Cleithrophobia is the fear or phobia of being trapped. The term comes from the Greek word cleithro which means to shut or close. People with cleithrophobia may feel fear when they are locked in a small space such as a bathroom stall.

Anticipatory anxiety refers to the anxiety you experience when you fear something negative is going to happen. It is anxiety about the future, about what could happen, not what is currently happening.

Contamination OCD is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that causes individuals to obsess over the idea of being contaminated, contracting an illness, or the spread of germs.

Unconditional self-acceptance and worth are distinct from our abilities, accomplishments, or appearance. Self-acceptance is a practice that includes reframing negative thoughts and practicing personal values. It's a skill you can practice and strengthen over time.

According to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, everyone experiences five stages of grief. Understanding these stages may shine some light on emotions you may be experiencing after a loss.

According to Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, everyone experiences five stages of grief. Understanding these stages may shine some light on emotions you may be experiencing after a loss.

It is natural to compare ourselves to others and to get caught in a mental comparison loop, and yet this seldom is beneficial. You may have heard the expression, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

There are several possible reasons for the link between OCD and addiction, such as a desire to decrease symptoms or the fact that both share similar risk factors.

Mental health is comprised of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It forms part of your overall mood, how you think, feel, and behave. Research demonstrates a strong relationship between mental and physical health, both of which are important components of our overall health.

Hello, 2024. It’s that time of the year again. The start of the new year is a natural time to think about your current behaviors, what you may want to do differently, and your goals for the upcoming year. It is a common practice to create New Year’s resolutions, yet are they actually helpful?

Emotional reactivity refers to the frequency and intensity of emotional arousal. It includes the threshold and ease with which someone becomes emotionally aroused and the intensity of emotional experiences. For example, someone who becomes irritable very quickly and easily and experiences high irritability may be emotionally reactive.

The holiday season is often filled with social gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues. Interpersonal interactions are not always smooth and conflict-free this time of year, particularly with the stress of the holidays. One way to improve socializing is to practice effective communication skills.

Self-care is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the holiday season. It tends to be a busy and stressful time of year that may include many social gatherings, travel, and perhaps tighter finances. That is why it is important to find ways to engage in self-care this time of year and refill your cup.

Learning to create mental distance from unhelpful thoughts is a useful skill to practice and cultivate. The technical term for this skill is cognitive defusion, a core clinical process of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), most people fully recover from COVID-19 within days or weeks of being infected. Yet, some people have symptoms that last for weeks, months, or even years, and in some cases, a person may initially recover and then have symptoms reappear.

We are approaching the holiday season which is a time of year that often includes a lot of food and eating. Developing a helpful relationship with food involves practicing balance and flexibility in eating and intuitive eating can be a part of this practice…

Pain can easily occupy most of our thoughts and attention. When pain is highly uncomfortable, it can be challenging to focus on anything else. This can lead to a vicious cycle as the more you ruminate on or catastrophize pain (imagining the worst possible outcome), the worse it tends to feel.

Ask any animal lover, and they will likely tell you that having a pet benefits their health and well-being. Nonetheless, the benefits of pets are more than just anecdotal. Pets positively impact health including decreasing cortisol, lowering blood pressure, reducing loneliness, and improving mood.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a short, structured, evidence-based approach to treating sleep difficulty and insomnia. CBT-I focuses on the connection between our, thoughts, behaviors, and sleep.

We all get cognitively, emotionally, or behaviorally inflexible and stuck. We fixate on the same thoughts over and over again, feel trapped and overwhelmed by certain emotions, or constantly repeat the same behaviors.