Data indicates COVID-19 Depression in Los Angeles and Ventura County has skyrocketed. Since March 2020, everyone worldwide has been struggling from the major public health crisis known as the COVID-19 pandemic (Ettman, Abdulla, & Cohen, 2020). Everyone has experienced social distancing, isolation, and, for many people, losing a job (Green, Compas, Dickey, &Pegg, 2020). These…
Mentally healthy holiday season is different for everyone You would think staying mentally healthy during the holidays is easy. For most people the holidays are a time of fun, family, and fellowship. Rituals around meals, cultural and religious traditions, and music/lore are a welcome sign for many. The issue for some, however, is that, for…
Covid 19 has changed how we live causing mental stress on the family For the last several months, we’ve had to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many have been able to navigate the changes at this point, our lives are inevitably still feeling out of balance. Of course, staying home means…
Shame and addiction often play a role with substance use disorders. Understanding substance use disorders lead to several questions. One of the questions that people struggle with when they are trying to understand addiction is why people “keep using when they know it’s so bad for you.” This is a fair question, especially if you…
Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors are the 3 components of human psychology The classical model of human psychology was that feelings influence thoughts, which influence behavior, in that order. Much research for the past 50 years has questioned that order and the assumption that our feelings come before anything. What seems to be most important is:…
Overview Most people struggle with anxiety, depression, panic, and/or trauma at some point in their life. Many people experience occasionally intense “highs” (ex. Anxiety), and, occasionally, intense “lows” (i.e., depression). It’s often difficult for people to know when their mental struggles are significant enough to seek out help. We hope to help clear some confusion…
Returning to Normal Overview At the time of writing of this article it is September 18th, 2020. It has been quite a journey making it through the COVID-19 pandemic since March, 2020. Intense fear/anxiety, massive job loss, increases in substance use disorder problems, and suicide have occurred for the past six months. As the lockdowns…
