As the winter season starts and daylight lessens, some may feel the effects of the changing seasons. Recognizing the beginning feelings that the gloomy weather may be getting to you, is super important in helping manage it for the rest of the winter. In the winter, it’s normal for people to not get as much sunlight as they do in the spring/summer months. Because of this, it can lead to feelings of sadness, feeling tired, and fatigue.
Read MoreThe colder, darker months of the year have arrived. During these months of the year, you may find yourself staying indoors more often to avoid the cold, having lower motivation to workout, and the warmer sweeter foods may take over the front row of your pantry. However, it's important to remember the positive relationship between exercising and your mental health and well-being.
Read MoreAre you craving calm? A sense of peace won’t suddenly appear at your door. To find calm in your life, you’re going to have to create it for yourself. Luckily, it’s not hard to do! Start by blocking out a routine time for you. Maybe it’s after the kids go to bed, or on a weekend morning before soccer practice. Make it a time that you will focus on your well-being without distractions. Use the time to take care of yourself by practicing self-soothe. We’ll help you get started…
Read MoreThink back to the last time you were disappointed. Maybe it was when you didn’t do as well as you expected on a test, when your friend cancelled on you, or when things didn’t turn out as planned. Disappointment is a difficult feeling to grapple with. It’s not pleasant, but it’s certainly helpful if you can learn to recognize what it’s telling you. Disappointment can lead to difficult, yet important thoughts like “Am I not good enough?” “Why me?” and “How can this turn out better next time?” Not to mention, disappointment is inevitable; it will appear from time to time, whether we like it or not. Therefore, learning to cope with disappointment is a necessary skill to handle life’s ups and downs. Here are some tips to help you manage disappointment as it arises…
Read MoreFor many people, feelings of anxiety can be overwhelming. It’s one thing if you feel anxious from time to time—but how do you tell the difference between feeling anxious and dealing with an anxiety disorder? Symptoms of anxiety can interfere with your life if you experience them on a regular basis, or they can make you feel uncomfortable even in doses. By recognizing when you’re experiencing anxiety, you can determine its impact on your day-to-day routine. Here are a few questions to ask yourself or a loved one. While it’s not a foolproof “anxiety screener,” it can help you identify your anxiety and better understand when it may be time to seek help…
Read MoreThe end of the year is a time of reflection. It’s a time to look back on how we’ve changed, learned, and grown. We like to think about what we’ve accomplished this year and what we can improve upon in the year to come. We all have areas of our lives that we would like to enhance, whether it be our health, our relationships, our careers, or how we spend our time. By being self-aware and checking in with ourselves, we can make a plan to be an even better version of ourselves in the year ahead. It’s helpful to focus on the one or two areas of your life that you most want to improve instead of taking on everything at once. Here are some helpful prompting questions to get you started…
Read MoreThanksgiving is the perfect reminder to be thankful. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones, shared memories and a warm meal together, and think about all of the little things we’re grateful for. But the holiday season shouldn’t be the only time we do this! Year-round gratitude can help boost your mood, your energy, your overall health, and so much more. So as we head into a long winter ahead, consider making gratitude a daily practice. We’ll show you easy ways to incorporate gratitude into your life. It’s not as hard as you’d think!
Read MoreDo you ever find yourself jumping to a worst-case scenario or the worst possible conclusion? Do you ever feel like you are a failure if you received a low letter grade on one test, or received a little negative feedback at work? Maybe you and your partner got into a fight, and you immediately think that they are going to break-up with you? It’s more common that you think for people to experience these distortions in thought, or what’s referred to as a cognitive distortion. Cognitive distortions often lead to stronger emotional reactions than we’d like. Luckily, we have the power to control these cognitive distortions and in turn, minimize our emotional reactions. How can we do this? Let’s dive in…
Read MoreAre you looking for an easy way to find peace in your everyday routine? Child’s Pose (Balasana) is a simple pose that has several healing benefits. It is a restorative, resting pose—the kind of pose that you can use to center yourself, regulate your breath, and calm your body and mind. In this pose, you can reconnect with your breath and take a moment to check in with how you are feeling. Let’s explore how to practice Child’s Pose and how it can help you achieve calmness…
Read MoreAre you struggling with the demands of the ongoing pandemic? Do changing guidelines, reinstated mandates, and other COVID updates have your head spinning? Well, you aren’t alone. With new cases of COVID causing closures and limiting travel once again, it may feel as if your emotional reserves are running out of gas. In fact, you may be dealing with COVID burnout. Here are some tips to help you stay afloat during this challenging time…
Read MoreIt’s that time of the year again! Our schedules are jam packed with plenty of to-do’s like gift lists, travel plans and family gatherings, amongst others. For some people, it can be an exciting and joyful time. For others, it can be a very stressful time that causes a sense of overwhelm. Regardless, setting up expectations beforehand can help ease the potential stress of the holidays. Here are some tips…
Read MoreFeeling drained after the Thanksgiving holiday? Have you been stuck behind a computer all work week and you’re feeling down? These could be signs that you need to charge your social battery. A social battery refers to a person’s capacity to interact with people or groups of people in social situations. A full battery allows you to more effectively interact with others. And in doing so, it strengthens your relationships and provides you with a feeling of connection and support. However, the way in which you recharge will depend on your personality. Here are some tips to understand when your battery is low and what you can do to recharge…
Read MoreThis Thanksgiving, many of us will be able to gather as we did prior to the pandemic. While this is definitely something we can be thankful for, we don’t need to wait for the holidays to acknowledge our blessings and embrace gratitude. We can practice gratitude every day of the year! In fact, incorporating gratitude into our daily routines can improve both our mood and our relationships. So what is gratitude, why should we practice it, and how can we make it a habit that sticks? Let’s dive in…
Read MoreDo you ever find yourself saying “I should have” or “I shouldn’t have” done this or that? For instance, you might think “I should have gone to bed early.” “I shouldn’t have raised my voice and yelled.” “I shouldn’t have eaten that dessert.” Using the terms “should” and “shouldn’t”—or “should-ing” ourselves—impacts how we feel about those actions. Ultimately, a “should-ing” mindset can consistently put us down and inhibit our goals. So how does this one word have so much influence, and what can we do about it? Let’s explore…
Read MoreDo you feel like life is busier than ever before? Are you spending so much time on family, work, and other high-priority items that you forget to make time for yourself? When things are stressful, you may put yourself on the back burner. However it’s important to recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy well-being. Take care of yourself (even when things are busy!) by practicing self-care. Here are some suggestions to get you started…
Read MoreYou may sometimes wonder why you feel a certain way at one moment and then experience a completely different feeling just a few minutes later. We experience a range of emotions on a daily basis, and they are all important in their own way. The big question is: why? Emotions are crucial to our lives because they serve a variety of purposes. They guide us through stressful situations and help us connect with others in friendships and relationships, among others. At the same time, emotions are complicated; they can be difficult to understand. Sometimes, it may seem like life would be easier if we didn't have to undergo the ups and downs that emotions play in our lives. So why are they so important?
Read MoreSocial media has become a significant part of our daily lives, as we check apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok on a daily basis. While there are many positive aspects of social media, there are drawbacks to these platforms as well. Social media can affect our mental health; when we compare ourselves to others and see how much happier other people appear to be, it can make us feel depressed or anxious, among other feelings. That’s where self-care comes in to combat the negative effects of social media. If the content on your news feeds is negatively impacting your mental health, here are a few tips to practice social media self-care…
Read MoreAre you feeling burnt out? Are your emotional batteries running on empty? This summer is the perfect opportunity for you to take time for yourself and recharge your emotional batteries. After long days of fulfilling all of life’s responsibilities, it’s easy to forget to care for yourself. However self-care is a key part of healthy living. Making time for the things that you enjoy on a routine basis, even if it’s only for a few minutes each day, will help you to feel better. Here are some tips to get yourself feeling 100% charged again…
Read MoreIs it tough for you to balance having a good time and prioritizing your mental health? Does one have to come at the expense of another? The short answer is no: you can keep yourself busy with plenty of enjoyable experiences while making time for taking care of your health. Here is the key to keeping your focus on both: having fun is a part of self-care. It can become an integral part of prioritizing your mental health. If you need some inspiration to find your positive summer mental health vibes, here are some tips…
Read MoreDealing with anxiety can be an overwhelming experience. Symptoms of anxiety can interfere with your life if you experience them on a regular basis, or they can make you feel uncomfortable even in doses. Luckily, recognizing when you’re experiencing anxiety and identifying when to ask for help can make a huge difference in your mental health. Consider these four ways to identify when it may be time to seek out help…
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