The mental health benefits of Self-Reflection on the past 12 months

March marks the one year anniversary of the pandemic’s most significant initial impact on the United States. That’s just over 365 days since we have worked inside the walls of an office, hugged our friends, gone on vacation, or been to a concert. If the weight of this past year has taken a toll on you – you are not alone.

Psychologists specializing in trauma describe anniversaries of all types as significant. This is because our bodies and brains are believed to store memories that can be triggered by certain dates or seasons. The one year anniversary of the pandemic is no exception.

Reactions to grief and loss anniversaries is normal and acknowledging them is healthy.  One concrete way to do this is to practice self-reflection.

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Social-Emotional Games and other Fun Ways to Teach Coping Skills to Kids

Sometimes I am so busy being a parent, I forget I’m a child psychologist. This has been especially true lately in this current pandemic. Stress at home runs high and I routinely witness the impact of that stress unfold right before my eyes with my own two children.  Just this week, my 4-year-old was on his 5th consecutive day of throwing a tantrum for an unidentified reason. At night, I would review the day trying to understand the triggers so we could circumvent a repeated emotional explosion the next day. I asked him over and over to put into words what was bothering him and I was met with an escalation of emotion each time. I would “guess” his frustration, thinking it had something to do with the changes in our lives since CoVid-19, but each attempt was off the mark.

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