What is Exposure Response Prevention?

      – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   Think back to the first time you ever got behind the wheel of a car. If you’re like most people, it was far from a “stress free” experience. There was probably a lot of adrenaline coursing through your veins and your mind was automatically thinking of all the possible worst-case scenarios that could … Read More

Are You Ruminating or Emotionally Processing?

    – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   Brian often finds himself thinking about a time when he was fired from his job as a manager at a reputable software company. He was a good manager and put in a lot of work in order to help the business succeed. However, Brian often butted heads with the other managers and would disregard … Read More

Navigating the Storms of Life

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   The one thing in life we can count on to remain constant is fact that things are always changing. Change is like the undercurrent of an ocean. It’s always there, surrounding us. It affects us whether we like it or not. One minute, the waves of change are imperceptible and we float along feeling peaceful … Read More

Take a Stupid Walk for Your Stupid Mental Health

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   The title of this blog will not make sense to everyone, so let me explain. The phrase “going on a stupid walk for my stupid mental health” went viral a few years ago thanks to this TikTok video made by creator @ninalaevski. The video in question shows a girl bundling up, charging out the door … Read More

How to Get Unstuck in Life

– Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   Have you ever felt that you are “stuck” or falling behind in life? This feeling might convince you that maybe if you just tried harder, you could propel yourself into a life experience that will bring success and happiness. This feeling might prompt you to search Pinterest for motivation quotes, purchase self-help books and bullet journals, … Read More

The Holiday Season: Expectation vs. Reality

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   The holiday season is filled with expectations. Fueled by idyllic scenes depicted in movies and social media postings, our imaginations can run wild with ideas of how things should be.  Annoyingly, how things should be is rarely how things actually are. Don’t stress if you feel that things aren’t going right for you this season. … Read More

The Link Between Body Dysmorphic Disorder & OCD

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is an anxiety disorder that causes a person to experience excessive worries and anxiety about one or several aspects of their physical appearance. BDD affects approximately one in every 50 people. While a person of any age or gender can have BDD, it is most common in teenage and young adult women. … Read More

How to Let Go

by Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC Regret is an inescapable part of life. We are human. We make mistakes. Yet the feeling of regret seems almost intolerable at times. We may find ourselves hanging on to past actions or inactions, believing that whatever personal losses they resulted in could have been avoided. Rumination over these losses can feel like it is serving … Read More

Coping with Change

Preparing and Managing Transitions Have you noticed the shift? A subtle change that marks the departure of summer? Is it the breeze being slightly cooler or is the absence of children playing outside as they resumed their scholastic obligations? For better or worse, school is back in session. For students, this can be a big change compared to laxer curfews … Read More

Eating Disorders, Exercise Addiction, & a Pandemic.

  Commonly Known Types of ED & Their (Brief) Diagnostic Criteria: Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), and Binge-Eating Disorder (BED).  Anorexia Nervosa (AN): is characterized by an individual’s refusal to maintain healthy body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and significantly distorted perception of one’s body image. There are 2 types: 1 is the restricting type- meaning there is … Read More