As the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, the possibility of heading into another lock down becomes increasingly likely. This isn’t an easy time. We all miss our families, friends, activities, and having the freedom to do things without restrictions of physical distancing. However, none of us have a magic wand toContinue reading “5 Tips to help your mental health during the second wave”
Author Archives: kshanmuk
Postpartum OCD: The Curse of Never-Ending Scary Thoughts
While postpartum depression and anxiety have become more widely-understood, there is still limited research about postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder. This mental health struggles occurs in approximately 1-10% of parents. Since postpartum OCD presents as excessive worrying and helplessness, it is commonly misdiagnosed as anxiety, or worse, it is dismissed as “normal worrying”. When you think ofContinue reading “Postpartum OCD: The Curse of Never-Ending Scary Thoughts”
Disenfranchised Grief: When no one seems to understand your loss
I’ve been talking to many individuals lately who have experienced ectopic pregnancies, chemical pregnancies, and complicated deliveries. During all of these conversations, I noticed a theme of disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief refers to “the types of loss that are not so readily recognised or supported by society.” Grief therapist Lisa Zoll explains that this typeContinue reading “Disenfranchised Grief: When no one seems to understand your loss”
Five Ways to Challenge Negative Thoughts
After writing my last post about common anxieties during the postpartum period, I wanted to provide some strategies to help challenge these negative thoughts. Irrespective of whether you have a mental health diagnosis or not, it’s easy to fall into unhealthy thinking styles when you feel vulnerable. I hope these five strategies can help youContinue reading “Five Ways to Challenge Negative Thoughts”
Common anxious thoughts during the postpartum year
Cognitive-behaviour therapy has taught us that there are certain themes to our anxious thoughts. These themes are referred to as “cognitive distortions” or “thought traps” in CBT lingo. Anxious thoughts can happen to any of us, irrespective of whether or not we have a clinically diagnosed mental health issue. More often, they tend to popContinue reading “Common anxious thoughts during the postpartum year”
Changing our relationship with our Inner Critic
When our inner critic shows up, it can be hard to talk it down or reason with it. This part of our personality can be fierce, harsh, argumentative and stubborn. This critical voice tends to be judgemental and demeaning. Internal Family Systems therapy has helped me change the way I view my own perfectionism, shame,Continue reading “Changing our relationship with our Inner Critic”
Preventing compassion fatigue: Simple ways to help family members struggling with their mental health
Living with someone who is suffering from a mental health problem can be challenging to say the least. Whether the individual is formally diagnosed or you’re noticing a shift in their moods, the ripple effect it has on the home is significant. One in five people are living with a mental health struggle, and withContinue reading “Preventing compassion fatigue: Simple ways to help family members struggling with their mental health”
What is Exposure Therapy?
Exposure therapy is a wonderful and challenging form of treatment that can improve phobias and anxieties. This treatment modality works off the assumption that, by slowly and continually facing a fearful situation, we become less scared. Gradual exposure involves creating a formal list of tasks that are completed in order to build confidence in facingContinue reading “What is Exposure Therapy?”
Unhappy relationship after a baby
Relationships are tested all the time when life throws curve balls. As much as we’d love for a new family member to bring us closer together, having a baby can actually worsen the sense of an unhappy relationship. Working in perinatal mental health, I hear a lot of parents talking about their relationship dissatisfaction. IContinue reading “Unhappy relationship after a baby”
15 mindfulness exercises to try today
There are so many ways to incorporate mindfulness in to your daily life and one post doesn’t suffice. Mindfulness is a moment to moment awareness of what’s happening internally (your emotions and physical sensations) and externally (using your senses to note what you see, hear, smell, taste and touch). While the definition may sound complicated,Continue reading “15 mindfulness exercises to try today”