depression Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Beverly Steinhauer // Professional Counseling and Mental Health, LLC

I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!

March 25, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Life can be challenging. Depression happens. Depression is due to a chemical imbalance or is situational. What can you do? You are down, depressed, and nothing seems to go right. There you are in a hole and you have been here before.

Make an appointment with your therapist or talk to a best friend, someone you respect and can trust. Just talking can be cathartic at times. Are you on medication? Are you taking it as prescribed? Remember, medication doesn’t work unless you take it. Many times I ask clients are they on medication for them to reply yes, but it doesn’t work. My response is, “do you ever miss taking it?” They pause and think only to reply they miss it most of the time. Medication cannot be taken just here and there, whenever you remember, missing a couple of days between. It is not effective that way. Make a concentrated effort to put it somewhere where you will remember it. Getting back into a consistent routine will allow your medication to do its’ thing and give you a hand up out of your slump.

Sometimes you just have to come to your own assistance.

Get behind your self and push. What works for you? You know you better than anyone else. Waiting for someone else to make it right, complete your world, swoop in to make you happy is not reliable or realistic. You are in charge of you. You are the only one that can truly make changes in you. Meditation and mindfulness are both great at breaking this cycle of funk you are in. Get up, move, go outdoors. What brings you pleasure? What makes you happy? Seek those things out. Music is a great mood elevator. Turn it on in the house instead of the television. Watch what you choose to listen to as “Somebody done somebody wrong song” is probably not exactly what you need at this time. On the other hand, perhaps you need to give yourself a chance to identify and feel your emotions for a bit. Have a good cry if you feel like it. Now, it is time to pick your self up. No more sad songs. Choose something more upbeat. Find a doable task that you can complete and feel some accomplishment.

Absolutely, all of these things take effort, but is well worth it to break the cycle of the funk you are in. Remember…………………sometimes you just have to come to your own assistance. If you can’t get back in your grove, there is help. Find a good therapist or go back and see someone you have already established a relationship with that knows your history. Maybe you need more help than you are capable of creating for yourself. Making this effort can get you back into a healthier, happier state of well being.

Positive Affirmations: Changing Stinking-Thinking to Power Thinking

March 1, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

We have heard different versions of the Bruce Lee quote, “as you think, so shall you become.”

As children we internalize most every thing and come up with ideas about how we feel about ourselves, how we think others view us, basically our lens as to how we view our world. Unfortunately, these views are frequently negative, distorted and unrealistic. Unchallenged, as we become adults, we carry these views with us and they can become anxiety and stress provoking, as well as self-defeating and self-deprecating. We literally can’t get out of our own way and become our own obstacles to a healthy, satisfying life.

The good news is, these beliefs about one’s self are learned. What’s the possibility you misinterpreted and assumed incorrectly? Maybe it wasn’t you at all that was the problem. Perhaps we grew up being criticized by a negative, overly critical parent. Perhaps you were emotionally abandoned by a parent who was there in body, but not present emotionally, due to mental illness. There are a million scenarios as to the origin of your beliefs, but one thing is for sure. Children internalize and feel they are the problem and they deserve what they get. Children are all too sure they were not worthy or loveable, otherwise, the proof, they would have been treated differently.

If our behavior and views are learned, they can be relearned. Yes we know now the brain has plasticity, that is it can re-learn. This is where positive affirmations can be so powerful. When you take that negative thought, view, or idea, and flip it to the opposite, you have your positive affirmation. Instead of, “I could never be slim,” you would say, “I can be slim like that.” Instead of “no one will ever love me,” “I am loveable and worthy.” The more we repeat the affirmations, the quicker we build the new neuropathways. Yes, it takes time and consistency. Why look what you accomplished with the old distorted thinking and negative affirmations. They became bad habits. You can turn it around. So, write them down where you can see them. Say them out loud so you can hear them. Utilizing your senses helps to accomplish learning. Every day, have a positive affirmation that you repeat 200-300 times. Watch the change in your way of thinking. “As you think, so shall you become.” You are in control, make the change.

What is Positive About Positive Psychology

October 20, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

“In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.” — Dag Hammarskjold

There is much to say for positive psychology. All too often we recognize what is wrong. Problems are easily identified. Criticism is abundant and sometimes brutal. This is the way of the world. Remember your last evaluation? Did they recognize your strengths, what you are good at? Take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Build on your strengths and passions. In other words, if you are not good in Math, don’t plan on a career in Engineering. Be realistic. Above all, develop a sense of Gratitude. Feeling down? Instead of ruminating about all that is wrong, stop and think about all that is right. Seem backwards to you? Give it a try. Really think about everything you have to be grateful for. (Bet you don’t do that very often.) More than likely, you will feel more hopeful. Retrain your brain. Oh yes, it can be done. We now know, the brain can be retrained. Unlearn the old, relearn the new. Positive affirmations instead of the personal sabotage you have engaged in for years will be necessary. You want change? You have to change something. Repetition of past behavior and thoughts will only insure the same results. You have everything to gain including a new perspective. Trust me, there is a domino effect here, for you and all around you.

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I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!

Positive Affirmations: Changing Stinking-Thinking to Power Thinking

What is Positive About Positive Psychology

Finding the Silver Lining

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SIGNS & SYMPTOMS

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