hartstein psychological services Tag

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Stress is something that impacts all of us. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to go through life without some sort of stress each day.
I’ve spent a lot of time discussing emotion regulation skills with clients recently. It has me reflecting on the ways in which I use my skills of accumulating positives and building mastery, both presently and in the past.
​​I started off the year by pointing out I thought it was best to have aspirations instead of resolutions. I thought this because it felt like an easy way to be gentle on yourself and realize that accomplishments and success are personal and subjective.
Trouble with sleeping is something most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. Inadequate sleep can interfere with our physical, social, mental and emotional functioning, which is why it’s so critical to have healthy sleep hygiene.
Let’s talk about BOUNDARIES. These are especially important as we are fully immersed in the holiday season. They are not always easy to set and incredibly important to have.
The first week of November is International Stress Awareness week. In honor of that, and, in honor of the upcoming holiday season that often causes a lot of people to feel stressed, let’s take a couple of minutes to talk about what stress is and what you can do to more effectively manage it.
Setting and protecting your boundaries is a process; it takes insight into your own needs, patience in working them into your relationships, and maintenance for them.
Sometimes, when I think about the fact that September is National Suicide Prevention month, I can’t help but wish it was unnecessary. Unfortunately, the numbers tell us it is.
As summer comes to an end, a lot of change is on the horizon—starting school, coming back from vacation, new job tasks, and changing seasons. It can be hard to take control of any anxiety that you may be experiencing.
Imagine that you were asked to cross a narrow bridge that was 1 foot above the ground. Would you feel confident about that task? Now change the situation and make it 50 feet above the ground. Then 100 feet. Would that change how you feel from the original task?
Throughout my years as a clinician working with children, parents have often asked, "how can I motivate my child?" Most of us misunderstand motivation. We think what motivates us will also motivate our children.  However, that’s not necessarily the case.