Category: Mental Health
-
Cure Sleep Anxiety By Changing One Way You Think About Sleep
In many ways, insomnia can be described as a disorder of sleep anxiety. People with insomnia are constantly worried about not being able to fall asleep quickly enough, not getting enough sleep, and whether this sleep deficit will impact their next day. For example, there may be fears that the lack of sleep will lead…
-
Treating Insomnia Naturally Using Science-Based Strategies (Without Drugs)
Chronic insomnia is a troubling sleep problem which is defined by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep, as well as daytime exhaustion. Most physicians and mental healthcare providers are not very well-equipped to deal with chronic sleep problems. They will usually provide sleep hygiene recommendations or prescribe medication. The problem is that sleep hygiene does not…
-
Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Safety Behaviours In Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is a fear of negative evaluation. For example, being worried that other people thinking that I’m “stupid, boring, or worthless.” This fear of social situations goes from being just shy to social anxiety disorder when it starts affecting our lives. For example, avoiding an interview that might have landed you a job that…
-
How To Know When You Are Experiencing Realistic Anxiety
In therapy (and life), we often talk about anxiety as though it is a bad thing. But anxiety – at least in moderate doses – is very important. Evolutionarily, anxiety keeps us safe. Back in the ancient days, if there were a bear around near our caves, we probably want our anxiety system to kick…
-
What Maintains Low Mood? Perpetuating Factors Of Depression
In life, feeling sad from time to time is a totally normal experience. When we experience loss, we feel sad and grieve – whether it’s a loss of a loved one, a relationship, or an opportunity (like not getting a job that you wanted). However, when sadness turns into prolonged episodes of depression, that is…
-
How Sleep Problems Stick Around: The 3P Model of Insomnia
Bad nights versus insomnia disorder Everyone has a bad night from time to time. However, for some, the one bad night turns into a steady stream of bad nights. Suddenly, you are not having a bad night anymore. You have insomnia. The question is: why do sleep problems sometimes stick around? In this post, I…
-
Treatment Goals For Depression For Patients Starting Therapy
Introduction Depression is a very common psychological problem that many people endure at some point in their lives. The symptoms of depression can be very distressing and impact important areas of our lives. For example, work, school, family, social connections, and our interests and hobbies. Symptoms of depression include: Importantly, depression is different from normal…
-
How Happy People Stay Happy – A Therapist’s Opinion
Happiness is a very important goal for most people. However, the art of being happy is surprisingly challenging and most folks find the goal of always being happy – or even being happy sometimes – pretty elusive. I’m not an expert of happiness by any means (besides being a fairly happy person myself). Throughout my…
-
Different CBT Strategies for Treating Obsessions in OCD
Introduction Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of mental health disorder where a person experiences intrusive thoughts, urges, or images. For example: These obsessive thoughts tend to increase anxiety, which then leads to compulsions that are meant to reduce distress – at least in the short-term. Some common compulsions include: The reason why obsessions lead…
-
Therapy Goals for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
People with generalized anxiety disorder tend to worry about a number of different themes in their lives. For example, family, friends, health, the future, being late to appointments – all the way down to what they need to talk about in therapy. This might resonate with you. For example, you might be worried about what…
Simply mental health 