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Why Does Gratitude Matter?

In the early years of mental health practice, the focus of the research was on the minority of mentally unwell people. The goal was to study these people, how they were suffering, and how we could work to make them better. However, toward the end of the 1900s, some psychologists began to consider what we […]

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College Students: Why Going Home for the Holidays Can Be Challenging

The holidays carry a lot of pressure and expectation, no matter what age you are. But, due to common developmental stages and changes, going home for the holidays can be tricky for a college student. While breaks from school are a welcome respite in a warm, restorative environment for some, we know that is not […]

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Combating the Winter Blues: Using Daylight to Our Advantage

While the government continues to debate the value of Daylight Saving Time, we continue in the pattern most of us have known our entire lives. “Fall back” in the fall, “spring forward” in the spring, shifting an hour of daylight in one direction or the other. This month we’ve experienced it again as we set […]

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Dreams, Nightmares, & Mental Health

At the end of October, with all of the spooky themes and Halloween fun, it seemed like a good time to talk about dreams, nightmares, and how sleep plays into our mental health. It is generally recommended that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. During the time we are asleep, […]

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October Mental Health Awareness Campaigns

As we shared earlier this month, October 10th is “World Mental Health Day.” But, did you know that October is also host to a number of other mental health campaigns? We’re not sure how all of these awareness and preventative health campaigns ended up in October but, it seems like appropriate timing given the mental […]

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World Mental Health Day

Beginning in 1992, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated October 10th as “World Mental Health Day.” As with many prevention efforts, they choose a theme or focus each year. In the past, themes have ranged from broader measures like inclusion and equality to more focused topics such as young people and mental health, mental health […]

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Together in Recovery

As I shared in my earlier post, recovery can be a challenging journey, but it will be one of the most rewarding journeys that someone will find themselves on. Recovery does not only open life up to one that is free of substances, but it opens life up to the many joys, gifts, and victories […]

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Coping with Loss by Suicide

Suicide Prevention Month comes with a lot of public health information on suicide prevention as well as statistics and education about new resources aimed at reducing the incidence of suicide. However, despite best efforts, sometimes we still lose people. As the twelfth leading cause of death in the general population, the second for people aged […]

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Suicide Prevention Week – Increasing Our Compassion & Understanding

The beginning of September marks Suicide Prevention Week, giving us a focused opportunity to learn and think compassionately about suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide), suicide attempts, and those we have lost. In the spirit of compassion, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some numbers and then, move in for a close-up view of  […]

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Welcome to National Recovery Month!

National Recovery Month is a special opportunity to recognize and celebrate the many victories that individuals in recovery have overcome. As a society, we take this month to recognize individuals in recovery from a place of compassion, validation, and acceptance, rather than a place of judgment and stigmatizing beliefs; something which we should be doing […]