Published by damorementalhealth.com
Are you concerned that a friend or family member may be cutting or engaging in self-harm? Or have you done so? Understanding the signs and causes of self-harm can help you step in and take action.
When you’re able to make an informed assessment, you can find the right treatment. It’s critical to stop self-harm before it escalates to a severe level. Keep reading to learn about the signs, causes, and treatments associated with self-harm.
by Dr. Liz Matheis, published on psychology today.com
The past 15 months have been unprecedented. As I always ask – how many pandemics have you lived through? Our teens made insane changes quickly and suddenly, and although they initially welcomed them, that is not the sentiment right now.
Our teens became anxious, sad, overwhelmed, socially isolated, and grieved for all the milestones they missed. They have learned how to “meet” with friends using apps, bake together, watch movies together, and all within the virtual world.
Even though March 2020 through June 2020 were boring and academics didn’t look anything like our teens knew them to be, they chugged along and hoped for a different September.
written by Dr. Liz Matheis, published in www.psychologytoday.com
Our teens are suffering.
Children are not used to a routine that is repetitive with so little change from day to day. Nowadays, their school days consist of sitting in front of a screen with little variation, little social interaction, little true academic instruction, little focus, and a whole lot of missing of their school routine as they remember it to be prior to March 2020.
Their extracurricular activities are limited and interactions are not the same. Spontaneous social interactions are being missed. Our teens miss sitting next to each other, sharing lunch together, riding the school bus together, and all of the conversations and interactions that took place on a daily basis. One student shared with me that the biggest highlight of his day has been what he is going to eat. How incredibly boring and disappointing. Many teens (and adults) took for granted the variety of their days and the freedom that they had—until it was gone.
by Dr. Liz Matheis, published in The Mighty 3/2021
COVID-19 anxiety. Pandemic anxiety. It’s still here, one year later. It’s transformed, morphed into something new with a little something old.
In the days leading up to March 13, 2021, I became emotional and dreaded seeing that date on my calendar. I didn’t realize that, in my body and spirit, I knew that the one-year mark was coming up and I was feeling increasingly anxious and stressed by the idea of this “new normal” becoming “normal.” I don’t want it to be normal anymore.
We are all tired of feeling anxious about the coronavirus. We have learned to adapt to new routines such as masks, disinfecting our hands, disinfecting surfaces and keeping distance from people in a store or on the street. These new routines are not natural and they are taking a toll on our mental, emotional and physical health.
by Dr. Liz Matheis – Published in Psychology Today, 3/28/2021
Our teens are suffering. They have been suffering for the last year and as a parent, it is heartbreaking to watch our (bigger) babies hurt so badly. Our teens are grieving the loss of so many milestones such as graduations, dances, proms, field trips, athletic games and tournaments, school plays and theater, and the spontaneous social interactions that they crave and need.
Written by: Rachel Green and Wendy Rhodes
Published in www.weightedblanketguides.com Last Updated: April 2020
While medication is often necessary for the effective management of depression, some drugs can be habit-forming or have negative side effects. Also, natural methods can also be paired with medication or therapy to enhance the treatment of depression.
written by Slumber Yard Team/excerpt taken from myslumberyard.com
COVID-19 has brought about big changes to our everyday lives. Even before the pandemic, Americans spent more than 10 hours a day looking at screens. Now, with children attending school online and adults both working and looking for entertainment from their electronics, there’s been a significant increase in the use of technology on a daily basis.
That increase in screen time can have an impact on our ability to rest. Our sleep cycles were already disrupted by pandemic-related anxiety and stress. In fact, neurologists have discovered an increased level of sleep disorders, called “COVID-somnia,” brought about by stress over the virus. Now, the electronics we rely on during our day-to-day may also be poorly affecting your rest.
The blue light that emanates from your devices, TV, and computers can disrupt our circadian rhythm — the body’s biological alarm clock — which tells us when to sleep and when to wake up. As a result, you may have trouble falling asleep at night, causing you even more struggle when you have to wake up in the morning.
