You are Not Alone (Suicide is on the Rise): The Importance of Continuing Your Story
When bad days start to feel like bad weeks, know that you are not alone. In fact, the CDC reports that 3 out of 4 young adults are already struggling with at least one mental health concern. This includes anxiety, depression, trauma, adjustment to stressors, and substance use.
Self-CARE Challenge
We are so excited to announce a new January Initiative—30 Days of Self-CARE! We will be partnering with local businesses and CARE Clinicians to bring you unique and helpful content each day. We hope that this will help you start 2021 in the healthiest way possible and help you to become the best version of yourself.
Self-CARE Wheel
As we look toward 2021, many of us may take time to reflect on resolutions and intentions to carry into the upcoming new year. For those who struggle with disordered eating and poor body image, this time of year may be especially challenging due to the constant rhetoric and messages around programs designed for weight loss. If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, diet culture’s strong presence during this time may activate parts of you to feel ambivalent around your recovery goals. This is normal and this does not mean you are failing for having those thoughts. You are not alone!
Stress + Staying at Home: The Rise of Intimate Partner Violence
Violence within intimate relationships is on the rise. Increased stress + staying at home + social isolation has help create a “perfect storm” for violence within the home. Being familiar with the types of abuse that can occur within relationships is an important step to recognize “red flags” to help yourself and/ or others who are experiencing or have experienced abuse during quarantine.
Not Feeling Accepted During Holiday Gatherings: LGBTQIA+
The holidays can be a tough time of year, especially for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, genderqueer, queer, intersexed, agender, asexual, and ally community who experience homophobia during holiday gatherings. We all need to feel physically and emotionally safe, to feel connected within relationship. If these elements are not present or lacking in family gatherings, individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community can feel especially vulnerable to rejection which can exacerbate underlying mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness Exercise to Prepare for Difficult Conversations
To put it simply, boundaries are a way to understand how we relate to ourselves and other people. Individuals can have boundaries that range from rigid, to healthy, to porous, and oftentimes someone’s boundaries can be different depending on the context. For example, someone with healthy boundaries around their time may have rigid emotional boundaries. MyTherapistAid.com offers a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of each boundary type.
Stages of Change and Timelines
These interventions are great for exploring and processing through substance use. Using a metaphor for Stages of Change helps the client conceptualize where they are at in their recovery process, and it helps build trust between the therapist and the client. Using a timeline activity helps the client gain insight into patterns throughout their life so that they can better anticipate triggers and potential needs.
Remembering Important Dates
Remembering Important Dates: Acknowledging the important dates in loved ones’ lives can help you strengthen your relationships by showing them that you care about them. Important dates can include birthdays, anniversaries, difficult milestones, big job interviews, or a medical appointment. There are a lot of different ways to keep track of these dates, and finding a system that works for you can help you stay on top of important dates. Some ideas include using an online or paper calendar, creating reminders on one (or more) of your devices, or post-it notes around your house. It may also be helpful to think about how you want to acknowledge the date (e.g., sending a text, giving a gift, etc).
Navigating Difficult Relationships FAST
he acronym, FAST, comes from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and it describes how to promote self-respect while navigating challenging relationship situations:
F – Fair, show fairness to yourself and the other person.
A – Apologize and take responsibility only when appropriate.
S – Stick to your values to preserve your sense of integrity
T – Truthful, be truthful and avoid bending the truth (e.g., exaggerating, acting helpless)
For more information, visit https://www.optimumperformanceinstitute.com/dbt-treatment/dbt-fast-skills-explained/
