Unpacking: Trauma
Research shows that a large percentage of adults in the U.S. have gone through a traumatic event at least once in their lifetime. While trauma is a common shared occurrence, each individual's experience is unique. It is evident that traumatic events can have profound effects on our physical and mental well-being, leading to various challenges. What exactly is trauma? Trauma is defined as a profoundly distressing or unsettling incident. In this blog post, we will delve into the topic of trauma - its nature, impact, and the journey towards healing.
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Bullying
Bullying is a prevalent issue among adolescents, and this blog aims to shed light on how to avoid contributing to the negative perception of bullying by showing our children compassion and empowering them. By taking the necessary steps at home to educate and prepare them, ensuring they have proper support at school, and uplifting both the bullies and the bullied, we can start making a positive impact.
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The Power of Music
Music and sound have played a significant role in human history, uniting people and evoking emotions. From the Hindu belief in the power of chanting "Om" to the Biblical description of God's voice creating light, the impact of sound is profound. In modern times, music has been found to greatly benefit mental health by fostering social connections, reducing stress, aiding memory, and enhancing brain function. Additionally, music serves as a form of communication, introduces us to diverse cultures, and amplifies marginalized voices. The power of music is undeniable.
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Unpacking: Life Transitions
Life changes are inevitable and often challenging to navigate. From moving to new places, experiencing loss, to making internal shifts, these changes can have a significant emotional impact. It is essential to understand the mechanics of change and how they affect individuals going through them. Embracing these transitions is key to finding peace amidst the ever-changing seasons of life.
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The Art of Disconnecting
Most people have struggled to disconnect and maintain their inner peace, especially in today’s digital world. A major contributor is how online we are today, which can lead to symptoms of overstimulation, burnout, and chronic connectivity and can have other negative effects on one’s mental health. Disconnecting takes a good deal of practice and mindfulness and there are ways to disconnect that don't leave us feeling out of touch. This blog goes over actionable tips and ways to disconnect and make the most of the information age without letting it consume us.
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Declutter your space. Declutter your mind.
Clutter not only impacts our physical environment but also affects our mental health. This post highlights the benefits of decluttering and provides useful tips to assist you in tidying up!
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Unpacking: Grief and Loss
Today we are introducing a new series on the blog called Unpacking. For those who might not know, the term is psychology slang. Unpacking is taking a larger emotional or situational concept and breaking it down into smaller pieces that can be more easily understood. This is a technique therapists use to help us understand the root of issues, and better untangle other interconnected issues or feelings. This series will focus on unpacking all the details of big emotional impacts within our lives, and give insight into what the experience may entail, the causes, and root emotions, along with steps for coping, and examples of treatment.
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Couples Therapy: what it is and when to try it
Couples therapy is a type of talk therapy that is centered around resolving issues and addressing dysfunctional patterns to improve your relationship long-term. This type of therapy can be conducted online or in person and is often led by a licensed clinical social worker, a marriage and family therapist or a professional clinical counselor.
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Seasonal Affective Disorder: What It Is and What To Do
Seasonal Affective Disorder is not spoken about as widely as depression and other mental health conditions, even though it affects over 10 million adults in the US, which is about 5% of the population.
So what does Seasonal Affective Disorder look like? It depends partially on when your symptoms onset. There are two different patterns for SAD winter and summer. The more common of the two is winter, and the symptoms are losing interest in hobbies, having cravings for carbohydrates, weight gain, feelings of listlessness, and worthlessness, as well as feeling sad and even suicidal. However, the most common side effect is tiredness and sluggishness that persist regardless of how much you sleep. This further reinforces the idea that the condition is related to our circadian rhythm. The symptoms often arrive around October and may persist through February and even early March.
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How To Get The Most Out of Therapy
Most people only see their therapist a handful of times a month for an hour at a time. With the limitations of time, it is important to use every tool at your disposal to make the most of every session. For those of you who may be looking for some helpful tips to jumpstart your therapy goals and get more out of your sessions, this article is a must-read.
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A Time For Reflection
The end of a year and beginning of a new one is a time for reflection and an opportunity to take inventory of our memories and experiences. This process can be enjoyable and some might find themselves indulging in nostalgia or comparing where they ended to where they began. While this is a very common way to approach the New Year, if we want to make the practice more meaningful and impactful we can employ mindfulness.
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Coping with Grief During the Holiday Season: A Compassionate Guide
The holiday season is often portrayed as a time of joy, warmth, and togetherness. However, for those who are grappling with grief, this time of year can be incredibly challenging. Whether you're mourning the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or a significant aspect of your life, the holidays can intensify feelings of sadness and loneliness. In this blog post, we'll explore gentle strategies to cope with grief during the holiday season and find moments of peace and healing.
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How To Improve Self Awareness and Reduce Self Sabotage
Growing your sense of self and feeling secure in your skin has several benefits for almost every aspect of your mental health. It’s an underlier in most discussions we have about mental health improvement. Building and developing this sense is hard enough, but it can be harder when we hit roadblocks and participate in self-sabotaging activities. If you do not feel that there's been an actionable path to growing your sense of self, you might want to evaluate what is holding you back.
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5 Steps to Improve Your Communication
In any facet of life, we must be able to communicate. Whether in a professional setting, our personal lives, or even practical situations, being able to relay your message clearly and concisely is a skill that can be used almost every day. Communication is the foundation for expression, and an essential part of bonding and negotiating with others as well as spreading information. Being a good communicator could be the key to getting more out of your therapy sessions, or resolving issues that may crop up in your domestic or work life.
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Navigating Thanksgiving with Compassion: A Guide for Those Struggling with Body Image and Disordered Eating
As Thanksgiving approaches, the excitement of festive gatherings and the promise of indulgent feasts can be accompanied by the anxiety of body image concerns and disordered eating patterns. The holiday season, often revolving around food-centric events, presents unique challenges for individuals on a journey towards healing. If the upcoming holiday brings up more fears than excitement for you, take a moment to consider the following strategies to prepare for Thanksgiving with mindfulness and self-compassion.
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The Holidays and Your Mental Health
Though the holidays can be an extraordinary and fun time for families and friends, it is also known to be one of the most stressful times of the year for several reasons. According to a study by NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness), 64% of those who suffer from mental health concerns throughout the year report that holidays put additional stress on their condition.
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Tips for Effective Communication
Most everyone has situations in their daily life where they have to speak to others. Beyond this, however, our social lives and romantic partnerships hinge on effective and honest communication to keep things on track. Holding back on talking about things that are important to us can have negative consequences for ourselves and for the person we are withholding communication from. We owe it to ourselves and those we care about to offer our honest opinions, even when those opinions are not always what the other person may want to hear. This is why in this article, we want to offer some tips to help improve your communication skills and give insight into overcoming fears surrounding expressing yourself.
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Minority Stressors on our LGBTQ+ Community
With so much polarization about topics such as racial equality, gender politics, and sexuality in the news and online, it has become increasingly important to be proactive in educating yourself and those close to you about how to be a good ally. Today, we want to focus on one group in particular: the LGBTQ+ community. Here at bareWell, we unwaveringly support this community and want to empower others to uplift them, as well as give tips and information to encourage our readers to do the same.
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Athletes Breaking the Mold: Mental Health in Sports
First and foremost, the organizations supporting these athletes are responsible for their well-being and establishing a healthy working environment. With that being said, the policies of these sports organizations can be impacted when athletes address their struggles publicly. This brings us to the topic we’re discussing today: we want to recognize those who have helped shape the culture of mental health awareness in sports and recount some stories of brave athletes who broke the mold when speaking about their struggles for the betterment of the community.
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Suicide Awareness Month: Common Misconceptions
With September being Suicide Awareness Month, we have an opportunity to shine light on a difficult topic that is often invisible, but increasingly common in our society. Even with increased awareness around suicide, many common misconceptions still persist, sometimes making those struggling with suicide feel alienated, alone, or deficient. With that in mind, let’s talk about and challenge some of the most common myths about suicide, and learn some tools to identify its threats.
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