Each of us gets to experience our own inner world, making it impossible for outsiders to ever see things as we do. Simultaneously (and somewhat ironically), we cannot always see ourselves clearly.  For example, this explains why it sometimes takes someone else’s observation for us to identify our emotions. In moments like this, you might say…

Envision mental health as the ocean, with emotional health being the waves. With that comparison in mind, consider the differences. Mental health involves processing all the information we encounter, but emotional health is more about the feelings provoked by the data processed. Emotional and mental health are related but markedly different. Everyone gets anxious at…

Build Emotional Regulation Skills & Learn How to Cope with Difficult Emotions Do you feel overwhelmed by your emotions? Have you tried to control your emotions with no success? If this sounds like you, you can benefit from learning emotional regulation skills to cope with difficult emotions. This comprehensive guide to emotion regulation will help…

Why Are Emotions Important?     Being aware of and understanding our emotions helps us in making decisions, resolving problems, and responding to situations and events. Our emotions are important. Emotions motivate our behavior. For example, if you are crossing the street and you see a car run a red light in your direction, you…

The world we’ve known has changed. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to our daily life and that can come with many types of loss. Whether these losses include the missing out on many traditions, such as graduations or weddings, or losses of closeness in relationships, or the very real threat of losing a…

Humans are social creatures, and we thrive on face-to-face contact. In the last few months, though, we’ve had to severely cut down on social activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of social distancing. Still, our need for social connection remains strong. So how can you stay connected during the pandemic? How can…

Do you have a hard time standing up for yourself? Do you agree to things you don’t want to do? Do you take things personally that might not be personal? You may benefit from learning how to set personal boundaries in relationships. Learning how to set healthy relationship boundaries can also help you increase your self-esteem…

Grounding & Self-Soothing Techniques for Adults Use these skills to self soothe, calm and manage difficult, overwhelming emotions and sensations Learning how to self soothe is as important for adults as it is for babies. Grounding and self soothing is how we calm our bodies when we are overloaded by stress or overwhelming emotions. You…

The inimitable Fred Rogers often stated: “Anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.” This simple sentiment on the importance of naming emotions has become an important aspect of helping children develop healthfully, productively and creatively. In fact, renowned neuropsychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel calls it “mindsight.” What Our Children Need According to Siegel, some basic childhood needs…

There are many ways to set boundaries. Often, the tricky part is enforcing them. The boundaries we choose to set and how we implement them say a lot about who we are. What Are Boundaries and How Do We Set Them? While “boundaries” has become trendy as a word, especially in big cities such as…

I’m Alexandra Marshall, a DBT trained Therapist in Houston. I help people develop skills to manage emotional reactions better and to start building healthy and connected relationships. I find that frequently, people come to me saying they want to stop overreacting when they get emotional. Or they want to start feeling heard and feeling more…

Written by freelance writer: Brandon Butler There is a reason you call dogs man’s best friend. Their companionship can help us become calmer, happier people. Some research (and plenty of anecdotal evidence) suggests that companion animals greatly improve our mental and physical health.  Formally trained therapy dogs, registered emotional service animals, personal pets, and even other…

What are you living with? Anxiety? Depression? Something that you can’t name but feel deeply every day? Does it keep you from resting well at night? Has it been a long time? Are you ready for a change? You don’t have to “cheer up”, “get over it,” or” shake off” your pain for others. You…