Understanding your body’s stress response  Did you know that a natural hormone produced by your body to keep you safe can actually end up being bad for your health?    It’s the stress hormone cortisol.  It’s part of your natural “flight or fight” response that has kept humans alive for thousands of years.  It is for emergencies only however, such as escaping an angry bull elephant or a hostile attacker. The body’s stress response was meant to be triggered by life or death situations.  In the modern world, it is often triggered by daily stressful social, economic, and work situations. … Read more…

Are you suddenly feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and worried when you had been responding to the “new pandemic normal” just fine?  Many people felt kind of energized and easily able to “keep calm and carry on” during the early months of this crisis, but recently, for quite a few people, this ability has waned.  Six months into these “unprecedented times”, there is a neurological reason for this burn-out and part of it has to do with the way your wonderful brain is always working to ensure your survival. Take the fight-or-flight response, for example. Your amygdala, the temporal lobe of your brain, is … Read more…

[fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_sizes_right=”” first=”true”][fusion_text]A new client contacted me last week because he just had the first panic attack of his life. He did not have any previous history of anxiety or depression and didn’t know what was happening to him. … Read more…

Today I am posting an article by Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D., ABPP who is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair for Mental Health Disparities. Dr. Williams has published over 100 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles focused on anxiety-related disorders and cultural differences. She has served on boards nationwide including the Delaware Valley Association of Black Psychologists, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Main Line chapter, NAMI Louisville, and the OC Foundation of California. Dr. Williams powerfully discusses the ways in which … Read more…