Anyone who has ever read the novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky knows that there is no crime that goes unpunished. Dostoyevsky’s well-known novel is called Crime and Punishment. Our sense of justice tells us that wrongs ought to have retribution. But that’s not the way it always works, is it? Fast forward to 2022, where rising numbers …
Violence is Threatening the Mental Health of Philadelphia Residents Read More »
Grief can take many shapes and wear many hats. Life events, world events, personal problems and now, a war that is in Ukraine. How could Russia put the world in such a comprising position, especially after a pandemic that is still raging. People are still wearing masks, and some remain hesitant about going to the …
Studies on humor tell us that laughing reduces our cortisol levels. In fact, there was a study done in 2014 at the Robert Bosch Hospital with cardiac patients showing that humor significantly reduced levels of negative emotions such as aggression and tension. In 2017, there was a three part-study published in the Psychological and Social …
Why Cry When You Can Laugh? Humor, Depression, and Stress Read More »
My musical journey of songs that give me permission to feel… My purple Magnavox CD radio player lived for much of my youth next to my pillow on my bed. Not on a bedside table or floor, literally on my bed so that my face could be inches away from the speakers. I had a …
Tunes for Tuning In: Songs That Give You Permission To Feel Read More »
Many parents imagine they would want to be a supportive ally to their child in the event their child comes out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer. When faced with the task to do so, we may become surprised at our difficulty coping with the new information. This is why I always emphasize the …
Before, During, and After Coming Out: A Guide for Parents of LGBTQ+ Children Read More »
Simply put, what is anxiety? Anxiety is a condition that has become quite popular in the public lexicon. Hearing about anxiety can be tricky, especially when the word is thrown around without the proper amount of context. One way to look at it, there is a difference between anxiety in the general sense and anxiety …
Why self-care is so important for our overall mental health (and what self-care looks like) Mental health has become a hot-button topic in pop culture, to the point that comedians mention it in the setup for some of their jokes, many times to land a punchline about the actions of a controversial celebrity or some …
There are several considerations to keep track of for a person who is dealing with social anxiety. From how to ensure consistent performance in the workplace, to managing the complicated ins and outs of personal relationships, to the pressures that can come from everyday demands and responsibilities, there are multitudes of things to balance. Then …
Returning To “Normalcy” While Suffering From Social Anxiety Read More »
Have you ever read something and it just clicks, you completely understand it and you can see the validity of it? I found this happening often when I was in grad school for counseling and mental health in 2018. Particularly in my Counseling Interventions class my first semester, we’d be talking about a theory that …