Tag: anxiety

Let’s Take Another Deep Breath | LoveAndLifeToolBox

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I wrote a slew of articles to support the many under high levels of stress, worry and preoccupation during the pandemic. A common thread connecting my readers, clients and many people around me was uncertainty and loss of control. We sharpened our resilience and in many cases had to dig deep to learn what self-care during crisis looks like.

A recent Kaiser survey survey showed that 90% of the public believes there is a mental health crisis. Primary concerns are mental health issues with teens and children, and anxiety or depression in adults. Sources of stress include finances as well as politics and current events. According to the survey above, one-third of U.S. adults say they have “always” or “often” felt anxious in the past year, and another third saying they felt anxious “sometimes.”

In my therapy practice and personal life, I’ve seen chronic concerns about the existential threats of extreme political divide, war, uptick in incidents involving hate and uncertainty about the direction of Covid. We barely have had enough time to apply the salve on our prior wounds before our stress baselines started ticking up again. It seems that if so many people are experiencing some level of anxiety, it’s time to not only look at what’s driving that, but what to do about it.

Let’s take another deep breath.

What does your emotional health toolbox look like? Perhaps you had one and it’s put back on a shelf in the garage of your mind. Or maybe you have one but it’s a little slim on tools. Regardless, I’d like to offer things you might want to consider having in that toolbox during these ongoing unusual times. It’s totally up to you what you choose to take and what you leave. What is effective for one, may not be effective for another. But all of the tools below are research supported ways to build resilience, self regulate and develop more positive feelings.

1- Breathe. Your breath is an excellent anchor to the present and oxygen is an antidote to the stress hormone, cortisol. When you notice yourself feeling overwhelmed or worried, take 5 slow and deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.

2- Be mindful. With anxiety tending to live in the future, a good skill to help stay calm is the ability to bring yourself to the moment. This can be practiced by doing something as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on your belly as it rises and falls for a few breaths. For those of you who also spend a bit of time in front of the computer, I like this very relaxing guided meditation, Daily Calm: 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation.

2- Take in the good. An offshoot of learning to be in the moment, the ability to notice and internalize the things that are good around you is a practice that can help calm the mind and invite hopefulness in challenging times. I love this quote by Rick Hanson, PhD, in the piece, What Do You Do When the Bottom Falls Out:

Outside you, there is the kindness in others, the beauty of a single leaf, the stars that still shine no matter what hides them. Right now as you read, all over the world children are laughing in delight, families are sitting down to a meal, babies are being born, and loving arms are holding people who are dying. Inside you, there is your compassion, sincere efforts, sweet memories, capabilities – and much more. Take heart with others, sharing worries, support, and friendship.

3- Identify your self-care plan. Everyone has their own experience of what feels nurturing. Be clear on what yours are and make time to do them. For some it’s exercise. Others enjoy soaking in a bath. Whatever you consider “self-care,” do it, especially if you feel challenged by your mental health. Creating predictability with rituals can help soothe a trauma response.

4- Hand on the heart. This is an exercise and powerful tool to restore a sense of calm and equilibrium in your body and brain. It can prevent a stress response or even calm a panic attack. See Mitigate the Stress Response with a Hand on Your Heart by Linda Graham, MFT about what it is, why it works and how to do it.

5- Take a media break. Maybe you need a break from the news. The “bad news” can feel unrelenting, especially if it is sought out too frequently. Can you check one time a day? Or perhaps skip a day? Create some space between the upsetting situation and you. This includes social media as most people by now are aware of the toxic potential for misinformation and attempts to manipulate emotions. If the topic of your distress exists in this funnel, it’s not worth it.

6- Seek support. Chances are good that there are others around you who have similar concerns and will be able to validate your experience. Who of your family or friends are good listeners? Let others in on your anxiety, depression or other mental health issue coming up. Monitor any shame around how you “should” be feeling. According to the Kaiser survey, many who are struggling with their mental health keep it to themselves.

Here are some of the comments from the survey:

In Their Own Words: What is the main reason why you don’t feel comfortable talking to your relatives and friends about your mental health?

“I don’t want anyone to know any thing about me. I am not a good sharer. I do not share my feelings.” – 47 year-old Black woman in Illinois

“I do not feel like they understand mental health issues and treat it like it should not be a big deal.” – 31 year-old White man in Tennessee

“There is a stigma and [I] don’t think people would really understand or be there.” – 29 year-old Hispanic woman in California

“Because it’s not considered manly. I’ve gotten funny looks and debilitating jokes when expressing my concerns in the past.” – 41 year-old Hispanic man in Texas

“Everyone is dealing with their own problems. Feels like an added burden on them.” – 34 year old woman in New York

“I don’t want to worry my friends or family with my own personal struggles.” – 37 year-old White man in Texas

“I’m not a very open person. I like to hide my feelings. I fear being judged. & I fear putting my problems onto people I love.” – 24 year old White woman in Florida

7- Help where you can. If you feel driven to do something in support of whatever issue or larger problem you are preoccupied about, seek out those opportunities if they exist. Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive feelings by releasing dopamine. For some people, just “doing something” to address the perceived problem can help them feel less out of control.

If you’ve been notice underlying tension or unease in yourself, you aren’t alone. Many are feeling more reflective and pondering what many of these larger societal challenges ultimately mean. I purposely did not name specific existential threats as mine or the ones I’ve heard people discuss might not be the same as yours. This piece is for anyone needing to get a handle on their chronic distress related to these times, from wherever you sit within them.

If your concerns are beginning to impact you more deeply from a mental health perspective, it’s important to take this seriously. Begin by getting out your toolbox to try a few things. If you need a little more help, consider a therapist to help guide and support you through.

Additional resources:

Psychology Today Therapist Directory

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

1

Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT

Source link

October 31, 2022
Let’s Take Another Deep Breath | LoveAndLifeToolBox

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I wrote a slew of articles to support the many under chronically high levels of stress, worry and preoccupation during the pandemic. A common thread connecting my audience, clients and many people around me was uncertainty. No matter how people experienced it, the collective response involved some level of fear and loss of control. As humans can do, we sharpened our resilience and in many cases dug into what self-care during crisis looks like.

A recent Kaiser survey survey showed that 90% of the public believes there is a mental health crisis. Primary concerns are mental health issues with teens and children, and anxiety or depression in adults. One-third of U.S. adults said they have “always” or “often” felt anxious in the past year, and another third said they felt anxious “sometimes.” Sources of stress for adults in particular include finances as well as politics and current events.

In my therapy practice and personal life, I’ve seen concerns about the existential threats of extreme political divide, war, uptick in incidents involving hate and uncertainty about the direction of Covid. We barely have had enough time to apply the salve on our prior wounds before stress baselines started ticking up again. It seems that if so many people are experiencing some level of anxiety, we need to not only understand what’s driving that, but what to do about it.

Let’s take another deep breath.

What does your emotional health toolbox look like? Perhaps you had one and it’s back on a shelf in the garage of your mind. Or maybe you have one but it’s a little scant on tools. I have some offerings for you to consider having in that toolbox during these ongoing unusual times. It’s up to you what you choose to take and what you leave as what is effective for one, may not be effective for another. Regardless, all of the tools below have been shown to foster resilience, improve emotional regulation skills and develop more positive feelings.

1- Breathe. Your breath is an excellent anchor to the present and oxygen is an antidote to the stress hormone, cortisol. When you notice yourself feeling overwhelmed or worried, take 5 slow and deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.

2- Be mindful. Because anxiety tends to live in the future, a good skill to keep your inner calm is the ability to bring yourself to the moment. This can be practiced by doing something as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on your belly as it rises and falls for a few breaths. For those of you who also spend a bit of time in front of the computer, I like this very relaxing guided meditation, Daily Calm: 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation.

3- Take in the good. An offshoot of learning to be in the moment, the ability to notice the things that are good around you, is a practice that can help your mind find peace and invite hopefulness in challenging times. I love this quote by Rick Hanson, PhD, in the piece, What Do You Do When the Bottom Falls Out:

Outside you, there is the kindness in others, the beauty of a single leaf, the stars that still shine no matter what hides them. Right now as you read, all over the world children are laughing in delight, families are sitting down to a meal, babies are being born, and loving arms are holding people who are dying. Inside you, there is your compassion, sincere efforts, sweet memories, capabilities – and much more. Take heart with others, sharing worries, support, and friendship.

4- Take a media break. Maybe you need a break from the news. The “bad news” can feel unrelenting, especially if it is sought out too frequently. Can you check one time a day? Or perhaps skip a day? Create some space between the upsetting situation and you. This includes social media as most people by now are aware of the toxic potential for misinformation and attempts to manipulate emotions. If the topic of your distress exists in this funnel, give yourself a pause from this as well.

5- Revisit your self-care plan. Everyone has their own experience of what feels nurturing. For some it’s exercise. Others enjoy soaking in a bath. Fatigue can impact your emotional state so ensure that some kind of rest happens. Rest is not just physical but can be mental and sensory. I love this infograph, based on the TedX talk by Saundra Dalton-Smith, sketchnote by Anuj Magazine. Whatever you consider “self-care,” do it, especially if feel your mental health being grated on. Also, creating predictability with rituals can help soothe a trauma response.

6- Hand on the heart. This is an exercise and powerful tool to restore a sense of calm and equilibrium in your body and brain. It can prevent a stress response or even calm a panic attack. See Mitigate the Stress Response with a Hand on Your Heart by Linda Graham, MFT about what it is, why it works and how to do it.

7- Seek support. Chances are good that there are others around you who have similar concerns and will be able to validate your experience. Who of your family or friends are good listeners? Let others in on your anxiety, depression or other mental health issue, if it’s coming up. Monitor any shame around how you “should” be feeling. According to the Kaiser survey, many who are struggling with their mental health keep it to themselves.

Here are some comments from the survey:

What is the main reason why you don’t feel comfortable talking to your relatives and friends about your mental health?

“I don’t want anyone to know any thing about me. I am not a good sharer. I do not share my feelings.” – 47 year-old Black woman in Illinois

“I do not feel like they understand mental health issues and treat it like it should not be a big deal.” – 31 year-old White man in Tennessee

“There is a stigma and [I] don’t think people would really understand or be there.” – 29 year-old Hispanic woman in California

“Because it’s not considered manly. I’ve gotten funny looks and debilitating jokes when expressing my concerns in the past.” – 41 year-old Hispanic man in Texas

“Everyone is dealing with their own problems. Feels like an added burden on them.” – 34 year old woman in New York

“I don’t want to worry my friends or family with my own personal struggles.” – 37 year-old White man in Texas

“I’m not a very open person. I like to hide my feelings. I fear being judged. & I fear putting my problems onto people I love.” – 24 year old White woman in Florida

8- Help where you can. If you feel driven to do something in support of whatever issue you are preoccupied with, seek out those opportunities if they exist. Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive feelings by releasing dopamine. For some people, just “doing something” to address the perceived problem can help them feel less out of control.

If you’ve noticed underlying tension or unease in yourself lately, you’re not alone. Many are feeling more processing and pondering what many of these larger societal challenges ultimately mean.

If your concerns are beginning to impact you more deeply from a mental health perspective, it’s important to take this seriously. Begin by getting out your toolbox to try a few things to alleviate your unease. But if you need a little more help, consider a therapist to help guide and support you through.

Additional resources:

Psychology Today Therapist Directory

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

2

Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT

Source link

October 31, 2022
Taming the Emotions That Come With Hepatitis C
You have hepatitis C, a disease caused by a virus that’s contagious and attacks the liver. Maybe you know how you got it. Maybe you don’t.

Whatever the case, the virus could be just part of the problem. Now that the doctor has told you that you have hep C, get ready to battle a range of head-spinning emotions that often can be as difficult to deal with as the virus itself.

There are ways to calm your nerves and ease your mind.

What You’re Facing

Fear and anxiety: Most people with hepatitis C don’t have any symptoms. Even if you’ve had it for years, you may not have the fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and other things that some folks with the virus have.

Still, doctors will tell you that hepatitis C is a serious disease that can cause lasting damage to the liver, including cancer and a scarring of the liver (cirrhosis). Hepatitis C is, in a word, scary.

“I think fear is probably the first thing: ‘What does it mean?’ ” says Lucinda K. Porter, RN, author of two books about her experience with hep C.
“If you don’t know anything about hepatitis C, and you go on the Internet — which a lot of people seem to go to before they go to their physicians — you might see a full variety of outcomes, including death. Or see that this is an infectious disease and get the fear you might infect someone else. That’s a huge fear.”

The fears keep coming:

Is it going to be debilitating?

Can you infect someone else?

Will you be able to work?

How are you going to pay for your treatment?

How are you going to take care of your family?

How are you going to pay the mortgage?

“Once you learn more, you find out that hep C doesn’t work like that,” says Porter, who works as a hepatitis C advocate, writing for hepmag.com and hcvadvocate.org. “If you find out about it in an early stage and get some good, solid information, you find out that those fears don’t usually get realized.”
Remember: In many cases, the medicines that your doctor prescribes can pretty much wipe the virus out of your body.

“There is nothing to be afraid of. No matter how you got the infection, now we have a group of different, good therapies that can get rid of this infection,” says Victor Machicao, MD, a gastroenterologist with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth-Houston.

“I usually tell [people] there’s a good chance that, you start taking the treatments, you’re going to start feeling better, and by the time that we complete the therapy, you’re going to feel almost like a new person.”

Embarrassment and shame: Hepatitis C gets spread through exposure to an infected person’s blood. That’s the only way. Often, that’s how intravenous drug users, sharing needles, spread the virus. Sometimes, it gets passed down through high-risk sex. Before 1992, when blood wasn’t screened for hepatitis C in the U.S., it often was passed along through transfusions and organ transplants, too.

Some of those activities — drug use and high-risk sex, especially — are what many people associate with hepatitis C. That thinking creates a stigma that makes people who have the disease not want to tell others about it.

“So many of [the people I treat] are those baby boomers who did have a brief period of experimentation with drug use. Or maybe they did use drugs for a year or two of their adolescence. But now, that’s like 30 years ago,” says Andrew Muir, MD, a hepatologist who is chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, NC.

“Often, they’re not married to somebody that they knew back then … it’s embarrassing, then you’re worried about what that person is going to think of you, and then when you realize that there may be a chance that you’ve passed on the virus through sex. … All these things are spiraling around in their heads.”

Guilt: “There’s a lot of guilt, especially in someone who has a remote history of IV drug use, or got a tattoo at an unregulated parlor, or had a high-risk sexual encounter,” says Nancy Reau, MD, section chief of hepatology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

People feel guilty about the possibility that they’ve infected others unknowingly. They feel guilty about putting loved ones in a situation that is often financially and emotionally costly. Sometimes, it can be too much for a person to handle.

Regret: People with the disease often beat themselves up for not making better choices when they contracted the virus.

“At that point, I tell every single one of my [folks] that there’s not a single one of us that wouldn’t go back and change a decision that we’ve made,” Reau says. “To some extent, looking back isn’t going to help us. We have to look forward.”

Anger: “Anger is not an uncommon one. Anger is one of those emotions that make us feel like we’re empowered,” says Porter, who got hepatitis C in 1988 through a blood transfusion.

For some, it comes from the fact that they had nothing to do with what gave them the virus.

“I didn’t react with anger because in my case, that blood transfusion saved my life. But other people … can feel quite angry, and they feel quite victimized by that. I find [this] one is probably the hardest to address. Sometimes I just acknowledge that they feel angry.”

Depression: The virus, the symptoms that may accompany it, all the emotions — it can be difficult to handle.

Muir says a common scenario, in his experience, is a drug user who addresses the problem of addiction, goes in for treatment, and just as things start looking better, finds out they have hepatitis C.

“I find a lot of them are really down on themselves: ‘I’m a bad person, I did this, I’m being punished for it.’ We really need to try to change the way they feel about that,” Muir says.

“I was a mess. I felt dirty. I was hard on myself,” says Stella Armstrong, a Las Vegas office manager who got the virus through drug use. Armstrong is now virus-free and is a hepatitis C advocate and member of the National Patient Advisory Committee for the American Liver Foundation. “I had to seek counseling. I had to see a psychiatrist. I was taking depression and anxiety medicine.”

How to Get Help

Talk to your medical team. Meet with your doctor and anyone else you might need (a hepatologist or pharmacist, for example). Get a plan. Follow treatment.

“You start there. Always,” Porter says.

Don’t underestimate the power of feeling physically better. It’s good for your mind, too.

Once again, the virus can disappear in many of those who have hepatitis C.

“People are surprised. They ask you, ‘Doctor, did you mean ‘cure’?” Machicao says. “They come to the office and say, ‘Doctor, that means I don’t have the infection anymore?’ I tell them, ‘For practical purposes, you’re cured.’ They are in total disbelief. It is amazing.”

“The success of being cured of hepatitis C is really powerful,” says Muir.

If you feel depression or anxiety, the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that you talk to your primary doctor or go to a psychologist or psychiatrist. Depression is a real illness and, even in the most severe cases, it’s treatable with medication or other means.

Get educated. Find trusted sites online. Ask your doctor questions. Know what the virus is all about. Separate fact from fiction.

“Education is how we start breaking down the stereotypes. How we find out we don’t need to be afraid anymore,” Porter says. “It can release the chains of anger.”

Find some support. It can help to talk with other people who have been through what you have. Your doctor can point you toward online groups filled with people who are going through the same process. In some places, you can meet with people in person. Social services through government agencies or hospitals can help, too.

“When you start to see other people who have a history of drug use, that regret and shame starts to diminish. ‘OK. I’m not a bad person. I can deal with this,’ ” Porter says.

“I’ve always been open and have discussed my addiction with drugs. I think it’s the best thing. We only stay as sick as our secrets,” Armstrong says. “It was better for me to share my story. It’s still the same thing. It’s still hepatitis C, and we have to get through it.”

Lean on family, friends, clergy, whomever it takes. Whether it’s someone else who has been through hepatitis C, or a spouse, a parent, a sibling, or your best friend — even if it’s a complete stranger — sometimes you just need a shoulder or a sympathetic ear. Search them out. Use them.

“No matter how much positive you can hear about it, you still have to go home, you still have to be at a point by yourself, thinking these bad thoughts and you’re worried and you’re scared and you’re scared of the unknown,” Armstrong says. “Those are the times you have to call somebody and talk to them.”

Take care of yourself. Once you get your medical plan in place, once you have your support in line, once you’re educated and know what you’re facing, taking a little “me” time is in order.

“Having a chronic illness is hard,” Reau says. “Start by looking at the things you can change easily.”

Eat well. Exercise. Get your sleep. Some people like to meditate. Nap if you need to nap. Make sure you’re around people you like. Enjoy a good book or a movie. All these can help you deal with the stress and emotions of hepatitis C.

“Even at my lowest point and when I was feeling really sick, you just gotta keep moving. You have no other choice,” Armstrong says. “You have to keep moving forward and treating yourself well.”

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October 31, 2022
Feel Awkward? This Founder Wants to Fix Your Social Anxiety.

Why do some people struggle to make friends while others have no trouble at all?

Courtesy of SocialSelf

David Morin, now the founder of startup SocialSelf, wanted an answer to that question — but nobody seemed to have one.

“They never know,” Morin explains. “They just say, ‘Well, that person is just really likable.’ Almost like it’s magic.”

Morin wanted to crack the code, so he launched a company that offers an automated solution for the “loneliness pandemic.” Today, SocialSelf boasts one million monthly users.

Entrepreneur sat down with Morin to learn more about SocialSelf’s evolution, “social overthinkers” and how being uncomfortable can be a good thing.

Related: How to Become a Master at Talking to Strangers

An automated solution for the ‘loneliness pandemic’

Before Morin began SocialSelf, he was already well-versed in entrepreneurship. At 17, he co-founded an electronics company, which he sold as a multimillion-dollar entity. Then he started another company to sell advertising space on websites.

But an encounter with Robin Sharma’s book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, which contends that happiness is found through helping others, changed Morin’s perspective.

Morin started to consider what made him truly happy. Ultimately, he landed on something simple: Having everyday experiences with friends.

“If you have good friends, you can go through any struggle in life,” Morin says. “But if you have everything else in life and you still feel lonely, it’s like nothing is worth it.”

But he also recognized that forging meaningful relationships is difficult for some people — and he wanted to help them.

Morin launched SocialSelf in 2012 as a simple blog with a focus on social psychology. But the site garnered a larger audience during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, SocialSelf offers content authored by counselors and therapists, free training to help people build their social confidence and paid courses for those who want to go more in-depth.

Related: Welcome to the Age of FOMU (Fear of Meeting Up)

‘Hardcore’ customer development helped build SocialSelf

In his research to build out SocialSelf’s courses, Morin spoke to at least 10 people for each one, working out to 20-30 hours of phone calls.

Undertaking this “hardcore version of customer development” was essential, Morin says, as he needed to have a deeper understanding of various socialization issues — or risk providing overly general advice that could be ineffective or even detrimental to SocialSelf members.

Consider the example of someone who struggles to connect with others in a social setting. The root of the problem could be social anxiety, but it could also just as easily be a lack of empathy. Naturally, telling someone with social anxiety to develop empathy is counterproductive.

“If you read the advice online to ask more questions because people like to talk about themselves, that sounds like a good piece of advice,” Morin explains. “But then when we interviewed our members, it turns out that many of them feel like they aren’t really interesting, so they never talk about themselves. And then they read that piece of advice and think, Oh, I need to ask even more questions. And then they still don’t connect.”

When users navigate to SocialSelf, they have the option to take a brief survey. Based on those results, users are assigned tags in the SocialSelf system, which then customizes their next steps through automation.

SocialSelf’s courses aren’t a replacement for therapy, Morin notes, but they can still provide value to a lot of people — without the equivalent price tag.

“If you [go to] a therapist, they ask you quite simple questions at first to try to figure out how to help you,” Morin says. “And, if it’s a [cognitive behavior] therapist, they use proven methods that are based on what your situation is and what your goals are. And that’s actually not that hard to do in an automated shape.”

Related: 4 Important Social Skills You Need to Succeed at Work

Image Credit: Courtesy of SocialSelf

What is a “social overthinker”?

Morin kept encountering the term “social overthinker” during his research process.

It was an idea that resonated with people who saw others socialize in a seemingly careless, easy way — while they were trapped in a cycle of overthinking that made those same kinds of interactions difficult.

“Often, these people are quite well-off and smart,” Morin says of social overthinkers. “They have good jobs and everything, but when it comes to socializing, they get nervous because they put pressure on themselves, and they complicate things in their heads.”

But there’s some good news for social overthinkers too: People tend to think they come across as more awkward or nervous than they actually do.

Morin cites the example of people who give speeches and believe they appear more anxious than their audience does — empirical research backs that finding.

But so does the common experience many people have had: They return to their seat after giving a presentation and lament how nervous they were, only to be told that they didn’t look nervous at all.

Related: 10 Tips to Beat Your Fear of Public Speaking

Socializing isn’t easy — and some things make it even harder

Many people believe socializing should be easy because we’ve been doing it since childhood, but it’s an incredibly complex process, Morin says.

Covid-19 added another layer of difficulty: A report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education found that 36% of all Americans, including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children, feel “serious loneliness” in the wake of the pandemic.

Yet at the same time, Covid’s socialization restrictions were a relief for people who suffer from social anxiety, Morin says. It became normal not to socialize, which, in turn, only exacerbated those underlying issues.

“When you socialize less, it just gets harder because if you socialize over chat, for example, there are so many thousands of nuances that you don’t pick up on and that you aren’t getting used to,” Morin explains.

That’s why some social overthinkers are finding the return to school or work — and the social interactions that come with that — more difficult than ever before.

Social media is another complicating factor, Morin says. He likens it to eating candy: It fills you up to an extent — you’re not really satisfied, but you lack the incentive to go to the kitchen and prepare a real meal.

“There seems to be some type of mechanism where people use social media, and because of that, they aren’t motivated enough to go and actually socialize in real life,” Morin explains.

Related: How the Health Crisis Will Change Socializing in Business Settings

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Some people who have social anxiety when they’re young grow out of it with time, Morin says, while others move in the opposite direction — becoming less socially savvy over the years.

What makes the difference? Whether or not someone is putting themselves in situations that require those socialization skills, Morin says. Essentially, only those people who get comfortable with being uncomfortable will be able to find a more natural social footing.

But that doesn’t just mean showing up to the party you don’t want to go to — you have to engage in the behaviors that create the discomfort, Morin explains. Spending the whole time on your phone or helping wash the dishes won’t stretch those socialization muscles.

Instead, start that conversation — and keep it going longer than you might like.

“If it’s uncomfortable to keep a conversation going a little bit extra, and you’d rather just cut it short because you’re afraid that there’s going to be an awkward silence if you push yourself to make conversation for a few more minutes, that’s what turns out to be helpful,” Morin says.

And that’s exactly what Morin wants to do — keep helping people enrich their lives through socialization. He hopes to turn SocialSelf’s one million users into 10 million one day.

“I want to continue to scale this,” Morin says, “so that it can maybe make a little bit of a difference in society as a whole, [help] people feel more confident and able to better bond with other people.”

Amanda Breen

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October 31, 2022
TT US-Based Gospel Singer Authors Experience-Based Advice on Anxiety Issues

Press Release
–

Oct 13, 2022

MIRAMAR, Fla., October 13, 2022 (Newswire.com)
–
Highly acclaimed U.S.-based Trinidad and Tobago born Gospel singer Royanne Mitchell has expanded her frontiers. Mitchell has now added the title of author to her range of multidimensional creative and gifted talents and the development of her book launch is underway.

The book specifically aims to assist individuals in overcoming anxiety issues: mental conditions plaguing humanity exponentially worldwide. This problem is engaging the attention of psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers who come together to gain a clearer understanding of the root causes and unique intricacies and to provide the most appropriate remedial advice to those who are challenged by the experiences and idiosyncrasies that accompany the condition.

Mitchell’s book “Breaking Through” is birthed from a place where life demands so much more from us, causing us to develop compulsive tendencies, striving relentlessly to keep up with the myriad levels of responsibility and accountability imposed upon us to make things work. As a consequence, the pressures of modern living affect us to the point of our becoming extraordinarily overwhelmed and subjected to episodes of anxiety amidst life’s inescapable and increasing twists and turns.

In her book, Mitchell cites a multitude of situations where stress affects us all so differently and creeps up upon us subconsciously to the point where it eventually pierces the barriers of resistance even among those with the most enduring and stubborn levels of physiological and mental tolerance.

Readers of Breaking Through will benefit from Mitchell’s own experiences, gain a better understanding of how chronic anxiety and fear really operates, how she dealt with the condition along the way and continues to do so in order to stay firmly grounded. She does not compromise the fact that the experience was undoubtedly challenging, and gives an account of how she was able to overcome the most challenging season of it by God’s grace and maintains the breakthrough, filled with confidence and assurance.

“Breaking Through: A Christian’s Perspective on a Journey to Freedom from Anxiety and Fear” is now available in Kindle and paperback format via Amazon.

Click here to purchase a copy today!

Source: Royanne Mitchell, author

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October 13, 2022
Break the Silence; New Intensive Online Program to Help PTSD, Trauma and Anxiety

5 Week Intensive Online Program to Help With Relief From PTSD, Anxiety and Stress for Those Who’ve Experienced Trauma

Press Release
–

Sep 29, 2022

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., September 29, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC, a premier telepsychology trauma service, announced today an innovative program for PTSD, Anxiety and Stress treatment. The program is a 5-week intensive online program that includes various treatments that have scientific empirical evidence to be effective in treating PTSD, anxiety and stress.

This innovative new online program offers treatments that have been scientifically shown to be effective in helping people overcome these difficulties. Clinically proven treatments delivered conveniently through telepsychology services bridges rural/urban gaps where resources are sparsely available making quality care accessible to those who need it most regardless of geographical limitations. A compassionate response addressing needs unmet until now.

These therapies include Eye Movement Desensitization Processing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Program participants are treated in both individual and group sessions via HIPAA compliant video. Additional psychoeducational videos augment treatment to ensure participants have an opportunity to deeply learn skills and methods taught and used during the program.

Participants may receive treatment in 31 US states from the comfort of their home, office or hotel with a laptop or tablet. Meeting online prevents obstacles such as driving in traffic, home responsibilities, and confidentiality. Research indicates similar efficacy for face to face and video therapy.

To date, the Founder of Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC has guided 100s of people to include military members, Veterans, and civilians through their healing journey. This program will allow more people to gain healing quicker than traditional therapy. Each week builds upon the next with participants attaining new skills, releasing maladaptive behaviors, and gaining functioning all while processing traumatic events that may have caused the symptoms.

“It is with great happiness and genuine excitement that we announce the launch of Purple Heart’s online intensive program,” said Dr. Angela Kenzslowe, Psychologist and founder of Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC. “Our mission is to help people get back in the fight of life faster. This is innovative, on cutting edge, and definitely needed.”

Says Dr. Kenzslowe: “PTSD and anxiety has become such a crisis in our country, we need to have ways to reach the most people in the quickest way possible. This online program is part of the solution.”

About:

Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC was founded by Dr. Angela Kenzslowe in 2016. She is an Army Veteran and was later trained by the Department of Defense to treat trauma, anxiety, stress, and other mental health challenges. The company’s focus is to provide ethical, evidence-based treatment to those who suffer from PTSD, anxiety and stress while enabling patients to be in their most comfortable space such as home or office.

For more information about Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC, please visit www.purpleheartbh.com

Source: Purple Heart Behavioral Health LLC

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September 29, 2022
Brave Paws Offers Brand New Solution for Stressed-Out Dogs Suffering During Fireworks and Thunderstorms

Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables for Dogs: plant-based chewable offers calming support for everyday stress and anxiety in dogs, including noise phobia.

Press Release
–

Jun 23, 2022

GREENSBORO, N.C., June 23, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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The team at Brave Paws^™knows that dogs are an important part of the family. Like any other member of the family, our furry friends experience nervousness and anxiety, especially during fireworks or thunderstorms. Since no one likes to see their pets in distress; this can be a stressful time for everyone.

Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables for Dogs is a clinically studied and patented botanical that may help ease stress and anxiety in dogs. The plant-based chewables are made from a sustainably sourced blend containing naturally occurring compounds, including betulinic acid, which have been found to promote a sense of calm and relaxation in dogs.

Many things can cause anxiety in dogs, such as noise phobia, separation from their owner, or even the aging process. Noise phobia is one of the most common types of anxiety in dogs, affecting roughly 45% of canines. Loud random noises, such as thunderstorms and fireworks, can trigger dogs with noise phobia. For dog owners, the 4th of July celebrations come with more than just fun and games. Dogs with a fear of loud noises such as fireworks will spend the festivities in fear, with some in danger of harming themselves trying to escape the noise.

“Dogs suffer from anxiety just as much as we do, if not more. Our chewables offer a sustainably sourced, plant-based solution that may help ease anxiety from noise phobia, separation from their owner, and everyday stress,” says Mark Hill, CEO of AABEX Animal Health, the owner of the Brave Paws brand.

“The active ingredients in Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables for Dogs, Souroubea Spp. and Platanus Spp., are supported by both clinical and safety studies,” says Dr. Shannon Gregoire, veterinarian, media personality, and editor of Pet Candy Magazine. “These chewables may help calm dogs through stressful events like fireworks shows and thunderstorms,” says Gregoire.

Although both humans and dogs experience anxiety, dogs show it in different ways. These include panting, drooling, pacing, excessive barking, restlessness, and sometimes even aggressive or destructive behavior. Dogs can become anxious during thunderstorms, vet visits, road trips, loud noises, when the dog is separated from their owner, and—of course—during fireworks. That’s where Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables for Dogs comes in. For best results, the appropriate dose should be given to the dog 60 minutes before a stressful event, such as a storm or fireworks show. This product can be used daily, up to three times per day.

Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables are formulated with a clinically-studied and patented blend. The active ingredients that make up the patented formula include: Souroubea, a genus of flowering plants used in Central American cultures for its calming properties; Platanus, used by Native Americans for its purifying properties; Betulinic acid—a pentacyclic triterpenoid with anxiolytic properties and Alpha- and beta-amyrin—triterpines with anxiolytic, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Brave Paws is also environmentally conscious and responsible with its sourcing and are made with plant-based ingredients that are sustainably sourced from the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica. Brave Paws partners with Coopecuna, a woman-led co-op in rural Costa Rica.

Brave Paws Anxiety and Stress Support Chewables are available in bottles of 30 chewables for $29.99, and 3-packs with 90 chewables for $76.50 (a 15% discount off the list price). To order online, find more information on the brand and its story, or check out the science and behavior tips on their blog, visit www.mybravepaws.com, or on their Facebook or Instagram pages @mybravepaws.

Press/Media Contact:

Stacey Bender

(973) 405-4600

sbender@bendergrouppr.com

Source: Brave Paws™

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June 23, 2022
OCD, Two Sisters and Their Quest to Encourage Others to Live Presently | LoveAndLifeToolBox

Emily and Lindsay are two sisters living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety. Through their life experiences, therapy and a little inspiration, they turned their mental health challenges into a unique mission to support others with similar challenges. Emily Stetzer shares their story here.

I had always been an anxious girl — from refusing to go to school, to wrestling with the guilt of watching an R-rated movie when I wasn’t allowed, to experiencing terrible anxiety in college — my anxiety had evolved over the years. It was always a part of my life. And part of my family’s life.

My older sister had been diagnosed with OCD in 2005. Her anxieties were very different from mine. She never cried on the way to elementary school, never confessed to our parents for doing the littlest things, nor did she refuse to eat dinner until she finished studying for tests in high school. She would worry about things — like whether or not she flipped the light switch enough times or questioning the reality of life and death — that never even crossed my mind. It was much to my surprise when I finally decided to go to therapy, I learned that I, too, was experiencing symptoms of OCD. Turns out, this disorder comes in many shapes and sizes.

Fast forward six years, and many therapy sessions later.

It was the end of the summer of 2020. The pandemic was still terrifyingly fresh, my social life had become non-existent since I moved home, and I was about to begin a long-distance relationship with a first year law student. The anxiety was crushing and I decided I needed a little extra help.

I thought about what my therapist would say if I told her everything that was on my mind. “That IS a scary thought. I’m so sorry you are dealing with that. Life is filled with uncertainty. There are so many things out of our control. And we have no way of knowing what the future will bring. It’s okay to feel anxious. That anxiety will fade over time. But for right now, here’s what you can do to help you take each day as it comes.”

Here began my search for a tangible reminder of all of these things I’ve learned in therapy. Something that I could look to in moments of intense anxiety when my therapist wasn’t around. I wanted a bracelet. I’ve seen tons of bracelets with sayings on them, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something that suited my needs, right? Not quite. Google search after google search brought me to hundreds of variations of the following:

> Anything is possible.

> Life is good.

> Choose joy.

> Be happy.

Here’s the problem:

As helpful as some of the above affirmations can be for some, it can be experienced as toxic positivity for others, especially those with OCD. When we constantly encourage only a positive attitude, we’re sending the message that feeling any negative emotions is unacceptable, but it’s actually healthy, and frankly, quite necessary to allow these emotions to come to the surface. And this isn’t just true for those of us with OCD. This is relevant to every single person on this earth, whether they have a mental health disorder or not.

We need more reminders that support our mental health, that teach us how to effectively handle life’s most difficult situations.

This is the moment I ran downstairs to tell my sister that we were starting a business.

Lindsay has always been an open book. She consistently uses “I have OCD” as her fun fact in any group setting. She is always quick to share her story because she knows there is always a chance that someone else could benefit from it. So, a business that involves anything related to mental health? She was in.

We put our heads together, and, along came Presently…

A mindfulness jewelry brand featuring bracelets engraved with phrases that we’ve personally learned in therapy. They are designed to help manage stress and anxiety using cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness techniques to ground you in the present moment. They remind us to embrace and accept our anxiety, the discomfort and uncertainty it brings, and everything in between. Like:

> It’s okay to feel how I feel.

> I let go of what I can’t control.

> Embrace uncertainty.

> My thoughts are passing clouds.

Presently isn’t just a jewelry brand. We wanted to start a platform to open up the conversation around mental health. We were lucky enough to have had the support of our family to get us the help we needed. But, there are so many people who know absolutely nothing about what they are dealing with internally and how to manage it.

Because of the stigma that still exists around mental health disorders, we are not properly taught how our mind works, how it breaks, and how it heals. With every feeling, every fear, and every story we share, we give others the opportunity to share their own struggles. We want to empower those who suffer silently to discover real, effective ways to feel less overwhelmed and removed from the present moment.

We want to help others live presently.

——

If you struggle with any form of Anxiety, check out Emily and Lindsay’s Presently, offering men’s and women’s gemstone bracelets and mirror stickers with the phrase that resonates with you the most. There is also a quiz to help you find one, if needed.

4

Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT

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May 23, 2022
OCD, Two Sisters and Their Quest to Encourage Others to Live Presently | LoveAndLifeToolBox

Emily and Lindsay are two sisters living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety. Through their life experiences, therapy and a little inspiration, they turned their mental health challenges into a unique mission to support others with similar challenges. Emily Stetzer shares their story here.

I had always been an anxious girl — from refusing to go to school, to wrestling with the guilt of watching an R-rated movie when I wasn’t allowed, to experiencing terrible anxiety in college — my anxiety had evolved over the years. It was always a part of my life. And part of my family’s life.

My older sister had been diagnosed with OCD in 2005. Her anxieties were very different from mine. She never cried on the way to elementary school, never confessed to our parents for doing the littlest things, nor did she refuse to eat dinner until she finished studying for tests in high school. She would worry about things — like whether or not she flipped the light switch enough times or questioning the reality of life and death — that never even crossed my mind. It was much to my surprise when I finally decided to go to therapy, I learned that I, too, was experiencing symptoms of OCD. Turns out, this disorder comes in many shapes and sizes.

Fast forward six years, and many therapy sessions later.

It was the end of the summer of 2020. The pandemic was still terrifyingly fresh, my social life had become non-existent since I moved home, and I was about to begin a long-distance relationship with a first year law student. The anxiety was crushing and I decided I needed a little extra help.

I thought about what my therapist would say if I told her everything that was on my mind. “That IS a scary thought. I’m so sorry you are dealing with that. Life is filled with uncertainty. There are so many things out of our control. And we have no way of knowing what the future will bring. It’s okay to feel anxious. That anxiety will fade over time. But for right now, here’s what you can do to help you take each day as it comes.”

Here began my search for a tangible reminder of all of these things I’ve learned in therapy. Something that I could look to in moments of intense anxiety when my therapist wasn’t around. I wanted a bracelet. I’ve seen tons of bracelets with sayings on them, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something that suited my needs, right? Not quite. Google search after google search brought me to hundreds of variations of the following:

> Anything is possible.

> Life is good.

> Choose joy.

> Be happy.

Here’s the problem:

As helpful as some of the above affirmations can be for some, it can be experienced as toxic positivity for others, especially those with OCD. When we constantly encourage only a positive attitude, we’re sending the message that feeling any negative emotions is unacceptable, but it’s actually healthy, and frankly, quite necessary to allow these emotions to come to the surface. And this isn’t just true for those of us with OCD. This is relevant to every single person on this earth, whether they have a mental health disorder or not.

We need more reminders that support our mental health, that teach us how to effectively handle life’s most difficult situations.

This is the moment I ran downstairs to tell my sister that we were starting a business.

Lindsay has always been an open book. She consistently uses “I have OCD” as her fun fact in any group setting. She is always quick to share her story because she knows there is always a chance that someone else could benefit from it. So, a business that involves anything related to mental health? She was in.

We put our heads together, and, along came Presently…

A mindfulness jewelry brand featuring bracelets engraved with phrases that we’ve personally learned in therapy. They are designed to help manage stress and anxiety using cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness techniques to ground you in the present moment. They remind us to embrace and accept our anxiety, the discomfort and uncertainty it brings, and everything in between. Like:

> It’s okay to feel how I feel.

> I let go of what I can’t control.

> Embrace uncertainty.

> My thoughts are passing clouds.

Presently isn’t just a jewelry brand. We wanted to start a platform to open up the conversation around mental health. We were lucky enough to have had the support of our family to get us the help we needed. But, there are so many people who know absolutely nothing about what they are dealing with internally and how to manage it.

Because of the stigma that still exists around mental health disorders, we are not properly taught how our mind works, how it breaks, and how it heals. With every feeling, every fear, and every story we share, we give others the opportunity to share their own struggles. We want to empower those who suffer silently to discover real, effective ways to feel less overwhelmed and removed from the present moment.

We want to help others live presently.

——

If you struggle with any form of Anxiety, check out Emily and Lindsay’s Presently, offering men’s and women’s gemstone bracelets and mirror stickers with the phrase that resonates with you the most. There is also a quiz to help you find one, if needed.

4

Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT

Source link

May 23, 2022
Austin Pets Alive! | Fostering Saves Lives Like Zucchini’s

Jul 20, 2021

An absolutely adorable pup, Zucchini was heartworm positive and shy around people when he first arrived at APA!.

Despite his timid nature, he displayed signs of wanting to be close to people. There were clear signs when he was in playgroup that he wanted to give his love to someone, he just had to find the right person. Before Zucchini could be ready to do so, he needed a home to feel safe in. Shelter staff determined that placement in a foster home could really help Zucchini open up and manage his anxiety, so Zucchini found a temporary home with Bailey!

Bailey is a seasoned foster, and she wanted to help Zucchini adjust to living with people and grow his confidence. Bailey shared that, when considering potential adopters, she knew “he needed a low-traffic household with adopters who would be patient with him and give him time to settle in.” With this in mind, Bailey “made a point of selling his potential because he hadn’t quite fully opened up to [her] in the home” by showing adopters videos of Zucchini playing with toys. This sold his adopter, who was determined to give Zucchini a home and everything he needed to thrive. Zucchini has found his forever home and is now receiving treatment through APA! for his heartworms. He has opened up and continues to work through his anxiety with the help of his people.

When asked why she decided to foster, Bailey explained that fostering gives her a way “to help save these dogs, especially the undersocialized and fearful ones, and give them a safe and less stressful place to learn that people are not all bad.” Fosters are essential to helping the dogs at APA! overcome their behavioral challenges and match them with their forever home. Thanks to Bailey, these days you can find Zucchini basking in the sun at his forever home.

Do you have it in your heart to open up your home to a pup who just needs some time to recover? Become a foster today to help improve the lives of dogs just like Bailey: https://www.austinpetsalive.org/foster/dogs

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July 20, 2021
Brain Balance of Cedar Park is Now a Board Certified Cognitive Center

Press Release
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updated: Jan 9, 2020

CEDAR PARK, Texas, January 9, 2020 (Newswire.com)
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Brain Balance Achievement Center in Cedar Park, Texas, has been designated as a Board Certified Cognitive Center (IBCCC) by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). The designation requires that center staff complete a training and professional certification program that focuses on individuals with a variety of needs, such as anxiety, dyslexia, autism and ADHD.

“When looking for options to help a child who has moderate to severe challenges, there are not many attractive options. Progress is slow and children often don’t reach their full potential. At Brain Balance, we are the experts. Brain Balance identifies the root cause of the problem and, typically, we start making progress quickly. This could be the most important thing you do in your child’s future,” said Frank Francis, Executive Director of the Cedar Park location.

For almost 20 years, IBCCES has been the industry leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for healthcare, education and corporate professionals around the globe.

“Since Brain Balance Centers work with children with a variety of needs and cognitive disorders, the Board Certified Cognitive Center program is a perfect fit. Our program complements the team’s existing areas of focus, enhancing their understanding of these cognitive areas and helping them to continue to have a positive impact on the thousands of families they serve,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.

Brain Balance was founded in 2007 and currently has more than 100 centers across the US. Brain Balance employs a personalized and integrative approach through sensory engagement, physical development, academics and nutrition, which provides answers to social, emotional, behavioral and academic development. Brain Balance has announced a goal of having all centers nationally become certified, with almost half committed to the program to date.

“Professional training is incredibly important in our industry, and IBCCES has standardized training and certification that is globally recognized,” said Dr. Rebecca Jackson, Vice President of Programs and Outcomes at Brain Balance Achievement Centers. “We worked closely with the IBCCES team to develop instruction that meets the needs of our more than 100 centers. This new training program will give our team an even greater understanding as they work with students who face challenges with attention and focus, anxiety, learning, socialization and more.”

Brain Balance of Cedar Park collaborates with local therapeutic centers and schools to ensure that their shared students/patients are reaping the benefits of all the community has to offer. The Center regularly participates in events geared towards children with special needs as well as providing CPE hours for teacher development hours. The Center will begin to hold free public monthly educational panels starting January 2020 on a variety of developmental, behavioral and academic topics.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:

IBCCES

Meredith Tekin, President

904.508.0135 / 904.434.1534

meredith@ibcces.org

Brain Balance of Cedar Park

Frankie Francis, Executive Director

(512) 328-7771

ffrancis@brainbalancecedarpark.com

Source: IBCCES

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January 9, 2020
10 Strategies for Surviving Christmas Season With Family

Note: I am writing this article from my perspective of the holiday season, which is very Christmas-centric. Having said that, I believe that at least some of these hints can be applied to other holiday celebrations.

The holidays are promoted, to an almost obnoxious level, as being a time of great joy and merriment. Families come around, delicious food is eaten, presents are exchanged, and a wonderful time is had by all.

In theory.

In actuality, the reality is not so clear-cut. For many of us, the holiday season is one of the most stressful times of the year, for any number of reasons. Some of us have tense relationships with people we are obliged to spend time with during the holidays. Others dislike the way the holiday season deviates from our normal schedules. Still others associate the holidays with negative emotions and/or experiences.

I enjoy the holidays myself, but I would be lying if I said there haven’t been times when I’ve been anxious or stressed out despite all the festive cheer around me. To help me get through those difficult moments, I use the following ten tactics I’ve picked up over the years. It’s my hope that this advice will prove useful for you, too!

1. Go Through Your Gifts

If your holiday celebrations involve giving and receiving gifts, you may find yourself with a collection of presents waiting to be given closer attention. And if you feel anxious, stressed, or sad at any point, you may find it therapeutic to sit down and give that collection of presents the attention it needs.

Perhaps you received a puzzle or game you want to try out. Maybe you got art supplies or something sports-related that you could test. Or you might have received gifts that you can spend time organising, putting away, or displaying. Spending time with your new possessions can be a useful way to step away, take a breath, and appreciate what you have been given.

2. Prepare Drinks/Snacks

This is a particularly useful tactic when the need arises to step out, perhaps because the room has become too crowded or noisy, or the topic of conversation is upsetting to you.

Should you need to leave, ask if anybody needs a drink or snack refill. If you’re worried about looking rude or suspicious, the promise of bringing back nourishment for others could help assuage that worry. Also, the physical act of preparing drinks or snacks could help relieve some of the stress and anxiety you might be feeling.

More Radical Reads: Have a Strategy: 6 Steps to Ease Social Anxiety This Holiday Season

3. Have a Book, Game, or Craft Project Handy

I often had to go to big Christmas celebrations with masses of people when I was a child. I would frequently want to remain in the same space as the people I was with, but also not want to engage in conversation. If the other people weren’t bothered by this, I found that having a book or video game with me made that possible.

If the other people wanted me to at least appear as though I was a part of the conversation, I found that having a craft project with me (a cross-stitch or a work of crochet, for example) enabled me to look like I was involved without being fully involved. The best activity to have handy depends entirely on the situation. But the idea is to have a way to “leave” the space, all without physically leaving the space.

4. Establish Banned Topics of Conversation

Some of us dread the holiday season because of the possibility for certain topics of conversation — topics that upset us greatly — to be brought up. These topics could be anything, but some of the more common ones I have come across include dieting and weight loss, religion, federal politics, and problematic acquaintances.

If there are conversation topics you don’t want discussed while you’re around, I would highly recommend requesting that those topics be banned ahead of time. Alternatively, if you don’t feel confident requesting the ban yourself, you could recruit somebody you trust to request it for you.

I realise this may sound like a drastic measure to some, and it might be impossible for others, but if you’re able to do it, it could save you a lot of unnecessary distress.

5. Tell Your Family and Friends How You’re Feeling

If you’re lucky enough to spend your holidays with people you trust with your emotions, being honest and telling them how you’re feeling might be hugely beneficial. Explain that you’re not feeling well, explain why (if you can), and let them know if there’s anything they can do. Sometimes the simple act of talking about our feelings is enough to relieve them. If the feelings are still there, at least now other people know and might be able to help.

Unfortunately, many people do not get to spend their holidays with people they trust. If that is the case, the next tactic might be more useful.

6. Have a Friend on Contactable Standby

Some of us are obligated to spend our holidays in places, or with people, that cause us distress. If that sounds like you, one thing you might find helpful is to have somebody you trust whom you can contact. You may only be able to contact them by text, or by a daily phone call, but as long as there’s some sort of connection between the two of you, this tactic should work.

The idea is that you keep connected to somebody you trust, somebody who represents safety, while you are away. This will hopefully relieve some of your holiday stress.

7. Spend Time with a Trustworthy Person

I have anxiety troubles myself, and my anxiety can come forward at random moments during the holiday season. When that happens, I like to ask my brother to play a board game with me. Why do I ask my brother? Because he is a fun person to be around, he cheers me up, and I know he won’t do or say anything that will make me more anxious. Board games happen to be an activity that my brother and I enjoy doing together, but any sort of joint activity with a trustworthy person will achieve the same result.

More Radical Reads: Surviving the Holidays with Sensory Processing Disorder

8. Have a Nap

Sometimes everything about the holidays is too much, and the best solution is to take a break from them for a short period of time. If you are the sort of person who falls asleep easily, then a nap is probably the best, safest, and healthiest way to take that break. Napping also has the benefit of refreshing the body and mind, so the holiday season may be easier to handle once you wake up.

9. Go for a Walk

Following the point above, you might need to take a break from the holidays but not be able to easily fall asleep. If that is the case, walking is another alternative. The act of putting on shoes, going outside, breathing in the fresh air and pounding the pavement offers a brief change of perspective that you might find beneficial. Additionally, the feeling of your body moving, and the fresher air getting into your lungs, could help to work out some of your holiday stress.

10. Stick to Your Routine as Much as Possible

Many people find comfort and stability in our routines. The holiday season tends to force us to deviate from our routines, which can be destabilising and, consequently, stressful. If you are somebody who functions better with routine, the holiday season might be less stressful if you stick to your routine as well as you can.

Try to do things like wake up at your normal time, do your regular exercise, eat your standard breakfast (as opposed to fancy “holiday” breakfasts), make your bed, check your email, and so on. You might find that you only need to do a few specific things to feel like you’re sticking to your routine, or you might find that you need to follow your routine to the maximum. Whatever it takes, if you can achieve that same sense of stability your routine usually provides, that should reduce your stress levels.

The holidays are a challenging time for a lot of us. But if you have some strategies in place to help you see them through, they hopefully will not be as challenging as they otherwise could be. As always, the most important thing is that you take care of yourself.

Happy holidays, everybody.

[Featured Image: A photo of a white person with long blond hair and a white long-sleeved top standing inside a kitchen. They are looking to the left with an uncomfortable expression as they hold a knife and a piece of food. Behind them is a nighttime scene of what appears to be snow outside the kitchen window. Source: Win_Photography]

TBINAA is an independent, queer, Black woman run digital media and education organization promoting radical self love as the foundation for a more just, equitable and compassionate world. If you believe in our mission, please contribute to this necessary work at PRESSPATRON.com/TBINAA

We can’t do this work without you!

As a thank you gift, supporters who contribute $10+ (monthly) will receive a copy of our ebook, Shed Every Lie: Black and Brown Femmes on Healing As Liberation. Supporters contributing $20+ (monthly) will receive a copy of founder Sonya Renee Taylor’s book, The Body is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love delivered to your home.

Need some help growing into your own self love? Sign up for our 10 Tools for Radical Self Love Intensive!

Gillian Brown

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December 21, 2019
App Gives $500 Monthly to Encourage People to Build Their Own Support Community

Press Release
–

updated: Feb 1, 2017

CHICAGO, IL, February 1, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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Mike Bardi, Co-founder of a mental health app, Project Toe, announced today a new initiative designed to grant $500 every month towards helping people build their own support group within the app.

This represents the next phase of the Project Toe app, which is designed to help people dealing with life struggles such as depression, thoughts of suicide, self-harming behavior, addiction, and a host of other life-challenging conditions. The app—which is free— works with either iTunes or Android and allows individuals to join or create a support group. The premise behind the new program is that Project Toe will give $500 to the support group that reaches the most people in their community. “We call it social-therapy,” says Mike Bardi. “It is the idea that we can leverage both technology and our own personal struggles to help those currently going through something similar today.”

“The story began with two friends walking on the beach.”

Mike Bardi, Co-founder

Introduced in 2015, the Project Toe app currently has over 6,000 active users and 3,000 support groups worldwide. Participants can use the app in a variety of ways. They can join a support group that reflects their particular issue, create a new support group, share their life story by creating a post, or chat one-on-one. Participants can also agree to engage with an online therapist if they so desire for a low fee. There is also a “grateful wall,” which allows participants to express their positive thoughts towards other members of the community.

Mike Bardi is also the author of “The Word Toe: How One Word is Redefining Mental Health” .

According to Bardi, “the story began with two friends walking on the beach. One of the friends wanted to have a non-confrontational way to let the other know she was feeling troubled without having to directly ask him for help.” Bardi’s vision is to improve mental health around the world by empowering people to help one another cope with life challenges such as anxiety, stress, loneliness, or any challenge that we all face throughout our lives.

Media Contact:
Mike Bardi
Phone: 267-614-4377
Email: mike.bardi@projecttoe.com

Source: Project Toe

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January 31, 2017
Hello, My Name is Oliver by Paymaneh Ritchie Shows Us How to Deal with Mental Health Issues

Press Release
–

updated: Dec 22, 2016

Vancouver, BC, December 22, 2016 (Newswire.com)
–
Like many classics for young readers, such as Winnie the Pooh, Paymaneh Ritchie’s “Hello, My Name is Oliver”, was written by a parent to entertain and educate their own child. Told from the perspective of a lovable but depressive six-year-old Beagle-Springer Spaniel who was adopted from the SPCA, this children’s book delves into mental health issues that include separation anxiety, depression, and self-worth.

Paymaneh’s aim is to create an easy to read, light-hearted story that will enable parents to discuss tolerance, acceptance and unconditional love with children.

Through Oliver’s experiences, the author utilizes words such as depression, anxiety, adaptability, unconditional love and understanding to allow parents to elaborate and educate their children whilst bonding and strengthening their relationship through sharing a story and hopefully a few hugs!

Paymaneh Ritchie, Author

“Hello, My Name Is Oliver” is a middle-grade book written in an easy, conversational tone to encourage young readers and their parents into a natural flow of discussion regarding the ‘big’ issues Oliver faces in his simple, yet universal life. This true story is told through Oliver’s eyes as he views his humans’ world.

Oliver is a loyal, neurotic, and lovable abandoned dog who is unsure about his self-worth until he meets his new family at a local SPCA. His new home offers him a second chance in life along with a human sister and an extended family that adore him. But of course, fitting into a new family requires Oliver to ‘train’ his humans about his anxiety, depression, and excitability. As Oliver and his new family tackle these all too common issues and practice unconditional love, they learn to coexist and compromise. Until of course Lexi, the new blue eyed puppy shows up and turns Ollie’s life upside down again!

Through Oliver’s experiences, the author utilizes words such as depression, anxiety, adaptability, unconditional love and understanding to allow parents to elaborate and educate their children whilst bonding and strengthening their relationship through sharing a story and hopefully a few hugs!

Paymaneh states, “Making children aware (at their capacity) of important mental and emotional issues surrounding us all, hopefully enables us parents to raise compassionate, understanding and tolerant humans with self-love that extends to all.”

“Sometimes discussing these issues can be tough when asked by a child, but through “Oliver”, I have found an easy way to approach, describe and in turn create an easy platform regarding these very important issues,” adds Paymaneh.

Hello, My Name Is Oliver is available on Amazon in Hardcover, softcover or E-book format.

Contact Paymaneh Ritchie at: info@Aclectica.com or visit: www.paymanehritchie.com

Source: Paymaneh Ritchie

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December 22, 2016