Melissa Plantz, Richardson Christian Counseling

About Melissa Plantz

Melissa Plantz is a Christian author and freelance writer. She spent twenty years in the pharmacy industry and has specialized in faith, fitness, nutrition, geriatrics, and mental health since 2015. She writes from the beautiful Lake Marion area in South Carolina.

Reconciling Family Rifts Between Parents and Adult Children

Reconciling Family Rifts Between Parents and Adult Children

Melissa Plantz2024-09-27T10:22:39+00:00January 23rd, 2024|Family Counseling, Featured, Relationship Issues|

Family rifts are difficult for everyone involved. Estrangement places strain on not only the parent and adult child but also other family members, such as grown siblings. For example, if you and your oldest son are estranged, anger and resentment may trickle down to your other children, in-laws, and grandchildren. Sometimes, family rifts are unavoidable based on past behavior. Other times, an emotional distance builds as each person lives their life separately until there is no common ground. In these times, we need to seek God’s help and take small steps toward reconciliation. Reconciling family rifts. The strength of your family may rest on how you reconcile family rifts. Make the first move. Whether you are the parent or the adult child in a family rift, you may need to make the first move toward reconciliation. Opening the lines of communication might be the starting point to breaking the silence. It is time to unblock your loved one from social media and start answering their calls and texts. Take the first step and send a message. Find something you agree on. Common ground may be enough to place you back into neutral territory. Perhaps you can agree on an event for a grandchild or offer tickets or pictures of something your loved one cares about. Often, it is uniting over a common issue or topic that brings family back together. Find the one thing that puts you front and center and make the first move. Keep pride out of the conversation. It is easy to blame the other person for any family rifts. Yet, pride cannot enter the conversation if you desire a reconciliation. Pride can keep you from admitting your part in the distance. It can also keep you from accepting an apology or moving forward if you [...]

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The Dangers of Stress Eating

The Dangers of Stress Eating

Melissa Plantz2024-09-27T10:23:31+00:00June 23rd, 2023|Eating Disorders, Featured, Individual Counseling|

When you think of stress eating, does it seem harmless? You are not hurting anyone, right? All you are trying to do is manage your anxiety and stress with a much less dangerous substance than drugs or alcohol. But is that true? Is eating excess food a harmless activity? Is there a danger to stress eating? Effects of stress eating Overconsuming food and eating foods lacking in nutrients can take a toll on the body. Everything from your digestive system to your emotional state can change when stress eating becomes a habit. This habit feeds off your thoughts and emotions until stress eating becomes an impossible urge to overcome. But you can overcome stress eating with counseling and techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The following is a list of common conditions that can develop from stress eating and eating disorders. High blood pressure. For the body to digest food, blood rushes from other areas to the stomach to process the food and store excess as fat. This process naturally lowers your blood pressure unless the meal contains sodium and added sugars. This combination raises blood pressure and increases heart rate. When more fat is stored, you increase your risk of weight gain, and the extra weight will raise your blood pressure. High blood pressure for long periods can damage the arteries, heart, and kidneys. High cholesterol. Fatty deposits in your arteries can form clots when you have high cholesterol. These clots reduce blood flow in the blood vessels and break off, traveling to the lungs or brain. You can suffer a heart attack or stroke from high cholesterol. Check with your physician about the likelihood of you developing high cholesterol. Family history, genetics, and past and current behaviors can contribute to the condition. Diabetes. Although Type I diabetics [...]

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How Sugar Can Worsen ADHD in Adults

How Sugar Can Worsen ADHD in Adults

Melissa Plantz2024-09-27T10:23:48+00:00June 8th, 2023|ADHD/ADD, Featured, Individual Counseling|

ADHD in adults can make life a little challenging. You try to focus at work and manage your irritability with your coworkers. You try to remember important tasks and events. You want to keep the peace with your spouse and concentrate on what she says, but your thoughts race to the next thing. To make matters worse, it seems like every time you overindulge in sweets or drink a sugar-laden soda pop or tea, your symptoms get worse. Is there a connection between sugar and a worsening of the symptoms of ADHD in adults? The symptoms of ADHD in adults The following are the most common symptoms of ADHD in adults: Hyperactivity, restlessness, and fidgeting. Lack of focus and concentration. Impulsive behaviors. Short attention span and impatience. Irritability, grumpiness, and mood swings. Anxiety and depression. Forgetfulness and being easily distracted. Not finishing tasks or projects. Sleep problems. Some adults take medication, seek counseling, and make lifestyle changes to manage their symptoms. The effects of sugar The effects of sugar are similar in many areas to the symptoms of ADHD: Mood swings. Irritability. Difficulty concentrating and lack of focus. Fidgeting and hyperactivity. Shakiness. Headaches. Dizziness. Fatigue. Bloating. High blood pressure. Fast heart rate. Increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Weight gain. Increased risk of Type II diabetes. Anxiety and depression. The effects of sugar are much more damaging to the body in the long term. If you combine these effects with ADHD impulsive behaviors, such as risk-taking actions of overconsuming alcohol, you are now placing your health in danger. Even if you do not engage in risky behaviors, the long-term effects can be detrimental. The sooner you can break the sugar’s hold over you, the more likely you are to prevent or reverse some of the effects of sugar. [...]

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Boosting Mental Wellness with a Morning Routine

Boosting Mental Wellness with a Morning Routine

Melissa Plantz2024-09-27T10:24:03+00:00October 6th, 2022|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development|

Sticking to a routine can bring normalcy and comfort even in the most chaotic times. A morning routine can boost your mental wellness if you address the different aspects of your life and approach it in a state of peace. Knowing you have accomplished so much first thing in the morning sets the tone for your day. You can start your workday or walk out of the house with your head held high in self-confidence. Your morning routine. You may have recently seen headlines covering the morning routines of celebrities and successful businesspeople and wondered what the hype was all about. It is not hype. Successful people have used their morning routines to prepare them for the day, work on themselves, and get a jump on a new venture. Jim Rohn, Tim Robbins, Tim Ferris, Richard Branson, Oprah, and many celebrities, authors, politicians, and others have used a morning routine to ground themselves and shift their mindset. The following are some ideas you can add to your routine to improve your mental wellness. What sticks out to you? Create a short list of activities to get started. Your routine can be as quick or as long as you want, depending on your schedule. Move your body. Exercising first thing in the morning might sound like a challenging task when you just forced yourself out of bed. But gentle stretching, yoga, or walking will get the blood and oxygen moving through your muscles, improve your heart health, and clear your mind. When you exercise, the neurotransmitters in the brain send out an overabundance of serotonin that will leave you feeling happy and accomplished. The physical benefits of moving your body go even further than mental wellness. By working out, you are burning calories, lowering cortisol in the body, lubricating the [...]

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Melissa Plantz

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