Mental Health

We want to take a moment on National Ag Day to recognize our country's hard-working farmers and ranchers. We depend on you to supply food, fuel, and fiber while working in tough conditions. It's a critical job that most people don't understand or appreciate.

How do you handle situations where the other person is doing something that creates problems for you? We all respond in our own ways. Do you find yourself acting like a doormat? Do you become an aggressive bully? Are you someone who stings others from the side so you can't be discovered? Are you someone who just speaks up? Which one do you think you are most of the time?

Getting a call that a loved one had a heart attack sends our stomach into knots. We all want to avoid that kind of news and reduce the risk of cardiac crisis. Did you know that mental health and heart health are linked? Studies show that stress, anxiety, anger, and depression can raise your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and other heart problems. And having a heart attack can lead to anxiety, depression, and PTSD.   Understanding how mental and heart health are connected is key. It can help you take steps to improve both. Here are some…

Relationships are important in our lives. They make us feel happy, loved, and linked to others. We have relationships with friends, family, and people we work with. Conflict is a part of any relationship, and communication is key to resolving conflict. To make our relationships strong and healthy, it's important to talk about tough stuff sometimes. These tough conversations help us understand each other better, like what we need and how we feel.

Anyone who has experienced the impact of trauma knows it can shake us to our core. It can leave lasting marks that show up in every area of our lives. One area that often sees a big impact is sleep. For many who have experienced trauma, sleep is anything but restful. Trauma can disrupt healthy sleep in different ways. There are strategies, however, that can help you get better sleep over time. The path to better sleep requires patience, self-compassion, and, sometimes, professional support. But it is possible to reclaim the gift of a peaceful night's rest. How Does Trauma…

How Learn to Live Delivers CBT: Part 7  Should we teach mindfulness skills in our programs? We talked about this several years ago when I was writing the initial content for our first program for Social Anxiety. At that time, there was not enough research to support using mindfulness. But soon research on mindfulness began to emerge. Within a few years, there was enough research to show it helps. So we were happy to add it.  Nowadays, mindfulness is seen as the third wave of CBT. The first wave was behavioral strategies like facing fears. Then cognitive strategies were introduced…