Identifying Coping Activities

In our busy culture, it is often hard to identify what we enjoy doing for fun, or self-care. I ask clients regularly what they enjoy doing for fun or self-care. You would think that I asked them how to save the planet! I get blank stares, shrugged shoulders, and “I … Read More

Building a Better Brain

Therapy is a critical element in experiencing change. But we also believe that what our clients do with their time outside of therapy will either assist with or distract from their goals. In fact, studies are showing us that certain things we do and specific changes we make can literally change the “wiring” and composition of the brain.

Coping with Rejection

coping, coping with rejection

Rejection…when I think of this word, it makes me think of the difficult times I have experienced rejection. It is not one of my favorite topics to think about. However, rejection is part of life that we all experience. As human beings, we have to experience rejection in some kind … Read More

Defense Mechanisms and Coping Skills

coping skills, coping

Coping skills can take many forms. They help us make sense of our experiences, mitigate stress, and sustain our sense of self-worth. Sometimes life can feel pretty overwhelming. Without these strategies for managing life’s stressors and sustaining a sense of emotional well-being, it would be difficult to navigate even the … Read More

Laughter as a Coping Strategy

laughter

In these seasons and more broadly in general, incorporating humor as a coping strategy can bring some positive color back into daily life.

Coping Through Creativity

The feelings that often accompany depression include loneliness, apathy, and lack of motivation. Becoming lost in our thoughts and feeling stuck are common experiences for those struggling with depression. People use a variety of coping skills to manage their depression, including journaling, joining a support group, listening to music, and … Read More

Changing an Unhealthy Coping Mechanism

coping, change

We all have ways of coping or have fallen into bad habits, even addictions. You may have decided you want to change. But most likely you have found that actually changing just is not as easy as making the decision to do so. Change is hard for most of us.

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 2

If you have experienced a grief that is disenfranchised or if you recognize that others in your life may have, it is vital to find a way to make space for open mourning.

Often, when grief is disenfranchised, it is a result of beliefs about the way things should work and how people are supposed to relate to their world.

Changing Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

We all have ways of coping or have fallen into bad habits, even addictions. You may have decided you want to change. But most likely you have found that actually changing just is not as easy as making the decision to do so. Change is hard for most of us.

Coping with Change

Change can be really hard to accept, especially when we don’t have any choice in the matter. Here are a few tips to make the change feel easier!