Blog
Struggling with Addiction During the Holiday
The holidays are meant to be a joyous time where family, friends and coworkers come together to exchange gifts, celebrate, feast, and party. But these festivities can be problematic for the millions of Americans who struggle with addiction. For them, it might even be the worst time of the year. During the holidays people struggling with addiction are more likely to relapse, overdose, or commit suicide. Why are the holidays so hard for people struggling with addiction, and what can people do to help themselves during this high stress season? First, it’s helpful to understand what an addiction is. Bev Mueller, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)...
Read MoreFinding Forgiveness
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boese Forgiveness is vital in relationships but it can be difficult to achieve, especially if you feel you’ve been wronged by your partner. Every relationship faces difficult hardships; some have bitter disagreements over family or money, while others try to heal after an act of infidelity. Ultimately, it is our ability, or inability, to forgive that makes or breaks our relationships. Robert Muller, a former United Nation employee, famously said, “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” This...
Read More“I Am So Angry!”
Everyone has felt anger. Even the most peaceful people have been flooded with extreme anger at some point in their lives. Anger is one of the most powerful and overwhelming emotions a person can feel. So it’s no surprise that many people struggle to keep anger under control. Because anger can be so powerful and difficult to control, it has the potential to impact your life and the lives of those around you in an instant. It’s one thing to yell at the broken coffee maker when you’re alone in the kitchen, but it’s quite another to swear at a co-worker in a meeting, or berate your partner in a grocery store. These situations occur when a person’s anger gets the best of...
Read MoreHelping Your Child Make Friends
Making friends can be hard for anyone at any age, but for young children who are still developing mentally and socially, it can sometimes be challenging, overwhelming, and confusing. Parents’ influence is instrumental when it comes to strengthening children’s social abilities. There are many things that parents can do to aid their children in making friends. This process doesn’t begin when children enter school, it begins much earlier in infancy and toddlerhood. Communicate from the start Communication with your child should start when he/she is a baby. Babies are learning language long before they can speak, and they pick up the complexities of...
Read MoreHow to Minimize the Effects of Deployment on Children
April is the Month of the Military Child, designated to remind us of the important sacrifices and unique struggles experienced by children of military parents. This month we are meant to reflect on the emotional and psychological impact that parental deployment has on children, and the steps that can be taken to help ease these life-changing transitions. According to Holly Hallen, of the Military Child Education Coalition, there are almost 4 million military-connected children, 75% of whom are school age. These children have to prepare for and deal with the long absences of a parent, who will be deployed from 3 to 15 months. They have to adjust to the absence of that...
Read MoreWhat Traits of the Elderly Can Teach Us About Mental Health and Longevity
What if someone told you that stubbornness promotes longevity, and that our stubborn parents and grandparents, who seem happy to be set in their ways, are going to benefit from their stubbornness by living longer with better mental health? A study, published in 2017, was conducted of 29 people, between the ages of 90 and 101, who live in different Italian villages. This group of participants is small, but the results are impacting the way scientists and psychologists think about longevity and mental health in old age. The results of the study, published by Cambridge Core, indicate that certain psychological traits, amongst them: stubbornness, optimism, a strong work...
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