College is a life-changing period in our lives. It tests our character, mental stability, and our overall self-esteem to get through the toughest of times. With all the commitments, events, academics, and things going on each day, it can be daunting for one to tackle them all. Fortunately, there are solutions and steps to help balance out your mental state. Let’s … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2018
Weathering the Scrupulosity Storm: A Story of OCD, Faith and Healing
My brain was a vortex. Thousands of thoughts, like drops of water, flowed together in a harsh rush of unwelcome emotions. They crashed together, circling down toward an uncertain conclusion, a dark place deep inside of me, from which I believed I could never come up for air. But I was wrong. As real as my feelings of fear, anxiety, sorrow, and hopelessness were, the reality … [Read more...]
Think:Kids: An Overview of Group Parent Therapy Program
In light of Oprah’s 60 Minutes piece on trauma-informed care that ran on PBS March 11, 2018 (which I highly recommend), I wanted to share my family’s somewhat untypical experience with trauma, mental illness and the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) model. Childhood trauma such as sexual abuse or sudden death of a parent can increase a person’s vulnerability to mental … [Read more...]
You See My Friend
I breathe in once I exhale twice My chest rises and falls But my heart is frozen like ice I think my head is spinning again You see anxiety does not play nice And she brings along all her symptom friends They knock on my always open door I watch them come in then stare at the floor You see I can’t control what she does I can only wait patiently … [Read more...]
An Honest Conversation About Race and Mental Illness
At the time of writing this, it’s shortly after the 2 year anniversary of MarShawn McCarrel’s death. MarShawn, a well-known Black Lives Matter activist, took his own life on the statehouse steps on the 8th of February 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. He was 23 years old. Depression, his being hyper-aware of his race and issues concerning race in the US, and the emotional toll of his … [Read more...]
Rejection From Every Direction: How to Manage College Application Anxiety
For any college-bound student the year leading up to the application deadlines is extremely stressful. On top of keeping up with classes, studying for entrance exams, and visiting colleges, students have the agonizing task of creating “the list” of schools to which they want to apply. For our anxious student, this time period caused her an enormous amount of fear, uncertainty, … [Read more...]
Two Extremes: My Journey to Managing Disruptive Emotions
I was at a funeral when she told me that I had gotten stronger. She said it in a low voice, one that seemed assured of its own weight and meaningfulness. It was probably meant to be reassuring. It left me feeling like I was the one who belonged in the casket. What she believed about my silence, a radical change from running to her and pouring out my many anxieties in an … [Read more...]