Tag: anxiety

For one full calendar year today, life as we knew it, has been on hold.

On March 11, 2020 local news stations began announcing the first big changes due to COVID-19. Colleges would begin the transition of classes from in-person to online learning or suspension of classes entirely. News of colleges plans spread among the state, and shortly thereafter K-12 schools followed suit. By March 13, it was no longer safe to visit residential, health care or juvenile centers. Shortly thereafter, restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, hair salons, and many more small businesses were closed. And on March 23, 2020 the first statewide stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers was implemented.

As I write this blog on March 11, 2021, exactly one year since this pandemic struck our mitten state, Nation, and globe, I noticed the presence of one of my first deep exhales since this halt on “real life” h ...

It's been an... interesting week.  If you had told me last week Tuesday or Wednesday that, here in Michigan, all schools would be shut down, businesses closed, events canceled, and people confined to their houses until further notice, I would not have believed you.  This type of rapidly spreading, deadly virus is something I'd expect to read about in apocalyptic literature, not the news. And yet, this is the situation in which we find ourselves.  As a counselor and, more importantly, a human being, I am asking myself the best way to process through these events and my own thoughts and feelings. 

I've seen several ideas and recommendations for "how to socially distance" and the best way to structure your day if you're stuck at home.  Many in the medical profession have offered advice as to what supplies we should be stocking up on and how to care for those who are sick.  These types of information are va ...

This blog post is brought to you by the 2004 Anna Nalick single, “Just Breathe,” made especially famous by a fantastic episode of Grey’s Anatomy involving Meredith’s premonitions, a live bomb inside a patient, and Kyle Chandler…

Have you all heard this song? Check it out:  Just Breathe This is a song about darkness, resiliency, and one of the most helpful and versatile coping skills we have — deep breathing.  The song tells the stories of three individuals who are struggling in different ways: first, a friend who is deeply unhappy in a relationship; second, a man who is trapped in the throes of addiction and substance abuse; third, the songwriter who is feeling anxious and vulnerable at the thought of sharing what she’s created.  Three very different stories, one refrain: “Breathe, just breathe.”

As a counselor, I talk about breathing with almost ev ...