Your Mental Health Self-Care Checklist | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

Your Mental Health Self-Care Checklist

April 11, 2021
“Self-care” is a buzz word these days, and we all know we need it. But what does it actually mean? And how do you know if you’re doing it right? There are 6 components your self-care needs to have. In this week’s article, discover: Why self-care is important for mental health, the 6 components you need to check off your self-care checklist, how to make a self-care routine, and tons of resources for checking off each part of your self-care checklist. Dive in here!
Why You Have So Much Anxiety Over Things You Can’t Control | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

Why You Have So Much Anxiety About Things You Can’t Control

March 28, 2021
One of the most frustrating things about anxiety is that often we know our anxiety is blowing things out of proportion. We know things are probably gonna work out okay and that most likely nothing bad is going to happen. But then your anxiety pipes up:  "Yeah, but what if???"  Having anxiety about things you can't control is normal...even if it's irrational. In this week's article, discover why you have so much anxiety about things you can't control, the 2-step process to change the pattern, resources for helping you move from Step 1 to Step 2. Dive in here!
How to Survive a Panic Attack | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

How to Survive a Panic Attack

March 21, 2021
Panic attacks are super scary - so scary that many people even go to the hospital for evaluation to make sure they're not having a heart attack! When they get evaluated, they often get an anticlimactic diagnosis that sounds like, "It's probably just anxiety." Even if it's "just anxiety," panic attacks are debilitating, and it's useful to have some strategies for getting through them. In this week’s article, discover: - What a panic attack is - What not to do when you're having a panic attack - What to do when you're having a panic attack - How to know when to seek emergency help - Resources for panic attack survival Dive in here!
How to Manage Anxiety with the Anxiety Equation | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

How to Manage Anxiety with the Anxiety Equation

March 14, 2021
No math skills needed! There are lots of different types of anxiety, but they all have certain things in common. We can summarize those things into a simple equation. The equation is handy because when anxiety is high, the equation can point us to what might be causing it to be high -- and then we can focus our coping in that direction. That means we can get to the coping stage more quickly and more effectively.  In this week’s article, discover: - The anxiety equation - How the equation tells us which coping skills to use - Resources for coping once you decide which coping skills you need Dive in here!
15 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

15 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety

March 7, 2021
Despite looking like they've got it all together, many of my clients have anxiety. Today, we're diving into high-functioning anxiety. In this week’s article, discover: - What is high-functioning anxiety - What's good about high-functioning anxiety - What's bad about high-functioning anxiety - How to cope with it (tons of resources, worksheets, etc.!) Dive in here!
30-Day Mental Health Challenge | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

30-Day Mental Health Challenge: Part IV

February 28, 2021
It's the last part of your 30-day mental health challenge!! This mental health challenge is designed to help you - Move from thinking about changing to actually changing - Practice the skills you've picked up from all your research - Discover new strategies for managing your mental health - Establish a habit of focusing on your mental health on a regular basis This week includes challenges related to soothing your mind, managing stress, overcoming procrastination, and more! Dive in here!
30-Day Mental Health Challenge | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

30-Day Mental Health Challenge: Part III

February 21, 2021
It's week 3 of your 30-day mental health challenge! This challenge is designed to help you - Move from thinking about changing to actually changing - Practice the skills you've picked up from all your research - Discover new strategies for managing your mental health - Establish a habit of focusing on your mental health on a regular basis This week, dive into challenges to target worrying, self-talk, stress, burnout, and more! Dive in!
30-Day Mental Health Challenge | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

30-Day Mental Health Challenge: Part II

February 14, 2021
Last week, you launched into a 30-day mental health challenge. This mental health challenge is designed to help you - Put all the strategies you've been researching into practice - Make actual changes in your mental health - Discover new strategies for managing your mental health - Establish a habit of focusing on your mental health on a regular basis If you're ready for Part II of the 30-day challenge, dive in here!
2021.02.07 CHALLENGE 30-Day Mental Health Challenge | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

30-Day Mental Health Challenge

February 7, 2021
For the next 30 days, join me in trying one new technique or coping skill each day.  By the end of the month, you’ll have experimented with a variety of new strategies to master your mental health, and you’ll have an idea of what works for you, where you need more practice, and what just isn’t a good fit for you.  In this week’s article, discover: What to keep in mind as you start this 30-day challenge - How to make the challenge a success for you - What to do for each of the next 7 days - All the resources and worksheets you need to really dive deep into each day's strategy Dive in here!
7 Signs You're Done With Therapy & It's Time to Graduate | Hayden Finch, PhD | Psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Arkansas

7 Signs You’re Done With Therapy & It’s Time to Graduate

January 31, 2021
If you're in therapy (yay!), you can use the strategies on this website to make even more progress.  At some point, though, it'll be time to graduate from therapy and move on. But how do you know when it's time? There isn't an actual "graduation," and your progress can be so gradual that it's hard to know when to stop (just like it's hard to know when to put down the Doritos...). In this week’s article, discover: - 7 signs you're done with therapy and it's time to graduate - Things to keep in mind as you decide when to end therapy - Tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of your therapy sessions Dive in here!