Welcome to the Chicago Counseling Center Blog

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC Many people struggle with what they perceive as “low self-confidence”. However, this term is often used interchangeably with low self-esteem. Since both are important, let’s look at how the two differ.   What is self-esteem? Self-esteem relates to how one feels about themselves; it is measure of self-regard that cannot be seen by others. People with ... Read More ...

In our previous post, we gave a brief outline on the concept of negative thinking traps and how they have a nasty habit of taking us away from the present moment, exacerbating our negative emotions and distorting reality. These thoughts tend to just pop into our heads but are prone to stay within our thinking process if we buy into ... Read More ...

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC Seasonal Affective Disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is characterized by feelings of depression that start and end at the same time every year, in accordance with a change in seasons. SAD is generally used to refer to depression that occurs during the cold, dark winter months. This is because the reduced exposure to sunlight and warmth ... Read More ...

Written by Megan Pajak, LPC   I remember being in High School, 10th grade, math remediation class and my teacher was discussing an upcoming test. Visibly, most of us students were stressed about our performance. “All you can be is wrong”, said my teacher who was trying to reassure us. That statement only increased stress about our ability. Fast forward ... Read More ...

…and how they distort our reality An Overview Whether or not we want to, we are always thinking. Always, isolated within our own minds where thought after thought endlessly stream to the point where research has suggested a range of daily thoughts from 6,000 to upwards of 70,000! That is a lot of time spent with ourselves. It makes sense ... Read More ...