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Showing posts from September, 2006

Depression Checklist

You may be saying “I can’t think straight. I can’t feel anything. I can’t even will myself out of the blues! What’s going on?” You may be weathering the storm clouds of depression. And just as there are different kinds of clouds, there are also different types of depression. What is Depression? Depression is a condition of being pressed to a lower position Depression is a state of decline and reduced activity The word Depression is from the Latin word depressus, which means “to press down.” What is Psychological; Depression? Psychological Depression is a state in which the heart is pressed down and unable to experience joy. Psychological Depression is an umbrella word when covers feelings from mild discouragement to intense despair. Psychological depression is a condition which involves the whole person: physically, emotionally and spiritually. A DEPRESSION CHECKLIST FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES The purpose of this checklist is to help you assess patterns of depression. There are no goo

AFFAIRS -What is true about affairs and what is not? by Linda Riley, LMFT

Affairs are normal since everybody has them. Actually, marital fidelity is the norm and surveys show time and time again that the majority of people believe strongly in monogamous marriage. Intimacy requires exclusivity and always will. We try to justify cheating by telling ourselves that everybody cheats. Only about half of the population actually commits adultery. 1. Some people actually believe that affairs can keep marriages together or even enrich them. This idea is popular in secular society and is portrayed in the media; movies, books and magazines. The truth is that affairs are extremely destructive to both the people having them and their marriages. It takes a great deal of healing and pain to recover from an affair and save the marriage. 2. Affairs mean we aren’t in love with our spouse. In my practice I have worked with countless people who claim they still love their spouse even though they are involved in an affair. Frequently, we only fall out of love after having

10 Questions to See if Your Life Works by Deedra Hunter, LMHC

Are you staying connected to your spiritual core? What are some of the things you are grateful for? Were you involved with people this week? What old feelings came up this week? What new feelings came up this week? What behavior did you handle noticeably different this week? How often were you angry this week? Did you challenge yourself to do, say, or think about something differently this week? Did you drink enough water? Did you get enough sleep? For More Information on how we can help make your life work contact: The LifeWorks Group, Inc 1850 Lee Rd. Suite 250, Winter Park, FL 32789 407-647-7005 or www.lifeworksgroup.org

Dangers of Media “Riptides” by Dwight Bain,LMHC

Positive steps to protect kids from negative media exposure By Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor If you live near an ocean, you know about riptides, which are highly dangerous currents that can rip your legs out from under you and sweep you out into the ocean depths in a matter of seconds. If you try to fight the current, you will drown as dozens of people in Florida do every year. These silent and powerful ocean currents can overpower even the strongest of swimmers because the size and force of the waves become completely overwhelming. There is only one way to escape and save your life so listen carefully; “Don’t try to fight the riptide, just flow with it as you swim parallel to the shoreline. In a few dozen feet you will be out of the strong current and can safely swim back to the shore.” So, if you have to deal with a dangerous ocean riptide, you have three choices… First- stay out of the water (and don’t let anyone you love go near it either). Second, pretend that riptid

WHAT’S WRONG WITH BEING BORED, by Aaron Welch, LMHC

I remember, growing up, those horrible times when I was faced with the awful realization that I.............well............I had NOTHING TO DO. As a child, this was worse than almost anything, outside of going to the dentist. What made it worse was that I unfailingly had to keep this burden to myself. I mean, I couldn’t rely on my parents for relief. Whenever I would attempt to come to them for sympathy about such a depressing situation, they would always say something to the effect of, “well, if you’re bored, clean your room” or “I can find something for you to do”. The latter statement usually meant something abominably worse, like raking leaves or pulling weeds in the garden. What was productive about that? They obviously did not understand my predicament. KIDS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE BORED! Didn’t they know that? Didn’t that stipulation come in the handbook? Were they really that callous? To a child, there is nothing worse than being bored. Or is there? In soc

COMMENTARY: How to Beat the Bad-News Blahs by Huntington News Network

By Dan VierraSacramento Bee A nationally recognized mental-health counselor from Winter Park, Fla., is certain people are being adversely affected by the barrage of bad news _ on TV, in newspapers and on the Internet. (SHNS photo courtesy photos.com) Bummed? Could be the bad-news blahs, triggered by war, terrorist threats, hurricanes, gas prices, global warming and plenty of other equally deflating topics. Does a day pass when we don't get an earful about Hezbollah, Beirut or Baghdad? Or hear about a death caused by West Nile Virus, obesity or the serial killer of the month? A recent Harris Interactive poll of U.S. adults revealed a sense of deep pessimism. Only one in 100 believed there would be peace in the Middle East in the next year. A mere 10 percent predicted peace in the volatile region in the next 10 years. "Seems like in the past year with Katrina, Iraq, Lebanon and local kids in car crashes, it's gotten a lot more depressing," says Claire Gliddon of Fair

Helping Kids Make Early Career Choices Written by: Dwight Bain, LMHC

The stress facing today's generation of young people looking for their first job is huge. Many older children, or young teens automatically expect they will experience 'reality TV' levels of instant success with five easy steps to land the job of their dreams; but it just ain't so! Thankfully there are some changes you can make now to help your son or daughter move forward and gain strength through the process of early career assessment and job development. Everyone loves a great worker with a great attitude, but what can you do during the elementary or middle school years to better insure that your son or daughter's favorite pastime is building a positive future instead of ignoring it and settling for lots of promises with little to show for it? Career issues are a challenge for many adults, since the research tells us that the majority of Americans work a job they can't stand and often feel trapped into staying until retirement even if they worry they may no

Are You Living Life or Watching It? Written by: Dwight Bain, LMHC

Notice the difference between two groups of people in our culture. One group is actively watching life, while the other group is actively doing life. I discussed this gap recently about why some guys watch as much as 35 hours a week of ESPN sports on TV and totally ignore their family. During our conversation we determined that people who spent that much time watching sports were really doing the same thing as anybody else watching sitcoms, soaps or movies. It was entertainment, no more, no less. Even though the behavior might look like a serious study of the sport, in reality it was about watching TV. Entertainment is to relax and turn your mind off, which can be a useful activity. Yet some guys justify that they “need” to watch the sporting event so that their support will supernaturally go through the screen to somehow help their favorite team win! Not even realizing that the players don’t really hear the cheers when they score or groans when they miss the shot because they are so f

Am I wrong for feeling the way I do? Written by: Deedra Hunter, LMHC

Spoken or unspoken, this is one of the most frequently asked questions the LifeWorks team hears in our office. Why do we doubt, discount, and deny we have feelings? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the past. Children are often told in subtle and not so subtle ways that their feelings are unimportant. The old adage “children should be seen and not heard” certainly argues that point. Try as we might our feelings are real and must be taken seriously, to not do so invites a variety of unhealthy ways to express them. Addictions, panic attacks, suicidal gestures, abusive behaviors (toward self or others.), depression and some other diseases can be put into place by one seeking an emotional outlet for feelings. So, to further answer the question “Am I wrong for feeling the way I do?” No, you are not wrong. You must get to the place where you feel comfortable acknowledging long ago hidden feelings and coming to accept them as rightfully yours. Only when you can own it, name it, and claim i

Why Can’t I Forgive the People Who Hurt Me? Written by: Aaron Welch, LMHC

The ability and willingness to forgive the people who hurt us is one of the more difficult requirements for many Christians. I say “requirement” because God commands us to forgive other people. Jesus also emphasized that we must love our enemies and focused on the fact that anyone can love or forgive those people who are nice to us in return. It takes a truly mature Christian to offer forgiveness to the person that wounds us deeply and shows no remorse. Let me offer two common reasons that many of us struggle to forgive. First, many people struggle to forgive others because they have never resolved the painful wounds of their past. In my ministry as a therapist, I meet people every day who have been deeply wounded and hurt by past insults, abuse, or betrayal. These hurts run deep and it is often easier to avoid dealing with them rather than face them and work through the emotions that accompany them. However, when we sweep our pain under the rug, it is always lurking