Mental Health

Loneliness is not just about being alone. It is about feeling isolated, disconnected, and even losing meaning in our daily life. It is an internal and subjective experience. And unsurprisingly, a lot of us are experiencing it right now, especially young people. Some surveys suggest that up to half of us are feeling lonely across Read more…

A: YES! Thought pathways and subsequent actions are often influenced by the way information is received. This post will highlight a few common cognitive distortions AND tips for reframing information for more objective actions. A cognitive distortion is defined by the American Psychological Association as “faulty or inaccurate thinking, perception, or belief”. Cognitive distortions interrupt Read more…

A: We all know that personal protective equipment (like masks) has been important during the COVID-19 pandemic. But psychological PPE is important too! Psychological PPE includes individual and systems-wide actions that can be taken to protect your mental health, the mental health of those around you and protect against burnout. As the pandemic rages on Read more…

A: Bring awareness to how you feel, draw on your current strategies, and work towards acceptance of uncertainty. Things seem to be in a state of change and you may feel like you are on a rollercoaster. New guidelines, unknowns about return to work and school, and changing expectations about how our lives will be Read more…

Q: It seems like COVID-19 can have some short and long-term effects on the brain. What is the likelihood that psychiatric issues will arise in COVID-19 survivors?” THE QUICK ANSWER: We do not yet know if SARS COV-2 can get to the brain (cross the blood brain barrier), but we have some evidence that more Read more…

Let’s talk a moment to talk about screens (and yes, we realize that you are reading this on a screen right now 😂). Still, all this screen time is changing the way we live and almost all of us are spending too much time on our screens (phones, computers, laptops, and others). Here are a Read more…

A: If you love them and want to continue to be in relationship with them, focus on the common ground instead of the areas where you disagree. From masks to vaccines, from coverups to conspiracy theories and beyond, global news (and all the politics that come with it) dominated personal conversation in the last year. Read more…

Do not fear….Dr. Aparna Kumar, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, here to talk about this! 😿 What is languishing? It is living but having little joy, purpose, or aim. It is going through the motions of daily life but not feeling good about it and maybe even not being able to take the next steps. Read more…

Q: I have trouble trusting that the United States is on the downward slope of this pandemic. Is being hopeful and optimistic a recipe for disappointment? Am I being alarmist or am I missing some key data? A: Optimism is healthy … even if it feels challenging right now. Years ago a friend of mine Read more…

Q: Is there a way to start anticipating and preparing for the residual mental health impacts of Covid? I feel as if I will carry a PTSD of sorts. Will I flinch every time I hear about a new virus? Will the rest of my life be spent on high alert waiting for the next Read more…

A: Yes. There is a simple breathing exercise you can do anywhere anytime. The year 2020 was very challenging in many ways for all of us. And 2021 seems to be keeping pace with the strangeness. Though there is a bit of relief we can feel, none of us can predict what will happen next. Read more…

A: Humans are bad at assessing risk. We’re even worse at determining whether something is a real or hypothetical risk. By challenging our psychological assumptions, we can be smarter consumers of science information. Our personal sense of what’s risky and what’s safe is a *feeling*… and feelings aren’t always accurate. Here are some of our Read more…

Q: These are tough times. How can I deal with opposing feelings about the pandemic, like anger and happiness or relief and anxiety, at the same time? How can I make space for both? Dr. Aparna Kumar, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner here to answer. Many of us are struggling right now. How can we Read more…