Articles
Types Of Depression: There’s More Than One
Depression is more than feeling unhappy or down in the dumps for a few days. It is a real mental health condition that affects mood and ability to function. It can vary in intensity from mild to severe, be brought about by numerous reasons, and impact you in unique ways. Although the exact cause of depression is not fully known, risk factors include a family history of depression, abnormal brain chemistry, significant losses, chronic stress, and life circumstances. Typically, it develops over an extended length of time and, left untreated, can lead to a downward spiral. There are many different types [...]
Hope in Between: Navigating Therapy’s Messy Middle
Congratulations! You’ve decided to begin the process of working through your heart’s hurt and healing your soul. Yet, when we initiate a counseling journey, we don’t realize how exhausting the process can be. Somewhere between the treatment plan and goal, we find ourselves exhausted and ready to check out. We can wonder if it’s worth it to: Keep appointments. Do the self-examination work. Ask the challenging questions. Negotiate the coping. Cultivate peace with the change. You can have greater hope for navigating therapy’s messy middle with the tips below. The case for counseling. Doubtless, there will be times when it’s difficult [...]
7 Principles About OCD: A Biblical Foundation
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has seemingly uncontrollable, recurring thoughts (“obsessions”), and/or behaviors (“compulsions”) that they feel the urge to repeat over and over. It is a complex, anxiety-related disorder that Christian counselors can help patients with, using a Biblical foundation and a dependency on God to overcome something that can seem very difficult to treat. Principles about OCD. To learn more about OCD anxiety and its alleviation, consider the seven principles below: Knowledge is Power. Many people suffering from OCD anxiety are unaware of what is happening to them, so education [...]
Emotional Burnout: How To Prevent It And Overcome It
According to author, therapist, and attorney, Deedee Cummings, “Emotional burnout happens when you have faced such a high level of stress that your body literally shuts down and just cannot accommodate any more challenges.” It is a gradual process that can creep up on you. It does not happen overnight. Remember to take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup. – Kamini Wood Among the many things that can trigger emotional burnout are struggling to make ends meet, working long hours without enough rest, having a baby, a high-pressure job, unmet needs, unprocessed emotions, sleep deprivation, living with [...]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Options
Traumatic events are unpredictable and devastating. They can happen any time and anywhere, leaving the people who experience them with significant struggles as they try to process and recover from the memories of the event. Some people are gradually able to come to terms with what happened, but others are not. People whose symptoms do not go away may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Their symptoms may become so pervasive that they interfere with their ability to function in their day-to-day life. Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose. – Michelle Rosenthal [...]
How to Improve Your Communication in Marriage
Do you feel like you and your spouse just cannot get through to each other? Or as if you are speaking different languages? Do you often feel unheard or misunderstood? Are you battling with a silent spouse, one who withdraws or avoids conflict, or even the opposite - one who just seems to push all your buttons? Perhaps there are certain important conversations that you just don’t feel that you can have anymore with your spouse without tempers flaring or the relationship deteriorating. These are all signs that communication in your marriage is under strain and needs urgent attention. In this [...]
Some Old, Some New: 12 Causes of Resentment in Marriage
Take a read through this article and see how many of these causes for resentment in marriage you identify with. While this may not be a checklist you want to score well on it may be useful to know what specifically needs work from you as well as your spouse. One contributes more than the other. Between household chores, time with the children, the school run, and the financial contribution to running a household, there are many areas in a marriage where one may feel that they are doing more than their fair share and the other is not pulling their [...]
Relationship Advice for Men: What It Means to Be a Real Man
This article will address what it means to be a real man. I will be touching on three themes: worldview, biblical view, and therapeutic view. My wife just asked me “How are you doing” I replied, “I am living a life of quiet desperation.” This is a well-known quote from Henry David Thoreau. “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” Growing up in the United States I learned that “real men” were supposed to be tough-minded, self-sufficient, strong, smart, rich, and desired by women. Real men don’t lose a fight [...]
How to Stop Worrying Through Self-Talk
The conversations you have with yourself, in your mind or out loud, can either dial up or dial down the amount you worry about. “Inner talk is one of the most effective, least-used tools available to master the psyche and foster life success,” says Psychologist Ethan Kross. Times have changed since we thought others were crazy for talking to themselves. Many of us are doing it, and self-talk is recognized as an exceptionally useful tool as we navigate our various roles and areas of responsibility as a colleague, parents, siblings, students, and more. The quiet words we have with ourselves can [...]