Parent Burnout

Parent Burnout Is Real, Yet Treatable

Parent Burnout Is Real, Yet Treatable Parent burnout is real. It often starts small, and can lead to impairment in a parent’s ability to complete their responsibilities towards their children. It can make it difficult to balance work, social, and family aspects of your life. Unfortunately, if a parent feels distress, the children will too. […]

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Wearing mask for coronavirus

Responding to Coronavirus Anxiety

Today, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, a pandemic. COVID-19 has a lot of people scared, and understandably so. Here’s a little about what we can all do to respond our fear:  Take care of your health. Don’t go places when you are sick. Reduce the people that you are […]

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Joyful Snow-showers

Snowflakes, soft and fluffy, were floating down, atop the 8 inches of snow on the ground. I watched my dog delightedly running circles in the yard as if to say, “Yey! Fresh snow! Look at me!” I called my 12 year-old son to the window. “I wonder why all dogs, big or small, short coats […]

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Catching Snowflakes on Tongue

Family Stress and the Holidays

The holidays are coming…. When you hear that phrase, does it strike fear and panic? Does it remind you of family stress? Or does it bring up warm memories of time with your family, eating pie or other goodies in front of a warm fire? If you are like most people, you probably have mixed […]

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7 Absolutes for Good Self-Care if You or a Family Member Has Anxiety

Many people have anxiety or a child or family member who is anxious. It might be that there is a history of worrying or stress. Maybe the person avoids doing things that are scary, like approaching dogs, making speeches, or driving. Maybe the person tends to be overly careful or repetitive about hand-washing or cleaning. If the anxiety is distressing to the person, or interferes with the way s/he wants to live her life, she may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are common, and recent research has found that 1 in 3 people are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.

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perfectionism

Perfectionism: A Cultural Epidemic in Teens

Perfectionism, or the tendency to want to do everything flawlessly, is often associated with increased stress and anxiety.  Perfectionism combines excessively high personal standards (“I have to do my best at everything”), as well as feelings of failure if the person falls short of those benchmarks.  Oftentimes, our need to be perfect stems from fear.  […]

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Socially Anxious Kid

Back to School for the Kid with Social Anxiety

Being a kid with social anxiety isn’t easy.  As adults, many of us still have difficulty sitting down at a table and introducing ourselves to a group of strangers. In fact, many of us can say that if given the choice, we would likely choose not to be in that situation. Remember that your child […]

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Your Posture Can Increase Your Confidence

We have known for a long time that there is a relationship between our thoughts, our feelings, and what we do. Cognitive behavioral therapists often refer to this as the cognitive triangle (pictured below).   For example, if we tell ourselves, “This is going to be hard,” we often feel overwhelmed or scared, and our hearts […]

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Parent Stress Increases Child Stress

Many children experience anxiety from time to time In fact, there is evidence to suggest that the number of children with anxiety disorders continues to increase over time, as well as the intensity of anxiety symptoms. Many things contribute to the stress children experience today.  Our culture demands more time and energy from both children […]

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My Dog’s Mindfulness Gift

“Your dog is so mindful!” my neighbor yelled across the street. Although my kind neighbor was referring to my dog’s obedience, I smirked at the literal thought of my dog’s mindfulness.  Mindfulness happens when we notice everything in the present moment.  In doing so, we are often more grateful and more content.  Sunshine, my 7-month-old Golden […]

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ADHD and Anxiety

Can people have both ADHD and Anxiety?

Many people struggle with ADHD.  Studies estimate that as many as 5-10% of children and up to 5% of adults are diagnosed with this condition.  Likewise, anxiety is also a common condition, impacting upwards of 30% of people at some point in their life.  So, yes, it makes sense that people with ADHD would also […]

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