If creating an authentic life were easy, everyone would be doing it. Sadly, life has a way of pushing us off track, having us focus on extrinsic motivations as opposed to our intrinsic desires and dreams. Why does this happen?When we’re young, no one really tells us the importance of living authentically. We’re told other things are important, like getting...[ read more ]
After sustaining a serious physical injury, most people don’t consider the mental and emotional ramifications of this type of accident. Getting to a hospital and getting immediate medical care is the primary focus, followed by follow-up care and physical recovery. But how does a serious injury affect your mental health?According to a 2016 study conducted by the peer-reviewed medical journal...[ read more ]
Flashbacks are our brain’s way of processing traumatic events that we’ve experienced. But what tends to happen is, our subconscious goes to our storage cabinet to access some important memories regarding the event, and everything sort of tumbles out of the cabinet all at once. This falling out or flashback experience can feel almost as traumatic as the initial event.Flashbacks...[ read more ]
It’s normal to feel anxious from time to time. Perhaps you get a bit nervous speaking in front of people or going on a job interview. But for some people, anxiety becomes a frequent and forceful occurrence that completely takes over their lives.Since anxiety comes in many forms, for instance panic attacks, phobias and social anxiety, it can often be...[ read more ]
Over the past several years, there have been numerous traumatic events all across the country. From incidents of mass violence to devastating natural disasters, hundreds of thousands of Americans have experienced or witnessed a disastrous or life-threatening event. In addition to tragedies such as these, anyone who has experienced a shocking or dangerous incident (such as a car accident or...[ read more ]
Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious accident, natural disaster, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.In the past, PTSD went by different names. During and right after the years of World War 1, the term “shell shock” was often used....[ read more ]
Experiencing the death of a loved one is the hardest thing we can go through in this life. What can make grieving even more challenging is the feeling that we’re somehow doing it wrong.But grieving is a unique experience and there is truly no “right” way to do it. Author Anne Morrow Lindberg put it best when she said, “…...[ read more ]
Meditation offers practitioners powerful benefits, yet many people are confused as to what exactly those benefits are. In a nutshell, meditation focuses attention in a deliberate manner, taking you from a state of noisy mental chatter to calm and quiet inner peace. And isn’t that something most of us could use?While meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in...[ read more ]
For many people, middle age is the catalyst to take stock of life. The kids have flown the coop and there’s more time to reconsider your likes, dislikes, goal, and dreams.Middle age is also the time we tend to look around at our social circles. Are our friendships still there? Have we lost friends due to illness, a move, or...[ read more ]
Unfortunately, being a survivor of trauma or abuse is exceedingly common. According to the National Children’s Alliance, nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S. annually. And according to the Center for Disease Control’s 2017 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, nearly 1 in 4 adult women and approximately 1 in 7 adult men report having experienced severe physical...[ read more ]