mental health clinic Archives - A Naperville Counseling Center | Riverwalk Counseling | Therapy Services

19 Dec

The Stress isn’t Going Anywhere

Where is the stress going to go?

Often times, stress or the weight of our responsibilities is heavy on our shoulders. So heavy that we don’t take time to ourselves till that weight is gone. However, you have to ask yourself, where is the weight gonna go? Whether it is financial, personal, or academic stress; it will be right where you left it. So you can take a minute (or more) to yourself every now and then to cope with that stress

So what should you do?

Take a step back.

Whatever stressful situation you may be in, whether it is dealing with school, family, or finances, it is essential to practice self-care. Self-care can look different for each person depending on how they choose to cope with the situation they are in.

One way to practice self-care is by practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is when an individual takes their time doing certain activities and becomes more aware of their actions and emotions. For instance, meditation would be a form of mindfulness in which the individual is focusing on their breathing and decreasing their ruminating thoughts.

Another way an individual can practice self care is by asking people for help. Don’t feel ashamed or feel weak asking others for help. Everyone goes through stressful times, but it may become easier if you have someone by your side supporting you and giving you advice along the way.

Stay in the here and now.

Just as taking a step back can help with stressful situations, so too can learning to stay in the here and now. This technique involves keeping your thoughts focused on what is happening at a particular moment in time in order to keep you from stressing about what the future might bring. What might happen in a week or a month from now is out of your control, but what is happening right now is in your control. It therefore makes sense to focus on the here and now, as opposed to worrying about what might happen in the future. By doing so, you can take time to truly enjoy what you are doing in that moment without letting the future get in the way of that.

Written by:

Daniella Raimondi, Clinical Intern

Dan Novak, Clinical Intern

By Therapist Counseling, Mental Health Services, Therapy coping skills, counseling, mental health, mental health clinic Comments Off

The Positive Light

Looking at the positive,

Along with staying active in one’s own recovery, there is one important behavior that should be taken into consideration, looking at the positives. While looking at the positives will help keep you in a mindset that supports your recovery, it has another purpose, helping in relapse prevention. Through observations, while relapses happen in a short span of time (minutes, hours), they are actually happening over days, weeks, or months before the physical relapse. A number of variables come into play when you look into it, but one is just simply not being active in your recovery. That might look like not going to meetings, not taking care of yourself, going into isolation, not dealing with your emotions appropriately, or not asking for help.

The day after,

The common feelings and thoughts experienced after a relapse all point to the negative experience serving as a reminder to not making the same mistakes again. The feelings at that moment are so strong, that it’s hard to understand why the relapse happened in the first place, especially if you have experienced the same ones before. The fact is, these negative emotions and thoughts lose their significance and momentum over time. The more time gets between you and the relapse, the less significant it may feel. So how do you remind yourself of the reasons to not to relapse and stay in recovery? Pictures, a letters to yourself, or recording yourself? While those things serve as a zip-locked reminder of those negative feelings and thoughts from that moment, they are a negative reminder. They could potentially bring about feelings of shame and guilt, or over time lose their significance.

Look at the positives,

Looking at the positives of being in recovery. What you have gained and the progress you have made during your recovery. This doesn’t bring about feelings of shame and guilt, in fact the opposite. Your progress in recovery is constantly growing with time, every minute; as opposed to looking back at the negative feelings of a relapse, which decreases with time. It is easy to get caught up in the negative emotions that we experience every now and then. They tend to stick out more than and even cover up the positives around us at times. These negative emotions can have an impact on our mood and, over time, can accumulate into depression. However, focusing on the positives around us and the positives that we are often unaware of is key in fighting the negative feelings we experience, both in that moment and in the long run.

Get in the habit of acknowledging the things you are grateful for can alleviate stress and low mood. It is not uncommon to overlook aspects of our life that we often take for granted, yet without them our lives can be much more difficult. Thinking of the things in your life that you are grateful for can be an important tool to use every day in lifting your mood and keep you in a positive mindset.

Ali Elrehaimy, MS, LPC
IOP Coordinator/Compliance Officer

By Therapist Counseling, Mental Health Services, Recovery, Therapy clinical therapy, mental health, mental health clinic, Recovery Comments Off

How To Find A Mental Health Clinic That Supports Women’s Individual Recovery Needs

Finding an intensive outpatient program that fits your needs can be an overwhelming task; seeking help in itself is a difficult first step. However, finding a mental health clinic that stresses the importance of tailoring its program and curriculum to the needs of its clients can have a substantial impact on the therapeutic experience. In the Naperville, Wheaton, Aurora and DuPage County areas, this can be especially difficult.

Focusing on the treatment of substance use, both time and research have demonstrated to us that the disease does not discriminate based on an individual’s age, race, sex, or socioeconomic status. Yet, when the treatment is best fitted to that individual’s needs and background, it can be more effective in producing a successful outcome. Further examining the differences in the treatment of substance use between men and women, we can denote that while the destination of addiction is the same, the journey can be quite different for each one with different dynamics playing a significant role in recovery. For example, factor such as self-esteem, guilt, shame, body image, or self-care can add another layer of complexity to recovery for women and can create a positive wave in treatment if addressed and processed. For mental health clinics that provide treatment to individuals that suffer from substance use and addiction, it is crucial to take these factors into consideration in order to best help them.

Riverwalk’s intensive outpatient program for women is one of those programs. We understand that women’s needs can differ from men’s when it comes to treatment. Providing an environment of care that is structured, safe, and gender specific can make a significant impact on the success of treatment as well as develop an atmosphere that nurtures recovery.

Ali Elrehaimy, MS
Jumpstart Coordinator/Compliance Officer
Riverwalk Counseling Center, Inc.

By Therapist Counseling, Mental Health Services, Therapy mental health clinic, mental health services, women's mental health, womens's health Comments Off

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