7 Signs Complex Trauma Is Impairing Your Relationship
Andrea Brandt2021-11-19T10:30:13-08:00Photo of man and woman sitting on bed with sad expression When a person is exposed to multiple traumatic events over a long period, they [...]
Why You Should Try Group Therapy
Andrea Brandt2021-11-15T13:56:48-08:00You’re probably already familiar with individual therapy. Whether you’ve done it weekly for years or you’ve never walked into a therapist’s office, you know how it works. [...]
7 Strategies for Finding Love Now That You’re Vaccinated
Andrea Brandt2021-11-15T13:50:37-08:00Lately, I’ve heard many people asking if the post-pandemic summer of 2021 and the coming decade will be like a repeat of the 1920s — The Roaring [...]
Losing a Parent During Childhood Can Create Lifelong Trauma
Andrea Brandt2021-11-12T14:13:34-08:00When children experience the death of a parent or caregiver, they tell themselves a story about it to make sense of it and cope. As Joan Didion [...]
Is the Transition to Post-Pandemic Life Making You Anxious?
Andrea Brandt2021-11-12T14:09:57-08:00In a study recently completed in France, 15 people spent 40 days together in a cave. They had no clocks, no daylight, and no contact with the [...]
How to Fight Without Breaking Up
Andrea Brandt2021-11-12T14:05:56-08:00Communicating what you want and resolving conflicts is the only way to have a happy, healthy relationship that can support and enrich your life. You probably already [...]
How to Live Your Joy
Andrea Brandt2021-06-11T14:04:45-08:00Joy is a level above happiness. It's fulfillment on top of happiness, triumph on top of happiness, elation on top of happiness. Happy is how you feel when you [...]
Finding Your Joy
Andrea Brandt2021-06-11T12:00:40-08:00Joy is a natural part of us, and we’re wired to feel it. If you’ve spent any time with a child, you’ve witnessed how much joy we’re [...]
The Silver Linings We Found in 2020
Andrea Brandt2021-06-11T11:55:23-08:00This past year has been hard. Really, really hard. Social distancing, everything canceled or closed, sickness, death, some over-worked and some out of work, and let’s not [...]
Change Is Hard, Here’s How to Make It Easier
Andrea Brandt2021-06-08T08:45:32-08:00A lot has changed in our lives over the past year. We’ve changed the way we dress (hello, face masks), the way we work, the way we [...]
4 Ways to Combat Election Day Anxiety
Andrea Brandt2020-11-24T12:54:37-08:00Even in a year of huge stressors, where almost every day there’s a breaking news story that can make us feel awful, the arrival of Election Day [...]
Quality Time and Communication at Home Is Essential
Andrea Brandt2020-11-24T12:55:19-08:00When it comes to communication, quality is always more important than quantity. The couple that bickers all day may be communicating a lot, but they're certainly not [...]
How to Manage Your Fear of COVID-19 with Realistic Positivity
Andrea Brandt2020-09-01T12:15:18-08:00Few things make us consider our own mortality more than a pandemic. The nightly news, newspaper front pages, and mournful posts on social media serve as constant [...]
Three Lessons on Loss and Grief
Andrea Brandt2020-08-03T13:25:56-08:00For days, weeks, or even months after losing someone, you may wake up in the morning with an overwhelming sadness. It can feel like a heaviness pushing [...]
Healing Shame: 5 Steps to Self-Forgiveness
Andrea Brandt2020-07-29T10:57:34-08:00We feel guilty when we believe we have done something wrong, but we feel shame when we believe that we are wrong. In other words, guilt is about a [...]
Healing Guilt: 7 Steps to Self-Forgiveness
Andrea Brandt2020-07-29T10:53:29-08:00Your ability to forgive yourself and practice self-compassion is a vital element of self-esteem. When you carry feelings of guilt and shame, it’s impossible to feel good [...]
4 Fun Ways to Combat Anxiety During a Pandemic
Andrea Brandt2020-05-19T11:03:58-08:00Much of the advice therapists usually offer to people suffering from anxiety doesn't work anymore. In normal times, I would tell you to go to the beach [...]
4 Fun Ways to Combat Anxiety During a Pandemic
Andrea Brandt2020-07-29T10:15:58-08:00Much of the advice therapists usually offer to people suffering from anxiety doesn't work anymore. In normal times, I would tell you to go to the beach [...]
The Healing Power of Gratitude
Andrea Brandt2020-05-19T10:52:55-08:00Asking “what are you thankful for?” during a global pandemic might seem absurd. Every day the news gets grimmer. We hear sirens outside our windows. We read [...]
The Secret to a Happy Relationship Is Empathy
Andrea Brandt2020-05-19T09:45:32-08:00Everyone has met a couple like this: She loves sushi; the smell of raw fish makes him nauseous. He loves horror films; she finds even mildly scary [...]
11 Signs You Use Passive-Aggressiveness in Your Relationships
Andrea Brandt2020-02-17T11:20:55-08:00How do you know if you use passive-aggressiveness in your relationship to express your hidden anger? When you’ve hidden your anger from everyone, including yourself, it can [...]
Childhood Emotional Neglect: What It Is and How to Heal
Andrea Brandt2020-01-24T14:51:45-08:00Physical abuse can leave physical scars, while emotional abuse leaves psychic ones, but what about emotional neglect? The absence of emotional support in childhood can be as [...]
How to Set Boundaries in the Age of Oversharing
Andrea Brandt2019-12-04T13:51:33-08:00Scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed and you’ll see photos of friends’ children, weddings, and perfectly lit meals. You’ll see updates about careers and relationships. Something [...]
Unexpected Sources That Could Be Triggering Your Anxiety
Andrea Brandt2019-10-07T10:47:24-08:00According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are most common among Americans with mental illness. Anxiety affects just over 18% of the population [...]
To Heal from Trauma, You Have to Feel Your Feelings
Andrea Brandt2019-10-24T10:52:18-08:00At any age, in any life stage, you can change. Whether you’re 77 years old or 17, you can learn, grow, adopt new habits, and make new [...]
When the first grandchild arrives, a happy family needs healthy boundaries
Andrea Brandt2019-09-06T09:46:10-08:00Who knew you would ever be as old as your grandparents seemed to you! But now it’s happened. You’re going to be a grandma or grandpa. Amid [...]
Why You Should Consider Yoga and Meditation
Andrea Brandt2020-08-28T07:59:15-08:00Yoga and meditation are more than just a way to calm down and stay flexible. Both practices have powerful and long-term benefits for both the body and [...]
Improve Your Mood Now
Andrea Brandt2019-09-06T09:42:12-08:00Some things you do to improve your mental health take time, planning, and often money. There are 12-step plans and 3-month goals, therapy bills, and emotionally-exhausting hours [...]
4 Secrets to Finding Purpose and Community After Retirement
Andrea Brandt2019-09-06T09:39:13-08:00No matter how much you look forward to retirement, you may wake up the morning after your last day at work and feel sadness or anxiety. For [...]
3 Steps to Treat Your Anxiety Using CBT
Andrea Brandt2019-09-06T09:34:08-08:00If you’re someone who struggles with anxiety, the process of finding a therapist can feel overwhelming. Since therapists often specialize in treatment methods, finding the right type of [...]