4 Ways To Build A Healthy Identity

4 Ways To Build A Healthy Identity

It’s no lie that we are born a “blank slate”. As we grow and develop, we begin to identify who we are and what makes us, us. Our true identity is discovered prior to fostering relationships with others, having children, and beginning our careers. The unfortunate thing that occurs is that we often lose focus of our own true identity once these different life aspects happen for us. We find that our identity will adapt to our environment and sometimes we often mold our identity to fit into the life we work on creating as time marches on. As we age and our children leave the home, friends come and go, relationships begin and end, it’s important that we take time to return to focusing on our true identity as individuals to ensure we don’t lose sight of ourselves.

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What is People Pleasing?

What is People Pleasing?

What does the term "people pleasing" mean to you?

People pleasing is a broad term used to define one's emotional need to please others at the cost of their needs and desires. In many cases, people pleasing behaviors are problematic, as they may lead to anxiety, disconnection with others, tiredness, poor boundaries, low self-esteem, and lack of satisfaction.

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Codependency: What Is It?

Codependency: What Is It?

The original concept of “codependent” came from wives of the alcoholics who started Alcoholic Anonymous, Bill Wilson and “Dr. Bob.”  The men would have AA meetings in people’s houses and the wives would sit in the kitchen and talk over coffee and dessert.  As they exchanged stories about their experiences, they realized they all had done similar things in an effort to protect their husband from consequences of their alcoholism.

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Overcoming Self Sabotaging Behaviors

Overcoming Self Sabotaging Behaviors

Nothing frustrates me more than a  broken or glitchy GPS system. Often they take us in the wrong direction, prolong our destination, and lead us into heavier traffic and traffic lights. The worst part of it all is that it produces massive anxiety in the process. At the time, using the GPS FEELS like the right thing to do but sometimes it is ACTUALLY an inconvenience. Maybe using a GPS has benefited us more often than not, therefore it’s just a natural and comfortable habit of going places. Self-sabotaging behaviors are very similar to broken GPS systems in a sense that often we don’t realize there’s anything wrong until we are further or distant from our goals and/or destination.

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How to challenge 2 Common Mental Mistakes

How to challenge 2 Common Mental Mistakes

Have you spent days where nothing seems to go right? You find yourself thinking negatively even though there are still positive aspects of your life? There’s a reason for that! They are errors in our thinking that are called Cognitive Distortions or Mental Mistakes and they’re designed to put you in a negative headspace without you even recognizing it. People who experience anxiety or depression often face these negative thoughts. These mistakes in our thinking often occur as a way of coping with negative life events and the longer these negative events occur, there is an increased likelihood that one or more of these mental mistakes will develop. It seems easier to accept these negative thoughts than work through them, however there are different ways to identify and combat them. My hope is to help you understand what these mistakes are and how you can decrease them!

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