How much time do you waste criticizing yourself for the qualities you lack rather than concentrating on developing your strengths?
We often have a negative voice judging our every action.
Whether it is the critical voice of our peers or simply negative thinking patterns, this “inner critic” controls us and often stops us from living up to our full potential.
How can we conquer our inner critic and counter negative thinking? Dr. Lisa Firestone, with The Glendon Foundation, is providing a free webinar to help you surpass your limitations.
ACT for Mental Health welcomes the public as well as professionals interested in self esteem building workshops to attend this webinar. To register or learn more, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/525940169.
ACT for Mental Health has been awarded a grant of $15,000 on behalf of the Cisco Foundation and Cisco employees.
The funds will be used for ACT’s counseling program for low-income persons, with the intent of helping underserved populations in our community.
To make the most of this grant, ACT needs your feedback. If you are a part of this program, please let us know how satisfied you are with your therapy sessions by sending an email to actmentalhealth@gmail.com.
At a time of economic stress, when mental health services are often needed, the state of California faces drastic budget cuts.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is requesting $6.9 billion in federal funding for health care services. If the federal government does not provide funding, Schwarzeneggar plans to cut $847 million from the state’s mental health services and up to $4.6 billion in state programs.
The governor plans to substitute mental health services with Prop 63 funds. However, this will require voter approval.
The state is cutting programs to pay for its $19.9 billion budget deficit over the next 18 months. California will see an overall decrease in funds for mental health services, including programs that provide free screening.
ACT for Mental Health is looking for Board members with experience in Mental Health, marketing, fundraising and a strong commitment to our organization’s mission: to support, encourage and facilitate better mental health.
Qualified applicants should send a resume and cover letter to the Board Chair and CEO Wanda Alexander at actnow@actmentalhealth.org.
For qualifications, click here to read (more…)
The healthiest way to deal with anger is to express it in an assertive, but non-aggressive manner.
According to the American Psychological Association, “You have to learn how to make clear what your needs are, and how to get them met, without hurting others.”
While it is sometimes necessary to suppress your anger—such as not lashing out violently when you are upset—unexpressed anger is actually an unhealthy reaction. It can cause a person to have high blood pressure, depression or hypertension. Suppressed anger can also cause a person to be perpetually cynical or hostile.
Even if you express anger in a constructive way, sometimes the feelings are still there. Rather than fume for hours, try relaxation tips such as deep breathing and positive visualization. You can also repeat a phrase such as “I am at peace,” or “I am relaxed.
Antidepressants have substantial effects on patients with severe depression, but minimal or nonexistent effects on those with moderate symptoms of depression, a new study shows. Antidepressants are no stronger than placebos in some cases.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at 718 adult outpatients, with moderate depression, using common antidepressants such as Prozac. Each of the subjects took either the antidepressant or placebo for 6 weeks at a time. Those who used the placebo recovered with proper psychoanalysis and therapy. (more…)
Whether it’s compulsively checking your email or eating one more cookie than you should, we all have bad habits.
But even if you know it’s bad and you berate yourself for doing it, why is it so difficult to stop?
Dopamine. That wonderful chemical, affecting motivation and reward, can actually deter you from focusing on what is important.
Take for example when you have a piece of chocolate. The delicious experience releases a surge of dopamine and creates a memory in your brain. So the next time you see chocolate, your brain releases more dopamine, which drives you to want the chocolate and perpetuates the habitual cycle.
How can we break the cycle? How can we stop a bad habit we’ve continued for years? (more…)
With end-of-the-year work deadlines, holiday shopping, family get-togethers and other celebrations, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So here are some tips on how to handle holiday stress:
- Don’t expect too much. Treat this time of year, like you would any other time of year.
- Make time for family, friends, holiday shopping, running errands and parties, but don’t take on more than you can handle.
- Let others plan the festivities for a change, or at least let them help. (more…)
Some people may be skeptical of pure altruism, but many psychologists believe we were born with the urge to help.
Developmental psychologist and author of the book “Why We Cooperate,” Michael Tomasello said infants have an innate tendency to want to help other people and this helping behavior is not necessarily encouraged by rewards or positive conditioning from their parents.
At 18 months, infants will immediately help an adult who dropped something. Even as early as 12 months, infants will point to an object an adult pretended to lose and try to help them find it.
Around age 3 children become more selective in their helping behavior. They are more concerned about social norms and choose their actions with the purpose of wanting to fit in, Tomasello said. (more…)
During periods of hardship and uncertainty, ACT for Mental Health continues to provide low-cost therapy sessions to people in need. But in order to keep our fees low and provide effective therapy, we depend on the generosity of our supporters.
We understand times are tough, so we appreciate any donation, even just $5 or $10. By contributing to our campaign, you become part of the safety net that keeps people in our community from falling down.
Please go to our website at www.actmentalhealth.org and click on the “Donate” button, to make a secure donation using PayPal.