Balancing Stress As A College Student

Counseling Services In Colorado Help College Students Balance Stress Excess stress alters your natural balance, draining your brain from the energy it needs to concentrate and take action. Stress can be triggered externally by situations like a breakup or poor grades, or internally by placing high expectations on yourself. Here at the Metis Center for Psychological Services, our counseling services help college students balance stress and mental health. How To Reduce & Manage Your Stress Time Management: A huge part in managing your stress as a college student is practicing good time management skills. You’ll want to learn how to manage your responsibilities both in school and out of school, accomplish goals, and still have time for rest, relaxation, and some fun. Avoid Procrastination: We know that it’s easy to put something off until the last minute, and some people even work well under pressure, but this can also create more physical and mental stress than staying on top of your responsibilities and assignments. Remember, procrastination can affect a lot of different parts of your daily life, such as your quality of sleep, your mood, and the quality of your work. Make Time For Exercise: Stress generates a lot of negative energy and exercise helps you burn off this energy. Limit Stimulants Like Caffeine: Caffeine and other stimulants can actually elevate the stress response in your body, making things worse rather than better. If you’re one of the many college students who have difficulty balancing stress and keeping it under control, please consider our counseling services

Get the Facts on Depression in College-Aged Students

Our counseling office in Boulder, CO works with many college-aged patients. Depression among college students is a growing issue on university and college campuses across the United States. Growing pressures for good grades, worries about mounting debt, and anxiety about a weak job market can all pile on a student, causing them to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. This is also a common age for mental health problems to manifest; if the college student doesn’t have a good support network around them, the issues may go undiagnosed for a long time and lead to worsening symptoms. If you are in college and think you may be experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health concerns, you aren’t alone. Anxiety is the number one concern of college students when it comes to mental health concerns; 46% of students who went to their university’s mental health center said they were concerned about anxiety. The American Psychological Association reports that in the 2012-2013 school year, almost half (48.7%) of students reported that they had been to counseling for mental health concerns. That number has been on a steady increase for the last several years and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Anxiety and depression can be debilitating mental health problems. If you have been struggling with these issues, help is available. You can speak to the counseling center at your school for a list of resources available to you or you can make an appointment with us. Call us at (720) 387-8458 or request an appointment online

How the Right Assessment Can Help You Plan Your Future

Our testing assessment services can help you make better decisions for your future. If you’ve been struggling to find direction or make decisions about your future life goals, an assessment in our office may help. Many adults experience roadblocks when planning their future and may experience issues such as: Being unsure about which career path is right for them Feeling unmotivated or unsure about how to self-motivate Trouble making or sticking to life goals How to overcome personal struggles for future success Testing assessments can help. By taking learning, cognitive, and personality tests in our office, we can help you discover insights about yourself that can help you make better-informed choices about your future. We can help you discover learning disabilities that have been holding you back, develop strategies to help you overcome your weaknesses, and set goals for your personal life and career. Whether you are just starting out or need to make some major changes well into your adult years, these assessments can be an invaluable tool that help you get to know yourself better. If you are interested in our testing assessment services, you can reach out to Metis Center for Psychological Services today. Feel free to read more about our testing services as well as our counseling services on our website. Then give us a call at 720-387-8458 or use the contact form on our website to get in touch with us.

Navigating Your Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are disabling mental attacks that can inhibit our daily lives. Nearly 6 million of American adults are affected by panic attacks, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Women are more likely than men to suffer from panic attacks, with nearly half as many men suffering as women. However, scientists are not entirely positive about the causes. Some panic disorders are genetic, but with so many different channels of anxiety and fear found in the brain, it is nearly impossible to track every reason that a panic attack may occur. It is through continued research of fear and anxiety in the brain that scientists are able to move closer to treatment of a panic disorder. With that being said, there are a myriad of resources available to those that suffer from panic attacks, one of which is seeking therapy here in Boulder, CO. First, let’s start by addressing some common signs and symptoms of panic disorder: sudden feelings of fear and anxiety, an out of control feeling during the attack, worry about the next attack, avoidance or fear of locations from prior attacks. Moreover, the physical signs during a panic attack can include: racing/pounding heart, trouble breathing, sweating, dizziness/weakness, temperature swings, numbness in hands, or chest and/or stomach pain. If you’ve suffered from these symptoms or recognize the signs in your life, please call us at (720) 387-8458 or request an appointment online at Metis Center for Psychological Services.

Consider Counseling Before Finals Week In Boulder, CO

‘Tis the season for academic cranking. Whether it’s finishing up group projects or studying for finals, it’s crunch time to get everything done before the Fall 2015 semester comes to a close. Education used to be valued as a luxury but now is seen as a stress. Take the time to think about everything a new college student encounters. Living away from home, accomplishing a high GPA so you can have the career of your dreams, scoring passing grades on final exams, establishing and maintaining social relationships, and meeting the high costs of living throughout college by working on the side, just to name a few. Wouldn’t you be stressed if this was all dumped onto your plate at once? That’s the average list for freshman and sophomores; juniors and seniors add internships and job hunting to the plate. Students are held to higher and higher expectations each year and are rarely equipped with the tools to succeed psychologically. Metis Center strives to help you achieve through all stressors. With the holidays rapidly approaching, we recommend Coherence Therapy so that you can attain a peace of mind and enjoy your break, while still succeeding through your responsibilities. Coherence Therapy is not a method of counseling that is meant to diagnose conditions. Rather, it is a method that is known to be psychologically relieving. Our bodies tend to transform without our knowing; we’ve seen this to be true with coping methods. What used to work as a stress reliever may not work anymore. Coherence Therapy uses our

Peritraumatic Tonic Immobility

If you joined me at the COVA conference to discuss TI and its implications for survivors — I thank you! As we acknowledged, having this conversation is important, so I’m glad you were there. Please find the PowerPoint that was the handout at the conference attached here, and be in touch with any questions or concerns. I always love to hear from colleagues! Peritraumatic Tonic Immobility

Stress-relief therapy can mean a walk in the park!

Relieving Stress in Your Adult Life

Stress tends to pile up in early adulthood, and stress gone unchecked may wear a person down! Understanding your stressors and reducing that stress can aid you in overcoming the pressures and strains in your life. Overcoming stress can lead you to a more fulfilling worry-free lifestyle. Here are a few tips to practice in the day-to-day from your local Boulder therapist! Slow Down If you’re mindful of your stress, be aware that you can slow down. Be aware of the moment, and be conscious of your surroundings. Break the mold, and slow down the rush. Analyze your current state, calm down, and then move forward with the day-to-day! Mind Your Breathing & Posture Good posture improves mood! As does full breathing! Practice good posture and breathing throughout your daily routines, and you’ll find yourself more relaxed… and less stressed. Make Lists If you’re overwhelmed with tasks on your plate, make lists. Even writing down the groceries you need to grab will alleviate the stress of remembering those items. When you write down your to-dos, you’ll think about them less. Also, try prioritizing your to-dos. Take on the tasks that are most important first. It feels good to cross something off too! A list can give you more satisfaction! Talk! Sharing your day with a friend, family member, loved one, or coworker can aid you in destressing. It can also give you some time to reflect on stressful events, and discuss solutions. Social interaction is a natural destressor! Tune In & Meditate Practice mindfulness. Being aware of stress

Therapy through our counseling aids your growth!

Upcoming Events and Presentations

ongoing — study group for counselors preparing for NCE (licensure exam) 19 August — Train Victim Advocates at the University of Northern Colorado 15 September — Presentation: “3 Easy to Learn Stress Reduction Techniques” at the Louisville Library from 6:00 to 7:30 23 September — Webinar: “Environments that Promote Health and Well Being” from noon to one 7 and 14 October — Train doctoral interns on trauma psychology 27 October — Present at COVA conference on peritraumatic tonic immobility in survivors of critical incidents 14 December — Presentation: “From Roommates Back to Soul Mates: Enhancing Couples Relationships” at the George Reynolds library from 6:00 to 7:30.

Therapy can aid you in building good relationships.

On Moving Toward Instead of Away

Many people come to therapy because of difficulty and confusion in their relationships. Those who have experienced ache and hurt in their relationships (let’s face it, that’s everyone!), especially early in life, may tend to feel overwhelmed by certain fundamental aspects of human connection (e.g. conflict, intimacy, trust, loss). Very often, the avoidance of these feelings and experiences can produce a slew set of other difficult feelings and experiences (e.g. isolation, shame, loneliness, rage)! This avoidance is an example of one of those habit loops described in the previous post: it is doing its best – you are doing your best – to take care of you. Maybe you learned to engage in avoidance through past heartaches that you decided hurt too much to risk experiencing again. What if I told you that you could learn skills that would allow you to take even better care of yourself? That would allow you to take a risk and meet the outcome differently this time? What if I told you that you could learn skills that reduce the likelihood of your continuing to encounter the same wounding – the same outcomes in relationships – over and over again? You will still sustain wounds throughout your life, to be sure, but you will know how to better dress and heal those wounds. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to pay attention to what is happening when it is happening. It is a skill that can be developed over time, like stretching a muscle to increase flexibility (with the

Mindfulness is therapy you can utilize everyday!

On Radical Acceptance as a Consequence of Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a fancy way for saying: aware of what is happening when it is happening. Mindfulness is not an end goal where we arrive and remain, but rather a constant aspiration that we practice as best we can, as often as we can remember to. Sometimes we don’t want to – and that’s ok, too. But we could even become interested in this not-wanting-to-pay-attention business, noticing when and how it shows up as well as its impact on us. When we start to pay attention to what is happening when it is happening, we begin to have a clearer awareness of how we are operating in ways that sometimes get in our own way. These habit loops have served a noble purpose at different points in life. They may have come in the form of distorted beliefs or automatic defenses or identity narratives that helped you to cope with intolerable experiences. What’s more, when we are mindful we have the opportunity to develop a sense of radical acceptance – unconditional positive regard and maybe even appreciation – for these little buggers. Your thank you card to these little buggers might go something like: “Thanks y’all! Couldn’t have done it without you. Now, though, I think I’m ready to try some other variations. I think I’m ready to feel things just a little bit more, both the delight and the soreness.” You might even feel inclined to say: “You’ve been a real pain in my ass!” or “I’ll miss you so much!” The point is not

News