Ever start your day feeling great, then you open your social media page, and your mood changes? The need to scroll and check out things on social media has taken its emotional toll on many. Too many individuals engage with social media excessively to the point that when socializing in public, they forget to engage with the people around them.  We tell ourselves we use social media to keep in touch with friends and their current events; however, many people spend more time on short videos and posts that are often not associated with most people in our current lives.

Our creative spirit hides in a genie bottle, waiting to be freed into action. However, you keep finding reasons to keep yourself from being fully creative. You have this idea that to be creative, you must have an ideal setting, loads of time, and endless funds so you can devote all your time to it. You also believe you need a purpose or an endgame to create something that pleases you.

Psychology, though it’s often referred to as a soft science, has powerfully impacted the development of social systems and the understanding of human behavioral patterns. It is constantly evolving, even though it has historically faced many critics throughout its expansive role in society. Psychology began as a curious exploration of human behavioral patterns and has since influenced social conduct and engagement.

Few people can truly handle the idea of rejection.  It is entirely normal to have an emotional reaction to being rejected by someone we like or not being selected for an opportunity we desire. For many individuals, rejection is often viewed as a failure or some character defeat that implies we are not good enough or worthy of acceptance. There is a tendency to personalize rejection or not being chosen by others for either friendship or romantic relationships. 

Journaling has many practical uses, especially if you are struggling with challenging cycles. Most folks see keeping a journal as something kids do or as an activity often recommended by therapists. Although journaling is popular with kids and therapists, there are many alternative ways to use it, which we will explore. Before we can explore the different journaling techniques, we need to acknowledge that one key element in journaling — often overlooked— is the physical use of a notebook and pen or pencil. 

There is no mystery that the gut, or technically known as the gastrointestinal tract, is linked to the brain.  The gut-brain connection is known as the "Second brain", also known as a region where vital neurotransmitters are produced in the gastrointestinal tract. The body has a built-in alarm system that gets activated whenever we experience intense emotional reactions triggered by events or emotional recall.

When it comes to mental illness, many folks assume that the label itself means a person is crazy and completely broken to the point of no repair. The misconceptions of what the term mental illness implies often create a stigma that keeps many individuals from seeking help when struggling with mental disorders. The truth is that mental illness is far from being untreatable.

Relationships can be super tricky. As social beings, we yearn for love, attention, and meaningful partnerships. However, many people avoid relationships due to negative experiences or poor relationship models. It's essential to understand that poor relationship models are not limited to dysfunctional home life but also based on fairy-tale-oriented concepts depicted in the books or romance comedy movies we binge-watch. Yes, our imagination plays a significant role in shaping what we desire from a relationship, often creating blueprints for an unrealistic love life.

Too many of us burn the candle at both ends, meaning we often over-commit to activities and projects that deplete us both mentally and physically. In general, some of us have no idea of how to balance our personal and working lives. In short, we don’t know how to relax. On top of being unable to relax, many of us spend way too much time scrolling online or going out often, to the detriment of our mental well-being.

We have become so disconnected from our bodies because we are constantly in a survival and stress mode of operation. We learned to function in dysfunction and typically only take care of ourselves when things fall apart. We tend to focus on our body when it starts yelling at us with pain and discomfort. We feed our bodies food because, without it, we basically crash and burn.

In pursuing romance, we often go through a rollercoaster ride of emotional reactions such as excitement, shock, and sometimes even disgust when meeting new people. Although we may barely know most people we meet, we often express a variety of internal reactions and thoughts. The emotional reactions we experience upon meeting someone new can lay out the foundation for what may happen in the future.

Throughout the history of Psychology, there has always been an effort to create systems that provide the best clinical results. However, as much as psychology has tried to make one foolproof system, there have always been some aspects of therapeutic techniques that did not help specific individuals manage critical issues. Due to the natural limitations of many methods, someone is always attempting to create a new system that promises to deliver significant results.

There are times when we think of someone who is no longer in our lives, even though they caused us loads of hardship and, in some cases, emotional turmoil on many levels. We miss them to the point of feeling an emptiness and sense of grief induced by their absence.  We may even minimize the memories of the hardships and tears they brought into our lives, focusing only on the vacant space they left behind.

There is a tendency to think that working out serves primarily two purposes: 1. To look good, and 2. to prepare the body for sports. Since some individuals struggle with self-esteem issues, they often view working out for the sake of looking good as an unattainable and hopeless goal. At the same time, many folks do not care to engage in physical sports, and logically, for those folks, working out is unimportant.

When most people hear the word "psychology," they often think of famous figures like Freud or Jung, or their therapists. In general, psychology is frequently viewed as a safe and benign Soft Science that primarily focuses on understanding human emotions and behavioral patterns. Since psychology has become proficient in understanding human patterns, it has assumed a vital role in the development of systems designed to enhance and influence social change.

When is it time to let go and move forward?  How much must one endure before taking the leap into a new chapter and letting go of stagnant situations or connections?  Some conditions are clearly damaging to our well-being, and justifying letting them go is only a matter of time.  However, not all situations are clearly defined as detrimental, yet they do not bring much joy.   

Never in all my years in the US as a natural-born citizen have I ever encountered so much anxiety and disharmony being expressed by so many Americans, regardless of nationality, religion, or citizenship status. I will admit, being a brown-skinned Hispanic, I did encounter loads of racially oriented challenges and concerns, but nothing like this current period. For the most part, folks were able to express their dissatisfaction and frustrations without being overly concerned about political backlash.

Many physical illnesses are often misdiagnosed as mental disorders because they share many similar symptoms. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis is more common than we realize, since obtaining a precise diagnosis generally requires blood work and diagnostic exams that can be costly and are not always covered by insurance. In addition, medical consultations are often shorter than 20 minutes due to the limited billable hours paid by insurance, which does not allow a doctor the time needed for a thorough assessment.

There has never been one consistent blueprint for dating for every culture. Let me explain. Cultural and family values heavily influence dating styles. In cultures that are heavily influenced by religion, dating has been viewed as a pathway to marriage, which is considered a sacred union in which God joins a couple. Of course, the sacred union is established in accordance with the religious traditions of the different communities, which may involve preselected partnerships or individuals of similar faith.

Imagine waking up feeling fantastic because you had a great night’s sleep and feel well-rested. Now, before you get up, you decide to check the news or even your social media account, suddenly, a few minutes later, your great mood vanishes before you can even process what took place.  Now, how did that happen? We need to start with an understanding of the brain’s function to get to the bottom of that phenomenon.

The political system is currently operated for the highest bidder rather than the voting individual citizen. As a result, you are seeing divided groups trying to reason with politicians through massive letter-writing campaigns, phone calls, protests, and public outrage. But is anyone paying attention or taking action to consider the psychological aspects of the policy changes that impact thousands of individuals and their families and friends?

Diagnosing any type of mental or medical condition can be tricky due to several factors: limited information, medical staff not asking the right questions, and patients’ failure to disclose relevant details. Patients, when they seek treatment, are often scared and often forget to reveal details like the frequency of specific symptoms or health indicators they assume are minor because they have learned to adjust.   

Many of us have unrealistic expectations when it comes to relationships with others. Our idea of happy and healthy relationships typically reflects what we witness as children and what gets reinforced through our social connections. If we are fortunate, we learn how to create healthy bonds that we maintain throughout our lives. Though connecting with others may seem like a happy accident rather than something we can manage, it is possible to create decent connections.

When folks hear the term assertiveness, they naturally assume there will be some negative consequences, maybe even some angry words exchanged.  The truth is, being assertive does not have to be laced with angry tones or curse words. Being assertive means that you are definitely firm and concrete with your communication, but choose not to express yourself with sarcasm or harshness when conveying your message.

Before we move further into this blog, let’s get on the same page with the term trauma. According to SAMSHA, trauma is defined as follows ” an emotional or physical response to one or more physically harmful or life-threatening events or circumstances with lasting adverse effects on your mental and physical well-being, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).27 May 2022”