Looking to add healthy habits in the new year? After the holidays, you might make resolutions to get to the gym or eat healthier. Positively fueling and working your body will make you feel stronger, but change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and consistency to notice these gradual changes. However have you considered improving your mental fitness? How do you flex those muscles to strengthen your mental health? Exercise and nutrition can boost your mental health through the mind body connection, but other strategies can also enhance your mental fitness game. Here are some exercises that you can start incorporating into your routine today...
It’s that time of the year again! Our schedules are jam packed with plenty of to-do’s like gift lists, travel plans and family gatherings, amongst others. For some people, it can be an exciting and joyful time. For others, it can be a very stressful time that causes a sense of overwhelm. Regardless, setting up expectations beforehand can help ease the potential stress of the holidays. Here are some tips…
School shootings and other violence in schools can be a parent’s worst nightmare. It makes parents wonder, “How do I keep my kids safe?”, “How do I prepare them for a world that can be frightening and traumatic?” and “How do I talk to my kids about school violence? “ The answer is not as scary as you might think. In fact, just making the time to have a discussion about it and to show that you care is the most important step. Here are some tips when talking about school violence with your children…
Does your child tend to become frustrated easily? Do they struggle to cope with anger in healthy ways? Anger is a basic emotion that everyone deals with from time to time. We may get angry with situations, with other people, or with ourselves. While it’s natural to feel angry or frustrated, sometimes anger can get overwhelming for kids and teens. It can make them feel like their emotions are out of control. They may not know how to manage such intense feelings. It can cause them to lash out, act up, or respond to anger in other unhealthy ways. Here are some strategies to help you support your child with feelings of anger…
Feeling drained after the Thanksgiving holiday? Have you been stuck behind a computer all work week and you’re feeling down? These could be signs that you need to charge your social battery. A social battery refers to a person’s capacity to interact with people or groups of people in social situations. A full battery allows you to more effectively interact with others. And in doing so, it strengthens your relationships and provides you with a feeling of connection and support. However, the way in which you recharge will depend on your personality. Here are some tips to understand when your battery is low and what you can do to recharge…
This Thanksgiving, many of us will be able to gather as we did prior to the pandemic. While this is definitely something we can be thankful for, we don’t need to wait for the holidays to acknowledge our blessings and embrace gratitude. We can practice gratitude every day of the year! In fact, incorporating gratitude into our daily routines can improve both our mood and our relationships. So what is gratitude, why should we practice it, and how can we make it a habit that sticks? Let’s dive in…
Do you find yourself glancing at the clock and wishing you could finally fall asleep? Do you lay in bed ruminating over the day’s events or worrying about that meeting tomorrow? Are you spending too much time on social media when you should be sleeping? If the answer to any of the above is yes, then you may not be getting enough sleep. Sleep is essential for both our physical and mental health. It aids in immunity and our ability to cope with stress. So what can we do to improve our quality of sleep? Here are some tips to improve your sleep hygiene…
We see it more commonly in social media, on email signatures and on Zoom calls: A person introduces themselves with their name, followed by their preferred pronoun. There are so many, like she/her, he/him, and they/them pronouns, among others. What do all of these pronouns mean, exactly? And why are preferred pronouns so important?
Do you ever find yourself saying “I should have” or “I shouldn’t have” done this or that? For instance, you might think “I should have gone to bed early.” “I shouldn’t have raised my voice and yelled.” “I shouldn’t have eaten that dessert.” Using the terms “should” and “shouldn’t”—or “should-ing” ourselves—impacts how we feel about those actions. Ultimately, a “should-ing” mindset can consistently put us down and inhibit our goals. So how does this one word have so much influence, and what can we do about it? Let’s explore…
It’s been a roller coaster of a ride and you feel emotionally drained. There are many logistics to consider, but the biggest one weighing on your mind? It’s how to tell the kids. Here are some helpful tips when talking to your children about divorce…
Do you feel like life is busier than ever before? Are you spending so much time on family, work, and other high-priority items that you forget to make time for yourself? When things are stressful, you may put yourself on the back burner. However it’s important to recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy well-being. Take care of yourself (even when things are busy!) by practicing self-care. Here are some suggestions to get you started…
You may sometimes wonder why you feel a certain way at one moment and then experience a completely different feeling just a few minutes later. We experience a range of emotions on a daily basis, and they are all important in their own way. The big question is: why? Emotions are crucial to our lives because they serve a variety of purposes. They guide us through stressful situations and help us connect with others in friendships and relationships, among others. At the same time, emotions are complicated; they can be difficult to understand. Sometimes, it may seem like life would be easier if we didn't have to undergo the ups and downs that emotions play in our lives. So why are they so important?
Do you ever feel like your relationships aren’t going well for you? Do you find that you give in more often than not? Do you tend to have a passive role in your relationships? No matter what kind of relationship you’re struggling with, don’t worry! It can be challenging to ask for what you want or to find the courage to say “no” when you’re uncomfortable. If you’re looking for a way to improve your assertiveness, try using the DEARMAN skill! It’s an interpersonal effectiveness DBT skill, which means that it’s designed to help you communicate better with others. It teaches you how to calmly and effectively ask and receive. Let’s learn about how it works…
Do you have trouble keeping your cool when parenting your teen? Do certain behaviors of theirs cause you to lose your temper? It’s understandably challenging to deal with teens’ emotional up and downs while keeping your own emotions in check. Therefore, taking a dialectical approach to parenting might be helpful for you. Being a dialectical parent means finding balance—specifically, balance between opposites. There is an opposite to everything in life, and we tend to be most effective when we balance those opposing ideas. By finding balance between things that seem completely opposite to you, like a draining day and a calm mind, you can manage your teen without the emotional strain. Are you ready to apply dialectics to your parenting?
Do you find yourself accumulating numerous goals to accomplish throughout the year that you still haven’t gotten to? It’s important to have goals; it shows your ambition, and it feels wonderful when you accomplish and even surpass your goals. However if you load too many goals onto your plate at once, it can start to feel overwhelming. The feelings of overwhelm lead to stress and anxiety, which can cause you to lose motivation and abandon your goals altogether. So, what can you do to achieve realistic goal setting?
We live in a culture that boasts “toxic positivity.” Toxic positivity is a belief that no matter what difficult or upsetting situation you may experience, you should maintain a positive mindset. Consider the popular phrase “good vibes only.” While “good vibes” are not a bad thing, “good vibes only” negate all other human experiences that do not involve positive feelings. The phrase makes it seem like negative experiences or negative emotions should be avoided at all costs. As humans, we experience a wide range of emotions; we’re not always happy or positive and that is okay. In fact, it’s normal to have a mix of good vibes and bad vibes throughout the day. Learn more about toxic positivity and what you can do to get through challenges without suffering from the effects of toxic positivity…
When you think about yourself, do negative thoughts instantly come to mind? Do you put yourself down over every little mistake you make? If you experience thoughts like this, you are engaging in negative self-talk—and you are not alone. Negative self-talk may not seem to be a big deal, but over time, they can make an impact on how you view yourself and how you feel. Your thoughts are powerful, and they will influence your emotions and behavior in the long run. Therefore, it’s important to manage negative self-talk so that you’re avoiding increases in anxiety and negative self-image. Here are some tips for managing negative self-talk…
Social media has become a significant part of our daily lives, as we check apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok on a daily basis. While there are many positive aspects of social media, there are drawbacks to these platforms as well. Social media can affect our mental health; when we compare ourselves to others and see how much happier other people appear to be, it can make us feel depressed or anxious, among other feelings. That’s where self-care comes in to combat the negative effects of social media. If the content on your news feeds is negatively impacting your mental health, here are a few tips to practice social media self-care…
Anxiety can creep in at the most inconvenient times—like when you’re in class, when you’re out with friends or when you’re out and about in any public space. Anxiety can barge into your mind, seize the direction of your thoughts, and transport you far away from the present in an anxious tailspin. This disruption of your thoughts can pull you away from enjoying the present moment or even being able to concentrate on the task at hand. If you find yourself struggling with anxious thoughts, try practicing these grounding techniques to bring your attention back to the present…
As summer winds down, the new school year is almost here. This time of year brings a sense of nervousness and dread for many families as they think about the daunting task of prepping for back-to-school. The summer days are full of relaxation without much structure, but now as the school year looms closer it’s time to get back into routine. Here are a few tips to get yourself and your family ready for the school year ahead…
