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Child Counseling for Bullying or Divorce

2024-09-27T10:30:11+00:00November 30th, 2023|Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured|

Adults often acknowledge that people are all different. And by people, we mean other adults. Children are too often the recipients of standardized approaches that do not recognize that they are individuals, with diverse ways of seeing and reacting to the world around them. Child counseling can help shed light. The reasons each person has for requiring counseling are different. Having made that point, it is important to also notice there are experiences after which many children do benefit from counseling. If your child has experienced any of the following or is currently experiencing them, then it is prudent to consider whether the effects, fallout, and required healing would be assisted through the facilitation of a trained professional. Child counseling after bullying. Bullying affects everyone involved; the people who are the victims of bullies, the bullies themselves, and those who witness the bullying. Bullying sometimes even occurs in a child’s school friendship group and isn’t picked up in many metrics that measure poor outcomes. Bullying is a common experience for those who also abuse substances, struggle with mental health, or even consider suicide, experience depression and anxiety, have increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, experience a change in their sleep or their eating patterns, and more. Those who are bullied are likely to experience a drop in their schoolwork and participation, and in time are increasingly likely to miss or drop out of school. As with some other childhood ills, experts find that some of these issues may continue into adulthood. This makes taking steps to address it and helping your child process their experience all the more important. Child counseling after divorce. The break-up of a marriage is certainly difficult for the parents; however, it can easily be just as hard on the children of the family. There [...]

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5 Ways to Remember to Pray as a Teen

2024-10-29T15:05:24+00:00November 9th, 2023|Christian Counseling For Teens, Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

Life as a teen is incredibly busy and full. Between home life, school, work, friendships, and sports, teens can feel like they are being pulled in a thousand directions. As a teen, it is common to struggle with fitting in things you know are important, but more so, it is important to remember to pray. This is especially true when it comes to prayer. Whether you grew up praying or prayer is new to you, it is normal that you want to find a way to make your relationship with God something that feels comfortable and natural for you. This may mean it looks different than the way your parents or friends do things. As you explore and discover how you want to connect with God, consider how often you talk to Him. Is it something that comes easily? Do you have regular prayer time or conversation with God? Do you struggle to fit prayer into your life? No matter how you answer those questions, you can always learn new ways to connect with God. The best thing to do is to make it simple. Try new things and see how they feel. If you want to incorporate prayer into your life more, here are some things you can try. Set a reminder. You can set a reminder on your phone or watch to pray at a certain time every day. Sometimes things just get busy, and people forget to pray. Setting a reminder can help you remember to check in and talk to God. Pair it with something. You can connect prayer with something you already do. For example, you can pray every time you brush your teeth. Brushing your teeth is the trigger that reminds you to pray. Since you already do this, it is more likely [...]

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Words for Life: Training Your Brain for Mental and Emotional Health

2024-10-29T15:05:38+00:00August 28th, 2023|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development|

Words are powerful. When we rehearse them, we experience them forming reality as what we speak comes into being. It may not be surprising, as we are created in God’s image. He made us able to imitate Him and experience the authority of impacting our world with our words. If He spoke and saw, then we must consider the weight of what we speak, realizing that it will also impact what we see and experience and our emotional health as a result. Our brains are responsive. They will capture the messages we program and give us an output that aligns with whatever we continue to say. We tend to focus on the glaring negative messages over the positives. God factored this into the makeup of our brains. This is why He has advocated for us to savor His Word in all of our days, for the entirety of our lives (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). For this reason, we have to be intentional about disconnecting from the negative messages and the havoc they wreak on our mental and emotional health. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. – Deuteronomy 6:6-7, ESV The Brain and Belief Negative words and limiting beliefs will chip at our souls, leaving a void that influences our perception of ourselves, others, and sometimes even God. The words we meditate on infiltrate every area of our lives. They can either pull us down or elevate us into all that God has planned for us that we don’t yet realize. Our enemy is counting on us to remain downtrodden [...]

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Easy Ways to Have More Fun in Your Life

2024-10-29T15:05:48+00:00August 10th, 2023|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

When life is busy fun tends to get pushed down to the bottom of the list. This is even truer when you are going through a hard time or struggling. People push fun aside to deal with whatever situation they are facing, to handle hard emotions, to get things done, or even because it seems frivolous. But fun is an important part of your wellness, and it’s easier than you think. “When people are having actual fun, they report feeling focused and present, free from anxiety and self-criticism. They laugh and feel connected, both to other people and to their authentic selves.” – Catherine Price During seasons of busyness or challenge, it would be helpful to feel this way. Imagine whatever you are facing right now and how you feel. Now imagine it: Feeling focused and present. With less anxiety. Void of self-criticism. With laughter. Feeling connected to others. Feeling connected to your true self. Doesn’t that sound like the way you want to feel, especially in a hard or busy time of your life? You may not feel like you have time or space for fun in your life, but there are simple ways you can incorporate more fun to help you feel better. It won’t necessarily fix the problem you face or change everything about how you feel. But it can help. Here are some easy ways to incorporate more fun into your life (even when it feels impossible): Create something. You don’t have to be an artist to create. As people made in God’s image, you have innate creativity within you. That may be artistic or it may be in another way. Just consider things you can do that are creative. Think about different outlets, different ideas, and different ways you can create. Some ideas are: [...]

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The Dangers of Stress Eating

2024-09-27T10:23:31+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

2024-09-27T10:23:48+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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How to Tell If You’re in a Toxic Marriage: Signs and Symptoms

2024-10-29T15:06:08+00:00May 5th, 2023|Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Relationships are key to our well-being and flourishing. When our relationships are going great, our lives feel full, bursting with vitality, and it’s quite likely that we can face challenges with confidence. However, if things aren’t going so well in our relationships, it can affect everything else in our lives. This is especially true of a toxic marriage. If you have a tiff with your spouse at home in the morning, that can distract you all day while you’re at work, affecting your focus and productivity. But if your support structure is thriving, you can face and tackle even tough situations with gusto. We are, at our core, relational creatures. As bearers of God’s image, love and relationship are key to who we are (Genesis 1: 26-27; 1 John 4:16). In a marriage, you are at your most vulnerable; your spouse is the person who knows you through and through. They’ve seen you in your moments of exultation and triumph, but they’ve also seen you at your lowest moments of failure and shame. They’ve seen you naked – in all senses of that word – and their voice carries weight in ways that other peoples don’t. It’s no wonder then that Mike Mason, author of The Mystery Of Marriage, wrote that “there is nothing in the world worse than a bad marriage, and at the same time nothing better than a good one.” (Mason) The shape of a healthy marriage. When a marriage is good, it buoys you up in ways no other relationship can. A healthy marriage has several features that set it apart including: You are seen and heard. The world is a cacophonous jumble, and our voices often get lost in the swirl of competing voices that also desire attention. We often find ourselves trying to [...]

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5 Tips for Successful Aging

2024-10-29T15:06:20+00:00April 28th, 2023|Aging and Geriatric Issues, Featured, Individual Counseling|

When we’re in our twenties, life seems long and we feel invincible. As we start to approach middle age, the realization starts to dawn that we are no longer on the right side of youth – our skin starts to sag and wrinkles appear seemingly out of nowhere. How did it happen so quickly, we might ask? What is the secret to successful aging? As Christians, we know that beauty is fleeting (Proverbs 31:30a) and that it is our inner appearance that counts before God, but it can take some time to truly accept the fact that no amount of money or effort can win back our younger selves. We need to preach to ourselves the truth of Paul to Timothy, that “godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8, NIV) Our focus should be on something deeper: “inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV This does not mean we should not look after our bodies well, but that we need to truly embrace what it means to age gracefully. Here are five tips for successful aging: Get the basics of successful aging right. We all know what we need to do to be healthy – get the right nutrition for our bodies, and exercise regularly. While we might have been able to coast through our earlier years without paying heed to this advice, successful aging depends on getting these core lifestyle pillars in place. The good news is that it’s never too late to start. Begin by incorporating small healthy habits into your lifestyle. Try less sugar in your tea, or a walk around the block daily, for instance, and then work on growing these successes. Challenge yourself. The people [...]

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Anxiety and Perfection: Lessons from Martha in the Bible

2024-10-29T15:06:31+00:00January 19th, 2023|Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

One of the truly amazing things about the Bible is its relevance to our lives today. As we read the Word, we confront people dealing with a myriad of struggles – dysfunctional families, infertility, worry, abuse, neglect, and death. Over and over again, the Bible lets us into the inner lives of people who faced the same kinds of things we do, such as anxiety and perfection. Another incredible thing is our ability to glean more than one lesson from the stories we read. The account of Mary and Martha is well known. Found in Luke 10, these six verses have been preached on, used as the basis of Bible studies, and as the backbone for devotionals for years. Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42, ESV Martha is often painted as a distracted grumbler. She is so focused on the food and appearances and keeping up with cultural norms she misses the point. She tells Jesus to rebuke her sister publicly (versus doing so herself in private) and sees the censure turned back on her! And yet, maybe we miss something in Martha’s actions. Maybe we are quick [...]

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How to Recognize Gaslighting Signs in Friendship

2024-09-27T10:23:13+00:00January 14th, 2023|Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Healthy friendships are an integral part of our lives. They help us learn and provide support when we need it. But an unhealthy friendship can exacerbate stress, weaken our sense of self, and contribute to low confidence. When we discover that a friend is gaslighting, it indicates that he or she has unhealthy behavior patterns. What is gaslighting? Gaslighting is a form of manipulation and emotional abuse where one person attempts to exert control over the other person. This control is usually at the expense of causing the other person to doubt himself or herself. It also can, over time, make the victim struggle to know what is real and what is not. This form of manipulation exists in marriages, romantic relationships, and workplaces, but it can be trickier to identify in a friendship. People tend to assume their friends want what is best for them. Yet if a friend is already unhealthy or grew up in an emotionally abusive family, he may not even realize he is manipulative. You need to recognize the gaslighting signs within a friend context; you’ll want to know how to spot the signs, what to do about them, and how to make changes to your friendships in the future. Common Signs Some gaslighting signs are easier to see than others. For example, if a friend tells you that another friend said something negative about you or painted you in a light that’s outside that other friend’s character, pay attention. Your friend who told you that may be gaslighting you. Why? If she can get you to believe that your other friend isn’t honest or does not think rightly about you, you may pull away emotionally from the other friend and draw nearer to your friend who is gaslighting you. It’s a subtle technique [...]

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