Emotional abuse is not as easy to spot as physical abuse, but oftentimes its effects can be just as traumatic. Emotional abuse can involve a wide range of tactics, including gaslighting, shaming and manipulation. All of these are intended to leave the victim feeling confused, powerless and hopeless.

Typically people suffer from long-term or short-term emotional abuse, and depending on the length of time, there can be varying mental health effects.

Depression is a complex mental health issue that varies widely between individuals. This is why it can be difficult for some people to recognize what may be a situational discomfort that may pass on its own, and what may be more serious and require professional help.

Body positivity is a movement started by the idea that all human beings, regardless of their size, should feel good about themselves. Body positive advocates encourage others to celebrate their bodies and accept themselves the way they are, instead of trying to squeeze themselves into a physical mold that society has deemed “attractive.”

But is it possible to be body positive and still manage your weight? The two concepts appear, at first glance, to be contradictory. 

Many neurodivergent clients I work with have shared with me that the idea of dating to them is terrifying. They feel nervous about holding their own in a conversation with someone they’ve just met as most find small talk absolutely distasteful. They don’t know how to pick up romantic cues from the other person, and, well, sexual relations pose entirely different challenges!

Dating is hard for everyone, but neurodivergent people have their own specific challenges. And much of these stem from a childhood where they were bullied for being different. Neurodivergent people know the pain of rejection and often don’t want to put themselves “out there” for fear of being rejected all over again.

Here are some tips to help you feel more comfortable in your own skin as well as in different social situations that come with dating.

Gender-affirming care focuses on an individual’s physical, mental and social health needs. This care is absolutely lifesaving for transgender, gender diverse, and nonbinary people.

In order to fully understand what gender-affirming care is, we must first understand what it means to have a “gender identity crisis.” Gender crises happen when someone’s internal sense of gender is different from their sex or when they do not fit into the traditional expectations of gender identity or expression.

Historically, transgender, gender diverse and non-binary individuals typically experienced considerable health disparities due to discrimination and systemic biases, as well as less access to healthcare. But recently there has been a real push for gender-affirming healthcare, and in fact, research has strongly suggested that inhibiting individuals from receiving this form of healthcare can have immense negative health outcomes.

You know you got your hairline from your Dad’s side of the family and your eye color from your mom. You know diabetes runs in your family, as does heart disease and Parkinson’s.

But do you know that many families also pass down trauma to their loved ones? It’s not just our physical makeup and risk of disease that we inherit from our family, it is also the emotional wounds as well.

Watching a loved-one self-destruct and feeling helpless to stop them can feel devastating, particularly when that person is in complete denial about their unhealthy life patterns. While you may feel hopeless, there is something you can do to try and help your loved one get the help they need to change their life.

When you think about it, modern women are really like superheroes. Not only are they obtaining college degrees and climbing corporate ladders, they’re doing so while also raising families. They may also find themselves taking care of aging parents at the same time.

While some women are able to manage juggling all of these big responsibilities, many women, over time, will experience burnout and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Not since the great depression have so many people collectively been dealing with financial hardship. The Covid pandemic locked down nations and caused people to lose their livelihoods. It is not surprising, then, that we are also seeing increases in the rates of depression.

We’ve all seen those scenes in movies and TV shows where the mother is pressuring her daughter to have children. Usually, the mother character will guilt her daughter by saying something like, “You’re not getting any younger you know,” or, “All I want is to be a grandmother. Why are you keeping that from me!”

These scenes are always funny. Unless of course, you live these scenes in real life! And sadly, many women do live these scenes on a daily basis.

Suicidal ideation is a medical term used to describe when someone has begun having thoughts about committing suicide. Sometimes these thoughts might be fleeting in nature, and other times the thoughts may persist until the individual begins to formulate a plan.

According to recent data, suicide is the third leading cause of death among people aged 15 and 24 years. And suicide accounts for 1% of deaths in America.

Our mental health significantly impacts our quality of life, so it makes sense that we would want to do all we can to improve it. This may include things like eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting enough quality sleep each night.

But there is something else that greatly influences our mental health and that is a community and a sense of belonging.

There is no denying that healthy eating is good for us. When we eat right, we can make significant improvements to our overall health and well-being.

But, as with most things in life, everything in moderation.

“I do.” Two simple enough words. And when you say them on your wedding day, you really mean them. But “I do” can quickly turn into, “I thought I could” when you don’t know exactly who or what you are committing to.

For many children, childhood is a time of wonder, play, and discovery. These children have parents who give them the safety and security to explore the world around them and grow to reach their full potential

We live in a society that worships the overachiever. Burning the candle at both ends and denying yourself pleasure until the work gets done is seen as honorable.

Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are serious psychiatric illness, not unlike anxiety and depression. Individuals who suffer from one of these disorders use food in unhealthy ways to cope with difficult emotions and life situations.

No child is born with low self-esteem; rather self-critical thought patterns develop over time as a result of external stimuli and input from others.