Guilt vs Shame, Guilt and shame are two emotions that come up throughout the course of our lives as we grow and develop. Guilt and shame often come up together and may even be felt in response to the same scenario. We often associate these emotions with each other, and while they may overlap or intertwine, they do also have some major differences that can impact how we think about how to manage them. In this post, written by Abby Smith, LGPC, we define both guilt and shame, and explore how to better manage these feelings.
Balancing Your Chakras (Part 2)
This post is the second part of the two-part blog series titled, “Balancing Your Chakras” by graduate student intern, Sarah Miles. This post describes how to balance the heart, throat, third eye, and crown chakras. Read along to learn how the Chakras can be utilized as wonderful tool to become more self-aware, to conceptualize our needs on many levels, and to understand all of the different drives and motivations within us.
The Power of Positive Affirmations
One choice/one resolution you can make today, is to say something positive about yourself every day. Positive affirmations are positive phrases which you repeat to yourself which describe how you want to be. Over time, they may help you to overwrite negative beliefs that you hold about yourself by replacing those limiting beliefs with them with positive thoughts that instill confidence and positivity. In this blog, graduate student Intern, Dushyanthi Niyangoda, helps readers to explore the power of positive affirmations.
Help! I’m Trapped Inside My Head: An Intro to CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in simple terms is learning about how your thoughts impact your emotions and behaviors. CBT is a empirically supported treatment that works well for clients struggling with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma and more. In this blog post, associate therapist, Jade Shapiro, LCSW-C, explores the three elements of CBT and provides readers with questions that they can utilize to implant CBT in everyday life.
7 Days to Better Fights
One thing we know about relationships, is that all couples fight, but not all couples fight well. This blog was inspired by the 7 Days to Better Fights email series created by Dr. Stan Tatkin and the PACT institute. This post combines the exercises created in the email series and combines it with thoughtful quotes from Dr. Stan Tatkin, in order to help you strengthen your conflict resolution skills with your partner(s).
The Impact of Mental Health on Hygiene Struggles
Whether it’s doing dishes in a timely manner or showering regularly—there is a lot of shame around not being able to keep up with your hygiene. Hygiene is a moralized topic in our society—meaning we often view those who struggle with hygiene as less than or failing in some way. This post by Abby Smith, LGPC, explores how these judgments fail to recognize the impact of mental health on hygiene.
Back to Basics
When you’re struggling with your mental health, being told to think about your nutrition, hydration, or sleep can feel patronizing or like a non-essential. However, when some of your most basic needs aren’t being met, it can make dealing with any mental health issues even harder. . It might not mean everything is better, but instead that your hunger, hydration, and sleep are not contributing factors.
Internalized Homophobia: The What, The Why, the What Now?
Oftentimes we talk about coming out as the main barrier or event for LGBTQ+ individuals to live as they truly are. However, for many folks there is another barrier that can greatly impact the way in which they feel about themselves, their ability to feel proud, and their ability to accept themselves for who they truly are: Internalized Homophobia. This post written by Abigail Smith, LGPC, assists readers in exploring the origins and remedies for internalized homophobia.