The grass rustles between your toes, which extend past the picnic blanket you placed out on the lawn. You lean back onto your shoulders as you rest the weight of your upper body on your hands which are firmly planted in the ground. As the music notes flow past your ears, you notice your head […]
Category Archives: Mental Health
05
Jun
Jun
When was the last time you gave or received a hug? Who did you hug? Where were you? It has been a long time since we have had a significant ability for physical touch. Given the global pandemic, we have had to postpone celebrations with loved ones, use elbow bumps instead of handshakes, and generally […]
17
May
May
Nature helps so many overcome their life stressors. It serves as a means for so many to cope. When someone is ill, several studies have proven that looking out at nature or a painting of greenery can have a significant impact on improving their health outcomes. You can use nature as a means to cope […]
13
May
May
Tending to someone else’s needs all the time gets tiring. You can only do so much before you reach a point of burnout. Once you’ve overextended your energy, you have a couple of options. You can find a different way to re-engage with work, you can take some time away from work, or you can […]
07
May
May
Recovery is a long and difficult process with any number of personal hurdles throughout, and while the resulting change can be profound and define the person, there are also ways that an individual may inhibit their recovery process. Self-sabotaging behavior is common throughout the recovery process, whether due to uncertainty regarding the future of change, […]
02
May
May
After enduring hardship, one of the most core components of trauma or recovery is rest. To allow yourself the time to heal from everyday mishaps to tragedy, sleeping makes all the difference in the world. During sleep, your brain processes your experiences, and sleep is vital to your ability to process as you recover. You […]
30
Apr
Apr
If you could picture your emotion as a landscape, what would you draw? Where would you be? If you could place yourself in the image, where would you place yourself? Mapping out your feelings can be a helpful exercise to sit with discomfort and embrace the message your emotion is trying to send. This is an […]
10
Apr
Apr
If you are living and breathing in the 21st century, then you’re also probably on social media. Kudos to those of you who have avoided the trends, posts, and likes, but most people are engaging with social media in one way or another. The recent Netflix documentary Social Dilemma highlighted some of the harmful effects of […]
Trauma underpins most major mental illnesses and substance use disorders. When life deals someone with a challenging card, they only have so many ways to cope. There are genetic and environmental factors that guide the decisions we make in the wake of trauma. Some turn to alcohol or drugs, some experience psychosis; others enter significant […]
31
Mar
Mar
In life, we each get to make decisions for ourselves. That is our right to self-determination. Sometimes when we are struggling with mental health concerns, we lose decision-making capacity. Our loved ones step in and start making decisions for us. One day, however, when we are feeling better and in a more stable place, we […]