Self-Care

Continuing Dry January

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Girl smiling
So, you took the plunge into Dry January, and you're reaping all the benefits: you have more energy, you're sleeping well, and your overall mood has increased. Continuing Dry January can keep that healthy feeling going. Here are a few tips for staying sober after the beginning of the year. Bask in the Positivity If staying sober is a positive life choice for you, treat it like one. This is a beneficial change in your life that makes you feel good, so there's no need to hide it or be wary of what people may think. You are taking care of yourself and feeling better - celebrate that! Make It a [...]

New Year, New Goals

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Graphic of a girl holding a big pencil looking at a big checklist
January feels like the perfect time to practice mindfulness and find new ways of healing. At the beginning of every new year, millions of people reflect on their accomplishments, difficulties, and things they didn’t get quite right in the past 365 days. Traditionally people come up with resolutions or goals to work toward in the coming year to improve some area of their life. While we always encourage enhancing the quality of your well-being, it's also important to remember that you are still the same amazing you. With that in mind, here are a few tips to consider as you seek improvement and [...]

Holiday Stress: Dealing with Family

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Family sitting at dinner table in background of a Christmas tree
Holidays are synonymous with family gatherings. Whether that excites you or causes a knot to form in your stomach, there are always family members you might not want to deal with. Help alleviate some of your holiday stress with these tips on dealing with difficult situations during family holidays. Questions to Ask When Handling Conflict Is this my battle? Asking yourself, "Is this my battle?" can help you decide if this should land on your shoulders. If you are concerned with how your children are parenting their kids or with how your sister is being treated by her husband, consider if the [...]

Self-Care Gifts that Promote Mental Health

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Couple sitting by Christmas tree exchanging a gift
It's the holiday season! During this time of year, one form of celebration is giving to others. For some, this is their time to shine (shoutout to those who have gifts as their top love language ?), and for others, it can cause more stress than necessary. This season, make your giving easier by choosing a theme, like mental health, to focus your gifts around. Show your loved ones that you want them to prioritize their well-being with presents that promote mental health and encourage acts of mindfulness. Here are a few suggestions for self-care gifts: Daily Inspiration Journals Keep the self [...]

Should you take a mental health day?

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Illustration of worker taking a break next to large alarm clock
Do you need a mental health day? Sometimes the stresses of life spill over into our work, or workplace pressure can begin to affect our mental well-being. During times like these, a mental health day can be a useful tool to care for ourselves. Village Therapist Signe Miller shares information about how mental health days can be beneficial and how workplaces can support their staff. What is a mental health day? We all have mental health. Along with our physical, spiritual, social, and financial wellness, it is one component that contributes to overall well-being. Just like we might have [...]

How to Create a Healthy Routine

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clock with routine icons under it
Go to work. Drive carpool. Make dinner. Wash the dishes. Do the laundry. Help with homework. Put the kids to bed. Buy the groceries. Pay the bills. Our to-do lists seem never-ending, and many of us are exhausted even before we’ve added in important self-care habits like exercise, journaling, or relaxation. It’s even harder if you’re struggling with mental health issues. That’s why a healthy routine is so important. “By creating routines, we organize our days in such a way that taking care of tasks and ourselves becomes a pattern that makes it easier to get things done without having to think [...]

Advice that Clients Say Changed Their Lives

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Three person shapes sharing an advice bubble above their heads
Sometimes in life, we hear just the right piece of advice at just the right moment. In honor of Mental Health Month, celebrated every May, therapists, counselors, and mental health practitioners from The Village Family Service Center shared their favorite mental health tips, mantras, and bits of wisdom that clients have said helped them to change their thinking and move forward. Hopefully these ideas can help you find a different way to think about a situation or to cope better during a difficult time. Remember, with The Village, you don't have to go it alone. Mental Health Tips & Tricks Be [...]

6 Small Steps to Help Manage Stress

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woman sitting in the light of a window looking relaxed
Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but it doesn’t have to be a disabling one. The term stress refers to our emotional and physical reaction to events that we find challenging. These events can be negative, such as the loss of a job, or positive, such as buying a home. Stress also can be short-term or chronic; chronic stress can take a serious toll on our well-being, leading to heart disease, depression, and other health concerns. The more knowledgeable we are about how stress affects us and why, the better equipped we are to manage it. Stress management is the practice of learning and [...]

Inspiration to Help You Make Today Matter

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Wooden man walking up wooden steps
Many of us make New Year’s resolutions year after year. Why do we wait for a New Year to make positive changes? And how many of us succeed? A recent poll found 45% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, 46% of resolutions are kept for at least six months, and 5% keep their resolution the entire year. You can make today matter by implementing some self-improvement no matter what time of year it is! Procrastination is alive and well each year; it does not wait another year to come creeping back. So where do we start? We start TODAY. Choose one thing today that you want to improve upon. Today [...]

Dealing with Anger and Frustration

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animated person holding hands to head and looking frustrated
In challenging times, you may ­find that you have little patience with other people or get upset over minor things. Anger and frustration are complicated emotions that often stem from other feelings, like disappointment, fear, and stress. Taking some extra steps to decrease your overall tension can prevent your feelings (and the reactions that they cause) from spiraling out of control. Try these 8 tips for coping, provided by Mental Health America: Pause before reacting When you feel yourself getting mad, take a moment to notice what you’re thinking, then take a few deep breaths or count to 10 [...]