Bullying: A Viewpoint from Both Sides

on January 31, 2020 at 12:05 PM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. "I'm really worried about my son. Lately, it seems his personality and demeanor have changed, and I can’t figure out why. He's always been a happy kid, but now he just comes home from school and goes straight into his room, shuts the door, and doesn’t want to come out. I try to talk to him to see what the issue is, but he's just so closed off. At dinner, he hardly eats, and I can barely get two words out of him. I'm so worried and don’t know what...

How Good Eating Habits Can Benefit People of All Ages on a Mental Level

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on January 16, 2020 at 4:00 PM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. For the longest time, I tried to lose weight but kept falling back to my old habits. I’d lose a few pounds here and there, but it was never a noticeable change. It left my already negative perception of myself in shambles. A friend suggested that I make some small changes to my eating habits before getting into exercising so I didn’t bite off more than I could chew in the too-many-changes-at-once department. It was tough at first, but I began eating healthier and cutting out sugars and trans fats....

Tight-Lipped: Men and Their Unwillingness to Talk About Their Mental Illness

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on August 14, 2019 at 12:24 PM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. I grew up in an old-fashioned household where everyone had defined roles. The kids focused on school and chores, my mother cared for the house, and my father worked in construction. My father is the type to keep his emotions to himself and was rarely expressive. When I married, he was stoic. On the day my mother died, he was practically emotionless. He’s present physically, but mentally it’s almost as if he’s checked out. I feel that maybe he’s been dealing with a long-undiagnosed mental illness because he’s too embarrassed...

Helping Yourself: How Volunteering Can Make a Huge Difference for Your Mental Health

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on August 1, 2019 at 12:38 PM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. A couple of months ago, I began feeling stressed and anxious due to the pressures of work. My husband suggested we take a small trip to take my mind away from the office. My mother, however, said she had a better idea and invited me to join her in volunteering at the local food bank. After a couple of weekends doing so, I began to feel better. I felt a bit more optimistic about my performance at work and my coworkers noticed the change in me as well. I guess...

Making the Transition: A Closer Look at Transgender Teens, Their Parents, and the Challenges They Face

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 19, 2019 at 12:00 PM /

Over the past several years, we’ve seen an increasing number of children and teens who believe that the gender they were assigned at birth is not their correct one. As a result, many go on to transition from female to male or vice versa. Truth be told, this has been a learning process for our therapists, alongside the families we treat. To help us become more knowledgeable about LGBTQ issues, we’ve pursued additional training and consultation with other professionals to best support parents and kids through this process. We know that acceptance by parents can be challenging, but it’s an extremely critical and...

Loneliness, its Effects, and Why You’re Seeing it Everywhere

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on June 14, 2019 at 12:16 PM /

In college, I didn’t spend much time with my friends. It’s not that I didn’t have any, I just preferred being alone and didn’t feel the need to make much of an effort to get close to people. At least, that’s what I always told myself. The weird thing is, now I find myself alone a lot. It’s no longer because I prefer it but it’s just the way things have turned out for me. I moved away from my hometown and I work from home, so I don’t have daily interaction with colleagues. Also, social media just doesn’t do...

The Whine Crime: Chronic Complaining and How to Stay More Positive

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on May 15, 2019 at 9:59 AM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. My best friend Emily came over last night to hang out for a bit. We usually have so much fun together and often laugh until it hurts, but it hasn’t been that way in weeks. It seems like every time we see each other, all I do is listen to her complain about every little thing in her life. The complaints range from her date not going as expected, to her commute to work being too long, and now she’s even griping about the type of shampoo she uses! I’m...

Kids and Suicide: Having a Serious and Frank Conversation About the Topic

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on March 28, 2019 at 9:56 AM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. It just broke my heart to hear in the news that two students who survived the Parkland shooting in 2018 died by suicide related to PTSD. I can’t even imagine the psychological trauma they endured from such a horrible tragedy. I have a son and it worries me sick thinking of something like that happening at his school. I also can’t help but think that there might be other unimaginable things he and kids his age go through that might trigger feelings of suicide. It scares me to death, and...

Starting Over: Not Reaching Your Goals May Just Mean That You Haven’t Figured it Out “Yet”

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on February 22, 2019 at 11:35 AM /

The human condition is amazing for its ability to fail at something repeatedly and, when it is important, to keep on trying. This week’s vignette comes from a personal experience of mine. The struggle began in high school when my mother and I tried out the “Stewardess Diet”. All I remember was that it included beets, a new food for me at the time. I can’t recall if either of us lost any weight, but we definitely bonded over our efforts. I’m not even sure if I needed to lose weight! Now, after many years and at least as many diets, I...

The Power of Goal Setting: A Guide to Moving Forward

By Dr. Wendy Rice

on February 7, 2019 at 1:39 PM /

Consider the following story as it relates to this week’s topic. It’s been a little over a year since I graduated college and moved out-of-state for a job. It seems crazy, but I already feel stuck. I mentioned this to my parents and a few friends, and they all say the same thing: you’re too young to be stuck. They said that I’ll find a way out of my situation. I honestly don’t know what it is that’s causing me to feel this way. Back when I was in college, I felt driven! I was focused on my classes and always...