How can you set goals to help you Thrive in 2022? This has been quite a year. A year that followed an incredibly taxing and stressful year. But we have made it. We have made it to another year, and are ready to conquer the next one. But not just survive it, THRIVE in it.

As I think about what it means to Thrive in 2022, I have spent time thinking about goals that I have, things that I want to accomplish, for myself and for Restoring Hope.

The holiday season can be very stressful, but it may come with some depression that can make you feel like your holidays are ruined. It is the season of cooking meals, shopping, baking, cleaning, and entertaining to name a few of the demands. You might be stressing about your and your loved one's health during the pandemic, getting everything done, making sure all the gifts were wrapped and all the lists checked. Here are 7 practical tips to help prevent holiday stress and depression.

It’s that time of year again, the air is cooler, with sweater weather becoming more of a norm. Everyone is wearing their beanies and jackets; it all seems to fit perfectly with Christmas right around the corner. It’s a great time of seeing family, spending time with friends, eating sweets, and looking at Christmas Lights. But not everyone feels the same way about the Holidays.

For some people, this time of year can be the worst or most stressful time of the whole year.

You Love Christmas, but this year is different. You went through a break up or maybe you had to distance yourself from someone you care about. You started last year hopeful and excited for what is going to happen and where you are going to be at the end of the year. But you also started the year with someone you love or care about, and how everything is different. You have now have an estranged relationship with someone. An estranged relationship is the loss of a previously existing relationship. This can be from a family member, a friend or a past significant other.

It’s Christmas! Yay! You have been waiting all year for this day to come. You love everything about Christmas, the decorations, the lights, the food, the music, the family time, the gifts. And you LOVE giving gifts. You want everyone to have the perfect gift, because giving gifts is your way of showing your friends and family how much you care about them. And every year you are know for giving the biggest and most expensive gifts. All of your friends and family look forward to your gifts!

It is that time of the year again where the expectation is to be full of cheer, joy, and happiness but the reality is stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting. With holidays approaching there is all sorts of pressure and expectations (whether placed on you by yourself or those around you) and it can be difficult to manage.

The first thing I want to emphasize to you is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are so many people who are not feeling the holiday spirit but feel guilt or shame in expressing that.

In America, we often think about gratitude more as the holidays approach, but research reveals that gratitude improves all aspects of our health: physically, socially, and psychologically. I have read numerous articles that provide the benefits of being grateful. Personally, I was intrigued to try to add gratitude into the daily routines. The overall impact on my life was remarkable.

Borderline Personality Disorder is described as having polarizing thinking, good versus bad, all or nothing, black and white situations. This can lead to extreme moods and unstable relationships in one’s life. BPD effects 1.6% to 5.9% of the US, which estimates a minimum of about 4 million people.

If there is one thing that I think everyone can agree on at the moment it is that we are living through uncertain times. Between the craziness of what is currently going on and the uncertainty of what is going to happen, we are all way more vulnerable to stress, intense emotions, and other unpleasant mental health consequences. So how do we cope with this? How do we prevent ourselves from falling victim to this unpredictability?

Tyler is 5 years old and started virtual school last year during the pandemic. Before Tyler began school, he only communicated with his parents, older siblings and grandmother who lives with them. Tyler didn’t have to verbally engage with his classmates, Tyler felt comfortable being at home completing his schoolwork last year. But not now.. Why?

Are you scared of gaining weight or becoming fat? Are you significantly underweight but don’t like your body?  Are you not meeting your daily caloric and nutritional needs which places you in a high risk of malnutrition and extreme weight loss?  Have you suffered from low-self-esteem, sadness, anxiety or even decrease stress levels? If so, then this is the Blog for you. 

You may suffer from Anorexia Nervosa the restricting type. Anorexia Nervosa is a life-threatening mental health condition characterized by a fear of weight gain and disordered eating patterns. 

There are very basic needs every human needs to survive: air, water, food, shelter, sleep, and clothing. The lack of these basic needs can cause complications in our medical health, mental health, overall wellbeing, and how we are able to achieve our needs beyond the basics. 

It's normal to feel anxious from time to time, especially if your life is stressful. However, excessive, ongoing anxiety and worry that are tough to control and interfere with daily activities may signify generalized anxiety disorder.

So, you’re feeling sad and low… but it is different from any sad or low that you have felt before. This is heavier. It might feel like you are wearing a backpack full of rocks climbing uphill or even doing the simplest of tasks is equivalent to swimming against the current.

Life stress can sometimes be debilitating, especially if you are dealing with moving, being fired from your job, or going through a divorce or break-up, or retirement. Ongoing life stress and worry could cause significant distress or impairment, which could result in adjustment disorder.

Sitting on the exam table, looking at the wall. You have been here before and are waiting for the doctor to come in and tell you what you already know.

It happened again... no baby. Just another heartbreak knowing that this one didn’t make it either.

You have heard it before. Your baby’s heart stopped beating and is no longer there.

Open adoptions have become more common in recent years than they ever have been before. However, open adoptions can sometimes still be a scary thought when navigating between the birth family and adoptive family. Both parties want to have the best possible outcome for the child while also making sure it is healthy. At times, you may feel like you are not doing enough or that you are giving more than the other party. So how can you have a healthy open adoption for your child?

Parenting a teen is a constant battle of wills. It feels like we are constantly fighting and just trying to plead our case with him to do the simplest things, like do your assignments when they are assigned, don’t be late for class, go to bed on time, do your chores (cleaning 2 rooms, 1x a week), and be nice to your brothers.

Children are not immune to the hardships that come with day-to-day stressors and unexpected events. When these hardships come up for children, it can affect their behavior, performance at school, and relationships with family and peers. 

For children, Play Therapy can be a tool to address children’s presenting problems and offer parents support in finding solutions for their child

“I am worthy. “

Some days I can believe these words to be true, but other times it feels like a relentless battle and an unnecessary headache. Am I worthy? How do I define my worthiness? Is it in the way I look? What I am to do? How others see me? Asking myself these questions has made me realize that I may not fully understand what worthy is, or what it is I am hoping I am worthy of.