Self-esteem and confidence are essential components in an individuals life towards independence and autonomy. What one deems as a affirming or a success is a lifelong endeavor, the foundation of it needs to be established in early childhood. Building self-esteem will allow the child to deal with difficult situations that they will encounter during their lifetime. Since parents have a major influence on us it is important for them to support and guide children in the navigation of the obstacles they will encounter. Praise, reassurance, curious question asking as well as empathy are vital to the development of confidence and self-esteem as well as coping skills.
Anxiety is something that exists in everyone’s life. An anxiety response is appropriate to external circumstances whether joyful or painful. When anxiety reaches the stage where it overwhelms you mentally and physically, and affects your normal routine of life psychotherapy is essential to an individual’s well being. Read more
Individual treatment is often termed as psychotherapy, and is meant to help people with their emotional issues, which can range in severity or intensity. The main aim of this form of therapy is to change the quality of life by defining the path of life clearly, and bringing in more clarity. Whether it is issues repressed from childhood that you are facing, or current life stressors due to divorce, failure or loss of a loved one, a professional psychotherapists can help you revive your mental health through the therapeutic process.
In today’s competitive world, sleep is sometimes considered more of a luxury than a necessity. Sleep is important for the well-being of an individually both emotionally and physically. Insufficient sleep or no sleep has long lasting health and psychological effects. If you have been experiencing insomnia, it may be due to a number of factors, including stress, anxiety or depression as well as numerous medically issues. In order to address your sleep problem, it can be beneficial to meet with a myriad of professionals including a psychotherapist. A mental health professional can help you change your behavior and manage feelings and emotions that may interfere with your sleep.
There are many transitions in life and none are likely more difficult than the one leaving high school and moving towards making independent choices regarding education and occupation. There are countless messages on what course of actions towards Adulthood one “should” take from parents and society as well as culture and religion. Choosing your own path with the trusting influences of others can be stressful, isolating and even depressing! Adding the additional stress of moving away from home as well as the friends and dependable routines and environment you have known to trust can be overwhelming. Today’s socioeconomic environment as well as the social media phenomena has cultivated even higher expectations for today’s educational and occupational demands.
In my practice as a Family Therapist I have been meeting with many young adults and their parents struggling with this transition. If you or you are the parent of a young adult experiencing these challenges you are not alone. Call me to further discuss how I can be of assistance to you and your family!
Why does it keep happening? We cannot turn a blind eye. While we may not able to stop these awful events altogether, reaching out and supporting those around us can be our first step, and the way we can all contribute to reducing these senseless tragedies.
Mental health is the responsibility of everyone at the individual, familial, communal, and global levels. If you know someone that is suffering from a tragic event or someone that has exhibited a sudden change in behavior or mood, or simply not being themselves, reach out to them.
As a friend, a brother, a daughter, a mother, or colleague the simple gesture of saying something goes a long way! If you do not get a response contact the next closest person you know to them. Perhaps a family member or someone in the community maybe next door. Reinforcing a sense of family and community will ensure fewer people fall through the cracks. I believe on a communal and global level if everyone practiced reaching out when something felt a little off about a certain person this would have a dramatic impact of the reduction of meaningless acts of homicide and suicide.
Social media is a platform that is overly cluttered with meaningless dramatic gestures that impede the real behaviors or indicators of troubled individuals. The true indicators are exhibited in a change from the daily behavior of the individual. This change can be witnessed by those that interact with this person routinely in the family as well as the community. Especially those closest to them.
If you are that individual that is suffering I believe it is imperative for you to reach out to a trusted person. If you feel there is no one in you family, friends or community, then access a professional at the community level or online. These services are free in the link below.
How do we begin again & choose a new path towards achieving what we want in life & for yourself?
We are a desire driven species fueled by passion, motivation & inspiration as well as purpose. Whether it’s objects or careers we see things we want for ourselves & others. Some people seem to reach their goals while other loose aim of what they want for various reasons.
What determines whether we achieve our goals or not? Most often it’s the obstacles we face along the way. No matter what we want it’s inevitable that something will get in the way. Obstacles are neither positive or negative, they are simply there. How we choose to navigate them is our own free will. We are certainly challenged in life & even suffering is a part of our journey. We will likely suffer the loss of most of the people we meet in life. Most of life’s lessons are often painful ones. Other lessons have deep meaning in other memorable ways. I believe these are the times for us to gain knowledge & wisdom.
Quite often we avoid our feelings especially painful ones in an effort to manage life. At times some obstacles feel unnavigable & we feel like quitting, giving up or saying “f… it.”
Sometimes we struggle with the smallest of obstacles & feel overwhelmed if yet another obstacle reveals itself no matter it’s size. This is when individuals suffer the most especially if they have a history of being victimized or suffering meaninglessly.
When feelings are intense & people feel overwhelmed it’s hard to cope with obstacles. We have trouble learning from the choices we have made & often retreat into the misery we feel loosing the opportunity to learn & gain knowledge.
Pain & suffering can be our greatest teachers. We do not forget what matters to us. If we do not learn from our failures we are destined to repeat them. There is knowledge & wisdom to be gained from the meaning of our suffering. If we do not learn then it is meaningless suffering.
The path to achieving your goals is determined by what matters to you. You navigate the obstacles you face by keeping your aim on what truly matters especially when it is most challenging. When challenged we can gain wisdom from the meaning of the feelings we experience whether positive or negative.
Conversations about wisdom have resulted in defining it as, “knowledge gained through experience.” Or better yet, “knowledge gained through suffering.”
If we don’t learn from our feelings or suffering it’s meaningless suffering.
Call me at 502-295-5008 to further explore how to stay on path to reaching your destiny. It’s not far off in the future or down the road. It is the present, it’s the next choice right in front of you. The choice will either keep aim on your path or lead you off the path of getting what you want.
As a child I remember riding up the escalator at Space Mountain in Disney World. I viewed animated depictions of humans talking of the Information Age. I wasn’t sure what that meant then and I’m still unsure of where this will lead us. Here we are in the Information Age, and what a magnificent and powerful tool we possess in the cell phone or smartphone.
With great power comes great responsibility. The vastness of what we hold in our hands is infinitely captivating. The information alone is unlimited. This two-in-one phone and computer likely was never foreseen to be the social media platform it has become.
The smartphone can empower an individual to seek knowledge and form opinions. It can also feel like a safe platform for expression where acknowledgement and affirmations are immediate. In the real world gratification is often delayed. In the cell phone world of swiping and clicking we can swipe towards things that affirm and away from things that contradict ourself and our identity. This is a feeling driven behavior, and without regulation can become a compulsive act. This action diverts ourselves away from reality and responsibility sending us down the rabbit hole of perpetual immediate gratification.
Hopefully, in the real world, an individual makes choices and expresses themselves freely. In most social situations these choices and expressions have natural consequences. Poor, impulsive, or even compulsive choices are met with results that hopefully lead to lessons learned. The knowledge gained from these lessons, discomforting or even painful as they may be, teach us how to navigate the world.
The consequences of the social media world of swiping or clicking away from contradictions or obstacles leads to no knowledge gained and a lack of wisdom. Some of the best lessons in life come from our failures. As painful as they might be they are the best teachers. Most children touch a hot stove once. The knowledge to not touch a stove is a coping skill gained by experience. Trial and error are how we learn to survive. Without the skills to navigate the obstacles of life the individual turns away from adversity and responsibility. This can lead to an identity crisis where they desperately seek out affirmations compulsively. Unfortunately through social media platforms identity can be distorted in countless ways.
In the real world trail and error, and even adversity is where we learn about ourselves. Through the experience of trial and error we gain knowledge and wisdom. We also find out what matters to us and we acquire passions that confidently define us. These sometime uncomfortable paths of adversity take us on journeys and on these paths is where our true selves are revealed. Get on a path to gain knowledge, wisdom, and affirmations about yourself and life!
Individual therapy is a place to explore these paths, yourself, your passions, and your purpose. This is where you find your Linear Life Path!
Tevis Steere, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) providing Individual Child and Family Therapy along with the counseling of Individual, Couples and Groups in Louisville, KY
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