Many people grew up with less than holly jolly holidays. Childhood memories can range from basic family drama to extremely abusive or neglectful situations. Below is a dramatization of a holiday memory that could later lead to Grinch tendencies. Continue reading
You don’t have to hug Grandpa…
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Boundaries are an important part of a child’s development. Some children are prone to running up and hugging anyone, and it is parent’s jobs to remind them that is not okay to do. Most of the year parents do well to teach their children personal space, staying away from strangers, and distancing themselves if someone makes them uncomfortable. Then all of a sudden, it’s holiday season and those rules go out the window! Children are told “go give [insert relative] a hug!” Oftentimes these may be extended family members a child may have never met.
I Smell Fear
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Fear and anxiety go hand in hand, if you want to learn more about anxiety specifically, check out my post from last week. A well-known reaction to fear stimuli is to fight, flee, or freeze. It is hard to know how we will react until presented with a situation. Fear can be in response to real or imagined triggers. Some of our fears are ingrained in us for survival such as a fear of heights or a fear of snakes. Below are a few dreadful ideas shared by many. Continue reading
Anxiety Amoeba
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When you poke an amoeba, it shrinks or contracts to defend itself. Keep poking it and it becomes scared and does not trust the environment. Humans are “poked” by our triggers to anxiety, but we have an advantage over the amoeba: we can adapt and adjust to our new condition. Continue reading
Sadness Sucks
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Sadness can come slowly or as a huge slap in the face. Types of sadness include grief, unhappiness, regrettable, feeling worthless and useless. People can confuse ordinary misery with clinical depression. The primary difference is Continue reading
Angry Much?
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Everyone knows the feeling of anger and how it can vary in degrees. The 3 easiest emotions people seem to recognize are happiness, anger, and sadness. We each have different warning signs and triggers for anger. However, the physiological response is the same in all our bodies. Continue reading
Zarrow Symposium 2017 Review
Leave a comment StandardContinuing with the Exploring Emotions series, rather than focus on a specific emotion, I would like to share my thoughts and feelings about the symposium I attended. This is my second year attending the Zarrow Symposium. Keep in mind, each person views the world through ones own lens and this is my view.
Senses of Happiness
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Everyone experiences variations of happiness. For some it is an overall sense of contentment with life and for many of us it can be a moment or memory of pleasantness or excitement. Some synonyms of happy include fortunate, well adapted, enjoying, glad, pleased, enthusiastic, and joyful. Each emotion we experience has physiological effects on our bodies. Happiness cues Continue reading
Exploring Emotions Series
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Knowing what we are feeling is healthy and necessary. Only by experiencing our emotions can we regulate them effectively. Stuffing or bottling up feelings can lead to explosions. I think of it like a soda bottle that is shaken up and opened quickly, it explodes everywhere! As humans, we do not have the option of whether to get shaken, it will happen, and we must find a way to release our emotions slowing to avoid an explosion.
Social Media Self-care
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Social media can be an awesome thing. It can also be a source of extreme stress. Studies of shown that social media used in excess can actually decreased self-esteem. Teenagers are often experiencing cyber bullying on various social media sites. They’re also dangers that kids run into with strangers being able to message them on different forums. As adults we can delete or ignore these messages the kids can have trouble differentiating between troll-ish annoyances and taking things personally. Below are three healthy things you can do to keep your sanity in social media interactions.