Nowadays we often hear about expressing gratitude - how it’s so great for our mental well-being. But hardly anyone talks about being the recipient of gratitude. While we might find it easy to give a compliment, we don’t quite know what to do with ourselves when we get one.

You might be wondering: What does God think about me going to counseling? Should I just sit in my room alone, reading my bible and praying about it till I can figure it out on my own?  

Did you know that distractions, if used thoughtfully and intentionally, can be therapeutically helpful and can be used to your advantage? It’s true! In fact, scientists confirm the positive utility of deliberate, purposeful distraction. Here are 60 ideas to get you started.

Many people think the self-help genre is the only category which could potentially be effectual in terms of enhancing mental health and well-being. This just isn’t true! In reality, there are several reasons you should consider stepping out of the self-improvement aisle. You might even be surprised to learn that FICTION might be the best thing to read when you’re feeling anxious or depressed.

A lot of people who come to me for counseling experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Some have been told the root cause is a biochemical imbalance. However, I have discovered that, most of the time, this simply isn’t true. Usually, we come to agree that one or more of the following 8 habits is usually contributing to their distress:

Did you know that binge eating disorder is the most common type of disordered eating (it is three times more common than anorexia and bulimia combined)? Were you aware that it is perhaps one of the most misunderstood? The myths, the associated humiliation, and the social stigma surrounding binge eating means a person struggling may go years (sometimes decades) before finally asking for help – although unfortunately many never seek help, they instead suffer in silence. An important step in ending this is to call out the lies about binge eating disorder. Do you believe any of these 12 myths about binge eating?

Binge Eating Disorder is a very common problem. There can be a multitude of factors at play if you find yourself binge eating including physiological reasons, environmental factors, social components, nutritional reasons, emotional drivers, genetic predispositions, trauma history, etc. There is no singular reason why a person binge eats - and thus it follows that is no singular solution. Yet, while there is not any one simple trick you can employ to experience relief, there are many interventions which in combination are known to be highly effectual.

Therapy can help facilitate a significant transformation within you. But therapy is not something that happens to you. The reality is that you can’t just show up, passively sit by, and expect your therapist to change you. Here are ten things you can do to make the most out of therapy.

An urge to binge eat can feel overwhelming. In the moment, the urge feels insurmountable and intolerable. While stopping binge eating might seem impossible, urge surfing can help. Learn to ride the wave and begin recovering from binge eating.

A therapy consultation could actually be just as important as therapy itself. For one thing, it’s an obligation free opportunity to be sure you really want to move forward with a given therapist - because choosing the right one for yourself matters.

“Physicians and the general public have had this long-term belief that midlife women are somehow immune to eating disorders. That’s just not true.” In fact, more and more women who are middle aged or older are reaching out for help with disordered eating – with numbers only continuing to rise.

Everyone is expecting you to be merry and thankful. And while you may certainly experience joy during the season, you may also be feeling a lot of other emotions - everything from worry to grief to anger. It’s suddenly not the most wonderful time of the year.