If you were alive in 1987, you might remember the anti-drug campaign ad that talked about “your brain on drugs” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnENVylxPI). The ad set out to compare our brains to an egg and how doing drugs was like breaking and frying the egg.

Prior to the 1950s, scientists believed that our brains went dormant when we slept (www.hopkinsmedicine.org). We now know this is absolutely not true. Your brain cycles through REM and non-REM throughout the night, sometimes up to 4 or 5 times. When you experience quality sleep, you are better able to both understand and remember information. […]

We all get angry whether its road rage or when our sibling does something annoying. Anger is sometimes difficult to cope with and when our emotions get the best of us sometimes we might lash out and hurt those around us. Anger is not an emotion we should fault ourselves for having, we are allowed […]

Physical pain is a major impact on our mental health. From chronic to acute, severe to minor, pain will have an impact on our mood that can be quite staggering. Luckily most of us learn to manage everyday aches and pains without it causing much of a mental health issue at all, but even the […]

I don’t know if the general public pictures therapists as practicing Yoga or Tai Chi, meditating, or just doing life in flowing clothes while emanating peace and kindness. If you are a therapist and this describes you…WONDERFUL! I have met such sweet souls and love being in their calming presence.  However, I am here to […]

“Stressed” is a word you may have used from time-to-time to describe your mental health. The urban dictionary on Google defines “stressed out” as when you feel like you cannot cope with life or are overwhelmed with responsibility.” With everything that is happening in the world many of us feel stressed. However, nuances exist in […]

What are Cognitive Distortions? The thoughts that pop into our brain are not always reliable.  Our brain can be biased in ways that are unhelpful and cloud our judgment and logical thinking. Ways our brain can be unreliable is referred to as Cognitive Distortions or Mind Traps. Cognitive Distortions are defined as: faulty or inaccurate […]

There are always possible scams in any field of work. Mental Health work is no exception, even though the thought of scamming those seeking help in desperate times is deplorable. There are some total outright scams in the mental health world that are even harmful, there are some things that are built on a preexisting […]

This is going to sound very strange, but over the years a close friend of mine has probably dialed 911 at least 10 times. She has given permission for me to mention this in my blog. Let me explain. These calls have involved her either witnessing something questionable or actually being in the middle of […]

America has had a suicide hotline for as long as I can remember. And while this was a great option for those experiencing thoughts of suicide, it had, in my opinion two large limitations. First, it was a 1-800 number so it was difficult to memorize. And, second, not all mental health crises are centered […]