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12 Quick Coping Mechanisms for Stress

12 Quick Coping Mechanisms for Stress

Kate Motaung2024-10-30T09:07:56+00:00October 26th, 2024|Anxiety, Depression, Featured, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

Have you noticed your response when you get a shock, like your car not starting? Or the slowly mounting worries as a deadline approaches? Almost all of us cope with the negative effects of stress every day. Whether we endure long-term, low-grade stress or periods of acute stress, both have significant effects on our bodies and minds. Consistent feelings of tension should not be ignored. Fortunately, we can understand what happens inside our bodies and adopt simple coping mechanisms for stress to help neutralize the harmful effects of daily stress. Your body’s reaction to stress, whether sudden or ongoing, is to engage your nervous system and open the adrenaline and cortisol taps into your bloodstream. These hormones increase our pulse, cause our blood sugar to climb, and push up our blood pressure. When you get a fright, this physiological reaction helps you deal with it better than you would have otherwise. But most of the stress you experience is chronic in the form of financial insecurity and challenging relationships. This stress prevents our bodies from calming down properly, and this damages our health. Do you recognize any of these symptoms of chronic stress? Anxiety and depression, weight gain, memory loss, stroke, and heart disease. Being able to recognize your body’s warning signs will help you take consistent and increased action to mitigate the effects of stress. It would do you the world of good to speak with a healthcare professional with the appropriate skills and experience if you are dealing with any of these symptoms: Inability to focus Frequent, terrible headaches Being bored by activities that used to interest you Inexplicable weight loss or increase Feelings of loneliness, alienation, or insignificance Always feeling angry and irritable Protracted periods of inadequate sleep Persistent worrying or compulsive thinking Too much alcohol [...]

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Blueprint for Battle: Winning the War with Mental and Emotional Health

Blueprint for Battle: Winning the War with Mental and Emotional Health

Kate Motaung2024-10-30T09:08:20+00:00September 30th, 2024|Featured, Personal Development, Professional Development, Spiritual Development|

It isn’t a coincidence that many of the challenges that we face concerning our mental and emotional health seem to disable us and halt our effectiveness in life. The enemy we face isn’t only one that seeks to kill, steal, and destroy in the natural sense. He also contends against our souls, in the inner person where everything that we see outside of us plays out from the inside. When we feel battered by life’s challenges, including the trauma of a troubled past, it can disarm and make us feel as if we cannot win. Although this is what our adversary desires, it isn’t the full picture. He may have orchestrated specific challenges, intending to annihilate our faith and strength. We see and experience it as challenges surface in one area and yet another, making us feel that we are surrounded and must succumb to the pressures of life. But that isn’t the end of the story. God repurposes those same difficulties, as places for us to encounter wisdom and compassion. Though it may not appear so, He has predetermined your triumph that affirms who we are in Him and reveals His glory in foreboding circumstances (1 Corinthians 15:57). We can take hope and strength from the Bible. God’s Word arms us with spiritual authority and practical steps to support us in battles that we encounter from the inside out. We need to remember that we have not been given a spirit of fear. The Lord has given us power, love, and a sound mind, and our mental and emotional health does not have to unravel in the face of trouble (2 Timothy 1:7). Although He has equipped us with a spiritual arsenal to stand against our enemy, the battle we are called into isn’t ours at [...]

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How to Improve Communication in a Relationship: Fun Communication Games

How to Improve Communication in a Relationship: Fun Communication Games

Stephanie Kramer2024-09-25T10:19:16+00:00August 29th, 2024|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Experts frequently emphasize the importance of communication in relationships. Just because communication is a cornerstone of quality relationships doesn’t mean that it can be fun. Incorporating communication games into your routine can make the process of communication both enjoyable and effective. They can also help you improve your communication skills and enhance your relationships. Fun Communication Games Two truths and a lie: Couple’s version Share three statements about yourself – two of those statements being truthful and one being a lie. Then your partner must guess which statement is a lie. This game encourages sharing personal stories and helps you learn more about each other in a fun way. For new couples, this can be a great way to get to know each other and improve communication. If you have been with your partner for a while, consider making the statements more about how you feel or dreams you might have since they are likely to know a lot about your past. The question game Take turns asking each other intriguing or thought-provoking questions. These questions can range from “What is your favorite childhood memory?” to “If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?” The goal is to spark meaningful conversations and discover new things about each other. You can also learn more about your partner’s career or personal goals and priorities through this game. Compliment tag Just like in the traditional game of Tag, you and your partner will take turns tagging each other. But in this version of the game, you will be giving each other genuine compliments rather than a tag on the arm. This game will boost positivity and reinforce appreciation and affection in the relationship. The compliments can be general or specific. Mention how much you like their new [...]

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Male Postpartum Depression: Is It a Thing?

Male Postpartum Depression: Is It a Thing?

Sandra Stein2024-09-25T08:33:56+00:00August 6th, 2024|Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling, Men’s Issues|

Male postpartum depression is real. It is a form of depression characterized by significant mental and emotional distress that often goes unidentified because so many men are reluctant to talk about their feelings or reach out for help. The subject of dads’ mental health is always met with skepticism. You always get, ‘What about mom?’ in response. And moms’ mental health is important. But dads’ is, too. – Anthony J. Nedelman It has been estimated that approximately twenty-five percent of new dads experience mild symptoms of postpartum depression following the birth of a new baby, and 8 to 10 percent are diagnosed with it. This has been corroborated by a 2023 survey of fathers in the United States conducted by Verywell Mind and Parents that found that 9 percent of men experienced postpartum depression, and another 12 percent said both they and their spouses struggled with it. What does male postpartum depression look like? Symptoms of male postpartum depression can include anger, irritability, anxiety, sadness, intrusive thoughts of inadvertently harming the baby, loss of interest in hobbies or activities usually enjoyed, aloofness, violent or aggressive behavior, headaches, muscle pain, digestive problems, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, fatigue, indecisiveness, trouble concentrating or making decisions, emotional blunting, impulsivity, and/or feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt. Why do men get postpartum depression? Many potential risk factors can contribute to male postpartum depression. The most common ones include hormonal changes, pre-existing history of depression or anxiety, feeling disconnected and excluded as mom bonds with baby and focuses on meeting his or her needs, marital discord, sleep deprivation, financial stress, spouse with postpartum depression, and feeling overwhelmed by the added responsibilities of parenthood. How is it diagnosed? Most often, male postpartum depression is diagnosed through a clinical interview with a mental health professional. [...]

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5 Ways to Help Your Partner Overcome Compulsive Buying

5 Ways to Help Your Partner Overcome Compulsive Buying

Grace Mavindidze2024-09-25T08:32:28+00:00July 19th, 2024|Coaching, Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Popular media depicts many examples of compulsive shoppers; typically young, easygoing men and women obsessed with the latest clothes, jewelry, shoes, and bags. The sad truth is that compulsive buying is a disorder that can affect even the most unlikely people. You may even be surprised to discover that your partner is a compulsive shopper right under your nose. Unlike most addictions, compulsive buying may be easier to hide and easier to dismiss than other disorders. After all, the reason we fight to cure our loved ones from other addictions like drug, alcohol, sexual, or gambling addictions is that they openly hurt sufferers in obvious ways. Buying too much stuff doesn’t hurt anyone, does it? How compulsive buying can harm your relationship While it may be normal to give in to the occasional impulse to shop, it becomes a problem when some glaringly negative changes in someone’s spending habits appear. Just like any other addiction, compulsive shopping can become harmful, especially for relationships. Compulsive buying can be damaging if: It strains the family budget. It hinders paying bills on time. They open new credit accounts to allow for more shopping. They keep the excessive purchases secret. They prefer to shop over facing real emotions like anger, sadness, or loneliness. It alienates friends and family because they are preoccupied with shopping. Countless studies have noted that financial problems rank as one of the top causes of divorce, so it is important to help each other recognize this addiction in one of you before it destroys the fabric of your relationship. If you think your loved one is showing these telltale signs of compulsive buying or shopping addiction, you need to acknowledge it and start working toward getting them help. How to help your partner Give constant positive encouragement Point out [...]

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The Dynamics of Codependency

The Dynamics of Codependency

Wade Van Staden2024-09-25T08:31:30+00:00July 15th, 2024|Codependency, Couples Counseling, Featured, Relationship Issues|

Codependency is a toxic dynamic in a relationship where two people become locked into a giving-and-taking imbalance. This means that one person (the giver) pours their energy, time, and resources into supporting the receiver or “enabler.” The giver needs to be needed, and the enabler needs to be in a position of primary importance in someone else’s life. There are varying degrees of severity with codependent relationships, but the result is usually two people trapped by each other and descending into bitterness and resentment. Recovery from codependency is possible, and it begins with self-reflection and awareness. Sometimes people need to see where they need help or healing to undo damaging situations, they have gotten themselves and others into. The giving flaws The givers in codependent relationships usually begin with people pleasing and pacifying from a young age. They are often highly empathetic people who derive genuine joy from making others happy. However, underlying this generous spirit is often a wound of feeling not good enough, unseen, or unworthy of affection. By nature, givers do not acknowledge or confront issues. They might be aware of problems with their self-esteem but will default to being the good friend, or the kind stranger to receive compliments, praise, and affection. This behavior might seem pleasant on the outside, but deep down it is subtly manipulative. What about enablers of codependency? In some ways, the enabler is the inverse of the giver. They appear more confident, less uncertain, and more obviously controlling. The giver comes to rely on the other person in the codependent relationship for their outspoken opinions, decisiveness, and perceived superiority. Where the giver’s motive is to people please, the enabler has a motive that is simply to have someone meet their needs. Their self-importance is often rooted in narcissism, and they will [...]

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Effects of Trauma: Physiological, Physical, Psychological, Behavioral, and Emotional

Effects of Trauma: Physiological, Physical, Psychological, Behavioral, and Emotional

Sandra Stein2024-09-25T08:30:03+00:00June 26th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Trauma|

Trauma comes in many forms. The effects of trauma can be a response to any number of experiences or events such as a natural disaster, being in a combat zone, physical abuse, rape, witnessing an act of violence, severe illness or injury, being involved in a car crash, bullying, or childhood abandonment or neglect. Each person’s reaction to trauma is unique. What may be traumatic for one person may not be for someone else. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) describes it as “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects.” Sometimes the effects of trauma are experienced immediately. Sometimes they may be delayed and not manifest until years later. Either way, even when you don’t consciously remember it, unresolved or improperly processed trauma can change the way you think, act, feel, and process information, and have a profound and lasting impact on your mental and emotional stability, self-image, and outlook of the future. An out-of-control response to trauma can negatively impact the quality of every area of your life, from work performance to relationships to your ability to perform daily tasks. Physiological effects of trauma When you experience a traumatic event, your body’s defense system kicks into action, triggering physiological responses that charge your brain and prepare you to react quickly to protect yourself from danger. As stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released into your system you are likely to also experience physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, heightened awareness, racing thoughts, cold hands, and quicker, shallower breathing. This fight or flight response to the perceived threat is an automatically generated survival mechanism over which you have no control. Ideally, [...]

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Self-Care Activities You Can Do Daily that Improve Your Mental Health

Self-Care Activities You Can Do Daily that Improve Your Mental Health

Kate Motaung2024-10-30T09:08:32+00:00May 24th, 2024|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development|

The idea of self-care can often feel unattainable, especially during times of stress, busyness, or when we feel overwhelmed. While we recognize the benefits of self-care, taking time to do things for ourselves feels impossible. When life is busy or we feel burdened, we don’t feel like we can stop and go on vacation or go get a massage. While these self-care activities are good, they often become one more thing we can’t seem to do right. Instead of looking for self-care activities that take us out of our everyday lives, we can find things to incorporate into our lives that bring peace. They may not be things that change what is stressing us out. However, participating in attainable self-care activities can fortify our mental wellness so we can better navigate whatever season we are walking through in life. The key to making this work It’s not about finding the magic thing to do or the dream vacation to take. This is all about keeping things realistic and within reach. They need to be activities that you can incorporate into your life without becoming burdensome. If they are easy to incorporate, you are more likely to do them. Similarly, they need to be things that you enjoy. It’s great to read a list of ideas, but if none of them help you, they are useless. Sometimes it is helpful to try things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. This gives you the chance to discover new activities and their potential benefits in your life. Whatever you choose to do, try it a few times before deciding if it’s right for you. Sometimes you need to settle into how it works or how it makes you feel before deciding if it’s right for you. The great thing about these ideas is that [...]

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Could It Be ADHD? Identifying Symptoms of ADHD

Could It Be ADHD? Identifying Symptoms of ADHD

Melissa Plantz2024-09-25T08:32:10+00:00May 22nd, 2024|ADHD/ADD, Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Imagine this scenario: You’re at your workplace, and your boss has just handed you a crucial project with a major client. You reassure yourself that you’ll focus and get the job done, but your mind keeps drifting. Maybe you find yourself gazing out the window, lost in thought. Or a random idea pops into your head, and you’re instantly immersed in a web search for answers. Perhaps every notification sound distracts you. These may be symptoms of ADHD. If you have been struggling with ADHD symptoms for years, you may find that they worsen as an adult. No longer can you blame your youth for your inability to wait your turn or keep still. You need to know how to recognize ADHD symptoms and how you can keep them from interfering with your life. ADHD is the acronym for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD symptoms typically appear during childhood. If left untreated, the child can experience ADHD symptoms as an adult, which will interfere with their relationships and work. Symptoms of ADHD Symptoms of ADHD can include hyperactivity, or they may not. Not everyone experiences that specific behavior. In the past, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and ADHD were considered two separate disorders, but since they can overlap, ADHD is the umbrella term used by most professionals. The following is a list of common ADHD symptoms. Constant movement (fidgeting) Constant movement, also known as fidgeting, is not necessarily wrong. Although it may distract others, fidgeting actually helps someone with ADHD to focus. The movement allows the mind to razor in on what someone is saying or on a project. Fidgeting has become so well accepted now that fidget toys are sold in stores and encouraged in classrooms. Interrupting others People living with ADHD may interrupt others. This behavior is not meant [...]

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6 Examples of Emotional Abuse in a Relationship

6 Examples of Emotional Abuse in a Relationship

Kate Motaung2024-10-29T14:48:39+00:00April 26th, 2024|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues, Trauma|

Relationships of all sorts such as romantic couplings, a parent and child, or between siblings, can be various shades of healthy and unhealthy. When human relationships are at their best, their beauty shines through even in sorrow at the loss of a loved one. However, when a relationship is unhealthy or at its worst, such as when emotional abuse is present, even the moments of joy in the relationship can taste like ash. People can relate to one another in familiar but toxic patterns that may be obvious to people other than them because familiarity blinds them to what’s happening. By providing examples, it may highlight behaviors from others or that you engage in yourself that may constitute emotional abuse and that needs to be addressed. What is emotional abuse? Emotional abuse refers to a range of nonphysical behaviors that are aimed at punishing, controlling, demeaning, ignoring, or isolating another person. An emotionally abusive person may manipulate another using fear, humiliation, and other tactics to get what they want. It can happen in any kind of relationship, such as between parents and children, employers and their workers, and romantic partners. When a person emotionally abuses another, a person may simply be reenacting patterns of behavior that they learned in other formative relationships. However, just because it’s unintentional, that doesn’t reduce the harm caused, and emotional abuse needs to be addressed. Signs and examples There are some signs that you should look for that point to emotional abuse. Often, the person that experiences it feels tired or depressed after interactions with the abuser. A person’s sense of confidence may suffer, and they may begin pulling away from other relationships. Some examples of emotional abuse include: Gaslighting This is when a person manipulates their counterpart into distrusting their judgment, memory, or [...]

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