Author: Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh

The New Year is here! While we have all been on a whirlwind trip these past 2 years with a global pandemic, it is time to focus on the new normal, including setting sustainable New Year Goals. In doing so, we need to make sure the goals we set for ourselves in this new year can be sustainable for years to come. Here are some resolutions to help you not only improve your health, but ones that you can actually keep.

1. Eat more whole foods. Adding more whole foods to your diet is an easy and sustainable way to improve your overall health. Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins such as chicken and fish are packed with beneficial nutrients that can help you reach your goals. Whether your goal is to lose weight, or decrease the amount of processed foods you consume, this is a great way to start. They are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals to keep you full and satisfied.
2. Ditch the diet mentality. Make a plan that works for you. Instead of jumping on the next fad diet this New Year, make a resolution to create a sustainable, nourishing eating pattern that works for you. Most individuals who aspire to lose weight, and choose a restrictive diet, regain up to two-thirds of weight lost within 1 year. Prioritize long-term health benefits over short-term satisfaction. This can include a healthy diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods that is adaptable to your life, and one you can follow no matter the circumstance.
3. Sit less and move more. It is not only important to consider adapting a more personalized diet that is fit to your lifestyle, but also an exercise or activity that you enjoy doing. Activity can look different for everyone. Whether you enjoy walking or running, swimming or bike riding, small amounts of activity can greatly improve your overall health, and you’re more likely to stick with it. Once you choose an activity, set an attainable goal, such as planning to take your dog for a 30-minute walk everyday.
4. Practice self-care. These past 2 years have been very stressful and likely inconsistent for most people with the ever-changing external environment. It is important now more than ever to take time for yourself. It does not have to be time-consuming or elaborate. It can be something as simple as taking a bath once a week, journaling, reading a book, taking on a new hobby, or preparing a healthy meal for yourself. Consider picking a day that suits you best, one that can help you reset, and get ready for the week ahead.
5. Limit screen time. Over the past 2 years, we have relied on technology as our main way to communicate and work. The increase in social media usage has been linked to depression, anxiety, and loneliness in many people so consider reducing the amount of time you spend on your phone, particularly social media. Setting a goal to cut back on your usage can benefit your overall health, may boost your mood, and enhance productivity.

During these past 2 years a lot has happened, especially regarding the way we look at our health. It is important now more than ever before to ensure we are living our healthiest life.

Written by: Registered Dietitian Kali Alrutz 

Kali provides in-person therapy in our South Hills location. If you’re interested in working with Kali, you can reach us at 412-322-2129 or email us at info@counselingwellnesspgh.com to get started. Or contact us here.

New year, new you? Well, maybe—whether you will be a wistful dreamer or a winning achiever of your New Year’s resolution really dwindles down to this; ‘How do you mentally prepare yourself for the process of change?’ We all look forward to the prospect of a new year—we start off with a fantastically shiny hope that we can do anything with these next 365 days of our life. Yet, for all of this hope and enthusiasm, why do the majority of New Year’s resolutions fail in the first month?

We can explain some of these failed resolutions by applying the theory of behavioral psychology. We wellness warriors, trudging onward to 2022, sails full with the winds of enthusiasm, need to be sure we are beginning our voyage with the right motivations, or we just might end up deflated and completely off course. If we have an internally damaging way of nurturing our New Year’s whispers of inspiration, we can rest assured our achievements will fall as flat as the last sip of black cherry seltzer in our almost empty can. Our counselors have worked together to create a sequence of effective pieces of psychological advice which will kick-start any of your New Year’s wellness goals.

1. Get real with yourself, meaning where are you right now and where do you want to be? This is about stepping away from the potential delusions of your thinking and recognizing where you are, honestly. If you are an echoing scream away from your goal, it is going to take some time to get there. Using weight as one example, if you are currently 300 lbs, and you aspire to weigh in at 150 lbs, it will take many years and much effort for you to arrive at that destination. Maybe you want to start with making an appointment with a personal trainer and a nutritionist or a dietitian. Another example might be that you want to have better boundaries with other people in your life. Be ‘real’ about while jotting down your list. It takes gusto and strength to record your truth about areas for growth such as your inability to say ‘no’ to others and the amount of inexplicable guilt that you feel when you attempt to draw boundaries.  Yet it is by insight that we can make great progress toward our goals.
2. Start small! The second part of this sequence is that after you examine where you are and where you would like to be, your goals must be broken down into achievable units. We humans don’t do well with goals that are too large. If for instance you want to write a book this year, instead of focusing on the larger goal of completing the whole text you will do best by focusing on small goals daily. Writing 500 words a day is a well achievable micro goal that will inch you toward the end result. Why does this work? According to Psyche Study, ‘Behavioral psychology defines the mechanism of ‘shaping’ to describe the slow process of behavioral change where we are rewarded for each step toward reaching the final goal.’ We nudge ourselves toward the finish line. In the process of shaping these small changes, we feel empowered by the daily act of achieving our successes instead of potentially losing focus if our overarching goal is so big that the reward for making it there is too far off.
3. Give yourself rewards There is a long standing debate and research query which examines whether punishment or reward is better to help us change our behavior. According to recent research from Harvard Business Review, if you are going to maintain the enthusiasm and hope that is driving your desired progress towards change, you must create rewards for yourself. In this particular study, it was noted that punishment, and the fear that it evokes, can cause people to ‘freeze’ instead of act. Think about the proverbial deer in the headlights. Again, with reference to behavioral psychology and the field of human learning and behavior, humans and animals are more inspired by positive reinforcement than punishment. We move toward what is pleasurable, especially if the reward is well timed to be given right after reaching each small segment of our goal. That means that when we have that internal voice which tells us we are slugs because we didn’t reach our goal, we are not helping our situation. It is the promise of something that is rewarding which really propels us to go harder and longer in the journey to ‘live our best life.’

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your New Year’s Resolution

What is it that you are planning to work on for your New Year goal? Always first ask yourself this, we all want to achieve things but are you ready to put in the work to achieve your goal? If the answer is yes, move onward and use this as a template to assess your goals and move yourself one step closer to where you want to be!

1. In relation to your goal, where are you now?
2. What do you hope to achieve, what is your long term goal? Break it down into daily, weekly, and monthly goals.
3. How can you reward yourself on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy year of wellness!

References

Harvard Business Review, What Motivates Employees More, Rewards or Punishments? https://hbr.org/2017/09/what-motivates-employees-more-rewards-or-punishments

Psychestudy, Online Journal on human behavior and psychology. What is shaping behavior? https://www.psychestudy.com/behavioral/learning-memory/operant-conditioning/what-is-shaping-behavior

When most people celebrate the holidays, they are surrounded by loved ones telling stories and laughing over mugs of hot cocoa as they exchange gifts. During this time of holiday cheer, many children who were adopted are faced with the realization that they will not see any of their biological family during the holidays. It is a stark reminder of the grief and loss they have experienced up to and including being removed from their biological family’s home. It is important for adoptive parents to prepare for and remain aware of what they can do to help their newly adopted children during the holidays. Here are some therapist recommendations to follow:

1. Talk about the holiday. Help your child understand what holiday traditions and festivities your family participates in and allow them to ask questions. Do you celebrate over many days or just one day? Are there religious customs? Who will they meet and will there be gift exchanges? Avoiding surprises will help decrease anxiety.
2. Incorporate traditions that the child celebrates into your holiday. Whether it is an annual watching of Frosty the Snowman or a snowball fight on Christmas Eve, bringing a cheerful memory to life may make a child feel more comfortable. You may even get a smile. Through conversation, you may discover that your child doesn’t celebrate the same holiday you do. Make it a point to learn about their customs and show interest in celebrating them.
3. Allow them to grieve. Despite your best efforts, your child may still pull away. This is not intended to be a reflection of their feelings toward you or their new family, but instead a way of coping through this difficult time. Make one-on-one time with your child to talk through what they may be feeling. Be prepared if they shut down the conversation or not know exactly what they need. Give enough space for “downtime” and do not force them to participate in any activities.
4. Don’t chase the “perfect” holiday. This not only creates unnecessary stress for you, but also for your child. Be flexible, be realistic, and have a sense of humor when things don’t go as planned! This can also include unexpected responses from extended family who do not understand the child’s behavior.
5. Stay Trauma-Informed. Educate yourself on trauma and the impact it has on the dynamics of a family. Trauma can often look like anger, hyperactivity, and defiance. Without an understanding of the effects of trauma, it is likely you will misinterpret your child’s behavior resulting in feelings of anger and resentment. There are many resources online to assist in Trauma-Informed Care such as attachmenttraumanetwork.org or childwelfare.gov.

In summary, there isn’t one right way to raise a child. Remember to give yourself grace and practice self-care! Your child will teach you more about yourself than you may have ever realized previously. With patience, knowledge, and empathy, you can create an open environment that allows an adoptive child to feel comfortable expressing their fears, triggers, and even their feelings about their biological family.  

Written by: Teresa Gouch, a licensed professional counselor at the Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh. Teresa specializes in trauma counseling and foster care/adoption counseling.

Holidays are steeped in traditions that are centered around the family and there is a hallmark sentiment that everyone is rejoicing in love with their near and dear during this most festive time of the year. The truth looks a bit different though. Family conflict, tension and even estrangement are more common than you may think. One study found more than 40% of participants had experienced family estrangement at some point.

But knowing you are not alone doesn’t make things happier or easier. The holidays are still hard and may bring up feelings of sadness, loneliness, jealousy, anger, shame or worthlessness. 

To help combat these feelings, here are therapist-verified tips to help beat the holiday blues:

1. Validate Your Feelings. If you fight the thoughts and feelings or judge yourself for having them, then you increase your emotional upset. Acknowledge that you feel sad and allow yourself to feel that sadness. This builds resiliency that you can be present with the uncomfortable feeling of sadness. It also increases self-trust that you can name and acknowledge the feelings you are having—this is especially helpful if your feelings were dismissed or not seen as a child. For example, “I’m feeling really sad and lonely that I am not on good terms with my family. This feeling is valid. I don’t have to pretend it’s not there. I can feel this sadness and use my coping skills to get through it.”
2. Pick a Coping Skill or Self Care Tool That is Most Useful for You. There are myriad coping strategies to deal with feelings of sadness, disappointment and loneliness. Pick a tool that best supports you and be sure to practice it throughout the holidays. Tools include journaling, focusing on what is right in your life and practicing gratitude for that, meditation, yoga, running, watching a funny show or movie, noticing your negative thoughts and reframing them. There is no one right tool so just pick one and try it out.
3. Set Boundaries for Topics of Conversation. To maintain your peace of mind during the holidays, set boundaries with your family on what you are and are not comfortable discussing. If your older brother always comments on your weight, simply tell him, “I am not interested in discussing my weight. I’d rather hear about my nephew’s soccer game.” If your grandmother always nags you about being single and childless, share that this isn’t something that you are open to discussing with her but you’d love to share about your lovely foster cat. Setting and keeping your boundaries will help you to feel empowered over your situation instead of feeling like you have no say in the conversations happening around the dinner table.
4. Temporarily Delete Social Media from Your Phone. For many people social media can be triggering. This is especially true during the holidays when your feed is filled with photos of other people connecting with their family around the dinner table or unwrapping presents in matching pajamas. This may make a person who is excluded from such family gatherings melancholy or jealous they aren’t having the same experience. Allow yourself to take a break from this type of content so you’re not adding on to your emotional burden. It can be as easy as deleting the app from your phone and reinstalling after the New Year.
5. Make a Plan for How You’ll Tackle the Day. Schedule a FaceTime check in with a friend. Enjoy a free yoga session on YouTube. Whatever you decide, make a plan ahead of time and stick with it. Literally put each activity in your calendar. This will keep you accountable and prevent you from having nothing to do and slipping into worsening feelings of loneliness or engaging in poor habits.
   
6. Schedule a Therapy Appointment. If you’re currently working with a therapist, be sure to schedule a session during this time. If you’re not in therapy yet, consider reaching out and getting additional professional support during the holidays.
7. Be of Service to Others. You can always be a support to others who are less fortunate than you by reaching out and volunteering. Clean out your coat closet and take your old coats to a local shelter, choose a child’s name off of a local Giving Tree program and go shopping for the gift, foster a homeless cat or dog through a local rescue group. You could even host a holiday dinner for others who are also alone. Be of service to others while being in service to yourself.
   

Only you can decide what is the best direction for you to maintain peace, mental wellness, and happiness during the holidays and the rest of the year and it is your sole job to protect your peace and wellbeing.

http://jpbsnet.com/journals/jpbs/Vol_3_No_2_December_2015/4.pdf

The holidays have arrived— the time of year when we get together with family and friends to celebrate! Since many holiday festivities center around food, this time of year can be challenging for those attempting to eat healthy. However, going into the holidays with a plan and knowing what choices to make will help alleviate this added stress. Read on for a registered dietitian’s healthy eating holiday tips to navigate the holidays this year. 

1. Start your day with a healthy breakfast. Many people want to “save room” for the big holiday meals they are about to enjoy— sacrificing nutrition throughout the day. It is important to remember to maintain adequate nutrition and hydration during the day to maintain blood sugar levels, and prevent overeating later in the day.
2. Loop the buffet. If you are at a gathering with a self-serve option, scope out your options. If there are foods that you know you look forward to having during the holidays, make sure to go for those options first. You can construct your meal with the foods you absolutely want and not end up with extras you may feel obligated to pick. If there are many options that you look to enjoy, start with a small portion of each. Wait a few minutes after you are finished eating, and if there is something you want more of, honor that choice. After all, the holidays only come around once a year! Having smaller portions of multiple items can ensure that you are satisfied and not craving more, which can lead to overeating, feeling bloated, and sluggish.
3. Bring a healthy dish. When attending a party or gathering at a friend or family member’s home, volunteer to bring a dish. This way you can prepare something you know is a healthy option. So if you get to the party and realize there are no healthy options to choose from, you know you have your accompaniment to enjoy. You can also pair it with the other foods you like to eat this time of year.
4. Provide healthy options. If you are hosting this year, be sure to provide healthy options for you and your guests to enjoy. Adding fruits or vegetables to your appetizer menu with a dip or spread can encourage everyone to make a healthy choice. Also be sure to include water, in addition to other non-alcoholic options, to ensure you are staying hydrated. This can also help control hunger and prevent overeating.
5. Incorporate activity. To help promote digestion, incorporate movement after you eat. This can look different for everyone. Maybe step outside for some fresh air with a friend and walk and talk for a few minutes. Consider walking the family dog. Or volunteer to help wash dishes. This way you are including some type of movement to promote digestion of the big meal you ate!
6. Remember why you are there: to spend quality time with those you love. Try to make a point of focusing on the experience and enjoying the time you are spending with the people you care about most. When you make it less about food, you may be less likely to overindulge.

Healthy eating can be difficult over the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Written by: Registered Dietitian Kali Alrutz 

Kali provides in-person therapy in our South Hills location. If you’re interested in working with Kali, you can reach us at 412-322-2129 or email us at info@counselingwellnesspgh.com to get started. Or contact us here.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, can be defined as a reduction in brain chemicals that help regulate mood, potentially resulting in periods of depression during certain times of year. Research shows that people with seasonal depression may have reduced serotonin, which helps regulate mood, and possibly too much melatonin, which helps maintain the normal sleep-wake cycle. The irregular brain chemicals can result in increased sleepiness, decreased activity, decreased vitamin D levels, which also play a part in managing serotonin levels, and other behavior changes.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, treatment for SAD can involve light therapy, psychotherapy, antidepressant medication, and vitamin D supplementation. However, food can also help improve our mood during the winter months and promote production of serotonin and dopamine, which improves concentration and alertness. These are called neurotransmitters. They are made from the foods we eat, with high production seen after meals. 

Serotonin is released after consuming carbohydrate foods, including fruits, dairy and starches. Made from the amino acid tryptophan, serotonin enhances calmness, improves mood, and lessens depression. 

Dopamine and norepinephrine, which are released after consuming protein foods, such as meat, poultry, dairy, legumes, enhance mental concentration and alertness. Tyrosine is the amino acid that produces dopamine and norepinephrine. 

Good foods for winter health can help improve mood and lessen the effects of SAD. Focus on choosing foods high in fiber, and low in saturated fats. Pairing carbohydrates and protein sources with meals and snacks will help you feel full and satisfied for longer. Foods that support a healthy immune system include:

1. Low-Fat or Non-Fat Yogurt: Containing live bacteria cultures, yogurt can help support a healthy gut throughout the winter months. Yogurt is also high in protein, vitamin D and calcium. When choosing yogurt, look for little or no added sugars. Yogurts with added fruit tend to have higher amounts of sugar. By choosing plain yogurt, and adding your own fresh fruit or spice such as cinnamon, you can add flavor without adding a ton of sugar. This also adds antioxidants, which may also help improve mood.
2. Dark Green Leafy Vegetables: Packed full of B vitamins, dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, bok choy, mustard greens, and collards, are crucial for brain function and may boost energy levels. These vegetables can be eaten raw, such as in a salad, or cooked in soups or as side dishes.
3. Omega-3s: Omega-3 fatty acids also support brain health. Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods containing fatty acids can help reduce inflammation, and support healthy digestion. This can help you feel less bloated and sluggish.
4. Nuts and Seeds: Nuts and seeds are full of protein and heart-healthy fats. They are quick and easy to consume, with little to no preparation. You can sprinkle nuts and seeds on cereal and a salad, or use nut butter on whole grain bread. When choosing nut butters, look for nuts as the only ingredient, no added sugars or salt. You can even make your own by blending your favorite nut in a blender. Almonds, walnuts, and peanuts are all great examples of sources of omega-3. Flaxseed and chia seeds are great examples of seeds high in omega-3. These can be added to yogurt with fruit and cinnamon, a smoothie, or sprinkled on salads.
5. Antioxidant Foods: Most foods contain antioxidants. However, foods such as broccoli, potatoes, peppers, citrus fruits and berries contain a host of beneficial antioxidants that can help improve mood and may reduce symptoms of seasonal depression. Food sources of antioxidants pack the most value to your health versus supplements. Frozen alternatives to these foods are also a great choice, since many fruits and vegetables taste best when they are in season. Be sure to include a variety of color every day when choosing fruits and vegetables.

While combining these foods may lead to reduced symptoms of seasonal depression, activity and movement are also beneficial to boosting serotonin levels during the winter months. Whether that is going to the gym, or doing an at-home workout, movement is known to produce beneficial levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine that can enhance mood and help with digestion. 

Written by: Registered Dietitian Kali Alrutz 

Kali provides in-person therapy in our South Hills location. If you’re interested in working with Kali, you can reach us at 412-322-2129 or email us at info@counselingwellnesspgh.com to get started. Or contact us here.