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Chris Thayer
Balancing College Life Successfully

College life is a pivotal time for academic exploration, personal growth, and making friends, and it can also be an exciting experience. However, many students find themselves overwhelmed as they try to balance academics and their social lives. In this blog post, we'll explore ways to help you maintain this balance, making your college years rewarding and enjoyable.

Balancing College Life Successfully

depression

Understanding Depression and How Counseling Can Help

Understanding Depression and How Counseling Can Help

Depression is more than feeling down for a few days. To be “depressed” one must have the majority of the following symptoms present for 2 or more consecutive weeks. (1) Difficulty performing normal tasks, or feeling numb when hearing good news. (2) The loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities. (3) Changes in appetite (increased or decreased) and weight changes are also common. (4) Change in sleeping habits. Either finding it difficult to sleep or sleeping longer than normal. (5) A change in energy, feelings of fatigue or moving slowly. (6) Trouble concentrating or thinking. (7) Feelings of being worthless, guilty about past failures, and at times thoughts of suicide. (8) Some people will also be more irritable, “on edge”, or seem distracted.

What really is depression?

What really is depression?

Thankfully mental health is becoming less taboo these days. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot of confusion about it. For this week’s blog I thought it might be helpful to provide basic information about depression. How is it defined and diagnosed and what are some healthy coping skills for managing it?

Wasteland

Wasteland

“Somedays, you feel so unloved by the people who are supposed to love you. And your heart hurts. And you feel empty. Like you’re in a wasteland with no life. Right now, it seems that this has been a very lifeless season. People who are supposed to bring joy to your life now bring thoughts of dread as you think of the life being sucked out of you. They never ask if you’re okay. And I’m not. I haven’t been for a long time.”

These are words I wrote down about a year ago. Words that I felt so deeply to my core.

My Story

My Story

I often get asked “what caused you to want to be a counselor?” or “why addictions?” Often in this field one has either “been through the ringer themselves” or has personally experienced seeing someone they love struggle.  This is my story:

The day I met Kyle (Dec 16,2007) forever changed my life. We met at a bar, shocker! His roommate was the first to approach me and his arrogance immediately turned me off. He must have noticed he was losing my attention because immediately he stated “did you meet my roommates?”. That was when I met Kyle.