Let’s take a minute to imagine the inner workings of the anxious mind: fears, an overactive fight-or-flight response, racing thoughts, and much more. As someone living with an anxiety disorder, these are all thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that I experience on an almost daily basis. List making is a skill that I’ve used in my own life to help manage...[ read more ]
Part 1(Past): A personality shaped by childhood Childhood was characterized by both good and bad. Good: I made honor roll and did well in school. Bad: I was overweight, was often bullied, and struggled with social anxiety for most of my childhood. I believe this background contributed to me becoming introverted, assertive, and hardworking in the present. Since I didn’t...[ read more ]
I remember New Year’s 2017. I deemed it, “The year of the small circle.” Though I’m introverted and tend to keep a small circle, I had become aware that quality is better than quantity when it comes to relationships. Because we are human, we’re going to disappoint each other at times. In worthwhile relationships, those issues get worked out and...[ read more ]
We all learned in kindergarten about the Golden Rule, right? “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” The majority of us try to live this out daily to maintain some sort of social courtesy. A lot of mental health discussions focus on our environment. We try to be mindful of how we interact with others, how...[ read more ]
This post is about a topic that we’ve all experienced at some point in our lives but maybe didn’t know there was a term for it. What is post-event rumination and how does it occur? Post-event rumination is when a person critiques their social performance following a social event. It involves focusing on what went wrong. Though all humans have engaged...[ read more ]
You find yourself marking ‘Decline with regrets’ on a wedding invitation. Staying home from the office Christmas party. Being terrified at the thought of the wait staff singing “Happy Birthday” to you at a restaurant. And saying things like, “You go in, I’ll wait in the car.” A quick google search defines Social Anxiety as “some amount of fear in...[ read more ]
Written 5.10.18 “It is possible to have too much of a good thing.” ~Unknown We’ve all heard this quote at some point in our lives. It’s one of those quotes that can relate to almost any circumstance or situation. Today, I’m gonna talk about how it applies to how we cope with stress or adversity. We all have coping skills...[ read more ]
Though I’ve been writing on the topic of mental health, I enjoy reading other blogs on the topic as well. I’ve seen several that talk about medications prescribed for conditions like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. For this post, I’d like to share some of my insights about mental health medication both from a personal standpoint (I was diagnosed with...[ read more ]
I’ve been reading a lot of blogs lately on the topic of minimalism. The definition of minimalism may vary from person-to-person. From my understanding, minimalism is focusing on what is most important and useful to you and getting rid of the excess. This can be applied to the amount of stuff you have, the number of commitments you make, what...[ read more ]
This post is based on my experience counseling children, adolescents, and adults. In addition, my wife is a school counselor, experienced working with primary and elementary school students. She’s provided me with additional insights to include. We all know what bullying is. Someone is being picked on. A person is trying to overpower someone else. Someone is asserting dominance over...[ read more ]