4 Differences Between Social Anxiety & Introversion

May 3, 2020

How do you know if you have social anxiety or if you’re introverted?  Do you prefer to stay home by yourself because you just like that life better...or because you’re scared of a different life...or both...or neither?  If you consult the internet, you’ll probably just get a confusing mish-mash of interesting but not really accurate information. But the distinction is important because introversion is just a personality trait like any other, so we’ll embrace its pros and cons, whereas social anxiety is super treatable with cognitive-behavioral therapy.  So I’m here to break it down.  Here are 4 of the main differences between social anxiety and introversion.  

10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Stop Overthinking

May 2, 2020

Overthinking is a real issue for many of my clients.  They tell me that they think about the same issues, problems, fears, or worries far too much or for far too long, and they realize it creates unnecessary anxiety.  But they’re not sure how to stop it.  Today, I’ve got 10 questions to ask yourself to stop the overthinking.  

 

In this week’s article, I’ll share with you 

  • 10 questions to ask yourself to stop overthinking
  • A free worksheet to help you put the questions into action and really take control of your overthinking
  • A complete example using the worksheet to work through one of the issues my clients overthink the most….see how to use the questions in action

 

Dive in here!

15 Coping Mechanisms That Are Keeping You Stuck

April 26, 2020

Hey, we’re all doing our absolute best to just get from day to day and from week to week.  And over the years, we develop coping mechanisms to help us do just that. Sure, not all of those coping mechanisms are healthy, and we know it.  Of course smoking and drinking and spending too much are helping us feel “better,” and we know they’re not actually fixing the problem. But today, we’re diving deep into 15 coping mechanisms that you might not even realize are keeping you stuck.  Have you adopted any of these habits?

The 4-Part Spiral That Creates Panic

April 19, 2020

Recently, we’ve been chatting a lot about anxiety.  I brought you 9 of my personal favorite ways to manage anxiety without medication and told you about 6 things that trigger anxiety.  Today, we’re chatting about the 4-part spiral that creates panic.  Panic attacks are super scary and bothersome, but knowing what creates them can help us stop the spiral and learn to master our panic.  

 

The spiral is kickstarted with a trigger.  True panic attacks often seem to occur out of the blue, but they’re frequently actually triggered by some sort of unusual physical sensation.  Once the attack has been triggered, a four-part spiral creates panic.  

6 Triggers for Anxiety So You Can Stay Ahead of It

April 12, 2020

Knowing what triggers your anxiety can help you predict when it’s going to flare up so you can double down on your healthy coping strategies (I brought you 9 of my personal favorites last week) and hopefully prevent a meltdown, breakdown, or shutdown.  Today, I’m bringing you 6 triggers for anxiety so you can stay ahead of it.

 

Everyone has their own idiosyncratic anxiety triggers.  For some people it’s being away from home, for others it’s public speaking, and for some it’s spiders or balloons or even puppies.  This post isn’t about listing every single thing that could trigger anxiety (that’d be impossible)...it’s about listing the general life factors that trigger just about everyone’s individual brand of anxiety.  

9 Ways to Manage Anxiety Without Medication

April 5, 2020

Whether you’ve got occasional anxiety or it’s an all-day-every-day part of your life, having some high quality strategies for managing it is key to keeping it from taking over.  Medications can be helpful for some people in some situations, but some people prefer to keep things natural or don’t have anxiety that’s severe enough to warrant taking medication...and most people who take medications still have occasional anxiety.  So just about everyone who experiences anxiety needs a healthy repertoire of all-natural coping skills to maximize their wellness. Today, I’m bringing you 9 of my personal favorite strategies to manage anxiety without medication.  

Anxiety vs. Fear vs. Panic: How to Tell the Difference

March 29, 2020

Anxiety, fear, and panic are such similar emotions and experiences that we often assume they’re just the same thing. But actually they’re different, and knowing the difference can help you communicate better with your doctors, know what information to actually be researching on your own, and hopefully finally find the right strategies to manage your mental health. In this week’s article, I’m telling you the key differences between anxiety, fear, and panic. Plus, I put it all together in a chart in case you’re a visual learner like I am. Charts are the best.

3 Lessons Learned from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

March 16, 2020

Recently, we’ve been talking about how to get the most out of your therapy sessions, and I shared with you three of the main takeaways from one of the most powerful psychological treatments - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  I also mentioned that a newer treatment is gaining momentum and filling in for some of CBT’s weaknesses.  This treatment is called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and the research on it in helping people transform their thinking and find freedom from anxiety, stress, depression, and lots of other mental health problems is super impressive.  You’ve probably never heard of ACT (pronounced as the word “act” rather than by its letters), so I’m here to tell you the main takeaways from this incredible treatment approach. If you’ve tried CBT and felt like it left you hanging, then definitely check out this post because ACT is an interesting extension with different ideas about how to master your mental health.  

 

3 Lessons Learned from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

March 15, 2020

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most widely researched therapy intervention, and for most of the most common mental health conditions it is the absolute best therapy approach.  You might not know much about CBT, though, so today I’ll tell you 3 of the main lessons that underlie how CBT works. If you’re not in therapy, these lessons might help you know where to focus your energy in overcoming your own mental health struggles; and if you are in therapy (even CBT), these lessons should help you consolidate what you’re learning.  Let’s get into it.

14 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Therapy Sessions

March 8, 2020
So you’ve gone through all the steps of getting a therapist -- it wasn’t easy, but you did it! Congratulations! Now you want to make sure you get the most out of your therapy sessions. In today’s post, I’ll tell you what to do before each therapy session, what to do during therapy sessions, what to do after therapy sessions, and what to do between your therapy sessions to make sure you’re squeezing every ounce of juice out of your therapy that you can. Plus, I put together a worksheet to help you organize it all and maximize your therapy sessions.