When our loves ones are struggling, typical holiday gifts may seem irrelevant or even insensitive. How do you choose a meaningful and useful gift that shows how much you care? Because I love finding the perfect gift and enjoy helping others do
The coronavirus is far from over, but most children are returning to school and other activities. A refrain I’ve heard from parents is that the pandemic forced them to re-evaluate their priorities and how they want to spend their time. Maybe you
Be sure to check out the last post, “Find your chill: Parent edition.” Spending time in nature sounds like a nice thing to do, but it’s more than that. Time outdoors actually promotes mental health. Interested in learning more? For starters, you
It’s been 14 months since most of North Carolina shut down, and just as spring is showing her loveliest self, we’re seeing a partial return to the way life used to be. No, Covid-19 is not over. (Will it ever be?) But
In our last post we looked at many symptoms of anxiety, some which are often overlooked or misunderstood. I want to focus today on children. Maybe because we assume kids are carefree, maybe because we’ve heard too many times that “kids are
When I talk about mental disorders, I find it helpful to look at the definition. In other words, what criteria would a clinician look for if they were assigning a diagnosis? Giving a list of criteria can be problematic for a variety
“Oh, that’s just my OCD kicking in.” “I just had a panic attack!” “Deciding what to wear Saturday night is giving me anxiety.” “I have such a phobia of talking on the phone.” Ever hear comments like these? All of the statements
A common misconception about stress is that we cannot escape it as long as the stressor remains. In a sense, this is true. If watching the news raises your blood pressure, for example, you can turn off the television. If joining the
You’ve probably heard before that stress can affect your physical health, but maybe you’ve questioned if it’s really true. Maybe you’ve wondered: Do people say this for attention? Do they exaggerate so you’ll take their stress more seriously? Are they hypochondriacs? Do
Many caregivers experience chronic stress, yet have enough resources to not descend into full-blown burnout. In this case, parents and caregivers are often lulled into thinking: I can push through this. What choice do I have anyway?This will never change. Why bother