This is a guest post by Kristen Riordan (Schneider), grad intern, White Picket Fence Counseling Center. When I was five years old, my dad married my stepmom. The entire week they were on their honeymoon, I was scared. I remember not being able to sleep. Why? I was worried...
The Five Love Languages, Applied to Self
By Kristen Riordan (Schneider), grad intern, White Picket Fence Counseling Center. Perhaps you’ve heard of the five love languages, first coined by Gary Chapman. The five love languages outline the ways we communicate love to others. Love languages can be applied to romantic partnerships, friendships, and family relationships. Yes,...
How to Calm a Wild Imagination
This is a guest post by Kristen Riordan (Schneider), grad intern, White Picket Fence Counseling Center. The imagination is a beautiful thing. We use our imaginations to dream up future events. We envision where we’ll go, with whom and when. We use the imagination to entertain us – to...
Embracing Flaws and Body Positivity
In our present society, it sometimes feels like we’re facing judgments over flaws and our bodies on a day-to-day basis. This is especially true on social media, where people are sharing intimately about themselves more than ever. This opens them up to scrutiny from people online and opens all...
How to Let Go and Move Forward
It seems like just yesterday that we were running to the stores in search of toilet paper and hand sanitizer in a frenzy of being told we were all going to be staying home for the next two weeks. It’s kind of interesting now looking back, isn’t it? Two...
Anxiety as a Continuum
As I speak to clients these days, there is one thing almost everyone is needing help with, and that’s managing anxiety. Of course, COVID has put a whole other layer on top of it and we even have a new name for it, “COVID anxiety.” When you think of...
Toxic Positivity
I recently came across the hashtag #toxicpositivity on Instagram and was curious about how these two words were being put together. I often think about how there is a trend on social media for people to portray themselves as happy and positive all the time. Unfortunately, this can have...
Prescriptions for Pandemic Times
Before COVID-19, we did all sorts of activities meant to add relaxation into our lives, like yoga, pilates, or boxing classes, massage therapy, and other personal appointments – whatever new “shiny” relaxing thing came into view. Yet filling our schedule like that actually creates its own kind of stress....
Managing Pandemic Stress
We are coping with a lot of unrest in our country and in our world right now. If you are already working on a health issue or two, coupled with worries about staying safe and avoiding illness, it’s a lot to handle. So how can you safely manage stress,...
Being at Peace With Being at Home
Things will likely never return to exactly how they were, but for sure there will be more changes ahead from how things are right now. While things are slowly opening back up for us here in Florida, many people are still spending more time at home. This is a...