Mental Health

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…

A: No matter how safe you make yourself against the virus, you may still have deep concerns that keep you awake at night. Cyclical thinking like this is called rumination. To fight it, try keeping a “done” list, meditation, writing, or movement. Chronic illness, a bill, or a family situation that needs your full attention Read more…

A: Stress spending is real, and in the last year, it went way past buying too much toilet paper. According to one survey, 43% of respondents said they’d made an impulse purchase during the first few months of the pandemic as wine-o-clock internet purchases became an all-day thing for a subset of us. For others, Read more…

Q: I am struggling with my mental health right now. Nothing I have tried has worked. I think I need a therapist. Where do I start? A: We have a few tips to help you get the help you may need. Many of us are going through this right now (up to 40% of Americans Read more…

Q: For otherwise healthy people, what’s safe to do these days? Should we be preparing to re-enter society? And if so, how do we address our serious fears about health safety? A: Safe socialization is important for our well-being and thriving, so when you’re ready, use your SMARTS, assess the risks, name the feelings that Read more…

It’s time for Throwback Thursday! When did you first hear about COVID? How did you hear? Share your story below. We want to hear it! One year later, it’s kind of tough to remember a time in our lives before COVID. We’re going to be coming up on a lot of 1-year-ago-today memories as this Read more…

A: We feel you! Here are four research-based tips to plant the seeds of change even as many of us are still buried under the (literal and figurative) snow. 😊 Say no more often. You might call it the “yes, sure… oh, dang” problem. Academics call it hyperbolic discounting. It’s the challenge we all have Read more…