Christian Counselor Directory Blog

This past year has been a challenge. Have you felt overwhelmed by stress or fear? Have you wondered where God has been in your life? This 2 hour seminar is designed to help you create moments of stillness through mindfulness meditation. We will discuss what God has to say about mindfulness, how to cultivate it, and how it applies to our faith as Christians. To sign up or to request more information, please email therapywithdavid21@gmail.com. The class is $20. The class will take place at Generations Church: 18422 Bloomfield Ave, Cerritos, CA 90703.

Let's take. journey into the realm of The Lord's insight, wisdom, revelation and knowledge. I mean, after all, He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and The End, Author and Finisher of our Faith, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient...well, you get the point.

Genesis 4:3-10, we see Cain and Abel. We can read through this and see the pattern of THOUGHT, EMOTIONS, DECISION, BEHAVIOR. Abel brought his best, Cain did not, and The Lord respected it. See verse 5, Cain was VERY angry AND his countenance fell. The Lord in His mercy gave Cain time, alternative thoughts and a way out in verses 6-7 (DECISION), and Cain let the emotions ride....BEHAVIOR in verse 8.

A thought came, emotions from the thought(s) arose, decision(s) were then made and was at the crossroads of the decision, which gave birth to a maladaptive behavior.

What a privilege it is to administer the love of god, The Word of God and walk in the wisdom of God, with and through, the mind of Christ, to assist people in their journey to health and wholeness!

The focus of our group is to create a safe place of healing for those wanting to engage in conversation and self-expression related to the complexities as well as triumphs related to depression and anxiety. Topics include but are not limited to:

Various physical and mental symptoms of depression and anxiety
Fear and how it affects those dealing with depression and anxiety
Stress Management
Deep breathing techniques
Muscle relaxation
Identifying fearful self-talk with realistic thinking
Spirituality
Community Connection

Where: https://doxy.me/elishasleectc

Time: Each Tuesday starting September 14, 9:00-11:00 am Through October 26

Space is limited and pre-registration is required to save your spot. Please complete the registration form to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation.

Is the pressure of everyday life keeping you up at night?

Are you having emotional outbursts as it feels like the walls are closing in dealing with everyday tasks?

Do your muscles tighten or tense up at the thought of an upcoming paper or project?

What you are experiencing are signs of you feeling overwhelmed. Here are three tips to assist in managing anxiety.

1.MAINTAIN A REGULAR ROUTINE OF PRAYER AND BIBLE READING

Maintaining a routine of spending time in God’s Word and prayer can center you and allow your perspective in a particular situation to be shifted. Establishing and strengthening your personal relationship with Christ can provide you with courage in times that you need to be brave. You can find support in times where you may feel like the situation is helpless. Hope when you may feel like the situation is hopeless. Increase your faith when situations appear to be impossible to overcome.

Studying God’s love can change how you see yourself and redefine how you view God’s love in your personal life and how you can show God’s love towards others. As you conduct these studies, you can create a vision board reflecting how God sees you. Having a visual picture reflecting images of how God sees you can be a daily encouragement that you can overcome the daily stressors of everyday life.

Meditating on the promises of God and speaking to them over yourself can help to remind you that where you start out at is not where you stay. This can be an encouragement when dealing with difficult challenges and facing stressors head-on.

2.BREATHING EXERCISES

The way that you breathe inhale and exhale can reflect the level of tension that your body is taking in. Breathing exercises are a form of deep relaxation technique that assists in managing anxiety. Breathing exercises can help to decrease

· Your heart rate

· Your respiration rates

· Your blood pressure

· Your skeletal muscle tensions

· Your metabolic rate

· Your oxygen consumption

· Insomnia and fatigue

· Migraines and headaches

· Asthma

· Headaches

· Self-blame

Studies show that breathing exercises can improve

· Skin resistance

· Increase wave activity in the brain

· Energy level and productivity

· Concentration

· Memory

· Stress builds up over time

· Self-confidence

Tension can show in shallow breathing and rapidly high in the chest. When you are relaxed, you breathe more fully and deeply. Abdominal breathing allows you to breathe more fully, deeply, and become more relaxed. This type of breathing:

· Increases oxygen supply to the brain and muscle

· Stimulates the nervous system

· Encourages greater feelings of connectedness between mind and body.

· Releases the body’s toxic substances in a holistic manner

Here is an exercise you can try:

· Put your hand on your abdomen and beneath your rib cage

· Inhale through your nose. Your hand should rise as you do this.

· Do a full breath. Pause. Exhale slowly through your nose or mouth

Studies show that regular practice of deep relaxation for 20-30 minutes a day can produce a more relaxed response.

3.RECOGNIZING AND MANAGING TRIGGERS OF ANXIETY

A trigger of anxiety is a fear of the unknown and feeling as if you are out of control. You may be constantly asking yourself what-if questions and playing different scenarios in your mind reflecting failure. This can lead to depression and muscle tension in your back, shoulders, chest, or stomach.

Creating a schedule where you include leisure activities can help you feel like you have control. The feeling of control and reduce stress and help you to have a more positive outlook in how you approach everyday activities. Having someone to talk to and develop a plan on how to manage your stress can help.

You’ll have a safe place to explore your feeling and discover an anxiety treatment plan that will meet your unique needs. Counseling can provide a place where you will know that you are understood and validated. Call 443-860-6870 and make an appointment for your no-cost initial consultation.

You’ve worked hard to be in your current position. Finally, you made it. But perhaps:

• You feel like a fraud.
• You feel like you are underserving of everything you have worked for.
• You may feel like you aren’t smart enough
• You may feel like you aren’t good enough
• You think success is difficult to achieve
• You think you are incompetent despite showing otherwise in your performance
• You are afraid of not meeting other people’s expectations and letting them down
• You feel like you are your past successes and hard work was due to luck
• You feel uncomfortable receiving praise or congratulations
• You are disappointed over your current accomplishments. You feel like you could have done
better despite your accomplishment and doubt your success.
• You put yourself in constant pressure to achieve better than you did before.

You may feel this way at your place of employment, but it can also affect other areas of life. It can affect anyone from athletes, scientists, or office workers. Those who are high achievers are more commonly known to experience Imposter Syndrome. These feelings of inadequacy can bring you to a place of feeling stressed, anxious, and depressed.

How Does Someone Experience Depression When Dealing with Imposter Syndrome?

Psychologists coined this term in the 1970s as there appeared to be more professional women struggling with self-doubt, feeling incompetent, and expressed fears of not performing well. No matter how hard you try, you are never good enough nor worthy of the good that you are receiving from others. As a result, you may feel:

• Helplessness
• Worried all the time
• Racing thoughts
• Having the strong desire to isolate yourself from others because you don’t want them to see
the real you

Depression comes as you recognize that you can never reach the level of competence that you think you should have. Therefore, nothing you do is ever good enough. As a result, you may decide to give up as the situation appears to be something you can never resolve.

How Does Someone Who Struggles with Imposter Syndrome Display This Type of Behavior?

You can display yourself as someone who is dealing with Imposter Syndrome in different types of ways:

• Perfectionist – You are perfect and show yourself to be perfect, despite your physical and mental health. You are constantly wearing a mask, and no one sees the real you.
• Superwoman/ Superman – You are constantly saving the day. You are a work addict and constantly pushing yourself. You work all the time and have no balance nor time for a social life nor self-care.
• Natural Genius – You have big dreams and lofty goals. Instead of scaling, you will set up a goal to do the big things on the first try.
• Expert – You never feel like you are good enough, despite the time you’ve spent in learning your craft, gaining your degrees, and certifications.

As you can see, it is easy to feel frustrated, stressed, and anxious because no one can meet the expectations that you set for yourself. There are no set causes for someone who deals with imposter syndrome as it can be a variety of factors such as upbringing, personality, temperament, and genetic make-up.

What Can You Do to Overcome Depression and Imposter Syndrome?

There are five things you can do to overcome Imposter Syndrome:

1. Prayer and Spending time in God’s Word – Take time out of your day to pray and read the Bible. Focus on Scriptures that reference how God sees you and how much He loves you.
2. Acknowledge – Before overcoming any challenge is to admit the challenge exists. From there, you can develop a strategy to begin to change your mindset.
3. Take Steps to Have a Balanced Lifestyle – Rediscover what you like about yourself and what makes you happy. Have fun with it and do those activities. Get out of your comfort zone and try doing new things.
4. Pay Attention to Your Health – Make your health a priority. Pay attention to your diet and exercise routine. Studies have shown that having a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy exercise routine can alter our perspective in a positive way.
5. Talk to someone - Talking to a good friend or counselor regarding how you are feeling can help you in your healing journey.

Get Help Today

You don’t have to continue feeling like you are struggling with Imposter Syndrome and Depression. You will not be alone in your healing journey. It is a journey that I will walk along with you. As you receive counseling and support, you will find joy again.

Call 443-860-6870 for your no-cost initial consultation today.

Calling on ladies to get together, support one another via virtual Zoom groups - Let's "kiki" or chat!

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