The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

 By: Dwight Bain, LMHC, NCC This feels like the longest year in history ... not in calendar days, which are still the same. Nope. 2020 has felt longer because of so much pandemic related stress. Working from home, social isolation with every concert and sporting event shut down, lay-offs, recession, students trying to manage school exams via zoom, conflict over the election, managing face masks to go outside, and now the reality that COVID 19 will not magically go away when vaccines are available in 2021. Coronavirus has changed the way most American's function, and ruining for some what would traditionally be a happy holiday season. USA Today newspaper captured this in a recent snapshot poll that asked, “Which best fits your holiday emotional state?” Stressed – 27% Depressed – 24% Relaxed – 18% Joyful – 31% The majority of people are overwhelmed by negative emotions and have missed the joy. What can be done to help people feeling anxious and overloaded with so many...

  By: Megan Brewer, LMHC As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many anticipate a very different kind of holiday season this year. It has felt to me like we have all been on a progressive journey of discerning what the next season will be like, and, along the way, we have been adopting a new kind of acceptance in each season. This has been the journey of my family as we waited and reevaluated each month, trying to decide if it was safe to spend the holidays together. When we first started discussing the potential risks of traveling, it was difficult to arrive at a decision to not see each other as we had in years past. It took months of us talking it through and settling into the reality that the wisest decision for us was to forgo our usual holiday time together and stay home. The decision took time for me to accept, but once I did, it opened new opportunities to creatively celebrate in ways I had not previously thought about. Now, that doesn’t mean our family stopped longing ...