Individual Counseling

9 Different Ways People Feel Abandoned

, 2025-04-03T05:40:32+00:00April 3rd, 2025|Abandonment and Neglect, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Abandonment looks different from person to person. People frequently second-guess themselves. They might question if their perception of events. Likewise, they may feel as if they are overly sensitive when others who experienced the same event were not affected in the same way. Sometimes it is the events that seem to be so ordinary and commonplace that cause people to feel the deepest stabs of abandonment. Everyday Abandonment People often imagine that violent or extreme events cause trauma. However, people frequently experience abandonment trauma from subtle things they experience in relationships. These things can seem so slight, or even hard to identify, that we often overlook them, or even make excuses for them. This leads to us feeling as though we shouldn’t feel a sense of abandonment, or that we are being overly sensitive. For example, you may have a friend who cancels plans at the last minute. They gain reputations for being unreliable, and other friends might joke about their inability to commit to anything. They might have a deep reason for being this way, and because their behavior is predictable and joked about, we might make excuses for them or dismiss our frustrations with them. However, if we are honest with ourselves, we might find that we feel more than frustration with them. Their constant cancellation of plans makes us feel less important to them, and we feel like we can’t rely on them anymore. Sometimes it is the common, everyday behavior that friends, family, and loved ones do that makes us feel abandoned. These are difficult things to confront because we can feel self-conscious that we are overreacting to the situation. It is only as we begin to confront our feelings honestly, and share these feelings with the relevant people, that we can find healing from [...]

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5 Good Boundaries to Draw With People Who Have Caused Trauma

, 2025-03-10T04:45:12+00:00March 10th, 2025|Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues, Trauma|

One of the most critical aspects of our emotional freedom is to forgive those who have hurt us. This is especially true for people who have suffered trauma or abuse. A person with a traumatic past may need the help of forgiveness to move past it and thrive in their lives. However, just because a person has forgiven someone does not mean they need to give them access to their lives. Good Boundaries to Draw With Causers of Trauma Boundaries help people limit access to interaction with them and what they can know about them. A person who wants to protect themselves from suffering trauma again needs to draw proper boundaries with that person. Here are five good boundaries to draw with people who have caused trauma: Time Boundaries Limit the amount of time you spend with a person. If you see that person regularly, limiting the time you spend talking with that person is essential. A person who has subjected you to trauma and is not repentant may quickly come back to that topic and cause you pain and harm by denying the behavior even existed. This can re-trigger the pain you are trying to get past. Furthermore, a person who has subjected you to trauma wants to know more about you. By spending more time with you, they can learn more details about your life. Draw a reasonable time boundary and limit their time with you or your loved ones. Space Boundaries Similarly, limit or restrict their ability to get close to you. A person who is close to you in proximity can try to hug you or, even worse, abuse you. To protect yourself, you need to draw a space boundary. Give yourself some physical distance between yourself and the person who has caused you trauma. [...]

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Signs of Alcohol Dependence and Some Effective Treatment Options in Carrollton, Texas

2025-03-07T14:17:43+00:00March 7th, 2025|Chemical Dependency, Featured, Individual Counseling, Men’s Issues, Women’s Issues|

Many people have a complicated relationship with alcohol. One person’s experience may be related to happy and enjoyable memories, while for another it’s associated with dark and painful ones. Each person must navigate how they will deal with alcohol, and it helps to be informed about some of the ways it can negatively affect someone, such as with alcohol dependence. Various substances such as prescription and recreational drugs affect the brain. Likewise, alcohol can produce pleasurable feelings and also blunt negative ones. It has a powerful effect on the brain, which can make it appealing. This temporary relief can motivate someone to turn to alcohol again and again, even when it poses possible significant risks to their health and overall well-being. You can become dependent on alcohol even without recognizing it. What is Alcohol Dependence? When you depend on something, it means that it plays a significant role in your life. When a person is dependent on alcohol, they may feel as though they cannot function without consuming alcohol. Alcohol assumes an important role in their life, and often they have to drink more of it to obtain the same effect as before. Alcohol becomes a priority, superseding other activities or obligations. When a person is dependent on alcohol, they may not only prioritize alcohol over other things like family or work, but they may continue to consume alcohol even when it becomes destructive. Even if they’ve begun experiencing the harmful consequences of drinking, such as getting a DUI, losing their job, being diagnosed with liver disease, or other mental health challenges, they will continue to drink. Alcohol dependence is marked by the impaired ability to stop or control one’s intake and use of alcohol. Alcohol dependence is one of a cluster of terms that are often used interchangeably to [...]

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Knowing the Difference Between a Big Appetite and Binge Eating in Teens

2025-02-26T05:46:12+00:00February 26th, 2025|Christian Counseling For Teens, Eating Disorders, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Jackson has been feeling lost since he recently realized his teenage son Jack Junior’s famous appetite may have evolved into a binge eating disorder. As a single dad, born and raised on a ranch in Texas, surrounded mostly by cowboys who don’t talk much about emotion, Jackson is not quite sure how to even broach this topic with his son. All sorts of questions keep floating around in his head. “How did I not notice that my kid might have an eating disorder sooner?”. “How can I know for sure if my son is binge eating?”. “How and why did this develop into a disorder?”. “How much of a problem is this condition?”. With this article, we hope to answer most of Jackson’s questions and help any other parent who might find themselves in the same boat with their child. How did I not notice that my child might have an eating disorder sooner? The boy, Jack Jr., has always had a huge appetite and loves his steaks, drumsticks, potatoes, and gravy. You see, his mother, who recently passed away of cancer, was the ranch’s resident cook, so he has grown up surrounded by her rich cooking, literally eating it all up. What Jackson doesn’t know is that in recent months, Junior has endured relentless teasing at school for the way he looks with hurtful body-shaming nicknames that are thrown at him every day. Slowly he’s been finding ways to cope with the pain by seeking solace in food. It’s become his routine that when life throws too much at him, he just retreats to his room, locks the door, and starts binge eating whatever snacks he could find in the pantry or leftovers stashed in the fridge. Jack Junior can eat several bags of chips, cookies, a full [...]

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How to Communicate Better in the Workplace: Four Barriers to Effective Communication

, 2025-02-19T10:27:23+00:00February 19th, 2025|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Professional Development|

If you have ever seen a good communicator in the flow of expressing themselves, it can be both an inspiring and discouraging thing to witness. Some people seem to be able to express themselves naturally and effortlessly, while others have a host of issues to overcome. The encouraging news is that learning to communicate better is entirely possible; the first step is learning about the barriers that block effective communication. How to Communicate Better by Overcoming Assumptions Words are a small part of communication. People communicate with their personalities, their bodies, and even through silence. We take in and respond to large amounts of information daily without fully realizing that we are wordlessly communicating with those around us. For example, when a coworker who is normally chatty and vibrant comes into work and they are quiet, withdrawn, and disheveled in appearance, they are communicating something without even speaking. We might subconsciously take note of their behavior, body language, and appearance and deduce that they are struggling today. They have communicated something to us. How we treat them in response is us communicating back to them. We might be gracious to them, give them space by not engaging in small talk, or we might take the opportunity to ask them how they are. If we were to observe the changes in them and decide on the reasons for those changes, we would be assuming. It might be a correct assumption, but without asking them simple, non-invasive questions, we won’t know for sure what is going on. Assumptions might be correct, but by leaning on assumptions, we risk being incorrect. There remains a barrier between us and the person we’ve assumed about. Correct assumptions are just as unhelpful as incorrect assumptions, in some ways. Making assumptions means that there is a [...]

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4 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack

, 2025-02-19T11:50:28+00:00February 19th, 2025|Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Panic attacks are more common than people realize. However, they may also be more challenging to recognize. A panic attack occurs when a person’s anxiety has been going on for some time, and they are stuck in a fight or flight response. This is when the parasympathetic nervous system continues to feel fear even when there’s no stimulus or reason to feel that fear. Panic can happen both in public and in private. A panic attack can cause embarrassment and humiliation, especially in a social situation. A panic attack can occur in an instant; they are challenging to detect because a person can be in the middle of the conversation and realize they are having a panic attack. 4 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack Panic attack symptoms mimic heart attack symptoms. A person may feel pain in the chest, a constant sense of fear, tingling or numbness in the arm, sweating palms, a shaking or fearful feeling, shortness of breath, etc. These symptoms can range from mild to severe and may cause someone to go to the emergency room. However, there are ways to stop a panic attack from getting too severe. Here are four ways to stop a panic attack: 1. Go Somewhere Alone Anxiety symptoms are complex enough to deal with. It can be uncomfortable if it happens in a social situation. They may want to hide the symptoms, so they don’t have to tell others what they feel. However, this can add to their stress if they fear peer rejection. It is essential to have someone supportive of you with you when you’re having a panic attack. If you sense your anxiety has been at a high level, let the supportive person know. If you need to leave, figure out a signal or word you [...]

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How to Find Support and Healing After Infidelity

2025-02-04T06:21:33+00:00February 4th, 2025|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Infidelity and Affairs, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Infidelity in a relationship can be a challenge to recover from. A person can be unsure about pursuing forgiveness and restoring the marriage to what it once was. The discovery of infidelity not only feels as though life has imploded, but it can also feel as though the entire marriage has been a farce, making healing after infidelity difficult. Healing after infidelity begins with the most challenging part: forgiveness. Until a person finds a way to let go of the bitterness, there will be no peace in any of the decisions that are made. Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22, ESV There are many ways to pursue healing after infidelity. This pursuit begins with making an intentional choice to heal regardless of what may seem to be ruined. Just as with any other process, it is important to recognize what the goal is and to get clarity about that goal. These four important questions may help you take the first step in healing after infidelity. Can you forgive your partner? Can you become committed and trust your partner again? Have you released the anger toward your partner? Can you move forward? After asking yourself these questions, it is time to begin taking steps to heal. Recovering the Relationship Each relationship is different and special. It revolves around the people involved, and it is specific to how they relate to each other. This means that recovery after infidelity is different for each couple. While it may look different, there are phases that relationships typically experience as they engage in the healing after [...]

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Why You Need a Personal Development Plan and How to Get Started

, 2025-03-27T18:32:14+00:00January 31st, 2025|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development|

Does the turn of the new year excite you? Do you think about what you want for your future? Or have you been living the same year repeatedly, much like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day? You were created for a purpose, and it is not to repeat the same year over again. You can get clear on what you should do with a personal development plan. Why You Need a Personal Development Plan A personal development plan identifies your goals, strengths, and weaknesses. It uncovers what you need to learn or do to accomplish your goals. New skills will take you higher than you have ever been before in your personal and professional life. The following are more benefits of creating a personal development plan. It motivates you to accomplish goals A personal development plan motivates you to accomplish goals that otherwise might be out of reach. It gets to the bottom of why you want to achieve a specific goal. When the tasks to reach the goal become challenging and you no longer feel motivated, the reason why you chose this goal will motivate you once more. A personal development plan keeps you focused on the reason behind the goal. It teaches you goal setting principles There is an art to setting goals; people who understand the principles and follow through achieve more than those who make vague statements. Anyone can declare that they want to do something, but it will probably never happen if they do not make their goal specific and time bound. It helps identify your strengths and weaknesses To reach the next level, you must honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses. You will also need to discern what strengths you want to build upon and what weaknesses you need to tackle first. For [...]

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Questions and Answers About Explosive Anger Disorder

2025-01-25T05:16:16+00:00January 17th, 2025|Anger Issues, Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Explosive anger disorder, also known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED), is a mental health condition characterized by frequent episodes of intense, out-of-control anger that leads to aggressive verbal outbursts or violent behavior that is out of proportion to what triggered it. IED is a formal diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), listed under the category of disruptive, impulse control, and conduct disorders. What are the symptoms of Explosive Anger Disorder? A person with explosive anger disorder may feel as though he or she has lost control of his or her emotions and be so overcome by rage he or she lashes out verbally, makes threats, starts screaming, physically attacks animals or people, throws or breaks things, has temper tantrums, kicks in doors, punches holes in walls, or engages in behaviors such as road rage or domestic abuse. Outbursts can come on suddenly, and the aggressive behavior is impulsive, with no thought of what the consequences might be. After the fit is over, the person may regret his or her actions and feel guilty, ashamed, or sorry for what he or she has said or done. Are there any warning signs of an outburst about to happen? Some warning signs that you are about to have an explosive anger outburst include irritability, a growing sense of tension, sudden rage, rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, a feeling of tightness in your chest, tingling, and/or shakiness. Causes The exact cause of explosive anger disorder is unknown. However, there appear to be several possible contributing factors such as a genetic predisposition; changes in brain structure, function, and chemistry; life experiences; and the environment you are exposed to during childhood. If, for instance, you were abused or bullied as a child or grew up in a family where [...]

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How to Walk Alongside Your Depressed Husband

, 2025-01-07T03:58:54+00:00January 6th, 2025|Couples Counseling, Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling, Marriage Counseling, Men’s Issues, Relationship Issues|

Seeing a person we love going through a hard time is heart-wrenching. We want to do all we can to love them, to make them feel loved, supported, and understood. It is possible in many situations – especially that of a depressed husband – to begin to feel powerless, especially when our presence does not seem to be making a difference. In this and other situations, remember that your empathetic presence by itself can make a difference, and you must hold onto that when it seems otherwise. If your husband is struggling with depression, you may not know how to be that empathetic presence for him. On the other hand, you may wonder if what you are doing is making a difference. Hopefully, the words below will encourage you in your journey with your depressed husband. Supporting a Loved One with Depression Depression is a common mental health problem that afflicts people from all walks of life, all genders, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. It can afflict those whom we may perceive as strong. It is often shocking for many wives to see their husbands bowed down by depression. As with any other condition or situation, one of the first ways you can function as a meaningful support is to understand what it is your husband is dealing with. Depression is a mood disorder that affects how a person feels, thinks, and functions in daily life. Something is going on not only in the person’s body but also in their mind and brain chemistry as well. Often, depression is signaled by feelings of intense sadness which last for weeks and months. It can be tempting to think that your depressed husband just needs to push through this and get to the other side. Depression requires treatment, and it does not [...]

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