Anxiety is something that every person faces at some point in their lives. There is an evolutionary basis for its existence, namely to ..read more

I recently was involved in a talk at Athletic Evolution that centered on the mental aspects of physical injury recovery, particularly ACL injuries and surgery. In the midst we were talking about the anxiety of discussing the injury with doctors and providers, but how important of a skill this is for an athlete for multiple reasons. First, it can help an athlete have facts and data about their injury, which improved their ability to set appropriate goals. At the same time, this communication can help an athlete organize those around himself or herself, so that everyone on the team is working to ..read more

As a way of supporting the Boston College Men's Hockey team (I am an alum) in their quest for the national championship I recently posted this phrase on X / Twitter. Unfortunately they were the National Runner Up, but still were both Hockey East regular season and tournament champions. All of these were learning experiences and set the stage for next year. With many of my clients we develop self talk mantras to use when anxious, in need of refocusing, or over coming adversity. This one sums up many mental health skills in this one simple mantra. Be Calm can mean many different things in terms ..read more

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very popular buzzword in many different industries. Questions are frequently being asked how can it make the world better or worse. What are the gains and risks? What industries will be impacted, and how will the world change? These are all great questions that should be asked as we venture into a new world. I can say for sure that no matter what it is coming it has the power to change many things we need to adapt to, including within the role it may play in Mental Health Care. Over the course of my work with TrainerMD, I have been learning a lo ..read more

In the last blog we talked about how to take control of your mental health in the simplest ways possible. The feedback from that blog was very positive so I figured we would take it up a level to the 1-2-3s. At this time of year I was want to reflect on my own expeirences with clients, what were the main themes that were seen in treatment that benefitted clients, and even what possible lessons I learned about myself in the process. That being said, whether you a regular person, athlete, student, or professional, here are the next steps to taking control of your mental health in no particular o ..read more

"Make your mental health a priority. It’s called YOUR mental health and it’s YOUR responsibility to cut out of your life what makes you struggle with it." - Robert Griffin III - Heisman Trophy Winner This is such a simple statement, yet something many in society really struggle with embracing. Excuses are often made, reasons for challenges are displaced onto others, or simply ignore the problem. Eventually this only leads to an exacerbation of symptoms. The best thing a person can do find ways to manage symptoms and it is easier than one can even even think. Below are the simple ABCs to improv ..read more

It has been a relaxing summer for me overall, really trying to take advantage of the time. However, with the fall coming, it is time to start preparing for the grind that lies ahead. School will be starting soon adding to that new stress for kids and families. Sport transitions are happening as new seasons start and the demands increase there as well. In general, any transition can just add to anxiety and frustrations. Given that I was reflecting on the lessons I learned over the summer and apply this mindset going into the fall. Below are these lessons in no particular order. 1. Slow down – T ..read more

According to disctionary.com, the word perfect is defined as ''excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement'', with perfectionism being ''a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less.'' It is exceptionally common for many people to strive for perfectionism, including athletes, students, and just being a person living your day to day life. While there are many positives, anxiety and even negative self-esteem are two of the primary negatives of a person's search for perfectionism. Everyday I see clients in my office who striv ..read more

One of the most exciting days for a psychologist is when a client has that ''Aha'' moment. It is that time when the client has the self-awareness that they have the skills to make a change and are motivated to make it happen. While this is the goal of treatment for everyone, not everyone gets there. Recently, one of my clients did and the lessons he learned through his experience was eye opening to me, and something to be shared as it can really help others. In order to protect confidentiality I will not go into detail of what the client's Aha experience was. However, it did involve pushing hi ..read more

In my office I have a poster hanging up that says "What you learn today can change the future" and has may learning phrases such as be open minded, take up the challenge, value new ideas, and find your passion, surrounding it. Many of the previous blogs have discussed growth as a person and using this way to increase confidence. In this blog we will continue to build off of these themes with a discussion on developing and using a learning mindset, and how it impacts anxiety and emotion management and personal growth. As we have discussed in prior blogs, for clients that struggle with anxiety a ..read more