Educational Blogs from Our Mental Health Therapists

Learn about common challenges, including depression, anxiety, relationships,
trauma, and more, written by Monkton, MD therapists!

Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner

3 Potions to Help You Banish The Inner Critic and Live A More Authentic Life

How many times have you tripped over your thoughts — I say tripped as if to say they come rushing in one after the other and it can be paralyzing in the moment. The “I’m not good enough…” and the “Why did I say/do/behave that way…” thoughts. The common players.

The inner critic is universal. Every human being depends on other people physically, emotionally, and throughout a lifetime for acceptance and psychological well-being.

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Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner

When to Talk to Your Human Resources Department About Your Mental Health

How do we destigmatize mental wellness and self-care in the workplace? This is a hot topic in the Human Resources world today. For a long time, mental health was not prioritized in the workplace. In fact, it can often be ignored or go unrecognized. Workplaces across the nation are pushing to reform mental health care and improve employee’s overall well-being.

Work related stress can trickle into home life, relationships, and overall well-being. Vice versa, stress at home, relationships, personal matters, etc. can affect your job performance. If you feel like any of these resonate with your current situation, I encourage you to reach out and speak to your Human Resources department!

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Burnout, Anxiety, Resources, Motivation Melissa Wesner Burnout, Anxiety, Resources, Motivation Melissa Wesner

Four Tips for Increasing Motivation In All Areas of Life

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. 

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Anxiety, Burnout Melissa Wesner Anxiety, Burnout Melissa Wesner

Stress: Effects on Your Personal Life, Mental Wellbeing, and Physical Health

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.

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Anxiety, Burnout, COVID-19, Trauma and PTSD Melissa Wesner Anxiety, Burnout, COVID-19, Trauma and PTSD Melissa Wesner

Trauma and How it Has Affected Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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.

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Anxiety, Burnout, COVID-19, Trauma and PTSD Melissa Wesner Anxiety, Burnout, COVID-19, Trauma and PTSD Melissa Wesner

An Ode to Teachers and School Staff

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!

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College Students, Burnout, Anxiety Melissa Wesner College Students, Burnout, Anxiety Melissa Wesner

Common College Stressors and How Mental Health Therapy Can Help Manage Your Anxiety

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.

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Burnout, Faith-Based Melissa Wesner Burnout, Faith-Based Melissa Wesner

A Refreshing Take on Burnout and Fatigue: A Christian Perspective

If you’re human, you have probably felt exhausted before. You have probably had a moment, day, or season when you’ve felt there is way too much on your plate, and you cannot carry it any longer. Maybe you ended up skipping plans you originally looked forward to, called out from work, or missed a night or two of quality sleep. You were probably experiencing burnout, which is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive, prolonged stress. It happens when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

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