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After the past 18 months, more people than ever are experiencing mental health issues. With more twists and turns looming, there’s a demand for flexible, proven approaches. But how can you know what treatment to consider? Is there something out there that works but perhaps remains a little under the radar?
Not long ago, trauma was a mysterious concept. It was not something discussed in casual conversation. For a wide variety of reasons, trauma is no longer taboo. We each understand more about the topic. From sexual assault to battlefield experiences and beyond — more people comprehend the reality of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
People are talking more and more about trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). You’d think that in an age where most of us can get the food we need, and most of us have adequate (if not luxurious) housing, plus we can get a good education and earn a decent living, that there wouldn’t be much need to talk of trauma. Right?
It seems to be an oxymoron to say that people can be both anxious and depressed, yet it happens regularly. There is a circular action to it, both in the physical response and the emotional response ~ the physical response goes something like this: you get anxious and wound up, your heart beats faster, maybe your breathing speeds up and drains your body of energy.
The truth is that every few years a new virus comes along and scares us all because we don’t know what it is, or how it will affect us. This year it’s COVID-19, in 2009 it was the swine flu, in 2016 we feared the Zika virus. Those diseases have come and gone, and we have survived and even thrived since then. Taking the long view about this will help you through this one.
7 Ways to Evaluate if You’re in a Toxic Relationship:
I’ve been in practice for over 10 years and I hear from individuals who struggle with a particular person in their life. The conversation goes something like this: “Why does so and so try to control everything? I have to give an account of my every move. Even then he/she says terrible things, what do they get out of this?” Or the conversation may sound like this “I’ve done everything I know to do and still I can’t seem to please this person. I try to do what my loved one (or boss or friend) says to do and nothing I do is right. They are never happy. They always complain about something, what am I missing?” Often it isn’t the person who is
Resourcing is essentially creating new “attachments,” meaning that as we grow we “take in” others so they become part of who we are, how we think and how we behave. And, if we’re not forming new attachments, we’re strengthening other currently held attachments. “Resourcing” is also enhancing and learning coping skills and techniques such as breathing exercises and, what is known today as “mindfulness.”
There you are in bed and your anxious mind is recalling the things you didn’t get done during the day—unwanted thoughts coming at you like pop-up signs “why didn’t you______, you should have________” fill in the blanks: resisted that cookie, exercised, called that person, not watched so much TV… the list goes on and on, and sleep eludes you once again. Many people have trouble falling asleep at night, and some have trouble going back to sleep once they’ve woken up. We’ve heard over and over that we need 7-8 hours of sleep in order to function. If we get less than that on a regular basis we make more mistakes and can be cranky and unpleasant. No matter how much work you have, you need to schedule enough sleep so that
