December - 2019

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NEW LEAF COUNSELING LLC

Antioch, Illinois

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Motivational Monday: New Year’s Resolutions

Motivational Monday: New Year’s Resolutions

With the new year coming up, a lot of you might want to set some resolutions but worry that you won’t be able to accomplish them. You are not alone! Resolutions can often be challenging. If you are interested in making changes for the new year, it might be impactful to look at resolutions in terms of goals. It is important to understand the length, plans, and actions to take when establishing your resolutions. There are two types of goals: 1. Short term goals can be accompl

Workout Wednesday: Working out During the Holiday Season

Workout Wednesday: Working out During the Holiday Season

With the Holiday season in full effect, most of us are excited to have some vacation time and take a break. Some of you might feel the need to take a break from exercising but it might be beneficial to keep your workout routines during the holiday season. Here are a few reasons why: 1. Holiday stress: Although the holiday season comes with a lot of joy, it can also bring a lot of stress. Maintaining your exercise schedule will help to relieve a lot of the stress you are fe

Trigger Tuesday: Sexual Assault

Trigger Tuesday: Sexual Assault

Harm from sexual assault can often last for years. One example is the experience of triggers resulting from sexual assault. Part of learning how to handle these triggers is understanding what they are and being aware when they are occurring. Triggers often occur as a result of a traumatic experience. According to helpguide.org, “If you are aware of what triggers may cause an upsetting reaction, you’ll be in a better position to understand what’s happening and take steps to

Motivational Monday: Comfort Zone

Motivational Monday: Comfort Zone

Most people like doing things they are familiar with because it makes them feel safe, secure and in control. This is known as the ‘comfort zone’. This zone is pleasant,however, it can also be limiting. Our comfort zone gives us a sense of security but it can also limit our potential. We often learn, grow and develop from new experiences. When we step out of our comfort zone, we open ourselves up for these new opportunities for growth and success. This allows us to gain ne

Workout Wednesday: Tracking your steps

Workout Wednesday: Tracking your steps

If you had to guess, how many steps do you think that you take in a day? Many people do not get "enough" steps. Ever since I learned that it is recommended for us to get 10,000 steps each day, I have been more conscious of taking more throughout the day. Having an office job sure makes it difficult to get 10,000 per day, but getting up when I get something off the printer and just taking multiple short walks throughout the day makes a difference. Getting up and moving through

Trigger Tuesday: Medical Trauma

Trigger Tuesday: Medical Trauma

Medical trauma is a set of psychological and physiological responses of patients and their families to pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures, and invasive or frightening treatment experiences. In many cases, medical trauma is not recognized or taken seriously. It does not necessarily matter the seriousness of the illness because it is easy to become traumatized when struggling with medical issues, especially if you are kept in a hospital or inpatient facility. Som

Motivational Monday: Break that bad habit

Motivational Monday: Break that bad habit

We can probably all think of at least one bad habit that we would like to break. The first step in breaking a bad habit is of course to identify the habit you wish to break. After you have identified it, try and understand more of why you do it. When did the habit start and why? What do you gain from doing it? If you can understand why you have this habit and what it does for you - it will be much easier to break. For example, if you bite your nails because you are nervous -

Feel Good Friday: Self Care

Feel Good Friday: Self Care

What if I told you self care was more than a bath bomb and some essential oils? Often conversations around self-care come after we have told someone we are stressed out. We hear classic lines that go something like 'make sure you take time to take care of yourself'. I remember talking to a friend about the struggles of balancing school, work and life. She told me “You need to take some time to yourself. Have you heard about bath bombs? They are so amazing!” Now my friend m

GROG: Grief during the holidays

GROG: Grief during the holidays

Holidays are hard enough as it is (as talked about in another blog) and they are much harder when we have lost a loved one! What is it about the holidays that makes grief so difficult? Well, of course it's we don't have our loved ones with us, as most normally do during this time of the year. Whether your loss is recent or many years later - the holidays always make us think about our families, friends and others that are close to us. This is a time of year that everyone make

Therapy Thursday: What are you struggling with today?

Therapy Thursday: What are you struggling with today?

Ask yourself: what is causing you stress, anxiety or other unwanted negative feelings today? Can you pinpoint what it is? And what, if anything, are you going to do about it? Some ways that help you identify what you are feeling and why are to take up journaling (just writing freely about your feelings or look up prompts) or just making a list of what is bothering you and the emotion linked with it. Of course, another way that you can identify and work through your feelings w

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