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 […]
Category Archives: Mental Health
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 […]
12
Mar
Mar
Telling your story can make all the difference. After having experienced trauma, however, it can be difficult to vocalize, organize, and summarize what you went through. It takes time to craft your narrative. It is helpful to remember that you get to decide how to tell your story. You ultimately determine how to interpret the […]
11
Mar
Mar
The biopsychosocial-spiritual-cultural model helps mental health professionals understand clients as they exist in their environments. So what does that mean for you as the client? How do you understand yourself in these different areas? How do they define you and how do you define them? Biological This component has everything to do with your physical […]
02
Mar
Mar
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” March 2 is Dr. Suess’s birthday and has become National Dr. Suess Day. We decided to discuss his legacy on our blog because his work serves as a reminder to embrace our inner child. His words, […]
01
Mar
Mar
Empowerment theory encourages groups of people to band together to overcome adversity. There are three tenants of cognitive empowerment, according to Gutiérrez in “Understanding the empowerment process: Does consciousness make a difference?” They include identifying similar others, redistributing self-blame for past events, and developing a sense of personal freedom. This directly applies to recovery. To […]
24
Feb
Feb
Experiencing shame and guilt is a common part of addiction, recovery, and life itself. When you fixate on failed relationships, lost opportunities, or missed connections, it can become a never-ending cycle of negativity. However, this fails to acknowledge your full journey. If you begin to envision your life after recovery, you may start to see […]