As a licensed clinical social worker, Alexia Eller, LCSW, has dedicated her career to helping individuals heal from trauma and navigate mental health challenges. Her extensive work with first responders and crime survivors gives her blogs a unique perspective on resilience and growth.

Fear is a double edged sword, having an impact on the human behaviors and mental health; it can serve as important to adapt to circumstances but also can be misplaced and create maladaptive consequences regarding decision making (5). Managing the fear of the unknown can be an everyday struggle, sometimes we don’t know which way to turn or how to cope with it. However there are several effective strategies to cope with it. The fear of uncertainty can create feelings of anxiety and discomfort, but it's possible to build resilience and develop healthier ways to approach it.

Do you ever feel like you lack sleep and that it is fueling your anxiety in several ways? A lack of sleep can significantly fuel anxiety in several ways. Grasping for mental clarity while your mind is teetering on no sleep and the precipice of panic can cause major stress. 

Polyvagal Theory is a psychological and physiological framework developed by Dr. Stephen Porges that focuses on the role of the vagus nerve in regulating the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and its impact on emotional and social behavior. It emphasizes how the body's physiological states affect our ability to connect, respond to stress, and maintain overall health.

Being a parent can come with various ins and outs that can be predicted and some can be curveballs. When it comes to teens, they experience a wide variety of emotions on a daily and weekly basis with circumstances that impact their thoughts and actions. Encouraging emotional awareness in teens as a parent is crucial for helping them understand and manage their feelings, build empathy, and improve their relationships. (3)

Recognizing trauma responses in everyday life can be an important step in understanding how past traumatic experiences affect present behaviors, emotions, and interactions. Often trauma responses can be subconscious and manifest in different ways, depending on the type of trauma and how the individual copes. Understanding how they can show up subtly or in more overt ways, can be a crucial part of  healing.

We need to rethink movement! When movement is recommended for improving one’s mental health, the first assumptions are: gym time, 1-hour exercise, or some form of intensive activity. Let’s add some more depth to the “movement” concept so that it can be uniquely applied to your daily routine. 

So we are adults now, but still kids to our parents and possibly feel that we are supposed to stay in the gray area of being a kid that still listens to them even if we feel it crosses some lines.

Depression has become more and more well-known in our society and people have been more open to discuss their struggles with it.

The start of the Winter season brings cooler weather, beautiful scenery, and fun activities. With these aspects, Winter can also bring a decline in mental health with the shorter days, change in routine and the decrease in sunlight.

Can you think about an experience with music you had that brings up a pleasant memory? Recently, I have been playing Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish and it leads me to such gratitude for the people I have in my life. Music can do that for us, it can make us present in the moment and have gratitude for all that we have.

We all make decisions, big or small, every single day. What time to get up, what to wear for an event or work, what food to eat for dinner, etc. All of daily life tasks can be overwhelming and tedious at times, which may cause someone to feel anxious. The more decisions you have to make can create anxiety for you that is unwanted and annoying.

Do you fit into the category of nearly 40% of Americans who are concerned about job security? If so, what can be done to manage this looming anxiety? Today we will address a few tips and tricks to manage the ongoing fear of job insecurity or job loss.

Trauma does not discriminate towards any age, gender, race, socioeconomic status or ethnicity. Some trauma can have lasting effects.

Join us in learning more about the idea of protecting your peace on your vacation time and tips for keeping you work life stress out of your day off. 

You are constantly setting goals to reach that next achievement and work toward success. You should be the poster child for calm and confidence, but is your internal world anything but calm?

So is online therapy the right choice for you? Today we will discuss both the pros and cons of online therapy versus traditional therapy to help inform your thoughts and process.

Have you ever wondered if group therapy could be the right choice for you?  Here are 5 benefits of group therapy to consider.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression, however, can be a bit more difficult when considering depression in teens.

Appropriate diagnosis and screening for PTSD still remain largely overlooked. In fact, one study notes that as many as half of the PTSD diagnoses, and a general clinic may be missed during routine clinical screenings. So why is that? Today we will work to answer that question.