Women are often raised with messages about being caring, nurturing, thoughtful, and family oriented.  These communicated values, as well as the behaviors that we have observed in the women before us, sometimes result in continued patterns of taking care of others while putting our own wants, needs, and self-care on the back burner.

There are a variety of things that can influence how motivated someone is feeling such as being overwhelmed, burned out, anxious, depressed, perfectionistic, rigid, fearful, and many more. One’s motivation (or lack thereof)  may depend on a number of factors. Here are some tips that you can use to help you increase motivation. 

College finals are an extremely stressful period of time. Final exams can be daunting, given the culmination of a semester’s worth of information. Multiple exams can add to the stress of finishing a semester. How you prepare for finals can have an impact on how you make it through them. Having a game plan and strategy for your finals can make a difference in how they go. If you are looking for some guidance to approach your finals exams, then keep reading!

Imagine that you are standing at a podium on a stage in an auditorium. The seats are filled. There are bright lights illuminating you. All eyes are on you. There is silence as the audience waits for you to begin. Before you open your mouth, you notice your heart racing and your body sweating…

If you are suffering from anxiety and/or depression, you may be relieved to know that there are many effective treatments that do not involve pharmaceutical medications. A combination of lifestyle changes and therapies can help alleviate these conditions and improve overall health and well-being.

Stress tends to seep into every aspect of our lives. When it is present, our day-to-day life can begin to feel increasingly overwhelming. It can take a toll on our relationships, mental health, and even our physical well-being.

At times, it may feel like you have no other choice but to endure the stress and brush it off as best as you can. You may want to push it down and ignore the problem, hoping it will just go away on its own. Other times, this stress may consume every waking moment and completely take over your thoughts. Making it hard to do anything else. Either way, addressing the stress and figuring out a healthy way to manage it is key to protecting your mental and physical health.

Have you ever been told to “stop being so sensitive” or “you’re overreacting”?! Recognize there is nothing wrong with you. You may just be wired differently than some others.

Being sensitive, you are more likely to be anxious, to be an overthinker, to be aware of subtleties, and to be self-critical. On the other hand, being an HSP, you are also more kind and empathetic, thoughtful and considerate towards others, as well as a deep and mindful thinker, someone who appreciates moments of beauty and contemplative reflection.

In a world where technology has taken over and everything is so readily accessible in the palm of our hand, it comes as no surprise that there are endless tasks we can manage by simply unlocking our smartphones. Banking, messaging, tweeting, and emailing. The list goes on!  But did you know that you can work on your mental health by downloading a simple app?

In this post, I’ll be going over some of my favorite, free mental health apps I like to use on a daily basis! Feel free to give them a try and see whether they’re the right ones for you!

If I had to pick one helpful piece of advice to print on a t-shirt, it would be “don’t believe everything your brain tells you!” The brain is a vital and fascinating organ that keeps us surviving, but it’s not perfect. In addition to all of the wonderful things the brain does, one of the brain’s jobs is to put out thoughts all day long, but not all of them are helpful, accurate, or true. These unhelpful thoughts and beliefs are called cognitive distortions.

Have you ever noticed that your anxiety spikes when you lay down to sleep at night? Have you ever wondered why this happens, or what you can do to stop that? Well, you are not alone! It is actually fairly common for anxiety to feel worse at night, and there are a few reasons for why that is. There are also a few ways that you can relieve anxiety at night so that you get a more restful night.

Teaching students under normal circumstances is challenging. Teachers juggle many roles as they motivate, engage and develop personal connections with their students to keep their students’ minds open to learning and developing. But what happens when the students and teachers alike are going through an overwhelming stressor as with the current pandemic? How does the situation affect student behavior, motivation and academic achievement? Here is a brief explanation of the mechanisms of stressors leading to trauma, as well as strategies to navigate the road ahead.

To my dear teachers and school staff,

There are so many things about this school year that are different. Dealing with rampant behavioral issues among your students. Dealing with administrators who may be short fused as they deal with a plethora of Covid related issues. Dealing with expectations from staff and parents that are not realistically achievable. These are some of the issues that have been arising. In all of this, you have received minimal training and have no previous experience with this. This is not what you signed up for!

Taking care of yourself and your mental health is always important, but it is extra important while in college. Making sure that your mental health is stable is beneficial to you while in college because it will help you better balance all of your responsibilities. Conversely, if you are struggling with your mental health, it can contribute to issues such as reducing productivity, focus, and overall performance in school. Here are some ways that you can try to take care of your mental health while pursuing your degree.

While it’s not uncommon to hear people talk about college as the best years of their lives, the reality is that college can be an incredibly stressful time for young adults. Because of the many positive things we hear about others’ college experiences, college students may experience surprise at the actual number of stressors involved in college life. Here, you’ll find a list of common college stressors faced by students and ways that mental health therapy can help.

No one likes to be ghosted, not even your therapist. If you have been thinking about ending counseling services with your therapist but you don’t know how to, consider this before you ghost them.

Having a panic attack can be really unsettling. Sometimes people have a sense of impending doom or think they’re having a heart attack. They may also find themselves going to the emergency room as a result. This article will help you identify symptoms of panic attacks as well as some strategies you can use to help.

With advancements in medicine, vaccines for COVID-19 are now available and have been distributed to more than 87.6 million Americans. This means more people are venturing out and enjoying the people, places, and things they have missed out on for the past year. But for some, the idea of leaving the comfort and safety of home is stressful. The idea of moving around in the world in the midst of an unseen virus can be daunting and debilitating.

Dealing with anxiety can be tricky. When anxiety starts taking over our lives, we don’t always know where to begin. Figuring out how to cope with anxious or fearful thoughts or feelings may simply involve gaining insight. If you are a practicing Christian, you may have noticed just how many times anxiety is addressed in the Bible. The Bible is full of rich wisdom to hold onto, that can help us address anxiety and pursue peace from a spiritual angle. Please feel encouraged to read along with some of these passages from Scripture, and take as much time as you need to pause and think about what the author is trying to communicate about anxiety, worry, and peace.

While there are a number of really great coping strategies that can help us manage our anxiety and worry, sometimes a quote sticks with us, making it even easier to remember key concepts. If you deal with anxiety, you just might relate to some of the quotes in this blog. Pick the one that resonates with you, and keep it handy when you need a gentle reminder.

One of the most common (and annoying) symptoms of anxiety is worry. The things you worry about may vary, depending on the specific type of anxiety you personally experience. Regardless of whether you deal with the everyday anxiety that everyone experiences, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, or a specific phobia, you can find strategies in this blog to help. As with all things, “take what you need, and leave the rest.”