Tag: empowerment
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Finding Light in the Darkness
Joyce Marter LCPC MINDFULNESS In a world where mass shootings and the horrific tragedies of war are continually in your news feed, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Glimmers can help you achieve a more positive outlook when faced with adversity. Glimmers are those flickers of hope, happiness, or optimism that we encounter during challenging times or when we’re…
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Addiction Counseling: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Rubin Khoddam Ph.D. In the battle against addiction, the road to recovery is often a complex and challenging journey. Addiction is a deeply personal experience, and what works for one person may not be effective for another. This is where this is where addiction counseling, specifically individualized treatment plans, plays a pivotal role. Explore the benefits of…
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Addiction and Suicide: What’s the Link?
By Peg Rosen (Medical Reviewer Stacia Alexander, PhD, LPC-S) Suicide and addiction. Too often, we hear these words in the same breath. At face value, the connection feels logical. Think of celebrities who die by suicide—often there’s the implication, if not outright fact, of a struggle with substance misuse. At the most basic level, “what…
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Young Creators Are Burning Out and Breaking Down
By Taylor Lorenz ( New York Times) Lately, it’s been hard for Jack Innanen, a 22-year-old TikTok star from Toronto, to create content. “I feel like I’m tapping a keg that’s been empty for a year,” he said. Spending hours shooting, editing, storyboarding, engaging with fans, setting up brand deals and balancing the many other responsibilities that come…
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You Are a Very Particular Person
Timothy A Carey Ph.D. A couple of days ago I wandered over to the café which is just a short stroll up the road from my house. I ordered my usual double-shot espresso and then moved off to the side to wait for my name to be called. I frequently enjoy these short interludes when…
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The Conflicting Science of Social Media and Mental Health
Austin Perlmutter M.D. As of 2023, the United States has almost 250 million social media users. That number climbs to nearly 5 billion people worldwide and is expected to reach 6 billion by 2027. The average person spends an astonishing two and half hours of their time on social media each day. To put that into perspective,…
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You Are Not Your Diagnosis
CooperRiis Healing Community By: Kimberly Nelson, MA with Courtney Kelly Receiving a diagnosis is a significant milestone on the road to recovery. It clarifies courses of treatment, supplies precedent, and gives rhyme and reason to symptoms that may otherwise be confusing or even scary. “Identifying a set of experiences with a name can often be…
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“Back to School Blues” May Be Worse Than Just Blues
Peter Gray Ph.D. Schooling has a halo around it in society’s eyes, and halos tend to interfere with perception and judgment. Maybe that’s why nearly everyone, including journalists, whose job it should be to keep their eyes and minds open and report honestly to the public, continues to ignore the ever-growing evidence that school is…
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The Psychology of Happiness
Lawrence R. Samuel Ph.D. It is safe to say that the pursuit of happiness—a phrase penned by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence—has served as a primary ambition for many Americans throughout the nation’s history. It was soon after World War I when—as I posit in Happiness in America: A Cultural History—the modern concept of happiness…
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Recent Drug Addiction Statistics for Boston and Massachusetts
Baystate Recovery Services Massachusetts is ranked #8 in the rate of drug-related deaths that occurred in 2019, reports the CDC. That year, the state had 32.1 drug-related deaths for every 100,000 residents. Heroin is the top illicit drug of use in Boston and the entire state. Plus, it has contributed to thousands of overdose deaths in…