology field, this intricate system innervating our gut is often referred to as our “second brain”.
Read MoreThe therapy world is filled with so many acronyms and it can get confusing and overwhelming. Each week, I will break down several of the acronyms you may have heard or read about.
Read MoreDBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy use to treat a variety of conditions such as personality disorders, suicidal behaviors, mood disorders, eating disorders and PSTD.
Read MoreMDD stands for Major Depressive Disorder or depression as most of us know it. Depression causes symptoms including sleep and appetite disturbance, loss of pleasure in activities, poor motivation, poor energy, irritability, isolation, feeling slowed down or sluggish, and potentially thoughts of death or suicide. MDD may occur as a single episode, or for some the symptoms may be recurrent. Depression may happen with or without a specific cause. For instance, depression can follow trauma, life changes, or injuries to the brain. Additionally, MDD tends to have a genetic link.
Read MoreSelf-care is yes, taking care of oneself, but it goes deeper than that. It is being intentional about taking care of oneself, emotionally and physically. It is listening to what your body is telling you. Sometimes, amidst our busy lives, it is easy to get caught up in what everyone else needs and forget our own needs.
Read MoreIt the most wonderful time of the year,” “Have yourself a Merry Christmas,” and “Have a holly jolly Christmas.” These lyrics have been blasting at us since we were kids. In fact, it seems like the world is urging us to be merry, thankful, and happy during this time of year. Those are all wonderful feelings. However, how do we make sense of our emotions when we do not feel like it is the most wonderful time of the year, and that holly jolly seems down-right impossible.
Read MoreDuring the busyness of the holiday season, don’t forget to compassion and self-compassion. Almost everyone is experiencing a hardship you might not know or understand. You might even get sucker punched with a wave of sadness or grief. Use these moments to name the emotion, take care of yourself, and to exercise compassion for others.
Read MoreThis is a time I would normally panic; my thoughts would go in a negative spiral, and I would make this about a flaw in my character instead of realizing it was just a bad situation, i.e. “I’m not good enough because I can’t make appointments on time.” Yet, something was different this time; this time I felt intense gratitude. I acknowledged my feelings, “Yup, this kind of sucks,” then I acknowledged there was nothing I can do about it, “my stressing will not magically clear the freeway.” I then did something I tell my clients to do, I took an action that was the opposite of my feeling
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