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Written by Francine Baffa, LICSW, BCBA-D Edited by Joe DeNoon   “Melancholy is the happiness of being sad.”  ― Victor Hugo   We have all heard the expressions: “Good Vibes Only”, “Think Positive”, and “Be Happy”. It was refreshing to read the recent blog posted by S. Wall that brought to our attention the toxicity of always … Continue reading “The Upside to Feeling Down”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon   Ups and downs, peaks and valleys, highs and lows, ebbs and flows, each of these idioms bring the same message; that there will be good and bad experiences throughout our lives. In life, we are constantly going through experiences. sometimes those experiences are easy for … Continue reading “Coping with Ups and Downs: Addressing Toxic Positivity”

Written by Francine Baffa, LICSW, BCBA-D Edited by Joe DeNoon   “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” -Socrates The process of changing one’s behaviors is complex; it is not one and done—behavioral change is an iterative process. It is a dynamic … Continue reading “The Process of Change”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon   “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free Growth and change are something so easy to talk … Continue reading “5 Stages of Change”

Written by Francine Baffa, LICSW, BCBA-D Edited by Joe DeNoon   Refueling our mental capacity is what allows us to be buoyant and cycle through life with more resilience. When we neglect to register what our internal meter is reading, we can enter a stage of burnout… and burnout has its own cycle. When in burnout, … Continue reading “Completing the Stress Cycle”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon   What is capacity? Capacity is defined as “the amount that something can produce”. Emotionally, we have ups and downs each day, and the amount we can produce emotionally or physically can shift based on our external and internal environment. Our mental capacity can change based … Continue reading “How to Increase our Mental Capacity”

Written by Francine Baffa, LICSW, BCBA-D Edited by Joe DeNoon   “Enlightenment, joy, and peace can never be given to you by another. The well is inside you.” Thich Nhat Hanh Anxiety and all its symptoms are friendly alarms letting us know when we’re innocently misusing the beautiful gift of peace. When we see that … Continue reading “To be Fully Alive: Helping Ourselves Live in the Moment”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon You have seen this title before, but we will talk about it again because of the sheer importance of this topic. Mental health check-ins are essential when working in a stressful job. They can help us from going over the edge where we will need a … Continue reading “Mental Health Check-Ins Pt. 2”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon In the last blog, I discussed what OCD is and how it relates to nursing. As a reminder, the cycle of OCD starts with a trigger, which turns to the obsession, leads to an increase in anxiety, and then the compulsions/strategies used to cope with the … Continue reading “OCD Tendencies Part 2: How to Address and Combat the Cycle”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Edited by Joe DeNoon Most people experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts, images, or urges from time to time. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder related to anxiety where these unwanted, intrusive thoughts, as well as images and urges, occur so frequently that they are categorized as an obsession that … Continue reading “OCD Tendencies Part 1: What is OCD and How Does It Relate to Nursing?”