While difficult seasons in life are painful, the journey through them can teach us many important lessons. Navigating hard times can help us develop strength, courage, resilience, and empathy. In addition, we receive opportunities to look for hope. To learn about my personal experiences with hard times and what I learned from them, continue reading this post.

Seeking therapy for your mental health is a huge step in treatment. In order to reap the full benefits, you must trust your therapist and be honest. This might sound obvious, but it's worth emphasizing that trust and honesty won't always be easy. Here are five things to remember when you have a hard time trusting your therapist and being honest during your appointments.

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, many people are talking about things they are thankful for. While giving thanks might be easy for some people, others have a hard time with it. One thing that helps me is creating a gratitude list. To learn about how to create a gratitude list, read on.

Some patients who have just been diagnosed with a mood disorder prefer to see a therapist over a psychiatrist or vice versa. However, even though they have differences, both can be beneficial for effective treatment. This blog post will explore their differences and the benefits of seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist.

A little over a year ago, I started writing for HealthyPlace. During my time contributing to the website, I learned a lot about myself and how I can better manage my mental health. I also learned about others, how they cope, how they communicate about mental health, and how we can help each other strive for wellness. Writing for HealthyPlace has given more awareness of when depression starts to hit and when to seek help. Read on to learn more about my first year writing for HealthyPlace.

Facing the possible side effects of changing antidepressant medication can make trying a different one really scary. You read the list of the medication's side effects and hear all of the horror stories that other people have told. You try to remind yourself that these are their stories and not your own. So you gather up the courage to actually try it. I recently started a psychiatric medicine and have learned many things about how to cope with the side effects of changing antidepressant medication.

The mental health lessons I've learned while writing for HealthyPlace will serve me well as my life changes. I am not a stranger to major life changes. I've undergone quite a few in the last few years, and there are about to be a few more. For this reason, I have to say goodbye to HealthyPlace this week, but not before sharing my mental health lessons and asking you for yours.

One of the most important things I've learned is that depression gets better, but recovering from mental illness is also a work in progress. I'm constantly getting better and then moving backward. It may be a cliche, but there is truth to the idea that mental illness recovery is a journey rather than a race. But in that journey, depression can get better.

While for some, spring helps depression, sometimes there is a worsening of depression in spring. The snow melts, the flowers bloom, and the sun stays out longer. After spending several miserable months indoors, people are more willing (and even excited) to step outside, smell the roses, and enjoy the sunshine. Yet, for others, the warmer weather and longer days are not always enough to counteract depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder [SAD] Symptoms – Who’s at Risk). In this article, I talk about depression worsening in spring and ways that I have learned to cope.

Finding the right therapist in tough times can be challenging. Making the decision to go to therapy is often one of the first steps people take on the road to recovery from mental illness. Mental health therapy offers a wealth of helpful resources that can help you cope with depression, anxiety, or even situational issues like grief. Understanding what to look for in a therapist with these three tips will help you find the right therapist for you.