Anxiety, Depression and Stress

Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Heart Attacks

Anxiety and depression are the hallmark feelings that bring people into therapy. They typically mask deeper emotions that we wish to avoid or dare not feel, such as anger, shame, fear, vulnerability or guilt. Panic attacks can also mask strong emotional symptoms AND they can also be misread as being a heart attack. What important to note is that heart attacks are the number one cause of death in women in the United State—so always check it out when you experience symptoms

Belly Breathing

Diaphragmatic or belly breathing is at the heart of all relaxation techniques. Over the course of a day we breathe about 7,000-30,000 breaths. It therefore behooves us to breathe in a way that optimizes our health, happiness, and well-being. Learn how to breathe to receive optimal physical and psychological benefits.

Women and Beauty

In western culture idealized beauty for women tends to mean youthful looks, facial symmetry, femininity, glowing complexion, and a trim fit body. Women often go to great lengths to achieve their rendition of this ideal, and not necessarily by committing to good nutrition and exercise. Fad diets, surgery, injections, and eating disorders have become all too familiar as the path to achieving “beauty.”

Managing Guilt

People often see me because of their struggles with stress that can show itself as anxiety, depression, irritability, frustration, or guilt. Guilt is a big problem for so many of us juggling work, family, and self-care and these competing demands often feel daunting. It’s impossible to feel good about it all at once.

Learning to Forgive

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Forgiveness turns anger and hurt into healing and inner peace. Forgiveness helps one to overcome feelings of victimization, hurt, anxiety, and rage, along with personal and relational conflicts. It allow us to make the conscious decision to let go of a grudge so we can move forward in our lives.

Self-Talk and Self-Compassion

We talk to ourselves constantly throughout the day. It is believed that we have between 25,000 and 60,000 thoughts everyday. Internal talk is a mixture of negative, positive, and neutral thoughts—with the majority of these for many—being negative.
Most of these thoughts are a repetition of the thoughts we had yesterday, the day before, and the day before that.

Self-talk begins early in childhood and persists throughout our lifetime. It is our constant companion. Internal talk is a mixture of negative, positive, and neutral thoughts—with the majority of these for many—being negative. Write down your negative thoughts to understand your “internal script”
Then assess. Are these thoughts true?
Tap in self-compassion and reframe from a kinder perspective.

The Meaning of “Good Enough”

Winston Churchill once said, “The maxim ‘nothing but perfection’ may be spelled ‘paralysis.’” We’ve probably all met perfectionists in our lives, and know how difficult life can be for them … Read more

Why the Way You Breathe Matters

Breathing abdominally is the key to self-regulation and the initiation of a relaxation response.  The breath can be seen as a barometer for how we are responding to a given … Read more