As knowledge of mental health grows, many people are accepting meditation as a healthy tool. In fact, instead of going to the gym, meditation is quickly growing as a new form of workout to help improve mental health and depending on the form of meditation, your physical health, as well.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is about bringing a sense of awareness to yourself by focusing on the now. While there are many ways to practice meditation, the goal is to focus your attention, which in turn, can create a natural state of rest and relaxation, opening yourself to greater possibilities.
Meditation can be as
simple as a nightly breathing exercise, or a lifestyle change incorporating
meditation into your life throughout the day. However you choose to meditate,
there are several scientifically-backed benefits you can take away in only a few minutes a day. Here are five
benefits of meditation and why you should begin practicing.
Improved Sleep Quality
Mental illness and insomnia (the inability to sleep) tend to go hand in hand. If you can sleep, you are vulnerable to mental illness; and if you have mental illness, you are vulnerable to insomnia. One primary reason why people suffer from insomnia is that they don’t have a relaxed state of mind when trying to fall asleep. From the stress of the day to not knowing what is going to happen in the future, people tend to overthink what has already happened, which can’t be changed, and what has not, and may not, happen. Meditation brings you to the now by bringing awareness to your current surroundings and removing the anxiety that prevents you from sleep.
Find Meaning
Do you remember summer
days as a kid and how long and enjoyable they seemed? Now, with work, school,
bills, kids, and everything else going on in your life you may be hard-pressed
to find the meaning in your life. You may have lost the appreciation of your
time that you had when you were younger and lacked the stress of life.
Meditation is a way to build the deeper connection to your life that you may have been searching
for.
Improves Mental Health
Meditation can help you
both during the day as you manage your focus as well as at night when you need quality sleep. Both are important to your mental health and overall well-being.
A lack of quality sleep can lead to hormonal disruptions in your body which
make it difficult for you to emotionally respond to your life at home and at
work.
Reduces Stress
Meditation techniques
can help keep your mind focused on the now, build awareness, and manage
patience throughout the day when you would normally feel anxious or stressed.
There are several studies that show how mindfulness meditation eases anxiety and mental stress. This has led
to openness in the medical communities as more health professionals are
recommending meditation techniques to manage complex mental health illnesses.
How to Start
Meditation is not as
complex as many people believe, though as you learn to focus on the now, you
will inevitably grow.
Meditating as little as five-minutes-a-day has been shown to improve one’s overall
well-being and all you need is comfort, quiet, and breath.
It is suggested that
when you meditate you begin in a quiet place in a comfortable seated position
with your arms in your lap or at your side. While your eyes are closed count
each in-breath and each out-breath as one, then two, then three and so on to
ten. Then repeat. Focus on your inhale and exhale and try to think of nothing
else. It does take time before your mind no longer wanders, but as you continue
to meditate you will be able to control your thoughts to just focus on your
breath.
Posted: April 24, 2019 by VCCounseling Leave a Comment
4 Reasons to Meditate and Where to Begin
As knowledge of mental health grows, many people are accepting meditation as a healthy tool. In fact, instead of going to the gym, meditation is quickly growing as a new form of workout to help improve mental health and depending on the form of meditation, your physical health, as well.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is about bringing a sense of awareness to yourself by focusing on the now. While there are many ways to practice meditation, the goal is to focus your attention, which in turn, can create a natural state of rest and relaxation, opening yourself to greater possibilities.
Meditation can be as simple as a nightly breathing exercise, or a lifestyle change incorporating meditation into your life throughout the day. However you choose to meditate, there are several scientifically-backed benefits you can take away in only a few minutes a day. Here are five benefits of meditation and why you should begin practicing.
Improved Sleep Quality
Mental illness and insomnia (the inability to sleep) tend to go hand in hand. If you can sleep, you are vulnerable to mental illness; and if you have mental illness, you are vulnerable to insomnia. One primary reason why people suffer from insomnia is that they don’t have a relaxed state of mind when trying to fall asleep. From the stress of the day to not knowing what is going to happen in the future, people tend to overthink what has already happened, which can’t be changed, and what has not, and may not, happen. Meditation brings you to the now by bringing awareness to your current surroundings and removing the anxiety that prevents you from sleep.
Find Meaning
Do you remember summer days as a kid and how long and enjoyable they seemed? Now, with work, school, bills, kids, and everything else going on in your life you may be hard-pressed to find the meaning in your life. You may have lost the appreciation of your time that you had when you were younger and lacked the stress of life. Meditation is a way to build the deeper connection to your life that you may have been searching for.
Improves Mental Health
Meditation can help you both during the day as you manage your focus as well as at night when you need quality sleep. Both are important to your mental health and overall well-being. A lack of quality sleep can lead to hormonal disruptions in your body which make it difficult for you to emotionally respond to your life at home and at work.
Reduces Stress
Meditation techniques can help keep your mind focused on the now, build awareness, and manage patience throughout the day when you would normally feel anxious or stressed. There are several studies that show how mindfulness meditation eases anxiety and mental stress. This has led to openness in the medical communities as more health professionals are recommending meditation techniques to manage complex mental health illnesses.
How to Start
Meditation is not as complex as many people believe, though as you learn to focus on the now, you will inevitably grow.
Meditating as little as five-minutes-a-day has been shown to improve one’s overall well-being and all you need is comfort, quiet, and breath.
It is suggested that when you meditate you begin in a quiet place in a comfortable seated position with your arms in your lap or at your side. While your eyes are closed count each in-breath and each out-breath as one, then two, then three and so on to ten. Then repeat. Focus on your inhale and exhale and try to think of nothing else. It does take time before your mind no longer wanders, but as you continue to meditate you will be able to control your thoughts to just focus on your breath.
Posted: December 28, 2018 by VCC Intern Leave a Comment
Social Media’s Effect on Self-Esteem
We live in a world that is inundated with social media. It has grown tremendously over the past decade. It pervades every corner of our society. Everywhere you look there is another social media website popping up: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat. People are constantly engrossed in their electronic devices: phones, tablets and laptops.
There are positive aspects of social media, such as keeping in touch with friends and family, especially ones who might live far away. There are also some negative aspects that we should be aware of. Many people are starting to ask the question, “What are some of the psychological long term effects of social media on one’s self-esteem”? Social media can breed insecurity when we are using it as a platform to compare ourselves to other friends or even friends of friends.
Using social media to determine your self worth by obsessively comparing yourself to someone’s perfect Facebook photo or constantly reading their exciting posts can actually be detrimental to your mental health. A study conducted by the University of Copenhagen found that many people suffer from “Facebook envy”. They found that those who abstained from using the popular site reported that they felt more satisfied with their lives.
Social media is designed to exhibit only the best moments of one’s life. People post pictures of happy moments with their romantic partner, selfies of a perfectly toned bikini body, and family snapshots in tropical locations such as Tahiti or the Maldives. The truth is we don’t know anything about what lies beneath the surface of that photograph. The actual reality of that moment that was captured in time may have been nothing like what it appears like in the photograph. Who knows, what looks to be the world’s happiest couple may have been arguing minutes before the photograph was taken. We do not know what is really happening in their lives. We only see the picture that they have painted for us. In her article, The Negative Effect of Social Media on Self-Esteem, Alyssa Mairanz speaks to this when she says, “As you are scrolling through your news feed and it is one post after the next of all these exciting things, it is easy to start feeling badly about yourself”.
Mairanz offers tips for not letting social media negatively affect your self-esteem.
It’s important to be aware of what you are using these social media sites for and the amount of time you are spending on them. Remember to monitor your screen time, as well as your feelings after using the site. Try not to get too engrossed in the world of social media competition!
Last Updated: December 16, 2018 by VCCounseling Leave a Comment
Depression in Later Life
Are you in your mid-50’s or 60’s? Are there areas of your life where you don’t feel entirely satisfied? Perhaps you’ve had dreams or hopes that have been pushed aside because of raising children, trying to keep a marriage together, or working hard to build your retirement. Life forces us to make choices, and sometimes hard ones. For those in later adulthood, depression can sink in when children have left the nest, a marriage falls apart, an illness gets worse, or a career didn’t go the way we planned.
In fact, depression is one of the most common disabilities in the United States. Depression affects approximately 15 million American adults, which is equivalent to about 6.7% of the US population age 18 and older.
If you are suffering from depression in later adulthood, there is treatment that can help. In fact, for most people, treatment has been proven to be effective. Generally speaking, treatment can include therapy, and in some cases, may also include the use of antidepressants. It’s important that a person try to avoid using only medication. While antidepressants are useful, they don’t address the full scope of the illness. Antidepressants can help with minimizing symptoms so that a person can go on with their lives. However, only therapy can help a person address the issues that may have contributed to the depression in the first place. Together, medication and therapy are an effective way of overcoming depression. In many cases, therapy alone can address the symptoms as well as the underlying causes of depression.
According to the New York Times, the use of antidepressants has increased significantly among Americans. “One in 10 Americans now takes an antidepressant medication; among women in their 40s and 50s, the figure is one in four.” It is unclear whether this increase is due to more legitimate diagnoses of depression or a pattern of over-diagnosis.
In addition to therapy and medication, a person might also include holistic modalities in their efforts to overcome depression. These might include:
Although depression is common among Americans, there are many ways to overcome depression. If you’re experiencing depression, Ventura Community Counseling can help.
Posted: December 15, 2018 by VCCounseling Leave a Comment
Good Sleep Supports Mental Health
When you’re able to get a good night’s sleep, you feel better – emotionally, psychologically, and physically. However, unfortunately, many people suffer from insomnia, sleep apnea, or other sleep disorders that prevent good sleep. Yet, this in turn, contributes to mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thinking. A University of Michigan study found a strong correlation between insomnia and suicide.
Here are a few tips on how to get a good night’s sleep and support your mental health:
Posted: May 5, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Kleptomania
What is Kleptomania?
Kleptomania is considered to be a type of Impulse Control Disorder in which an individual has the urge to steal items. However, they steal items that have such little value or that they don’t even need. In fact, in many occasions the individual will steal the item, put it away, and never use it. Furthermore, such condition is rare, it is important to note that it is a serious mental health disorder and that about two thirds of Kleptomania cases involve women. Even though individuals may try their best to not engage in such behaviors, it is something that they cannot control. The individual cannot control the temptation to steal, which in turn can emotionally affect not only the individual, but their loved ones.
In addition, such behaviors and actions occur without planning them and occasionally, without the help of others. Such behaviors tend to occur in public places (i.e. stores) however, individuals may also steal from their loved ones.
What are the symptoms of Kleptomania?
What causes Kleptomania?
Although the exact known cause is not known, the following are thought to be contributing factors to the development of such condition:
How is Kleptomania treated?
Although individuals do not tend to seek help because of humiliation or shame for example, it is important for them to seek help from a professional to overcome such disorder. They will not do it on their own. However, when treatment is sought, the following may be used:
How can I or someone I know cope with Kleptomania?
Posted: May 2, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Histrionic Personality Disorder
What is Histrionic Personality Disorder?
Individuals who have Histrionic Personality Disorder are individuals who have intense and unstable emotions. In addition, individuals have distorted images and tend to need the approval of others to improve their self-esteem and be happy with themselves. In turn, individuals with such disorder tend to have a strong need for attention and will engage in inappropriate or dramatic behaviors just to get that attention. Often, individuals with this disorder tend to have good social skills however, rather than using them to an advantage and for everyone’s well-being, they use them to manipulate others in order to get their attention.
It is important to note that experts believe that about 3.8 million of adults in the United States suffer from Histrionic Personality Disorder. In addition, it is more common among women than it is in men.
What are the symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder?
What causes Histrionic Personality Disorder?
Although the exact cause is not known, experts believe that genetics play a big role in the development. For example, if an individuals parent or sibling have such disorder, then an individual has a higher chance of developing such condition. Also, there are other environmental factors that are believed to play a role such as a lack of criticism or punishment as a child.
How is Histrionic Personality Disorder treated?
It is often difficult to get an individual with Histrionic Personality Disorder to seek treatment since they often exaggerate their feelings or tend to dislike routine. However, individuals seek therapy for depression for example, if such condition develops with Histrionic Personality Disorder.
In addition, if an individual does seek treatment they often receive the following:
How can Histrionic Personality Disorder affect an individual?
How can I cope with Histrionic Personality Disorder or help someone I know?
Posted: April 30, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Conduct Disorder
What is Conduct Disorder?
Conduct Disorder is thought to be a type of behavioral and emotional disorder, which affects children and teens. An individual who is experiencing Conduct Disorder may have a disruptive and violent behavior. Individuals with such disorder often have a hard time following the rules. Although it is common for individuals to experience a time in their lives in which they rebel against others, it is important to note that it becomes a disorder and/or problem when the behavior is long-lasting. The individual often violates the rights of others and their behavior is going against the accepted norms of behaviors and their everyday life, including their families.
In addition, it is believed that between 2 and 16% of children in the United States have been diagnosed with such disorder. Moreover, it is more common in boys than in girls.
What are the symptoms of Conduct Disorder?
The symptoms of the disorder vary from individual to individual depending on their age and severity of the disorder (i.e. mild, moderate, or severe). However, the symptoms fall into 4 categories:
In addition:
What causes Conduct Disorder?
Although the exact known cause is not known, experts believe that biological (i.e. a part of the brain has an injury or defect), genetic (i.e. siblings or a parent), environmental (i.e. child abuse, inconsistent discipline, or traumatic experiences), social (low socioeconomic status), and psychological factors all play a role in the development of such disorder.
How is Conduct Disorder treated?
The treatment given to the individual will vary depending on the child’s age. However, the following are common treatments that are used:
How can I cope with Conduct Disorder or help someone I know?
Posted: April 30, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Specific Phobia Disorder
What is Specific Phobia Disorder?
When an individual suffers from Specific Phobia Disorder they experience an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of a certain object or certain situation that in reality is of no danger. However, such situation or object provokes anxiety or avoidance in an individual. Such phobia or fear is nothing like the emotions experienced when an individual is speaking in front of an audience or when taking a test. When an individual suffers from Specific Phobia Disorder, the emotions that they are experiencing are so intense that it begins to impair the individuals’ ability to function normally (i.e. at work, school, or social settings).
It is important to note that Specific Phobia Disorder is among the most common anxiety disorders and that not all phobias may need treatment however, if such phobia is affecting the individual’s daily life, then it is recommended that an individual seeks therapy.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are many types of phobia including, but not limited to the following:
What are the symptoms of Specific Phobia Disorder?
Note: Children may express their fear and/or anxiety though crying or throwing a tantrum for example.
What causes Specific Phobia Disorder?
Although the exact cause is not known, traumatic experiences or learned reactions are believed to increase the chances of an individual developing a phobia for an object or situation. For example, if an individual was brutally attacked by a dog, they may in turn develop such fear and/or anxiety towards it.
How is Specific Phobia Disorder treated?
How can I cope with Specific Phobia Disorder?
Posted: April 23, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Stereotypic Movement Disorder
What is Stereotypic Movement Disorder?
Stereotypic Movement Disorder is classified under Motor Disorders in the DSM-V. Individuals who have such disorder tend to have repetitive, purposeless movement. For example, an individual may repetitively hand wave or bang their head. However, a diagnosis is only given if such behaviors affect the individual daily functioning. It is important to note that such disorder tends to develop in childhood and that it is more common among boys than it is among girls.
What are the symptoms of Stereotypic Movement Disorder?
An individual appears to show the following stereotypic movements (repetitive and purposeless movement):
It is important to note that the symptoms will vary in severity as follows:
What causes Stereotypic Movement Disorder?
Although experts have not determined the exact known cause, social isolation, environmental stress, and genetics may play a role in the development. In addition, boredom, stress, excitement, and exhaustion may also be factors that increase the likelihood of developing such disorder in children. Certain physical conditions, head injuries, or drug use have also shown to play a role in the development of Stereotypic Movement Disorder.
How is Stereotypic Movement Disorder treated?
How can someone with Stereotypic Movement Disorder cope with such disorder?
Posted: April 23, 2018 by Yesenia Garcia Leave a Comment
Autism Spectrum Disorder
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism Spectrum Disorder is the umbrella term used to describe that it is not a single disorder, but rather there are a variety of closely related disorders to different degrees that fall under such disorder in the DSM-V. An individual who has been diagnosed with Autism tends to face social, communication, and behavioral challenges. However, it is important to note that the degree of these challenges vary from one individual to another. Moreover, such term is now the umbrella term for the following disorders (they fall under Autism Spectrum Disorder):
Experts say that individuals who fall under the Autism Spectrum Disorder may have difficulties with communicating and interacting with other people, they may have restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, and/or symptoms that may affect their ability to live their daily life (i.e. in school, work, or at home).
What are the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder?
It is important to note that not all people who are diagnosed with such disorder will have the following symptoms. The symptoms will vary from person to person.
Social Symptoms (communication & interaction behaviors):
Repetitive Behavior Symptoms:
What causes Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Although experts are still trying to find the cause, genetics (i.e. having a sibling or parent with such disorder), older parents, low birth weight, and having certain genetic conditions (i.e. Down Syndrome or Rett Syndrome) may increase the chances of an individual being affected by such disorder.
How is Autism Spectrum Disorder treated?
The earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcome when treatment is received. Early treatment is important because it can help an individual reduce their difficulties and increase their strengths.
What can I do to help an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism Facts:
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