When you are experiencing feelings of sadness, fearfulness, withdrawn, isolation, loss of interest, low energy, disruptive sleep and change in appetite that affects your ability to function in daily activities such as work, home and/or school. That continuous feeling of being melancholy or in a funk and no matter what you do you can’t shake it. If you are overly sensitive and tearful then you may be suffering with symptoms of depression. Some people that experience Depression have low motivation to complete activities, work, and/or do their daily chores. Depression can even affect your ability to maintain appropriate hygiene and good health. Outside circumstances can greatly affect mood, so it is suggested when you are going through a stressful situation that seeking outside guidance and support will help to assess what is going on biologically, physically and emotionally. It is a good idea to talk with a medical professional if you experience any of these symptoms for more than two weeks.

People who have difficulty staying focused on a task, racing thoughts, negative thinking, nervousness, sleep disruption, restless, easily overwhelmed, and irritability may be suffering with anxiety. If you have racing heart beat, difficulty catching your breath, excessive sweating, feeling faint, you could be experiencing a panic attack. Anxiety can be continuous or fleeting. It becomes a problem when you can no longer manage it and you feel paralyzed with fear or have difficulty accomplishing chores and responsibilities. If you have ongoing feelings of any of the above mentioned symptoms it is advisable to seek help and rule out anxiety. Therapy would be an opportunity to learn how to address it with various problem solving techniques.

Can be when a person has difficulty relating to an experience that is either physical, personal, and/or professional which may be hindering them emotionally from addressing the issue. Someone that has an adjustment disorder may have a new onset medical diagnosis, could have been laid off from a job, suffered the loss of a loved one, and/or is having difficulty with functioning in school. Many people can experience an adjustment episode at some point in their lives, you need help when you feel overwhelmed with addressing the problem presented. It may take only a few sessions to realign your way of thinking and learn effective problem solving techniques to address the issues at hand. Make an appointment with a therapist for an assessment.

A character trait(s) that makes it challenging to function in society and maintain typical relationships with peers, family members and/or colleagues. Persons suffering with this disorder may have anger management problems, engage in reckless behavior such as (alcohol, drug use, excessive shopping sprees, dangerous driving, and multiple sex partners), maintain a poor sense of self, or have a chronic feeling of emptiness. Some forms of personality disorders are; narcissistic, borderline, histrionic, antisocial and obsessive compulsive. If you or your family member has a personality disorder it can greatly impact being productive in school, work, and the social environment.

Otherwise referred to in the past as manic depression illness. It’s when a person experiences extreme mood swings that can take on different forms such as depression, mania, or mixed mood. Depressive symptoms can be sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, suicidal thinking, low energy, disruptive sleep, difficulty concentrating, and loss of interest in daily activities. Mania symptoms can include; pressured speech, racing thoughts, sleeplessness, euphoria, reckless behavior, excessive spending, inflated self esteem, increased sex drive, self medication (i.e. drug abuse) and difficulty concentrating. Mixed mood can be a combination of depression and mania, possibly resulting in cycling from one end of the mood spectrum to another within a short period of time. People that are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder often benefit from medication management by a licensed psychiatrist medical physician combined with talking therapy with a mental health professional. Some people that suffer with Bipolar Disorder self medicate with drugs and alcohol which can mask their mood temporarily and/or possibly exacerbate a person’s mood and cause detrimental harmful effects. It is recommended that if you are having drastic mood swings to seek medical advice for further evaluation.

Sometimes for unknown reasons a medical condition is diagnosed such as; cancer, diabetes, lupus, or renal failure. Other conditions can occur in childhood like Juvenile Diabetes and persist in adulthood, which is a chronic condition. These diagnoses are life altering events that not only affect the patient, but also impact the family. Learning to accept, process and deal with a serious medical problem or chronic condition can be overwhelming and send a person into depression. If you are your family member has been faced with an overwhelming or debilitating medical condition it is advisable to seek outside help for support and guidance. Often there are resources available to the patient and the family aside from mental health treatment that can assist with addressing and coping with the issue.

Making a choice of what career path you will take is a complicated decision. Whether you go into a trade or a professional school for educational assistance, it will further help you determine what is the best direction to explore. Often in school the guidance counselor or adviser can assist you in the area to explore further about how your strengths and skills will help you to excel in your career. Sometimes it is beneficial to get an outside opinion of what would be your best match for a profession. Today, going back to school for a second career is also common, especially with the changing economy and a need to reinvent yourself in a new career. A psychotherapist with job training is a person that can help guide you into what school that may be appropriate, how to design a resume and cover letter and inform you what areas to focus on during the interview process.

Becoming a parent is a big responsibility. Sometimes just getting pregnant can be rigorous, time consuming and frustrating, especially when infertility is involved. When a child is born, often medical or other health issues are not always detected early, but when children don’t reach their milestones an intervention is frequently made. Whether you have a child that is diagnosed from birth with problems or it is detected later on, it can be unsettling, overwhelming and devastating to the family. Having a child with special needs is difficult enough let alone how it impacts the parents and the family. At times, couples and siblings get upset with the identified caregiver for devoting all of their time and attention to the special needs child. Getting support, learning about resources in the community, and improving communication within the family can often alleviate problems that develop. A mental health counselor can assist the patient and the family on how to manage their feelings and cope with the issues at hand.

Whether you are married or in a long-term relationship with someone problems can arise with communication. Often the breakdown in communication can cause anger, hostility, frustration and sadness which can possibly result in damaging behavior like infidelity. When you realize your life with your spouse/significant other has changed and you are no longer spending time with that person, living separate lives, or always yelling at each other you may benefit from couples counseling. In this setting, a therapist acts as a mediator and facilitator on how to improve communication skills.

Feeling bad about yourself, being insecure, unable to hold your head up, difficulty in social situations, and lack of self worth can greatly impact your self esteem. Many people are very critical of themselves about their appearance and no matter what they do they are never satisfied about how they look. It is important to have confidence, a strong self image and good interpersonal skills. It is necessary to feel good about yourself on the inside so that you can be confident on the outside. Learning how to be happy with the way you are helps to shape who you are as a person. The image you have of yourself is carried out on to how others see you too. Learning effective self esteem building skills can empower you to be a stronger and a more effective person in life.

Excessive use of alcohol, inappropriate use of legal drugs and/or abuse of illegal drugs, smoking cigarettes and over eating are all addictions. These behaviors of obsessions, loss of control, compulsions, and ongoing use with no regards to negative consequences are a result of addiction. Some people do this addictive behavior daily and others do it recreationally. There are addictions that can be physical and others can be psychological. If someone is dual diagnosed they have a mental health problem and an addiction problem. It is not uncommon to find that a person self medicates to cope with their mental health issue. If you have or are unsure if you have an addiction you need to go to a medical professional for further diagnosis. Once the official diagnosis is made it may be recommended that you go to an addiction counselor or specialty group for further support and treatment.

It is important to learn how to talk about what is on your mind. How you send the information and how it is received is critical to get your needs met. Talking it through, presenting the information in a palatable way, and expressing your needs and concerns helps you to be more effective in all facets of your life including home, work, school, family and friends.

Detecting there is a problem, expressing it, and then breaking it down into manageable sections is important to be successful in life. Learning to face issues directly, developing a set of goals, and an action plan can help you to complete the issue at hand.

Keeping your life orderly at home, school and work helps to promote success. Avoid getting overwhelmed by having a system of how to handle different scenarios that arises periodically or that are constant. How you arrange your daily activities, bills, pending assignments and reports can help you to achieve satisfaction. Developing and sticking to a daily, weekly, and monthly routine helps to maintain more order in your life.

Learning to communicate more effectively, getting along with others, being sensitive to people’s feelings and issues helps to improve interpersonal skills. Being a good listener, paraphrasing information, and engaging in direct contact with people encourages more peaceful engagements. Whether you are a parent, employer, child, or a caregiver improving interpersonal skills can promote harmony from within.

Learning how to manage overwhelming feelings and continuous stress is critical. Having an objective person to help you strategize about issues and solutions can make dealing with awesome situations more pleasant.

Articulating your feelings and concerns is a way of life. Getting in touch with what makes you upset, angry and frustrated and being able to express it in a more effective way leads to achievement. A therapist is a sounding board to help you to identify, detect, and reform ideas into manageable parts.

Taking care of you both inside, internally, and outside, externally, leads to a greater self esteem. To identify your assets, attributes, traits and strengths makes you a more confident individual. How you feel about yourself carries out on how others treat you. Having a positive self esteem helps in all areas of life development.

What makes you happy, what makes you sad, what are the things that make you frustrated and angry are all important feelings that need to be identified. Sometimes feelings come out in actions instead of words. Learning how to acknowledge your feelings and articulate them into comprehensible wordscan help you recognize what may be going on with your life at that moment.

Establishing short and long term goals leads to success. Making an action plan and developing the steps in order to complete your road map of achievement will promote life long success.

There are always boundaries amongst people and things in life. Some of these boundaries are permeable and others rigid. Learning how to set boundaries, detecting when boundaries are crossed, and redirecting information so that allows information to flow within boundaries is important.