Asking for Help

Have you ever been faced with a tough task, life transition or struggle where you pushed through, on our own and made it out on the other end? We all have, and we often count those moments of hard work and resiliency as some of our best moments. Moments when we triumphed over struggle. But …

How Animals Help Improve Our Mental Health

The connection between animals and mental health is hard to ignore. Research studies continue to confirm that having a pet or interacting with animals has multiple mental health benefits that can both relieve and prevent mental health issues. If you have ever been a pet owner, I’m sure you can confirm that having a furry …

Anndrea Terry: Inspiring Balance

The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Survival of the Sickest As a 21-year-old undergrad, Anndrea Terry’s life was changed forever at …

Tarah Elhardan: Enhancing Women’s Wellness

The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do.  Q: What has been your most impactful work experience?  A: I worked on a crisis …

Am I depressed?

Depression Common Types & Signs (From National Institute of Mental Health) Major Depression: severe symptoms that interfere with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. An episode can occur only once in a person’s lifetime, but more often, a person has several episodes. Persistent depressive disorder—depressed mood that lasts for at least …

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Kids should play more video games…or should they?

Watch Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk above to know how this fits into video games. Hospice Workers Report Top 5 Regrets on Deathbeds Here’s the link to the article 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 2. I wish I hadn’t worked …

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Nine ways to get better sleep

9 ways to get better sleep Sleep is when our brains organize what has happened. Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. People/kids in school need 8-10 hours to appropriately categorize what they have learned. Less sleep = More anxiety/depression/academic failure Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, it stimulates your brain to …

Mental Wellness Parenting Traverse City

Joe’s new parenting book

Joe’s New Book Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier   From Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier: Control vs. Voice So how do we use this new information about guiding our kids to help them change their behavior? Ultimately, you have no control …

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Three things anyone can do to prevent suicide

    Appearing in the Record Eagle on 9-8-12 In 9th grade, the school counselor brought me and several other students into her office. She informed us that a peer had committed suicide. Later, the entire school was informed. It is devastating to get that type of news. Every 15 minutes another family, friend, and …

Mental Wellness: Build time to slow down

            Originally published at http://record-eagle.com/features/x239062040/Mental-Wellness-Build-time-to-slow-down by Joseph R. Sanok I can’t slow down. I need this article more than anyone. I have a baby, house, job, private practice ” the list goes on and on. I bet your list is similar. There is always a reason why I can’t slow down. I …

Friends and Crisis: Dos and Don’ts

You never really appreciate a life of normality until crisis hits. Our family has been through a number of things lately: a death, a major medical issue, and close friends having their own crisis. It is amazing how it seems that high profile events bring out people’s true social skills. I learned through experience what …