Are you a teenager that suffers with anxiety attacks or panic attacks? Welcome to my club! Believe it or not, there are more members than you think. When I was first diagnosed with anxiety over a decade ago, I felt like there was something terribly wrong with me. After my first anxiety attack around sixteen,... Continue Reading →
Mental Health and Nature
“A walk in nature walks the soul back home.”- Mary Davis, social activist With Earth Day being April 22nd, we can think about how nature corresponds to mental health. In our everyday lives, we constantly hear that being outside in nature will benefit our mental health because we are not cooped up inside and we... Continue Reading →
How to help a friend get counseling
It can be challenging to encourage a friend to seek counseling, especially if they are resistant to the idea. However, as a friend, it is essential to support them and encourage them to get the help they need. Here are some tips on how to encourage a friend to seek counseling: Express your concerns: Start... Continue Reading →
Work Burnout
In the world that we live in today, there are many areas where we can start to feel burnt out. We begin to feel that we are just exhausted and we do not want to do anything. For job burnout specifically, it is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that involves a sense of... Continue Reading →
3 Tips to Reduce Test Anxiety
Test anxiety is something that most college students deal with on a day to day basis. Whether we have it because we are scared of failing or we have it because we want to meet people’s expectations. I deal with test anxiety whenever it comes to a standardized test or a regular exam in my... Continue Reading →
Anxiety: When to Seek Help
Let’s face it, life can be stressful. Bills pile up, families fight, pipes burst, back pain happens, family members get sick. There are seasons of life that can put us flat on our backs with no warning and leave us to throw our hands up and wonder, “How am I supposed to handle this?” Signs... Continue Reading →
Journaling for Beginners
Journaling can be a great habit to help you learn more about yourself, discover what you are grateful for, and achieve personal, professional, and relationship goals. It is easy, doesn’t take a lot of time, and can be built into your routine without much pain. The first step is to find a journal you like.... Continue Reading →
Mindfulness and Jing Ping Music- Part 3: Steel Pan
Steel Pan music emerged from the tradition of enslaved African people creating new musical inventions to compensate for their drums and other instruments being taken from them by slave owners. Slave owners often thought that the drums and other instruments were communication tools being used by slaves to plan revolts and uprisings. Therefore, they were... Continue Reading →
Mindfulness and Jing Ping Music: Part 2: Djembe Drum
Over the last nine months since I have been an intern at Olive Branch Counseling Associates in Tinley Park, I have had the opportunity to provide counseling services in various settings. Among them are Roseland on the south side of Chicago, and West Garfield Park on the west side. Clients in both of these communities... Continue Reading →
