If you ever watched the movie Crash, you know how intense some of the interactions between the characters were in it. That’s my sense of the flavor of how ours have been the last 12-plus months in Covid have been and how strange re-emerging from this can feel for those with any degree of social anxiety. Will life ever be the same? Will I ever feel normal in my human interactions? I will try to answer these questions below…
The Blessing and Curse of Ambivalence
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Have you ever wanted to change something about yourself or your life, but been gripped by overwhelming fear or apprehension? Have you ever made some decision to give up a bad habit or addiction, but then wound up relapsing within a relatively short period of time? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you have experienced ambivalence. As bad as it may feel, it can be a blessing in disguise.
The Dilemma of Social Media Addiction
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There is still much debate about whether social media is addictive or not. After watching the Netflix documentary entitled The Social Dilemma I have definitely refined my professional opinion about that. Read on for my review and thoughts on this serious situation.
Read moreListen to my interview with Noah Garcia, LPC-S on the Next Quest Podcast!
https://nextquest.podbean.com/e/scott-kampschaefer-lcsw-s-on-addiction/
6 Signs of Frontline Worker Trauma and How to Cope
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If you or someone you care about is a frontline worker and you give everything you have to your job, there’s a good chance you’ve suffered some form of trauma since Covid started. You may not realize it, but there are signs that you have been affected and being aware of those is one of the first steps towards getting over them.
Read moreWhat is Negative Self-Talk Telling You?
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We all have a voice or voices in our head. Depending on what they are telling us, we can either thrive or suffer. Online therapy gives you a chance to put a new and better voice in your head: the voice of your therapist. All it takes is the touch of a button and someone like me can come into your life and help turn things around. It’s never been easier to start your therapy journey.
Read moreEMDR and Image Transformation Therapy Compared
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Many people have heard of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), but even fewer know about a related therapy that helps many people as well called Image Transformation Therapy, or ImTT. They have much in common, but some important differences as well. I compare them both below.
Read more5 Ways to Cope with Quarantine-Related Social Anxiety
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You may be wondering how much longer the relative quarantine we’ve been under for most of the past year will continue. You may also be wondering what effect it’s having on your mental health. The answer is not positive, especially if you’ve been experiencing more isolation than usual. You may also be experiencing social anxiety, so read on to find out more.
Read moreWhen Transparency is Necessary in Relationships
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We all hear the cry for the need for ‘greater transparency’ with respect to our elected leaders, government officials, and corporate executives. Do we feel like we deserve the same from our partners and spouses? Sometimes it can be necessary to have transparency in our relationships, especially if trust has been broken. It’s a two-edged sword that should be used very carefully, though.
Read moreLove is the Way Can Help You Out of Depression
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At a time when love can seem far distant, it can be helpful to know there are sources of it that can help you out of depression. One of those is Bishop Michael Curry’s new book Love is the Way. I review it in this week’s blog.
Read more4 Reasons Why Little 't' Traumas Deserve Your Attention
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Have you ever found yourself rattled after a jarring event, maybe even saying “I can’t believe” it just happened? Do you find yourself thinking about these events days or even weeks after they happened, but telling yourself it “wasn’t that bad?” If so, you could be at risk of minimizing a little ‘t’ trauma, but there’s ample reasons not to do so.
Read moreWhat to do When Everything is Unprecedented
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Do you seem to keep hearing the word ‘unprecedented’ everywhere you go? Does it seem to give you the creeps when you hear it and make you wonder about present day circumstances? We may almost be through with 2020, but this word is a key indicator of the times we’re now living through. Read on about how to cope with it.
Read moreThe Insidious Connection Between Shame and Addiction
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Have you ever felt bad about yourself and wound up drinking too much or bingeing on something like food, porn, or something equally unhealthy? If that bad feeling is the often overlooked feeling of shame, then you’ve found something that lies at the heart of many people’s addictions.
7 Reasons Not to Minimize Pet Loss
If you have lost a pet in the near or recent past, you may have noticed how much it affected you. You may have also told yourself, he/she was just a pet. This can be a big mistake, especially if you get as attached to your pet as many pet owners do. Read on to find out why.
Read moreThe Layers of Trauma and How Image Transformation Therapy Gets Rid of Them
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If you have experienced a traumatic event and worry about how you will get over it, you are like millions of others in the same group. The tendency to relive horrific events and consequently avoid reminders of them is a hallmark of PTSD, but only an effective trauma therapy like Image Transformation Therapy (ImTT) can identify what makes them so complex and confounding.
Read moreTelltale Signs of PTSD
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Ever find yourself remembering troubling events so vividly, you feel like you’re reliving them? Do you tend to also work strenuously to avoid being reminded of certain things that have happened to you so as not to be triggered by them. Feel numb emotionally much of the time as well? If this sounds like you, then you have some telltale signs of PTSD.
Read more4 Things You Can Do to Treat High-Functioning Anxiety
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Do you find yourself constantly being on edge no matter how much you get done? Do you get keyed up for no apparent reason and have trouble relaxing? Do you tend to worry about the next shoe dropping and find yourself planning for the worst-case scenario? If this sounds like you, then you need to keep reading.
Read moreDuplicity and Sex Addiction
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Do you ever feel like you live a double-life? Do you often feel like you show one face to the world and another that you actually experience? Does this tend to happen in your romantic or sexual relationships, in particular? If this describes you, you probably suffer from duplicity as a symptom of addictive or compulsive sexual behavior.
Read more7 Steps to Overcome Passive Aggressive Behavior
Do you notice other people becoming frustrated at you often? Do you find yourself tending to drag your feet when it comes to doing what your spouse or other family members ask you to do? Do you tend to procrastinate as well, and sometimes feel like you’re being cheated or underappreciated? If so, you’re probably suffering from passive aggressive behavior.
Equality as a Way Out of Trauma
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If you have been paying attention to the protests about racial equality over the past few months, you probably know about the toll that racism has played in our national and world history. It has created with it a tremendous amount of trauma and the book How to be an Antiracist, by Ibram Kendi has helped identify a big chunk of the solution to this collective trauma. I review this book in the space that follows.
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