mental health
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The goal is balance—homeostasis, peace. Imagine a scale with two plates on opposing sides of a fulcrum. If only life were that simple. We could easily shift weight from one side to the other and restore equilibrium. Instead, life feels more like a spinning top with a wide plane. If you load all your weight…
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Working as a therapist, I hear my clients talk a lot about “what if.” This questions serves as a primary perpetrator of anxiety. But that’s just it. Anxiety is the fear of the unknown. The answer to “what if” will likely always be just that – unknown. It is so easy to get on the…
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If I have a to-do list, there is no way in hell I am sitting still. Even if I am sitting down, either my mouth or my mind are running. It drives my poor girlfriend crazy, especially when she wants “quiet time.” It is physically impossible for me when I am in that mode. You’d…
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Much like anyone else, I like to be in control. Peering into the unknown drives my anxiety meter off the cliff and into the dark abyss of ruminating. My entire week consisted of such situations. Ones where I had no control. On at least four occasions I found myself saying, “There is nothing I can…
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Yours truly has been on an acceptance and commitment therapy kick lately. I like that it does not cause you to gaslight yourself like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Nor does it carry all of the technical psychobabble that dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) has. Instead, it gives us a realistic way to handle life’s problems as…
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I do love my work. As challenging as counseling can be, it really does ignite my passion. As a young man working towards my career, there was one by-product I never considered. In my interactions with my clients, I am constantly being served reminders. Professionally, this is known as countertransference. I see myself in my…
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Take a look at your to-do list. I dare you. Look at it. Stare at it. Think about it. It’s so much fun, isn’t it? Wondering about all those tasks. Just sitting there. Waiting for you. Looming in the shadows. Living rent-free in your head. Task paralysis haunts us all. Often, it occurs when our…
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A year full of trials and tribulations. I am so damn happy that this year is over. 2026 couldn’t come fast enough. In what has become an annual tradition, it is time for my annual reflection. Let’s look back at what I set out to do this year, see how I did, and outline my…
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As a clinician and a client, I offer my unique perspective on suicide. I’ve been there, and I don’t mind sharing my story if it will help someone else. Also, as a suicide prevention advocate, I am starting a new program in conjunction with the Dillan Hardt Foundation- the Heart2Hardt program. For every $50 raised,…
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You guys seem to like it when I keep it real on here. Well, it’s been a while since I even posted here. Let alone let you in on the deep thought. Lately, that’s all I have been bathing in. All the deep thought. Unfortunately, not the good vibe kind of deep thought. More like…
