Mental Health Blog
Browse helpful articles below.
If you’ve spent time exploring modern approaches to mental health, you’ve likely come across Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)—a powerful model of therapy that helps people build a rich, meaningful life even in the presence of pain.
At the heart of ACT is one core goal: psychological flexibility.
If you're considering or preparing for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy, it's natural to wonder: What will this feel like? What will happen emotionally?
You might have heard that EMDR helps people process trauma, anxiety, or other painful memories—but less often do people talk about what it’s like on the inside during a session. Let’s walk through the emotional experience of EMDR therapy—so you can feel more prepared, grounded, and supported as you begin.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has helped countless people process traumatic memories, reduce anxiety, and reclaim their emotional well-being. But if you're about to attend your first session—or even if you’ve already had a few—it's completely normal to feel uncertain or nervous.
Mental preparation can make a big difference in helping you get the most out of your EMDR experience. Here's how to get yourself mentally ready for the journey ahead.
When life feels overwhelming, uncertain, or directionless, it can be grounding to reconnect with what truly matters to you—your values. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), values aren't just feel-good ideas. They're your inner compass: the deeper motivations that guide how you want to live, love, work, and grow.
Trauma doesn’t always announce itself with sirens and flashbacks. Often, it hides in the subtleties of our behavior—especially in how we engage and relate to others. While the original wound may be buried in the past, its echoes often show up most clearly in the present, particularly in our relationships. Whether it's childhood neglect, emotional abuse, abandonment, or other forms of trauma, the effects don’t just vanish.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most widely used and effective approaches to managing mental health challenges, particularly anxiety, depression, and stress. It’s structured, goal-oriented, and rooted in the idea that the way we think influences how we feel and behave. But what if you can’t access a therapist right now—whether due to cost, time, location, or personal preference? Can you still do CBT on your own?
We all face moments when life feels like too much. Deadlines stack up, responsibilities blur together, and our thoughts race faster than we can keep up. Overwhelm can show up in many varieties—mental exhaustion, emotional shutdown, even physical tension. Yet, despite these moments, mindfulness offers a powerful, accessible way to regain our footing.
Graduation is supposed to feel like a finish line, a moment of triumph and relief. You've worked hard, lost sleep, pulled through endless deadlines, and now—cap and gown on—you’re finally here. So why does it feel like the anxiety is just getting started?
If you have ever felt this; you’re not alone. Post-graduation anxiety is more common than most people talk about. The structure, identity, and sense of direction that school once gave you are suddenly gone, replaced by a looming question: What now?
We live in an era of constant information—scrolling through our feeds, flipping through channels, or glancing at push notifications—and so much of it is designed to provoke. “BREAKING!” “SHOCKING!” “YOU WON’T BELIEVE!” These headlines are engineered to grab attention, spark fear, or create outrage. But what’s the cost to our mental well-being?
Living with complex PTSD (C-PTSD) can feel like carrying a weight that never fully lifts. Those with C-PTSD may experience a range of symptoms, from flashbacks and emotional numbness to difficulty with relationships and feeling detached from the world. It’s overwhelming, isolating, and deeply impactful on a person’s life. But there’s hope—one of the most effective behavioral tools available for managing and reducing these symptoms is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
We all have core beliefs that shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. These deeply held beliefs often develop early in life and can be influenced by our experiences, relationships, and environment. For many people, these beliefs are positive and empowering. But for others, negative core beliefs, such as "I’m not good enough," "I am unlovable," or "The world is unsafe," can become the lens through which they view everything.
Have you ever been going about your day when you’re suddenly struck by an overwhelming question: “What’s the point of all this?” The mundane rhythm of life—the job, the errands, the obligations—feels devoid of meaning. Everyone around you seems to be moving forward with certainty, but you struggle to shake the feeling that you’re lost. Or maybe it’s a sense of dread and hopelessness about the state of the world that seems to occupy your thoughts.
Trauma shapes us in ways we often don’t realize until much later. When we experience emotional or psychological wounds, our minds and bodies develop coping mechanisms to protect us from further hurt. In fact, two common coping responses that trauma survivors may exhibit are perfectionism and people-pleasing. While both behaviors may appear to some to be harmless or even admirable, they often have deep roots in unresolved pain and can quietly undermine our mental health in profound ways.
When it comes to improving mental health, therapy can be an effective and often life-changing way to maintain your wellbeing. But with so many therapeutic methods available, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one is right for you. Today, we are going to compare and contrast two commonly used approaches: Traditional talk therapy & Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both are designed to help individuals process emotional pain and trauma but vary in their approach to healing. So, how exactly does EMDR differ from talk therapy? Let’s break it down.
Trauma is a heavy burden to carry; its weight lingers long after the events that conceive it. Whether it stems from childhood emotional or physical abuse/neglect, a life-threatening accident, or the loss of a loved one, trauma can leave scars that aren't always visible, yet painful and troublesome. In some cases, our efforts to cope and heal from these unresolved emotional wounds can snowball into destructive habits of substance misuse or addiction.
In a world where mental health is increasingly recognized as essential to overall well-being, various therapeutic techniques have gained prominence. One such approach is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. When people first encounter CBT, they might hear phrases like “change your thoughts–change your life” or “just think positively.” While these ideas are part of the CBT process, they only scratch the surface. In truth, CBT is much deeper, offering profound tools for managing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Mindfulness is a term that has become increasingly popular in mental health discussions over the past few years. It's often associated with meditation, breathing exercises, and a sense of inner peace. But for those of us practicing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness means something deeper—it's an essential tool for living a values-driven, flexible life amidst the challenges of human existence.
