We are offering you a variety of helpful topics to help you navigate your way to healing. 

 When even your tired is tired, it could be depression fatigue!

What is depression fatigue?

Depression fatigue is not actual tiredness- meaning going to sleep won’t actually help, and might even make things worse. Depression is a vicious cycle often involving isolation, and withdrawal. When you experience depression, there is a alteration in the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. 

Serotonin -reduces anxiety and depression, helps with nausea, helps with sleep and libido

Norepinephrine -affects your attention, fight or flight, glucose release and anxiety, irritability and impulses.

Dopamine-helps with focus and attention, pain management, memory, sensations of pleasure, and nausea.

As you can see these are pretty important guys. When we experience depression, as the neurotransmitters (the hormone/chemicals that fill the receptors in our brain to have satisfaction, pleasure, and motivation) are decreased, it is like a plug that can’t reach the outlet. The connection just isn’t there and there is no power (in this case- motivation or energy for you).

Depression fatigue isn’t actually being tired. This type of fatigue actually worsens depression. Symptoms can vary from person to person from generally ill feeling, nausea, lack of motivation, brain fog, muscle aches to whole body exhaustion. BUT, when you stay in bed then sleep patterns are altered, isolation is increased, and symptoms of depression get worse. 

There are several ways to combat Depression Fatigue!

1. Get up and get dressed to shoes. Going through the process even though you don’t feel like it can help to create momentum to keep you going.

2. Keep a routine for wake and sleep. Our bodies are meant to be up when the sun is up and sleeping when it is down. Sticking as close to this schedule as possible is ideal for promoting improved mood.

3. Get moving. Exercise promotes dopamine release which will fill those outlets with happy brain chemicals. Take a walk, do yoga, go to the gym, or whatever you like, just move. 

4. Eat well. Choosing healthy sources of nourishment help to create a balance in the gut which affects the release of serotonin. Even if you aren’t hungry, eat some fruit, or a smaller portion. (People who suffer from depression have impaired appetite and “being full” hormone releases.) This will create a small burst of energy. If you are someone who overeats, try to be mindful of just enough to stimulate healthy hormone release not enough to cause increased depression symptoms such as negativity, self blame and shame. 

5. Drink water. Hydration is a natural source of energy and promotes balance in the body, normal elimination and removes toxins from the body while promoting the delivery of nutrients to the brain. 

6. Get some Vitamin D- aka the SUNSHINE! Sunshine is related to the release of serotonin, and Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption and adequate calcium is related to a more positive mood. 

7. Listen to music, meditate, draw, paint or release your creative juices. Creating art or music, listening to music or relaxation promotes the release of dopamine. 

8. Get out of the house.  A change in environment can help lighten your mood and provide a burst of energy to get you over the hump, but don’t overschedule or overdo. 

9. Reduce your stress (or don’t stress). Live in the moment (for right now). No need to try to solve all of the problems of tomorrow until you have a better grasp on today.

10. Journal. Free writing, releasing your thoughts, or whatever type of journaling works best for you can help to release the burden of some of the stressors that are weighing you down.

Call us today to schedule an appointment or email appointments@ourhealingjourneys.com

Mentoring isn't just for kids playing basketball and staying out of gangs.  Mentors are used in building businesses and advancing careers.  What we now know is that having a mentoring system in place is creating a supportive network of someone who is there to offer guidance or maybe just sit alongside as you deal with a challenging emotion.  Mentoring relationships can build into life changing opportunities for the mentor and the mentee by creating alliances and support systems without having to feel the weight of formal counseling.  In an age where we are constantly challenged to create new innovative ways to reach our clients and help them gain the strength and skills they need to successfully undertake any challenge, mentoring is one of the next steps even though it has been around forever.  Check out this article on How Mentoring supports Counseling. 

https://www.counseling.org/news/aca-blogs/aca-counseling-corner/aca-counseling-corner-blog/2022/01/13/how-mentoring-can-maximize-the-benefits-of-counseling

Mentoring isn't just for kids playing basketball and staying out of gangs.  Mentors are used in building businesses and advancing careers.  What we now know is that having a mentoring system in place is creating a supportive network of someone who is there to offer guidance or maybe just sit alongside as you deal with a challenging emotion.  Mentoring relationships can build into life changing opportunities for the mentor and the mentee by creating alliances and support systems without having to feel the weight of formal counseling.  In an age where we are constantly challenged to create new innovative ways to reach our clients and help them gain the strength and skills they need to successfully undertake any challenge, mentoring is one of the next steps even though it has been around forever.  Check out this article on How Mentoring supports Counseling. 

https://www.counseling.org/news/aca-blogs/aca-counseling-corner/aca-counseling-corner-blog/2022/01/13/how-mentoring-can-maximize-the-benefits-of-counseling

We choose therapeutic treatment options that work best for you and your care.  We offer talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialetical behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, play therapy, art and music therapy, peer support services, meditation and are always open to new modalities for your best care!

Call today to see how we can help you heal and care for yourself.   We offer existing clients the ability to book online through our Therapynotes site.  We would like to make the first appointment for you so you get all the time you need for us to plan your care. 

Click below to learn more.

https://www.vogue.in/wellness/content/is-online-therapy-effective-heres-what-medical-experts-say

In today's society, there are many reasons why we need to carefully manage our own information and healthcare choices.  From everything from security and information breaches to insurance denials for needed care, it is pertinent that our health not get lost in the bureaucracy.  Mental health and healthcare are the most private and needed cares that we can have. Having someone else dictate your right to privacy and provider is beyond expectation.  While we support your right to free choice at Healing Journeys, LLC, we encourage you to consider the Open Access Concierge method of using your insurance benefits.  You can choose your own provider.  You can authorize your own care.  We will assist you in personal billing options, but also offer discounted self-pay options which can be used toward your deductible when paid with an HSA or FSA account, yet without the scrutiny of managed care. 

We believe that your mental health and health options are best guided by you and not everyone fits the boxes insurances want to use to categorize them.  You are a beautiful individual with independent thoughts, feelings, and needs that are not appropriately appreciated in the classification of a billing code.  But, we are here with you every step of the way.  If you choose to use your insurance benefits,  we can help you without network billing and documentation for services.  

Call today to discuss the options to meet your needs. We offer flexible scheduling, flexible billing, and flexible services.  Our goal is to design your care with your preferences and choices.  You matter to us and we want you to lead the team of your healing and recovery.   You are more than a patient to us, you are a member of the team in the journey of your healing. 

Has COVID negatively affected your mental health?  Have you felt distressed and concerned?  Has your work life or your finances been affected?  Are you a front line provider who has been overwhelmed with the care of the sick?  Are you concerned about the future, feeling stressed or anxious?  Have you felt like your support system is strained or distant due to the waves of COVID changes we have experienced?

We understand.  COVID has affected the mental health of everyone during the outbreak and the subsequent variations.  Children, adolescents, and adults have all had changes in routine, structure, and function since the outset.  

In the midst of taking care of your physical health, we are also offering options to take care of your mental health as well. It is important when in times of high stress, we actively seek to maintain functional supports and advocates to maintain our health and sanity. Adverse stress events and lack of support can result in physical signs of illness, as well as increase depression, anxiety and fatigue.  Using telehealth services, or private in office services complete with cleaning between clients, and air filtration systems, masking, and hand sanitization procedures we are taking every precaution to share in the recovery from the pandemic in every way possible. All of our providers have chosen to be vaccinated to offer you higher levels of confidence for your protection.  

Let us help you cope and offer you support during this pandemic, call us today! 

Those on the front, in the line of duty, first responders, healthcare professionals, teachers, social workers, managers, students, moms, and dads all experience the busyness and chaos of life's demands plus a little more.  In an effort to keep things moving, we often neglect the signs of burnout before we reach critical lows.  We want to help you before you experience this.  Knowing is empowering.  Check out the article below and see if you may be nearing burnout fatigue.  

https://therapist.com/articles/stress/how-to-deal-with-burnout/