Grief really does produce physical symptoms that leave you exhausted. Understanding these symptoms is important so you know what’s happening to yourself and how you can manage them.
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When you hear the words “individual resilience,” what comes to mind? What does it mean to you?
No matter what hardships and difficulties you’ve encountered in life, resiliency plays a crucial role in helping you move beyond them. While people may describe it differently, at its core, resiliency is being able to navigate hurdles and setbacks without giving up. It is a type of inner strength that helps you withstand the tough times and even come out stronger on the other side.
One of the beautiful things about resiliency is that it is a skill that you can nurture and grow. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a resilient person, you can find a way to become one.
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Mental health therapists are among the many professions that have had to rapidly pivot their services during the pandemic. While teletherapy wasn’t unheard of before COVID-19, its use has risen exponentially in the last year. This has had the remarkable effect of allowing people to get the support they need during an unprecedented time. Therapists and clients have been able to continue holding sessions, addressing anxiety and depression, and find healing as a result.
However, you may be wondering what you can do to make the most out of your telehealth therapy. Even though teletherapy is clinically proven to be as effective as in-person sessions, here are steps you can take to ensure you get the most out of it.
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It’s safe to say that the times we’re living in now are stressful for many, if not most, of us. The pandemic’s effects have been many. And, of course, life can be incredibly stressful whether or not a pandemic is in play. Employment or lack of it, health concerns, family demands, and so much more can weigh heavily on you.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, no matter the cause, it’s critical to take steps to reduce your stress. There are many helpful things you can do on your own. You can also consider reaching out to a therapist for telehealth sessions during this time.
As you learn how to reduce your own stress, you can also positively impact those around you.
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Many engaged couples choose to go through premarital counseling before the big day. Premarital counseling is designed to help you understand each other better. It gives you a chance to think through how you’ll handle conflicts and disagreements in the future. You’ll take time to delve into life goals and what each of you want from life — but premarital counseling might have had to wait until after quarantine time frames.
If you’re like many couples, you intended to begin or complete premarital counseling before the COVID pandemic began. But once it started, your premarital counseling sessions were put on hold in the interests of social distancing and public health. Perhaps you holed up together during the isolation and strangeness of this last year.
All that time together has likely changed your relationship in many ways. Because of this, premarital counseling after quarantine may look a lot different than it would have before the pandemic. Here are some things you might expect.
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If you’re a parent and you’ve survived this far along in the pandemic, please give yourself a giant congratulations. It hasn’t been easy. You’ve managed to help your children with remote learning for at least part of the school year, if not all of it.
You’ve probably been working remotely from home at the same time. Or you may have still been leaving the house to go to work but struggled to find care for your children who were learning from home.
All of this is a lot for anyone to handle. If you’re feeling stressed out and worn thinner than you can imagine, you’re not alone. It’s essential to remember to address your own self-care needs and to reach out for help if you need it. Here are a handful of self-care ideas for stressed parents.
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If you and your spouse are struggling through a rough time, you may be wondering if counseling can help. There are countless reasons that couples seek therapy, and chances are some of these apply to your situation. Reasons include major disagreements on finances and child-rearing, infidelity, growing apart, toxic relationship patterns — and more.
You may even be to the point in your marriage that you don’t know if things will work out. One or both of you may be ready to walk out the door. But you want to see if counseling can help.
No matter where you are in your marriage, understanding the different counseling types can be helpful. Let’s look at divorce vs. marriage counseling — and one in between.
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When you look back on your family’s experience through this last year of pandemic living, what stands out? How have you, as a couple or family unit, been able to manage the stress and uncertainty of these times?
The challenges of the last year have been many. One or both of you may have lost employment or contracted COVID-19. You may have lost friends and family to the disease. The enforced isolation may have taken a large toll on your partner or yourself. New mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or addiction, might be looming over your life right now.
If you’re struggling to know how to help your partner navigate these new struggles, please know there are things you can do.
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If you have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the coronavirus pandemic may have changed how you can manage your symptoms. You may have felt an increase in your PTSD symptoms and found yourself more easily triggered than before.
Of course, the pandemic has created significant changes in the lives of many people. Restrictions and attempts to manage it have added stress and uncertainty on top of the everyday life stress. Anxiety over becoming ill with the virus, losing loved ones to the virus, or making ends meet after pandemic-related job losses are ongoing issues for millions. Enforced isolation often plays out as increased depression and anxiety.
If your PTSD symptoms have become increasingly overwhelming during the pandemic, please know that there are ways you can manage them during this time.
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Breaking up with a romantic partner can be one of the most challenging things you face in life. After all, your relationship formed because of your attraction and love for each other.
Depending upon how long you were together, you likely became each other’s closest friend and greatest comfort. When you weren’t at work, you were usually together. Evenings and weekends centered around your relationship and your life together. And with the pandemic restrictions of the last year, your time together probably became even more intense.
If your relationship has ended, whether through mutual agreement, infidelity, or growing apart, loneliness may be at the forefront of your mind. How will you fill the gaps left in your life now that your partner is gone?
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The world is eager to celebrate as we say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. After all, it’s been a tough year — and having patience in the pandemic is no small feat.
But even though we are entering a new year, unfortunately, the pandemic itself doesn’t recognize dates on a calendar. It’s still here, along with the all-encompassing changes it brought with it.
If you’re like most, you’re doubtless growing impatient with the situation. In fact, you were probably tired of it a long, long time ago.
The arrival of effective vaccines for the coronavirus brings hope. Glimmers of change are on the horizon. How long do I have to practice being patient, you may wonder. You may question your ability to outlast these tough times. You’re ready to leap back into normalcy.
But common sense tells you that you need to hang in a bit longer while vaccines are administered and the harsh winter season passes. How can do you do this? Here are a few tips.
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Living with bipolar disorder can be incredibly painful. Whether you’re experiencing the highs of mania or the lows of depression, it can cause you to act in ways you later regret. You struggle to process your behavior and the consequences on your life and those you love.
At one point or another, everybody walks through the journey of grief and loss. And it’s probably safe to say that all people struggle with regrets. But when you’re bipolar, these losses and regrets take on their own flavor. After all, they often occur due to something largely out of your control: the cycles of bipolar disorder.
Many people just like you, though, have worked through these regrets and found healing. Here are a few steps that can help you, as well.
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If you’re like many parents, you may be struggling to figure out how to make the holidays special this year. You’re looking for parental support when it comes to navigating changing holidays. After all, the chances are good that they won’t be exactly as usual.
The pandemic has disrupted many traditional holiday activities. Concerts and performances are canceled or virtual. Big family gatherings likely won’t happen. Instead of enjoying a huge turkey dinner with your grandparents, you may be having a smaller meal at home. You get the picture.
But you still want to ensure that the holidays are special for your children. You want them to create good memories that will last for decades. Despite the pandemic, you can still make this happen. Creating new holiday traditions is an excellent way to start.
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The holidays hold so many emotions, so many expectations, and so many traditions and activities. If you have a new partner, you may be trying to figure out how to navigate the holidays.
How will the relationship affect your usual holiday activities? What expectations will there be for gift exchanges? Should you meet each other’s families if you haven’t already?
All of these factors can easily make you feel anxious. There’s always excitement and anticipation when you’re with someone new. But you don’t want to mess things up, either, and take steps too early. Likewise, you don’t want to make them feel left out. How do you figure out how to navigate the situation?
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If you’re still months away from the big day, the idea of going to counseling together before the wedding date may sound silly. After all, you might wonder, why do you need counseling?
Perhaps you’re blissfully in love and eager to commit yourselves to each other. You know you love each other and are ready to go all-in. Problems don’t exist in your relationship, or at least not any that would require counseling.
Yet many relationships experts recommend what is called premarital counseling. This type of counseling is designed to help both of you enter marriage with practical relationship skills and a deeper understanding of what’s ahead of you.
It’s not about fixing problems so much as it is about being better empowered for the good times and the bad. Consider premarital counseling as a necessary part of your pre-wedding planning, and you’ll be off to a good start. That said, here are five ways this vital step can be beneficial.
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Sometimes, love feels like a roller coaster ride. We might experience it when we first start to develop romantic crushes in middle or high school. Our young emotions are a rapid cycle of yearning for time with our crush, feeling hopeful, and worrying they won’t like us back. Additionally, our feelings coincide with the new hormones that are carrying us into adolescence.
However, in “normal” love relationships, we experience these feelings only in the beginning, when we’re infatuated. If our love object doesn’t like us back or already has their own love interest, we mourn briefly but then move on.
When we find someone who feels the same way about us, we enjoy the emotional excitement and intensity. This stage can last a few weeks or a few months. And we’re okay when this initial rush stabilizes into a calmer, more stable relationship. Our partnership grows into something more than the rushes and crashes of emotional intoxication.
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It can happen without warning. You meet someone briefly, or even only know them from afar — and you’re smitten.
Maybe it’s the barista who occasionally prepares your order or someone who works in the same building you do. It could even be a celebrity whom you’ve never even seen in person. Whoever it is, your emotions and thoughts become focused on this person like a laser beam.
They dominate your waking hours and even the hours when you should be sleeping. Your heart aches for attention from them; you dream of them always. You think you’ve fallen in love. And even though they show no signs of reciprocal feelings, you can’t get them out of your mind.
There is a word for this. It’s called being lovesick or suffering from obsessive love. Some people call it limerence. And living with it can cause your life to feel upended. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help navigate the unknown.
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Most people have heard of postpartum depression or even the “baby blues” that can occur after giving birth. But prenatal anxiety is sometimes often overlooked.
No question, finding out you’re having a baby is one of the most exciting news someone can receive. It’s also natural to experience worry, stress, and even fear as you go through your pregnancy. That is especially true when your pregnancy is not what you expected.
Feeling guilty about those fears or worries will only lead to more worrying. As a result, it’s crucial to recognize that prenatal anxiety is an actual condition.
Take heart in knowing that you can learn to manage your anxious feelings and cope with the thoughts throughout your pregnancy.
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Living through a pandemic hasn’t been easy. The initial confusion and fear from its early days haven’t improved much. There’s still uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 virus, and it hasn’t been well contained in the United States.
Flareups continue to occur throughout the nation. Some people get the virus and never realize it, while others die horrible deaths from it. People often have no idea where they picked the virus up if they do get ill. And we struggle much to prevent the spread.
While we used to walk through crowded places with no face coverings and little fear of becoming ill, we now fear the most basic social encounters. People are even being told to limit how much they talk while wearing a mask to slow the spread.
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Do you find that you’ve been feeling more angry or frustrated in the last several months? Do you feel like the stress of life under quarantine is pushing you to the edge?
If you do, it’s understandable. After all, anger is a normal response when we experience considerable changes in our lives that are entirely out of our control. It takes time to adapt to significant changes in your routine and daily life. And some things naturally create more anger-inducing stress.
Massive amounts of time cooped up with your family — as much as you love them — can easily cause irritation and anger. Job loss, the loss of friends and family due to distance or death, and your regular life interruption are very frustrating. All of these changes may also lead to anxiety, which can manifest as anger.
But it’s essential to find a safe way to manage and discharge your anger to slow its effects or consequences. Fortunately, this is possible.
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