Life is a lot more complicated for teenagers than most adults give them credit for. Many teenagers are balancing schoolwork with part-time jobs, sports, and an active social life. There are plenty of studies out there that have found teenagers are even more stressed out than adults. And, it's a ...read more
The Joys of Solitude and the Power of Silence
Our world is a busy place these days. There is hustle and bustle everywhere you turn. And, for many, it's only going to get busier now that we are in the holiday season. There are work parties and family get-togethers, parades, concerts, cookie exchanges, and the list goes on. Even when you aren't ...read more
Holiday Stress: 5 Tips to Manage It This Year
It seems like the holiday season starts earlier and earlier every year. Once September hits the aisles throughout stores become an odd mix of decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all at once. Then November 1st rolls around and homes become a mix of pilgrims and pumpkin spice with ...read more
Mental Health Challenges of College Students
College students are vulnerable to a wide variety of mental health challenges, and there is no one inoculation against any of these possible experiences. Clinical conditions such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, and even panic are common experiences for college students due to the many new ...read more
Overcoming Trauma: The Power to Transform
Traumatic experiences—old or new—can upend our worlds in so many different ways. The emotional and physiological effects of trauma are challenging in and of themselves, and often they create an escalating feedback loop that can become all-encompassing and overwhelming. When the effects of trauma ...read more
Transitioning to College: Helping Students with Anxiety
The transition to college is an exciting time for students and families. Whether going directly from a senior year in high school or from a “gap” year, students are looking forward with intense anticipation to all of the mysteries and wonders of college life as they’ve come to understand it: meeting ...read more
Postpartum Anxiety: How to Get the Support You Need When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed
There is tremendous social and cultural hype around the joys, excitement, and wonder of pregnancy, birth, and raising children. Baby showers, parenting classes, and the array of pre-birth activities often convey the implicit and explicit message to parents-to-be that having kids is exclusively a ...read more
Healing from Addiction: Finding the Road to Recovery
Addiction-- and recovery-- can look differently from individual to individual. As surely as we can be addicted to alcohol, substances, or medications, we can just as easily be addicted to love, work, sex, dieting, exercise, skin picking, and food. Addiction can refer to any compulsive and unhealthy ...read more
How Practicing Mindfulness Can Change Your Life
“Mindfulness” is a word that’s gotten a lot of attention lately. It sounds good, it’s usually accompanied by calming images that look very appealing, and most of us accept on principle that mindfulness must be a good thing. If you have a sense that mindfulness is something that you need more of—but ...read more
Managing Depression: 3 Simple Strategies to Create Joy
There is a very subtle and insidious cycle that frequently occurs for those who are struggling with feelings of depression. Whether it's situational, acute, or chronic, feelings of depression build on themselves. When we don't feel great, we succumb to a sort of molasses-like slowdown . . . because ...read more