I feel helpless and heartbroken watching the news about the latest school shooting. I watch from the living room of our home in a quiet suburb in Virginia, where we moved last year after multiple shootings in the alleyway of our beloved rowhouse in NW DC traumatized us into searching for a safer place to live. A place where we ...READ MORE »
Over the past 15 years that I’ve been providing therapy to teens and families in the Washington, DC area, the topic of psychiatric medication has come up frequently. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I don’t prescribe medication and I always recommend discussing questions and concerns with your primary care doctor or psychiatrist; but often I find that I have ...READ MORE »
Ever heard of the “Sunday Scaries” – or maybe you get them? It’s those feelings we get at the end of the weekend, the crash after a couple of days off work or school, the anxiety or dread thinking about the week ahead, or the “funk” we might fall into without even recognizing why. It’s really normal to feel this ...READ MORE »
We are one year into the pandemic, a year since I wrote my first blog on handling our fears in the face of the growing threat of COVID-19, and things are… well, things are a really mixed bag and it depends on who you ask! On the one hand, there are new variants that sound scary, the vaccine delivery started ...READ MORE »
… or is it? Like most of you, I’ve been spending a lot of time at home watching tv since there are only so many entertainment options during wintertime in the middle of a pandemic. One of my favorite shows that I’ve discovered during quarantine is Ted Lasso – I highly recommend it if you haven’t watched. It is heart-warming and ...READ MORE »
I’m not going to silver-line it: a lot of things are awful right now, and a lot of things we might look forward to at this time of year – holiday parties, gathering with family and friends, going out to restaurants for celebrations, taking winter vacations – are all cancelled. This pandemic has given us all sorts of problems and ...READ MORE »
… and we will be okay! I have been counseling clients lately with increasing anxiety and despair as we head into the winter and also another wave of the pandemic. Fears of a lockdown, dread of isolation, overwhelm about homeschooling while working from home and fewer social supports, and valid health concerns abound. When I say “we will be okay,” I don’t mean ...READ MORE »
Anxiety. Everyone is feeling it during the pandemic. Anxiety about the virus, anxiety about going places and not knowing how safe it is due to the virus, anxiety about the economy, anxiety about paying rent or medical bills when finances have been impacted by the virus, anxiety about sending kids back to school, anxiety about dating during the pandemic, anxiety ...READ MORE »
A friend of mine posted an article about the newest challenge we are facing as businesses start reopening this summer. The author referred to “decision fatigue,” and as someone who always has had a tough time making decisions to begin with, this really resonated with me. I reflected on my weekend in light of this article; tensions were high in ...READ MORE »
Recently, I shared a video on growing positive emotions and focusing on experiences of joy and gratitude during this difficult time. A friend of mine thanked me for posting, then asked, “but what do I do with all of the negative feelings I’m having?” While we all have to use distractions, compartmentalizing, and a positive attitude to maintain stability right ...READ MORE »