The emphasis on purity has come rightly into question as the darker consequences of it have become more well known.

With the onset of the pandemic and the disruption of life that ensued, the past couple of years has seen an increase in distressing symptoms, which prompted President Biden to declare May as the month designated to raise awareness of mental health issues.

In today’s world, it is common to see people rushing to their next destination, getting coffee and food on the go, filling their time off with a to-do list, or scheduling a last-minute meetup. Along with staying constantly occupied, we tend to focus on worldwide outlets to occupy our time, but often forget to look to ourselves for insight. What does it feel like to be still? Do you allow yourself time for this stillness? Do you want to use your time to learn more about yourself?

This is what I love about counseling, this journey of discovery. The truth is there is only one you. You are unique with your skills, talents, abilities, fears, likes, opinions, tendencies, and the list goes on and on.

Approximately one in three women and one in four men have experienced domestic violence. Mandatory lockdowns, quarantines and shelter-in-place orders meant to contain COVID-19 have created a shade pandemic of domestic abuse.

When family violence touches the family, it touches everyone. Once you consider family members and children who are impacted by situations of domestic violence, it quickly becomes a problem that affects society as a whole. Children journey into adulthood and those experiences don’t dissipate, but rather manifest physically, cognitively, emotionally and psychologically.

It is estimated that 3.2 million American children witness incidents of domestic violence annually.

Johann Hari poses the question, does biology determine our vulnerability to addiction or is our lack of connections and meaningful relationships what encourages individuals to “bond” so strongly with substances? In his Ted Talk, he examines research and current approaches to addiction and emphasizes how much our “cage” can define our behavior.

Does marriage counseling work? You may wonder if it’s worth the effort, feeling hesitant to hope there’s a way to regain the closeness you once had. All too often, couples who come to counseling say “we’ve known we needed this for a long time.” In the height of disconnection, during arguments or long stints of silence, helplessness sets in and fears can emerge: Can couples counseling even help us?

There are many expectations around the holidays and we can overextend ourselves mentally, physically and emotionally in order to feel connected to others. Additionally, many of us have unresolved pain and grief from the past that can reach a certain pitch when we hear the choir rendition of Oh Holy Night.