Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, Related Services

The further we go through 2020, the crazier the year seems to get! The coronavirus pandemic is ramping up (again) and there are worries about more potential layoffs and job losses amid the new surge. Top these concerns off with the back-and-forth sniping over the presidential election’s disputed results and many people have begun asking is it okay to take a break from the news?

Millions of Americans go through each day tormented by the uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) and compulsive rituals and behaviors that characterize OCD. Difficult to understand and even harder to experience, Hope for OCD – One Person’s Story of Living and Thriving with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a profoundly courageous inside look at navigating life with the challenges of this anxiety disorder.

As 2020 draws to a close, many of us are experiencing pandemic fatigue. We’re all tired of wearing masks and social distancing. Most of us just want to go back to traveling, enjoying time with family and friends, and the normal world we used to know. This is the time when it is so important for our mental health that we keep a positive outlook and not allow boredom and pessimism to creep in.

These distance learning tips can help parents support their child’s virtual schooling during the pandemic.

A lot of college acceptances have been coming in recently. Parents and teens are feeling incredibly overwhelmed in the decision making process because of the changes that have occurred within the world, but more specifically on college campuses.

The human brain is a curious organ. It is programmed from birth to actively search the world around us. As we get older and mature this search gets fine tuned and focused. We pursue education, friendships, hobbies, sports. Our quest for life experience allows us to learn about the world around us and just as importantly develop a better sense of our own identity. We progress from a period of knowledge acquisition (“knowing”) that can last decades into a prolonged journey that requires that we utilize what we have learned and productively participate in life. This “doing” often includes pursuing gainful employment and careers, raising a family, involvement in spiritual endeavors, development of hobbies, political involvement and altruistic pursuits.

Before the Covid 19 pandemic, the potential of telehealth and virtual therapy was just starting to be recognized as an option for the treatment of mental health disorders. Then, the world shut down and remote care exploded into universal acceptance.

Those with mental health concerns often feel like they can’t control the world around them. Sometimes they may feel like they, themselves, are spiraling out of control. Now that we’ve gone through the last year and the challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, I think most of us can relate to those feelings in some way.

As pandemic restrictions begin to ease, we’re emerging with new addictions to our devices. For many families, lock downs meant turning to virtual entertainment and increased online communications with friends and loved ones.