For the majority of my life, I’ve been a heavy self-criticizer. I’m sure many people out there are the same way. When I would feel negative emotions, I would direct them toward myself and berate myself endlessly. It never made sense to me – why would I ever be worthy enough to feel any of…
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Challenging cognitive distortions – a guide for students
Two weeks ago, we explored 11 cognitive distortions that are commonly seen in students. The aim there was to learn to recognize and identify them when they arise in our everyday lives. Today, I’d like to help you to redirect these cognitively distorted thoughts toward healthier alternative thoughts. I want to reiterate that everything here…
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11 Cognitive Distortions for Students
I’m a university student in a program that has an admission requirement of a 90% average from grade 12 in high school. I absolutely love my program, but I have heard oh so often from my mental health professionals that it is a breeding ground for mental health issues. I attribute it to the fact…
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Creating a Crisis Plan
When do you use a crisis plan? First, let’s define for ourselves what a ‘crisis’ means. I think the definition differs per individual, and each individual must find out what they consider to be a crisis. But for myself, a crisis begins after attempting my coping strategies on my own. It occurs when I find…
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7 Steps to Change Unhealthy Thoughts
Nico, you’ve been sitting here watching Netflix for the last 2 hours. What are you doing? You think this is accomplishing anything? You’re wasting time. You’re not gonna get this time back. How are you ever going to be successful when you’re this lazy? When our thoughts become this muddled by our core beliefs, it…
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5 Intervention Points for Mental Health
In my previous post regarding why people go “over the edge” and act impulsively/internalize suicidal tendencies, I explained a theoretical model that my psychiatrist presented to me while I was an inpatient at a local hospital. To summarize: Everyone has a different ‘baseline’ level of distress. There are generally two ways in which someone can…