Physical symptoms of anxiety can be frightening and upsetting – their overwhelming nature can rock your world within minutes, leaving you fearful and drained. Maybe you feel your heart wildly beating in your chest, experience chest pain that makes you think you’re having a panic attack, or have the overwhelming feeling you are going crazy. The sudden onslaught of symptoms … Read More
3 Tips to Connect with Your Child
“Wow, he’s finally getting out of the house for the weekend,” my husband and I remarked to each other this morning, after our almost 15-year-old son left for his high school band camp. This isn’t a statement I expected to make when I had teenagers. Our society not only emphasizes the autonomous nature of adolescence, but goes as far as … Read More
3 Tips to Manage the Winter Blues
Every year, the summer turns to fall, and the fall turns to winter. A lot of us have been going to the same job, doing the same work, and talking with the same people. However, as the days are filled with increasing darkness and dropping temperatures, those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) may notice feelings of sadness or depression. So, … Read More
4 Keys For Helping Someone With a Mental Illness
Someone you care about has a mental illness – what do you do? The temptation is to try to persuade the person to think or act differently, but that doesn’t work very well. You end up arguing and talking in circles, only to get frustrated with each other. What now? 1. It’s all about the relationship If your goal is … Read More
4 Keys to Breaking the Cycle of Relapse
For those who live with any kind of long-lasting mental health concerns or emotional issues, the threat of relapse is always present. But we don’t need to sit passively, “waiting for the next shoe to drop,” as the saying goes. There are things that you and your family or friends can do to reduce the frequency and severity of relapse. … Read More
5 Ways to Address the Stigma of Substance Abuse
When you hear the word “addict”, what immediately comes to mind? An image of a sad, scruffy man with hollow eyes? Or a young woman, on the streets, seeking someone, anyone, who will supply her with money she so desperately needs? Perhaps other words emerged in your mind. Words that suggest pity, disgust or intolerance, like drunk or junkie. Or … Read More
Autism and Anxiety – 5 Ways to be a Support
To someone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an anxiety burst feels like an internal hurricane: overwhelming, devastating and intense. The only response is to batten down the hatches and shut down, or to let the hurricane out to express itself in a variety of challenging behaviors, including injury to self and others. As we support individuals with ASD, we need … Read More
9 Strategies for Supporting Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder
If you have a friend or family member with borderline personality disorder, you know the stress of this difficult problem. And you may be at a loss for how you can respond helpfully. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) involves emotional instability, interpersonal difficulties and impulsive, often self-destructive, behaviors. People with BPD experience intense emotions and often distrust themselves and others, making … Read More
Depression: Don’t Believe Everything You Think
At times our thoughts can be so convincing that we do not question their accuracy; we simply accept them at face value. Whether we’re seeking a happier, more positive way of feeling or trying to cope with experiences of depression, we can make choices about how we feel and act by challenging the seemingly factual nature of our thoughts. Many … Read More
Helping Those Who Self-Injure
Self-injury behaviour is a complex and often misunderstood act. When a person is cutting or burning their own flesh, picking and interfering with the healing of wounds, or hitting themselves, it can be confusing and scary for their loved ones, and even for the professionals who try to help. It is critical that we attempt to understand the function that … Read More
