Life Counseling, Anxiety Therapy
Erica Warshawer
How to Know if You Suffer from Social Anxiety ...

You’ve probably heard of social anxiety. It’s a term used loosely at times when someone isn’t in the mood to socialize. However, not always being in the mood to socialize is normal. But true social anxiety is much more than that.

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by a fear of being judged by others, feeling highly self-conscious in social situations, and avoiding meeting new people. It’s also known as social phobia. Social anxiety disorder makes it hard to create meaningful connections with others. It can even make it hard for people to complete everyday tasks.

How to Know if You Suffer from Social Anxiety and What to Do About It
Life Counseling, Anxiety Therapy, Depression Therapy
Erica Warshawer
Reducing Your Mental Health Symptoms: How ...

Mindfulness has become a trendy word. Please do not mistake that for a negative. The concept of staying present is a fundamental form of self-care. In the realm of mental health, it has countless benefits for serious practitioners. Practicing mindfulness has been shown to help people struggling with conditions and issues like:

  • Anxiety

  • Chronic pain

  • Depression

  • Addiction

  • Suicidal ideation

More recently, mindfulness is making a difference for those dealing with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since trauma is something that gets you stuck in the past, this approach makes a whole lot of sense. Let’s learn more:

Reducing Your Mental Health Symptoms: How Mindfulness Can Make a Difference
Teletherapy
Erica Warshawer
Telehealth After the Pandemic? Why Online ...

Until last year, telehealth was mostly a niche approach to therapy. It was incredibly helpful for someone who was disabled or lived far from any therapist. Along came the pandemic and the need for teletherapy exploded. For a while, the only way a client could meet with their counselor was via video chat (or phone call).

Today, with nearly 17 months of experience under our belts, many Americans have discovered a preference for telehealth. The numbers below will help illustrate this trend. In other words, online options still make sense. In some ways, they are here to stay.

Telehealth After the Pandemic? Why Online Options May Still Make Sense
Anxiety Therapy
Erica Warshawer
How You Can Calm Anxiety in Five Simple Steps

If you’re one of the 40 million Americans living with an anxiety disorder, you already know it’s much more than feeling nervous. Everyone worries or panics from time to time. That’s normal. Anxiety is something that impairs your ability to function. It feels as if it’s out of your control.

From intense discomfort at social events to sleep-altering nightmares, anxiety disorders are a daunting reality. Among other things, they may have you dealing with sweaty palms, digestive issues, body trembling, or self-isolation. Whatever uncomfortable symptoms you face, they can be managed and calmed by committing to some basic self-help steps.

How You Can Calm Anxiety in Five Simple Steps
Depression Therapy, Life Counseling
Erica Warshawer
Strategies for Staying Emotionally Healthy ...

Anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of (first) marriages end in divorce. The odds are that you or someone close to you has had to endure this painful experience. Still, let’s be clear, in many cases, a divorce is a traumatic event. Your body, mind, and spirit will be severely challenged. That reality deserves care and attention.

Women, in particular, are at higher risk for depression. Why? They tend to handle the lion’s share of domestic duties and often have fewer financial options than men. For almost every person involved, especially if children are involved, divorce is a time of turmoil and drastic change. That’s why it’s so important to safeguard your well-being as this process plays out.

Strategies for Staying Emotionally Healthy During the Divorce Process

How Self-Talk May Be Driving Your Depression

How Self-Talk May Be Driving Your Depression

Is your inner critic depressing you? How often do you beat yourself up and put yourself down?

Each of us is unique in so many ways. One common human thread, however, involves our need to adjust our perceptions in order to reinforce our beliefs. This can be unfortunate when those beliefs are not self-loving.

For example, let’s say you lead a successful meeting at work. Yet, later, negative self-talk kicks in. You might find yourself magnifying any perceived details of the presentation, thereby “proving” that you did poorly. Before long, you’re mired in a depressive episode and any evidence of a job well done is minimized or forgotten.

Repeated again and again, self-defeating self-talk can become more and more demoralizing. Without care and support, you might find that depression develops or an existing depression is exacerbated.

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Pandemic Problems: How the Media May Be Fueling Your Fear (& How to Stop It)

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Pandemic Problems: How the Media May Be Fueling Your Fear (& How to Stop It)

Let’s say you happen upon two article headlines on your newsfeed. The first one reads: “Scientists Agree: Too Early to Know Full Impact of COVID.” The second headline, however, declares: “Experts Warn: Pandemic Death Toll Will Reach One Million Before It’s Over!”

Which one will you click on first? Better yet: Which of the headlines is the only one you’ll click on at all? Best (or worst) of all: Which headline will draw your attention and then gnaw at you for the rest of the day?

How Your Chronic Anxiety May Be Linked to Your Childhood Trauma

How Your Chronic Anxiety May Be Linked to Your Childhood Trauma

When it comes to mental health issues, we find ourselves wondering why we feel a certain way. Then, the question of how and when the issue began naturally follows and garners our attention.

It’s a logical line of thinking. Understanding the roots of a problem can initially offer us some comfort. After all, this knowledge can be quite helpful when taking steps to address our problems.

Take chronic anxiety, for example. It can be challenging to discern a cause-and-effect. But have you ever considered the potential role of childhood drama in the development of your anxiety?

Grieve Your Own Way…Why the Stages of Grief are Just a Guide

Grieve Your Own Way…Why the Stages of Grief are Just a Guide

Grief represents quite a paradox in our society. In an age of pandemics and social unrest, in addition to our personal challenges, everyone experiences grief at some point. We all know and accept this as truth. Yet, topics like death and loss have become virtually taboo in polite conversation.

Think back to a time when, say, a grade school teacher experienced a death in the family. You heard the news as a way to explain why they took some time off. A week or so later, they were back in front of the classroom. They looked normal and things felt normal. The unspoken lesson, however, was that mourning is a brief process that leaves no lasting or outward scars. If only…

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Teen Depression vs. Adult Depression: How Is It Different?

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Teen Depression vs. Adult Depression: How Is It Different?

It’s unfortunate that the term “depression” gets tossed about so frequently.

People think that they know the signs and symptoms of the condition and apply them to someone they believe is depressed. This approach might be well-meaning if they want that person to get help.

However, the label ignores subtleties about depression that vary between age groups. Adults dealing with depression often experience it differently than a teen.

Remember, depression is beyond feeling sad or blue. Instead, these are specific symptoms that individuals often ignore or mislabel.

Here are some subtle differences between depression in teens and adults.

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Always Thinking You’re “Not Enough?” How to Maintain Your Self-Esteem and Dignity

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Always Thinking You’re “Not Enough?” How to Maintain Your Self-Esteem and Dignity

It doesn’t matter if you receive loads of accolades and words of praise. In the back of your mind, there might be a voice that reminds you that you’re not enough.

Whatever you have done to deserve your achievements, it doesn’t seem to matter. You might still feel like you fall short.

Isn’t that a terrible way to go through life? Especially when you do deserve all the credit that you receive (and perhaps then some).

Here are some ideas about maintaining your self-esteem and dignity amid the barrage of “not enough” thoughts.

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No Communication or Closure? Coping with the Ambiguous Loss of a Parent

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No Communication or Closure? Coping with the Ambiguous Loss of a Parent

Except for specific cases, you can’t know in advance when your parents will no longer be with you. Life is unpredictable. It doesn’t follow a script and sure pays no mind to our expectations. Thus, many of us will end up having to cope with the ambiguous death of a parent. It might be that you became estranged. Perhaps you were still in touch but had left so much unsaid. In either instance — along with countless other scenarios — you will be left with a wide array of loose ends.

How do you manage such a frustrating situation?

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Having Difficulty Recovering from Your Loss and Moving On? Is That Normal?

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Having Difficulty Recovering from Your Loss and Moving On? Is That Normal?

Loss can be a difficult thing to accept. But when the pain of it drags on, determining whether or not your difficulty recovering is healthy can be complicated.

That said, experiencing grief is normal. Also, there is no specific time period that determines how long you should grieve. There should simply be a point at which you can process the emotions, intergate the experience, begin moving ahead.

If you’ve been grieving for a while but can’t sense much progress or healing, then it might be time to seek out professional help. Consider the differences between grief types and how to cope.

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Divorce and Your Mental Health: Tips for Handling the Effects of Stress

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Divorce and Your Mental Health: Tips for Handling the Effects of Stress

Pop culture has taught us all a very particular perspective on divorce. It usually involves lots of screaming, mixed with the silent treatment. It all leads up to a climactic confrontation followed by a lifetime of animosity. Of course, this cinematic image does very little justice to a complicated and nuanced experience. It also neglects to even hint at the inevitable toll the stress of divorce takes on our mental health. This isn’t about he said/she said or which spouse was “right.” Divorce of any kind is stressful and requires its participants to take steps to safeguard their mental health.

Anxiety and Obsessions: Why Women Tend to Obsess More About Problems

Anxiety and Obsessions: Why Women Tend to Obsess More About Problems

Anxiety can affect anyone.

Many people deal with anxiety at some point in their lives, and it is a relatively common mental health condition. However, some people are more likely to struggle with anxiety than others. In fact, anxiety affects more women than men.

In general, women tend to ruminate or obsess over problems more compared to men. Why is that?

There are a variety of reasons. Some hypothesize that the difference is influenced by biology and hormones. Others believe that culture and sexism play a role.

There are many possible explanations for the discrepancy. Here are a few possible reasons why women spend more time ruminating and are more likely to experience anxiety than men.

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4 Healthy Ways to Manage a Breakup

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4 Healthy Ways to Manage a Breakup

Going through a breakup can be hard on anyone. Even if you know it was the right thing to do and you ended things on good terms, it’s still a loss. And it’s still important to cope in healthy and productive ways.

If the breakup was ugly, it’s even more important to know how to cope properly. When you take the time to manage a breakup the right way, you can find peace with your decision and move on with your life.

When you don’t manage a breakup in healthy ways, you can turn to negative ways of coping. Doing so could lead to excessive use of alcohol or drugs, or it could even lead to mental health conditions like depression.

So, what are some healthy ways you can manage a breakup?

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Take These Steps to Finally Start Recovering from Your Traumatic Childhood

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Take These Steps to Finally Start Recovering from Your Traumatic Childhood

Try as you might, you cannot change the past. However, you can recover from it. This is essential and encouraging news for the many adults who were traumatized in their childhood. Those terrible experiences often create lingering psychological scars. Your adult life may even be hampered by an anxiety problem like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Until you are able to facilitate healing from your childhood trauma, you may find yourself unable to manage the daily challenges that life throws at you. Fortunately, through a blend of self-help and professional guidance, healing is very much possible.

When You Can See Grief Coming: How to Cope with Anticipatory Loss

When You Can See Grief Coming: How to Cope with Anticipatory Loss

There are countless events, situations, and relationships that can provoke grieving. Often, circumstances are sudden and jolting. You may first deal with shock and disbelief before you can even begin processing your grief.

However, there are times in life when you see grief coming. These episodes are called anticipatory loss. Knowing you are about to experiences a traumatic event usually alters your perception of and reaction to that event. This doesn’t automatically make the grieving process “easier” or “harder.” But it will change the process and usually gives you the opportunity to take anticipatory steps.

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COVID and Your Connection: Signs Your Relationship is Suffering

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COVID and Your Connection: Signs Your Relationship is Suffering

When the time comes that we’re finally able to tally up the total cost of COVID-19, there will be one category that will likely get ignored: relationships.

The diverse and relentless impact of this pandemic is wreaking havoc on our collective mental health. This reality creates a treacherous terrain for couples from coast to coast. Stress, in general, is challenging to your connection and 2020 is fast becoming ground zero for stress. How can you recognize this trend and what can you do about it?

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Normal Teen Moodiness or Something More? How to Know & What to Do

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Normal Teen Moodiness or Something More? How to Know & What to Do

It’s standard fare for sit-coms and movies: teen characters shift between laughter, eye rolls, and tears. The parents react with a comical mix of frustration, and concern. And the family rides a roller coaster of emotions, communication issues, and more on the road to their teen’s independence.

So here you are, in real life, trying to helpfully and productively move forward with your own teen. And you don’t have the benefit of a script or laugh track to break the tension created by their changing moods.

How to Soothe Anxiety and Worry with a Few Dietary Tweaks

How to Soothe Anxiety and Worry with a Few Dietary Tweaks

All too often the conversation regarding soothing anxiety and worry focuses on breathing techniques or establishing a mindfulness practice.

No, don’t be mistaken, these are very important coping tools for anxiety. Yet, there are other areas in your life that can help you with regards and worry. Most notably, your diet.

It might be surprising to learn that the food you eat does have an effect on your mental health. After all, food is not just how we absorb not calories, but also vitamins, minerals, and all of the other nutrients that our body needs to thrive.

Here then are a few dietary tweaks you can do to he

Resolution Reality Check: Reworking Those New Year Goals without Shame

Resolution Reality Check: Reworking Those New Year Goals without Shame

Every new year presents two traditions. In early January, we make resolutions. Then, within a month or two, we make jokes about how badly we’ve “failed” at keeping those resolutions. It’s the stuff of comedy punchlines, popular memes, and motivational videos. This annual cycle may feel inevitable, but it’s not. Setting and reaching goals is a fun and important part of what it means to be human. Entering into this process, it is crucial to adopt a realistic mindset that blends commitment and flexibility.

3 Tips for Finding Joy as the Seasons Change

3 Tips for Finding Joy as the Seasons Change

Some seasons naturally bring us more joy than the rest of the year.

Spring and summer typically top the list of favorites, especially since the warm sun comes out to play instead of the bitter cold.

As the sun rays shine down, offering loads of energy-boosting vitamin D, you might never want the summertime fun to end. However, it’s common to sense your joy dwindling as fall approaches.

Conversely, for winter lovers, the melting snow could prompt similar emotions of disappointment.

No matter which season you genuinely enjoy, here are tips to help you maintain your joy as the seasons change.

COVID Isolation Can Fuel Depression: How to Overcome the Loss of Social Contact

COVID Isolation Can Fuel Depression: How to Overcome the Loss of Social Contact

Several months into this global health crisis and we’re beginning to identify more and more outcomes. With each passing day, there is new evidence about factors like viral spread, economic fallout, and possible re-openings. Right from the start, however, experts were warning about the long-term impact of the pandemic on our collective mental health.

In particular, the loss of social contact can fuel depression. This means it could trigger already existing cases or could cause new cases of depression. Indeed, COVID-19 infection is not the only condition that requires vigilance.