For as long as I can remember having interest in boys, I’ve been chasing them. I chase endlessly —the guys who won’t text me back, the guys who I know don’t want a relationship, the guy who barely know I exist. There’s one guy who I literally chased on and off from ages 14 to 23. Seriously. 9 years! And yet when winning someone’s affection is easy, it’s…not as exciting. And I’m probably far from alone in feeling this....

Updated 8/17/23 The word “neurotic”has negative connotations in our culture. At other times, though, neurotic feels endearing. After all, some of our best comedians use neurotic as a badge of honor and find self-deprecating humor in all their many neuroses. Neuroticism is truly one of the most debated personality traits there is.But what does neurotic mean and what personality traits describe a neurotic person? Keep reading to learn more about neuroticism including the definition, common characteristics and behaviors, and more....

Updated on 07/15/2024Therapy is meant to be a collaborative process, and whether you are in in-person oronline therapy, your therapist needs to be someone you can trust. Thus, if you’re struggling to forge an honest or productive connection in your current therapy environment, changing therapists may be your best option.While there are severalbenefits of therapy, it can become unproductive for several reasons. Perhaps you feel your therapist is overly judgmental, or they may just not be the right fit for you, your comfort level, or your specific goals, and needs....

Updated 07/15/24Therapy can teach you to manage challenging feelings, relationships, and experiences. It’s a powerful tool that can enhance every aspect of your life. Deciding to seek help takes courage, and it’s natural to have questions about the process — especially if it’s your first time. One of the most common things people wonder is how long therapy takes to work?There’s no universal timeline for how fast you’ll see results after beginning therapy treatment....

Therapy is supposed to be a safe place; it is the one area where you know that you’re not being judged for your thoughts or behaviors. The Main Reasons People Lie to Their Therapists Here are a few things that clients have lied about in session with me: These are just some common examples. Often, clients will later admit that they have lied or stretched the truth, once they get to know me better, and feel more safe and secure in session....

Talking about intimate experiences, of any type, is tough. You’re being vulnerable, unsure of your audience’s reaction, worried about oversharing or making your audience uncomfortable. But to end the stigma surrounding mental health, those with mental health issues are beingencouraged to be more honest and brave, and open up about their mental health needs. This kind of transparency can help remove the taboos and stigma associated with mental health and make society more comfortable talking about it....

Nothing beats the“can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars”feeling of new love. We all know how it goes. Suddenly you’re so smitten, there’s no one else you’d rather spend time with than your new beau. Hanging out one night a week quickly turns into seven, and next thing you know you’re leaving a toothbrush at their apartment and wearing each other’s clothes. Despite the sheer bliss of thestart of a new relationship, navigating the early stages of love can be immensely overwhelming and all-consuming....

When it comes to anew relationship, some love the chase, others find it exhausting. Once it’s more solidified, some enjoy spending every free moment with their partner, others need their space. Figuring out how to act from day one in a relationship isn’t easy — do you text again or give him space? Do you see him on FridayandSaturday or figure he needs a night off? Is it normal to analyze his social media activity or are you inching toward obsessive danger?...

As much as we talk, sometimes we’re pretty bad at actually communicating. As social beings, though, our well-being depends upon effective communication. In fact,studies showgood communication not only helps us meet our basic needs for food and shelter, but it’s key to establishing trusting relationships andachieving higher personal goalssuch as self-fulfillment. Communication may be a vital part of our day-to-day interactions, but that doesn’t mean we automatically know how to do it effectively....

Winning arguments isn’t a personality flaw. There’s nothing wrong with standing up for your beliefs. “Assertive” is an admirable personality trait — just like “good-hearted” and “honest.” “Stubborn,” though? That’s a nameno onewants to be called. When an assertive personality starts to tip into obstinance, friends and family may drift away and work performance might suffer. No one wants to spend time with you anymore — and that sucks! How do you know if you’re toeing the line?...

Our relationship with mental health is typically based on challenges we’recurrentlyexperiencing — but what if our current issues are rooted in the distant past? Often overlooked is the fact that our predispositions for conditions likedepressionandanxietyhave existed for millenia. From an evolutionary standpoint, why haven’t these detrimental traits and behaviors been filtered out and how might they affect us now? Randolph M. Nesse, MD, a founder of the field of evolutionary medicine and author of recently-publishedGood Reasons for Bad Feelings, helped us understand the gap between human physiology and modern environment, and how we can apply this field for better therapy outcomes....

Updated on 5/17/2022 The best online therapy provides a convenient, affordable way to receive mental health support. It gives clients an opportunity to connect with reputable therapists in a flexible and accessible scheduling environment, as well as offering up varied options for communication (just to name a few of its benefits). With its many advantages over traditional, in-office therapy, it is no surprise those who are interested in receiving this form of support have a lot of choices when it comes to their provider and platform — but not everyonline therapyoronline counselingprovider is created equal....

Therapy is often considered a mysterious process, leaving many people unsure about what it actually is and how to make significant progress while in treatment. Given the highly individual nature of therapy, and the fact that you can’t step outside of it for an objective view, it can be difficult to figure out if you’re making the progress. Here are some options to consider as you move forward: Revisit Your Initial Goal As a therapist, I can tell you that therapy may often change direction or focus....

No matter how eager you are to change your ways, there will come a point in therapy when you think, “This sucks. Dante forgot to include ‘Therapy’ as the tenth layer of hell.” It’s hard work. Maybe you had apanic attack during a session, or realized some difficult truths about your personality. Sometimes therapy is boring, or you’re convinced your poortherapistis bored. You talk about the same things week after week, over and over again, and nothing in you is changing....

We are living in the midst of a mental health crisis — in the U.S. and across the globe. According to the World Health Organization,depressionaffects nearly 15 percent of adults worldwide, and diagnoses have risen 33% since 2013, according to areport from health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield.Researchers Aaron Reuben and Jonathan Schaefer even recently proved that we are all more likelyto experience a bout of mental illness in our lives than we are to develop diabetes, heart disease or any kind of cancer....