There are a variety of effected and well researched counseling treatments and interventions that have been shown to reduce the risk of postpartum depression and anxiety. Many of these treatments involve providing mothers with practical support and strategies for managing problems that may arise during the postpartum period (such as sleep deprivation and crying). Here are some more specifics!
Read MoreAt its core, perfectionism is striving to attain unrealistic standards based on a sense of self-worth that hinges on the expectations of others. Perfectionism is ultimately rooted in fear. Fear of rejection, fear of being an imposter, fear of getting it wrong, fear of someone seeing the real you, fear of being judged, fear of not knowing the answer, fear of failing, fear of effort, fear of it being too hard or too much. While the connection between perfectionism and anxiety is complex, perfectionism is often a sign of an underlying anxiety issue.
Read MoreWhen one child in a family unit has special needs (emotional, behavioral, developmental, physical, or illness related) it affects the entire family, particularly siblings. It is very easy and understandable for parents to become consumed with getting the child that displays the more critical difficulties the help that they need, unfortunately, this sometimes comes at the cost of the health and well-being of other children in the family. Disaster management and pure survival tactics dictate that the individual who is causing the most disruption, the high level of disturbance in the family unit, and needs the highest degree of care would consume the most mental and emotional energy from the parents. However, this can unintentionally leave other children in the family vulnerable to significant stress, anxiety, and pressure within the family system. When one child is experiencing a crisis, the other children MUST be supported and monitored too.
Read MoreOne of the first steps in learning how to cope with and heal from anxiety is identifying the cycle of anxiety that takes place in your day to day life. Understanding the anxiety cycle will help to identify the various triggers of your anxiety, recognize the unhealthy coping patterns you have developed in order to avoid feeling anxious, realize that avoiding the triggers to your anxiety may provide temporary relief, and remember that short-term relief doesn’t lead to long-term growth. Identifying how your own experience specifically fits into the cycle is one of the first steps to experiencing freedom from anxiety!
Read MoreIf you think you are struggling with symptoms of prenatal depression, please know that there is hope and help! Counseling treatment has been shown to reduce prenatal depression symptoms and prevent the development of postpartum depression following the birth of a child. Counseling can allow you navigate your feelings and expectations around becoming a parent, help create a healthy and supportive environment for your child, allow you to develop coping skills for stress and anxiety, and manage stress and relational conflicts.
Read MoreIn the not so distant past, grief was looked at as a linear process. A step by step timeline with tasks to complete and stages to move through until an end was reached in which grief was “resolved” and the bereaved had “moved on” from their loss. But this straight forward and simplistic process doesn’t describe the kind of grief that I see people wrestling with day after day.
Read MoreHaving a baby in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) is not how we typically envision motherhood beginning, it is not part of the plan. All of the emotions you experience in the NICU (grief, guilt, anger, anxiety, and depression) are normal and appropriate responses to traumatic events, they are not signs of weakness! While these reactions are a normal part of the adjustment process, it is important to recognize if they become a problem and reach out for help.
Read MoreEvery birthing is unique and for some women, their birth experience can be deeply troubling and even cause post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To an outsider, some births may seem very difficult and traumatic, while the mother may not have experienced it that way. The opposite can be true as well, some mother's may feel that their birth experience was traumatizing (for a variety of reasons) when it might be considered "normal" by medical professionals.
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