Do you find yourself staying up at night thinking about all the ways your could have or should have done things differently throughout your day? You might constantly look for the all the things wrong about yourself, instead of celebrating your uniqueness. Keep reading to see if you have an inner self critic.

Perfectionism is a complex personality trait characterized by setting excessively high standards and being overly critical of oneself when those standards are not met. While it may seem harmless at first, this unyielding pursuit of flawlessness can significantly impact mental health, leading to heightened anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

Amid the arsenal of therapeutic interventions available, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has emerged as a promising approach to alleviating anxiety. This article delves into the intricacies of EMDR, elucidating its mechanism, efficacy in anxiety reduction, and the ideal candidates for this innovative therapy.

In the labyrinth of life, as you navigate through its twists and turns, you may encounter moments of deep contemplation. These moments can often lead to a profound sense of unease and restlessness, known as existential depression.

This guide offers five practical tips to assist you in your search for the perfect mental health counselor, helping you to navigate through your many options and make an informed choice that suits your individual needs.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s no surprise that anxiety has become an everyday companion for many. The constant pressure, information overload, and societal demands can overwhelm and make us anxious. While complete elimination of anxiety might not be possible for everyone, there are effective coping strategies that can significantly reduce its impact on our lives.

They say that your past defines you. It makes you into the person you are today.

You can probably recall some memories from your childhood. As you think of them, you may even be able to hear certain sounds or smell certain things. It’s almost as if those memories can bring you back to that moment in time. A smile may even form on your face as you think about it.

But some of these memories may not bring you happiness or comfort. Some memories may bring feelings of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty.

Everyone has positive and negative memories. However, not everyone has traumatic memories that are still having an impact on their daily life and routine to this day.

This is how your traumatic childhood memories could be impacting you as an adult.

Have you ever felt like you’re not good enough? Maybe you’re feeling as if you’ve somehow faked your way through an achievement? Do you ever feel your successes are based on lies — despite all of the evidence to the contrary? Do you feel as if you have not earned or are not worthy of what you have?

Gender socialization is when individuals are taught how to behave and act based on their assigned gender, male or female. Gender identity, on the other hand, is when someone has their own say on their gender, whether it was the gender assigned to them at birth or a different gender completely. Let’s learn more about the collision of gender socialization and gender identity and how to handle it. Learn more now.

While depression usually can have a negative impact on your daily life and routine, including your career, you can still be really successful and have high-functioning depression. Individuals who have high-functioning depression may do really well in their careers, hold multiple jobs or side hustles, and still maintain or excel in other areas of their lives like school, home life, and their relationships.

You’ve probably heard of the term “mid-life crisis” before. Well, a quarter-life crisis isn’t that far off from a mid-life crisis. While a mid-life crisis is usually a crisis that affects people in their 4os to 60s, a quarter-life is a crisis that can affect people in their 20s and 30s. Essentially, a quarter-life crisis is the stress, anxiety, and self-doubt that young adults can experience.

Television shows and movies make pregnancy and childbirth look like sunshine and rainbows. For some individuals, this may be true. For others, this couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth.

Childbirth can bring a lot of happiness and excitement, but it can also bring feelings of anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. Unfortunately, when the birthing process deviates from the birth plan you had in place, it can lead to birth trauma.

Here’s what you should know about the long-term effects of birth trauma.

The snow is falling. Christmas music is playing on the radio. And the lights are shining off the tops of trees, bushes, and houses in your neighborhood. For most, it’s the happiest time of the year. You’d like to feel this way, too, but you’re feeling a little bit like Scrooge or the Grinch if you’re being honest with yourself.

If you’re not familiar with the world of therapy, it can seem a bit overwhelming. Similar to attending a doctor’s office, there may be certain words or acronyms that you’re not as familiar with. The world of therapy is filled with different acronyms that describe different techniques, diagnoses, and treatment options.

While you’re not expected to know all of them, it’s important to dive into the basics so that you’re better equipped to make decisions for your journey towards healing.

Before you dive into therapy, let’s learn more about the differences between two common therapy treatment options, CBT and DBT.

We can inherit a lot from our family members. You may get your height from your mother’s side of the family, and your hair and eye color from your father’s side. Some of your personality traits could be very similar to one of your uncles, but you may have the book smarts of one of your grandparents. Many different things, emotional and physical, can be passed down between generations.

You love your family; you just prefer to hang out with them in small doses sometimes. When the holidays come, you know that you’re going to deal with topics of conversation that you don’t really want to talk about, unpleasant passing comments, and maybe an argument or two.

The holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of year. While you do enjoy yourself and being with them, this time of year also brings on feelings of anxiety, sadness, and even a little anger.

People-pleasing is often seen as a harmless desire to make others happy, but it can be more complicated than that. For many, it’s a coping mechanism rooted in past trauma. Understanding the connection between trauma and people-pleasing can help individuals break the cycle and develop healthier ways of relating to others.

Failure can be scary. You spend a great deal of time and effort on a project only to come up short. This can be additionally fueled by social anxiety and experiencing failure in a social setting.

Unfortunately, being constantly bogged down by fear can interfere with your willingness to achieve those big goals or succeed in your life. Being afraid of negative outcomes is no way to go through life.

Find some steps you can take to overcome this fear. in this article