In this day in age, we all know how important sleep is for our health. We know that 7-9 hours is recommended for adults, yet most adults don’t regularly get that amount. For those who do actively try to sleep for that amount of time, it can be frustrating when sleep doesn’t come – or is interrupted during the night.

A lot of things can get in the way of falling asleep quickly or staying asleep. This article will provide some strategies to help both adults and kids fall asleep faster and improve the quality of sleep. 
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By now, you’ve probably read what seems like hundreds of articles on how to cope with COVID-19. You’ve been Zooming to stay socially connected, you get outside as much as you can to soak up the sunshine, and you’ve perfected wearing business attire on just the top half of your body while you work from home.
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But now you’re faced with new challenges. Workplaces, restaurants, and gyms are gradually reopening, and that is both exciting and anxiety-provoking. Throughout the last four, six, even eight weeks, you’ve adjusted. You’ve created a new routine, found a new rhythm. And now it’s changing again. Life slowed down for many weeks, and now it might feel like it’s hitting you full-force.  

​First base. Second Base. Third Base…. Score? Do I win? 
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Where to begin?

For those brave souls who fastidiously followed the proceedings that ultimately elected Brett Kavanaugh into the Supreme Court, I applaud you. It’s been a wild ride. The case brought up negative sentiments for most people, regardless of beliefs, and has turned out to be rapidly polarizing the nation. One half of the country believes Dr. Ford, and the other half, unfortunately, sympathizes with Kavanaugh.

If we take a step back and examine the bigger picture, we’ll find that electing Kavanaugh to be a Supreme Court Justice was purely politically motivated. The Republicans wanted another Republican in the Supreme Court, plain and simple. They would have voted for Kavanaugh regardless of the accusation. However, regrettably, these legislators are so caught up in their own political world that they failed to see the far-reaching, tragic consequences of their vote. Let’s get to it, shall we?

If you ask ten people what “wellness” is, you’ll probably get a few “Umm…”s and some pretty diverse definitions of the word. In a culture that hyper-focused on wellness, we’ve done a poor job at precisely explaining what wellness actually is. 

It’s no surprise that social, emotional, and physical well-being of children is linked to family functioning. We all want what’s best for our kids, though at times it can difficult to know the “right” way to parent. While there is not correct way to parent, one strategy that tends to be useful for families is implementing a family meeting into their routine. Families who are struggling with conflict can find this especially helpful, but this technique can also be used by families who simply want to check in with one another and take some time to connect as a family. 

​Use the following guidelines to get you started. 

As a young professional, I’m always looking for ways to network and expand my services as a therapist. Recently, I was chatting with a male supervisor about this, and he made the comment, “You’re cute, you’re going to be hit on in the workplace all the time. It’s annoying, but that’s just the way it’ll be.”
 
Um… what? That’s “just the way it’ll be?”

​It has been months since your last depressive spell. You thought you kicked depression to the curb once and for all, but as your alarm goes off, your brain is covered in a fog. Your entire body feels like lead, and every fiber of your being wants to stay under the blankets of your bed all day long. It takes all the strength you can muster to get out of bed, and autopilot kicks in. You feel like a shell of yourself: hollow, empty, flat. You want to cry. The depression you thought was gone for good has reared its ugly head again. 

Why do men cat-call women on the street? Men are just more visual. Why is the majority of nude artwork in museums female? Men are more visual. Why is most pornography made for men? Men are more visual. Why are advertisements rife with half-naked women? Men are just more visual. ​

As a society, we’ve internalized this notion, the notion that men look at women and women get looked at. This idea is omnipresent in our culture and it’s damaging to both men and women by perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Follow Link: Dr. Sue Johnson