Our Latest Blogs

As a life coach, I’ve noticed that fear is the #1 commonality among my clients who experience anxiety and depression. One of the most crippling inhibitors during the recovery process is fear. Fear of the unknown, more specifically. So often, we allow our diagnosis to become a part of our identity — who we are, […]

Holistic healing refers to the treatment of the whole person to achieve optimal wellness. And for those recovering from substance abuse, taking a holistic approach to care may be the key to success and lifelong freedom from drugs and alcohol. The recovery process, therefore, should be a multifaceted endeavor involving physical healing from addiction as […]

An overactive mind can lead to mental health issues. We all need to find ways to clear out our thoughts so that we can focus on the ones that matter most. Lately, I have been experimenting with “freewriting” every morning. What this means is that every morning, right when I wake up I write 3 […]

The whole month of January has a feeling of starting over. Sure, some of us get hung up on having to start new habits on January 1st, but really the whole month, in general, is a good time to focus on goals and change. Personally, I find the whole concept of starting the year with […]

Our intestines play an important role. They not only digest food but also extract nutrients from it. Bowels are a protective barrier between internal organs and the outside world but they have one weak spot. The intestinal mucosa consists of a thin layer of epithelial cells that are interconnected by special proteins. These proteins don’t […]

Depression is one of the most prevalent health issues in the modern world. There have been people comparing the mental health crisis to a tsunami sweeping across the world. The depression causing so many people pain can be caused by many different outside factors. The stress of trying to succeed in a competitive business world, […]

Did you know that 70% of your immune system is located in your gut? Your digestive system is often referred to as the second brain. This is due to the recent discovery of brain-like nerves that are located in the digestive tract. Today we will look at how the gut affects mood and cognitive function. […]

Stress and anxiety are normal emotions that affect all of us. They are never something to be ashamed of. We all handle our emotions differently. Some people choose to cope by seeing a counselor, taking medication, or even starting a yoga practice. However, one aspect of life that all people can utilize to improve their […]

Have you ever found yourself at an emotional low point during your day and wondered, “How did I get here, again?” Have you ever considered the possibility that you may be able to help prevent these low points from happening by creating an emergency mood lifter? Visualize a red metal box with a glass front […]

Even individuals with sunny dispositions have their dark times. It is therefore not a stretch to imagine that people who suffer from depression go through excruciating intervals of suffering when their mood takes a nosedive. The root-causes of depression can be manifold: they can be genetic, stress-related, caused by an ailment, or even diet. However […]

Being happy and healthy can be extremely difficult when you’re in a toxic environment. A toxic environment can be a result of anything from an unhealthy relationship or negative work environment to self-esteem issues or a lack of self-care. Whatever the cause, toxicity is hard to cope with. It can sometimes be hard to recognize […]

Many people are battling to recover from past traumatic events. Commonly, these people will struggle with abandonment issues, jealousy, fear of not being good enough, and an overall mistrust in others. These lasting effects can make having intimate relationships with significant others or close friends very difficult, causing a lot of emotional turmoil; especially when […]

During a typical week, we experience a lot of stress and anxiety, whether it comes from an intense work environment, social pressures, or any similar source. These feelings can stick with us for quite some time, and slowly jeopardize our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. It’s a sadly normalized aspect of adult life, […]

The idea of spirituality and its connection to sobriety is common. Addiction programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) often start or end with the serenity prayer which says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom […]

Anxiety disorders can feel a lot like real-world danger. For me personally, it’s often like a switch is flipped without the catalyst: suddenly I’m terrified, adrenaline is surging through my body, and I am in fight or flight mode. It is as though I am facing down a predator or an attacker, but there is […]

No matter what substance you use, if you do it regularly, some changes leading to addiction inevitably occur in your brain. To rewire an addicted brain, you need to undergo a treatment process that will heal not only body but mind as well. Reaching abstinence is a big victory. But the struggle will continue as […]

What is Stress? Stress can be defined as the way you feel when you’re under abnormal pressure. Everyone experiences stress from time to time, and it is a natural physical and mental reaction to life events. The below infographic from Study Medicine Europe examines the science of stress and offers an in-depth look as to […]

While most of us assume that intimacy is something we only experience physically, intimacy also depends on, and greatly impacts, our brains. In fact, mental wellbeing and intimacy are so closely related that each can affect the other. What is intimacy? Intimacy can be both emotional or physical, oftentimes both. Emotional intimacy refers to a […]

Writing is a medicine for your mind. Whenever you feel mentally and emotionally exhausted, writing down the things that bother you will help you structure your thoughts and bring peace to your mind. Many therapists recommend investing time writing every day to improve your mental wellbeing. Dr. Mark Rowe MD, who is also an expert […]

Feeling drained and exhausted after a 30-minute conversation at a party is a typical Friday night for an introvert. Add some anxiety or depression into the mix, and the troubles become all the more profound. Whether you do your best to come up with excuses to be alone, or you cannot stand the idea of […]

Clinical depression is more than just having a bad day. Depression is a real illness that impedes a person’s daily life and normal functioning. It causes pain both for those affected and the people close to them. Depression is one condition that is often overlooked or ignored because of the stigma and connotations associated with […]

Fresh air on your face, hair blowing in the wind and the shifting scenery around you as the daylight changes – and the weather, too. Being outdoors definitely awakens the senses and stirs the emotions. Getting outdoors is said to ‘blow the cobwebs away’, however, it can do so much more than that. The benefits […]

 If you are really struggling with feeling bad about something, set aside those feelings of guilt or remorse for just one moment and listen… There is one simple truth about humans that is often forgotten–humans are not infallible. Everybody makes mistakes. The majority of us have made some terrible mistakes. Some mistakes may have cost […]

As you may know, acne is a common skin disease experienced mostly by teens and young adults. And in the majority of people, the skin disorder would clear after a couple of years – usually from late teens to early 20s. However, what you may not know is that aside from the scarred face – […]

Happiness is a goal that most people hope to achieve. It’s why you’ve seen an increase in practices such as self-care and gratitude. Gratitude is a form of self-care that aims to bring a sense of well-being and contentment through appreciating the things we have in our lives. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to practice […]

If you’re anything like me – or most Americans – the first thing you do when you get out of bed in the morning is check your phone: for updates, for statuses, for anything and everything. It seems like our entire life revolves around our phones. In today’s digital world, they allow us to do […]

Most people are aware of the physical benefits of exercise. However, other than getting a rocking body, building muscles, increasing energy, and improving cardiovascular health, regular exercise improves mental health as well. Some of the mental health benefits of exercise include increased self-esteem and self-confidence, better sleep, improved cognitive function, relief of stress, increased relaxation, […]

Do you wake up in the morning and, within moments of opening your eyes to a day full of opportunity, think “what’s the point?” You are not alone. This feeling of constant dejection, that complete inability to feel any sense of self-belief or confidence, is something that often leaves you feeling weak and timid. Such […]

Disclaimer: I am not a physician or a mental health professional. The information in this post is simply a description of what I did to help myself overcome generalized anxiety disorder and depersonalization disorder. My bouts of anxiety and depersonalization started at the age of fourteen. I was just going into my freshman year of […]

You may have heard about the benefits of keeping a diary or journaling and how that can help in different areas of your life, but you might be wondering if there are any benefits that the art of writing can bring to your life if you’re suffering from depression, and if so, how? Today, we’re […]

“Merging our bodies with our minds first starts with tuning into all the places and ways we experience anxiety and grief throughout our whole bodies.” For years, I lived with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. Oddly enough, it was feelings of physical distress in my body that caused me to seek help for the problem in […]

Everyone experiences challenges and setbacks, but some people can recover more easily than others due to their resilience. Resilience is the capacity to bounce back quickly from difficulties. Some people are just naturally more resilient than others and can let things easily roll off their backs. Likewise, other people tend to be more emotionally fragile […]

We know it’s important to take care of ourselves physically – we have to eat right, get some exercise and get a sufficient amount of rest each night in order to function properly the next day. But what do we do when it comes to our mental health? There are many factors that contribute to […]

Are there certain situations that, no matter what you do, seem to cause your nerves to completely spike? For many people, public speaking is one such circumstance. As they stand up to speak, their hands instantly begin to tremble. Their voices change from steady to shaky. Beads of sweat pool at the top of their […]

If you work eight hours per day and sleep eight hours, you still have eight hours every day to spend how you want. So why does it feel like we’re always short on time? While commutes, child care, and chores can eat up a good chunk of that time, if you’re struggling to find room […]

Light within our home and at our workplace can affect our health and wellbeing. Natural light has so many benefits, but it can be hard to get enough of it when you spend most of your day at work. Artificial light decreases levels of melatonin, a hormone that is created in the brain by the […]

Many people overlook the positive impact that the natural environment has on mental health. Your surroundings can vastly affect the way you think and feel – and regular exposure to nature has been shown to be healthy for the mind, body and soul. Here are four of the reasons why connecting to nature is crucial […]

As many as 1 in 5 Americans live with mental illnesses that include depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, among others. Many of these individuals often face problems in accessing health care that they desperately require, and even then, available medications or treatment may not be sufficient, resulting in unsatisfactory progress. Due to this and other reasons, […]

“Love yourself.” Everywhere I go these days, I feel I hear or see some form of this advice. The truth is, some days it’s hard to love anything in the world if you struggle with mental illness, let alone yourself. When I began what I’d call my “journey to recovery” or, better, my “journey back […]

Mindfulness is somewhat of a trendy topic these days, but underneath all the publicity it can have profound benefits. Many of us will suffer from anxiety and depression at some point in our lives. Usually they serve as natural reactions to challenges we have to face or problems we need to overcome. However, at points […]

It’s been suggested that when your brain is feeling stressed or anxious it’s likely to negatively impact other parts of the body. Becoming fatigued, losing concentration and experiencing physical symptoms such as shaking and dizziness are common. Can exercise make your body feel better by banishing your negative thoughts and actually give you peace of […]

Workplace stress affects millions of individuals—ones without depression and anxiety disorders. So what do you do when you have a mental health or mood disorder like anxiety or major depressive disorder and you’re dealing with a lot of workplace stress? You have to work to pay the bills, but you don’t want to compromise your […]

For millions of Americans, the search for remedies to stress can seem counterproductive. Stressors such as money, work, and our current political climate are difficult to escape, and when we do find a remedy, the real struggle is developing the discipline to stay with it. For anyone struggling with symptoms of mental illness, the above-mentioned […]

The frequent ups and downs of your daily lives as men may lead you to experience feelings of anger. Anger stems from many experiences, such as frustration, disappointment, annoyance or hurt. In some men, anger is a defense mechanism, the only weapon they have when they feel powerless. This may have developed as a result […]

Life can be hard, and proof of this sobering reality are the 43 million Americans who suffer from some form of mental health condition, according to Mental Health America. Almost half of those 43 million have a co-occurring substance abuse problem, while some 9.6 million experience suicidal thoughts. Those figures might even increase in the […]

September is National Yoga Month, a month-long observance designated by the Department of Health and Human Services to educate the public about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle.  In recognition of this event, rtor.org asked one of its Family-Endorsed Providers to write a guest blog on this subject. Pamela Tinkham, […]