Building Self-Esteem

To some degree, we all face doubts and struggle at times with self-esteem. Thinking about improving your own self-esteem can seem daunting, overwhelming, and raise many other feelings, possibly even related to how you feel about yourself. While working with a therapist to understand how you feel about yourself and how you may have arrived to feel this way there are certain things you can do to help yourself along this healing journey. Below are some ways you can practice turning your self esteem toward a more positive direction.

Practice positive self talk. It is easy to talk critically to yourself, so instead try challenging a thought to a turn it into something more positive.

Try not to compare yourself to others.

Reflect on the accomplishments or times in your life you feel good about.

Get some physical exercise-  its quite empowering and reaps various physical and emotional benefits.

Set a small goal and achieve it. 

Don't beat yourself up: Talk to yourself as you would to a friend.

Focus on the things you can change/control, such as your reaction to certain experiences/events.

Spend time doing activities and things you enjoy.

Practice being in the moment, even for just a few breaths, or minutes.

Take care of you, you are the only one who truly can.

See if you can start with trying out one or two of the above self esteem building activities and check in with yourself about how you may feel. Small steps can lead to great gains to your self worth. If you find yourself struggling with self esteem or are thinking about how a therapist may be able to help you, contact us at Gaithersburg Counseling Center. You may reach us at healingllc.com, 240-274-5680, or admin@healingllc.com.

Tips to Help Calm and Manage Anxiety

Many of us experience anxiety on a regular basis. Anxiety can show up in various ways and times and sometimes at really inconvenient moments! Most individuals can identify with the physical and emotional symptoms that can be associated with anxiety, such as feeling overwhelmed, unable to think clearly, feeling panicky, shortness of breath, racing heart, difficulty sleeping, restlessness, shifts in mood, eating more or less than usual, irritability, to name just a few of the ways anxiety can manifest.

While learning to understand your anxiety with the help of a professional (where the anxiety may stem from and what it means), there are ways to help limit anxious feelings or symptoms when they arise. Acknowledging the presence of anxiety is an important place to start. Be mindful that you are feeling anxious and that the anxiety does not have to define you in the moment. While it may feel overwhelming, there are several tips to help you manage and take more control over anxiety producing situations. 

Tips to help manage anxiety in the moment:

-Deep breathing techniques--can be done in any place at most any time (take a deep breath in through your nose or mouth for as long as you are able and then push that breath out until you feel the need to breath in again; repeat for 10 long breaths in and out, counting each inhale and exhale as a completed deep breath. Continue as long as necessary until feeling more calm.

-Talk to someone-it can be helpful to talk about how your anxiety makes you feel and help you to feel not so alone in it.

-Distractions- turning your attention to something else is helpful to take you away from the anxiety; such as playing video games, Sudoku, word-finds, coloring books, listening and singing along to music, taking a walk outside.

While anxiety can be uncomfortable it does not have to stop you from enjoying your life to its fullest. If you find yourself struggling with anxiety and would like to see if meeting with a professional counselor could be helpful for you reach out to us at Gaithersburg Counseling Center 240-274-5680, admin@healingllc.com or www.healingllc.com.

How does Exercise Help your Mood?


Did You Know that since the early 1900's there have been over 100 studies done on the relationship between exercise and decreased depression?

Exercising releases those “feel good” brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters and endorphins. Neurotransmitters are particularly interesting because they are the chemicals in which anti-depressants are said to boost. Exercise has also shown to reduce immune system chemicals that often worsen depression.

Although the effects of exercising on mental health are not completely clear, it is definite that there is a positive effect on a person’s psychological and emotional health when they exercise. One study in particular used three groups of people. One group exercised, one group took Zoloft, and one group did both. Incredibly, the group that solely exercised did better than both of the other two groups. Read more on this study at http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/exercisedep.htm.

Women's Wellness Series

The next series of blogs will be focused on women's wellness issues. Women are precious, unique beings and should be treated as such. Women's issues are common, complicated and can be eased through education and self-exploration. Please share this information with the women in your life so they can start feeling better today.

The series will begin with a quiz, then move onto tips and inspiring words for women. In this Blog, we will take a quiz to see where you are on your own priority list.

Quiz: Are you on your own priority list?

1. Are you frequently putting others first; taking care of them before taking care of yourself?
2. Do you feel exhausted and depleted at the end of the day, with no energy left for you?
3. Are you feeling anxious, sad or just not happy? Are you worried you will feel like this forever?
4. Can you remember the last time you did something nice for yourself (and didn't feel guilty about it)?
5. Are you aware of and confident of your inner and outer beauty?
6. As a woman, do you know what your needs are and how to get them met?

If you have answered yes to questions 1,2 or 3 or answered no to questions 4, 5 or 6, it is time to take a look inside and make taking care of yourself a priority. Stay tuned for our next blog including information and tips for women who have trouble thinking about their own thoughts and feelings before others.

I would love to hear from you! Please write in with any comments/questions about women's wellness issues. All information will remain confidential if emailed to AnotherLook@HealingLLC.com. Thanks for checking in!

Take Good Care,
Amy L. Hooper
Director, Another Look at Healing, LLC