Family Counseling Service

Each of us has an ongoing conversation with ourselves called our “self-talk”.  This self-talk generates and reinforces our beliefs and perceptions about circumstances and people around us.   So often, we magnify the difficulty of a situation by the way we talk to ourselves about it.  The language, terms and phrases we use in our internal dialogue can increase or decrease the stress of a situation and, often, can even generate a self-fulfilling prophecy, as our conscious and unconscious...

January often arrives carrying a lot of expectation. New year. Fresh start. Big resolutions. But for many people, the second week of January doesn’t feel hopeful or energized. It feels quieter. Sometimes heavier. The distractions of the holidays are gone, routines are returning, and there’s more space to notice things we may have been pushing aside. For some, that includes taking a more honest look at their relationship with alcohol, prescription medication, or other substances. During the...

https://www.counselingservice.org/ready-when-you-are The holiday season is often described as “the most wonderful time of the year.”  Yet for many people, it can also be one of the most emotionally taxing. Between financial pressures, complicated family relationships, travel, grief, and the unrealistic expectations that often accompany the season, it’s no surprise that stress levels can spike between November and January. And for those who already struggle with alcohol or substance use - or...