Living with Loneliness
by Rebecca StanwyckFebruary 13, 2023 Anxiety and Stress, Depression, Health and wellness, Relationships0 comments
Loneliness, a normal part of the human condition, has reached epidemic proportions in recent years. Amplified by the social isolation that the COVID pandemic imposed (and continues to demand of the elderly and the immune-compromised), loneliness as a social issue was already on the rise. As I wrote in a 2017 post on social support (1), a national survey revealed that 25% of Americans said they...
Learn More8 Tips to Relieve Seasonal Depression
by Rebecca StanwyckDecember 21, 2022 Addiction, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Food and Mood, Mood Disorders0 comments
Today, the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere) is a good day to talk about seasonal depression. At my latitude, there are fewer than ten hours between sunrise and sunset. That’s bad news for people like me, who have a hard time getting up before daylight. If it’s cold outside too, that makes it harder to fight the urge to stay in bed, or at least in PJs, all day. In the...
Learn MoreDepression Treatment News
Reported rates of depression have increased dramatically in the last few years, possibly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated stressors, like social isolation (1). However, it seems that many people who report depression symptoms are not getting treatment (2) while others are questioning whether antidepressant medications are as safe and effective as we’ve been told (3). And...
Learn MoreBack from Burnout
by Rebecca StanwyckOctober 28, 2022 Anxiety and Stress, Grief and Loss, Health and wellness, Trauma0 comments
It’s been a while since I’ve written here – let me explain my absence. Early this year I began to recognize the signs of something resembling burnout in myself, and decided to take the advice I often give to my patients, to take a step back from some of my activities and responsibiilities in order to focus more on my well-being. The activities I chose to give up were writing blog posts...
Learn MoreBurnout in the Helping Professions
by Rebecca StanwyckMarch 28, 2022 Anxiety and Stress, Health and wellness, Self-Compassion, Sleep Problems, Stress0 comments
“There’s no shame in taking a step back to focus on self-care.” As I was saying this to one of my clients recently, it hit me: if I truly believe that, then I need to practice what I preach! It was obvious to me that my client was suffering from burnout, due to the demands of her job as a mental health professional as well as her family caregiver responsibilities, and equally obvious that she...
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