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: Dwight Bain, LMHC Did you know this is the hap-happiest time of the year for some people, but also the saddest time for others? That is because the holiday season is literally like a magnifying glass to expand the emotions a person is already experiencing. If your year has gone well, this is an incredible time of rejoicing and celebration. However, if your year has gone like it has for many people you have magnified grief, loss or loneliness. Feeling down over the holidays is normal, but can become overwhelming very quickly. The continual exposure to people who seem to be having the best time of their lives, or the television specials with picture perfect families having the best time ever can leave a person feeling empty inside. If you, or someone you love is missing the Christmas Spirit, know you are not alone. Relationship loss, job changes, or business downturns can leave someone feeling intense negative emotions. Here are five ways to move from the stress of Ugly ...

  By: Dwight Bain, LMHC A recent USA Today poll asked this question, “Which best fits your holiday emotional state?” Relaxed   - 18% Joyful   - 31% Stressed -   27% Depressed -   24% Why do people feel so overloaded with additional problems during the holidays? I believe the majority of the pressure they feel is from trying to live up to unrealistic expectations of creating a ‘perfect’ Christmas. Remember Clark W. Griswald from the movie ‘Christmas Vacation?’ He is the laughable, but best illustration of a guy who tries to do everything right, only to have literally everything go wrong. Dysfunctional relatives, one blown bulb derailing all of the decorations, the Christmas tree goes up in flames, the turkey is dry, the check for the swimming pool is going to bounce, add in a crazy cousin kidnapping the hateful boss, while the dog destroys the house chasing a rabid s...