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Five Signs You May Have ADHD

Five Signs You May Have ADHD

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-06-19T10:55:31+00:00June 19th, 2024|ADHD/ADD, Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

ADHD is a mental health disorder. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. If left undiagnosed it can wreak havoc on a person’s job, education, and relationships. Much like autism or other disorders, symptoms can vary from person to person and so can the level to which it affects their lives. Five Signs You Have Have ADHD Listed below are some of the signs of ADHD. Although this is not conclusive, there are some signs to look for in a child, spouse, or even yourself. Additionally, ADHD can be genetic and be passed down from generation to generation. Here are five signs you may have ADHD: Impulsive behavior The “H” in ADHD stands for “hyperactivity.” However, hyperactivity may not necessarily be someone who fidgets or cannot sit still. Although this may be one of the manifestations of this symptom, hyperactivity may manifest as impulsive behavior. This may be evident in a person’s inability to listen to someone while they are speaking, a tendency to interrupt, blurt out, or overshare. He or she may also have difficulty with curbing their appetites when it comes to eating, drinking, drug use, promiscuity, or workaholism. A person with ADHD often acts or speaks before they think through the results of their actions. Forgetfulness Although forgetfulness may be most common in a person who is aging, forgetfulness is a sign of ADHD in people whose memories function properly. Such people cannot remember what someone said to them earlier in the week, or even earlier in the day. This can cause frustration for significant others who need them to act on what they’ve heard. For example, a person with ADHD may come straight home after being asked to go to the store to pick up a few groceries. This is not an occasional forgetfulness but [...]

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How to Recognize Night Terrors in Kids and What to Do

How to Recognize Night Terrors in Kids and What to Do

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-05-21T18:47:54+00:00May 21st, 2024|Anxiety, Christian Counseling for Children, Family Counseling, Featured|

Night terrors in kids (also known as sleep terrors) are a parasomnia sleep disorder characterized by episodes of screaming and panic while the child is still asleep. (“Parasomnia” is a catchall term used to describe unusual behaviors people experience before falling asleep, while asleep, or during the period when the brain transitions in and out of sleep, such as sleepwalking, sleep talking, or night terrors, according to the Sleep Foundation). Typically, it happens two to three hours after the child first falls asleep, during the deep sleep, NREM (non-rapid eye movement) stage of the sleep cycle, and can last up to thirty minutes or more. The child’s eyes may be wide open, and he or she may look awake, but his or her brain is not. Night terrors in kids are most common between the ages of three and six, although they have been known to occur in children as young as eighteen months and as old as twelve years of age. Episodes can be dramatic and alarming to witness, but they are not usually harmful, and kids almost always grow out of them by early adolescence. What is the difference between a nightmare and a night terror? Nightmares are most common toward the end of the night during the light sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) dream stage of the sleep cycle. The child wakes up frightened but does not exhibit the physical or vocal behaviors characteristic of night terrors. He or she seeks comfort, can remember the scary dream, and may be afraid to go back to sleep. Night terrors, on the other hand, usually occur two to three hours after your child falls asleep, at the end of the deep sleep non-REM stage when the brain starts transitioning between cycles. The child is unable to transition smoothly [...]

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Anorexia and Bulimia: What’s the Difference?

Anorexia and Bulimia: What’s the Difference?

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-05-17T11:59:49+00:00May 16th, 2024|Christian Counseling For Teens, Eating Disorders, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Anorexia and bulimia are serious, sometimes fatal, mental health disorders characterized by an unhealthy preoccupation with food, dissatisfaction with one’s body shape or weight, and a compulsion to engage in extreme eating habits and/or unhealthy methods of weight control. In rare cases, a person may experience both anorexia and bulimia at the same time. This co-occurrence of the two is known as anorexia-bulimia and is most likely to occur in individuals who have a strong desire to lose weight but have trouble maintaining the extreme dietary restrictions of anorexia, so they resort to binge eating and purging to help them achieve and maintain their weight loss goal. There are many similarities between anorexia and bulimia, but they are also unique. Similarities between anorexia and bulimia Anorexia and bulimia are the two most common eating disorders. Both involve an unhealthy obsession with food and body image that tends to negatively impact every aspect of the anorexic or bulimic’s life, and they are both also frequently accompanied by other mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Anorexia and bulimia both deprive the body of needed nutrients and can lead to electrolyte imbalances and medical complications such as organ damage and cardiovascular issues. Left untreated, they also increase the risk of suicide or premature death. Other similarities shared by anorexia and bulimia include mood swings, a negative or distorted body image, evaluating and judging self-worth based on a perception of body weight and shape, secretive eating habits, fear of weight gain, feelings of inadequacy and a need for control, low self-esteem, perfectionism, unrealistic beauty standards, excessive exercising, hiding eating habits from others, and avoiding social events that involve food. Differences between anorexia and bulimia Although anorexia and bulimia both involve a constant preoccupation with food and an intense fear of gaining [...]

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Freedom for Your Future: Releasing Past Trauma and Finding Support for PTSD

Freedom for Your Future: Releasing Past Trauma and Finding Support for PTSD

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-05-17T13:02:15+00:00May 14th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Trauma|

Trauma, as described by the American Psychological Association (APA), is an “emotional response to a terrible event.” It can be personal in nature, such as an individual incident of assault or abuse. In other situations, trauma can be experienced on a broader scale, among a subset of people such as combat soldiers. Yet, in other circumstances, its impacts may be experienced by a larger population who encountered a natural disaster. Everyone who lived through similar circumstances may share parts of an experience, but may not process it the same way. Effects of past trauma While many don’t experience lingering effects, there are multiple others whose past trauma retains present impacts. The way that we process such horrific experiences is referred to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While there is a combination of symptoms that can present in both sleeping and waking moments, PTSD is often characterized by reliving the “trauma in painful recollections, flashbacks, or recurrent dreams or nightmares.” (APA) PTSD can affect our cognition and memory, causing disrupted concentration, memory blockages, and blackouts. Another expression is that it can produce an exaggerated startle response or sensitivity to other stimuli that trigger or catapults individuals to the time and place where the original trauma occurred. Looking deeper at trauma This is the work of the adversary who initiated a subtle assault in a garden long ago. Satan plays on our vulnerabilities in our weakest states. He doesn’t play fair, waiting until we’ve healed our trauma wounds or had a chance to grieve and properly process our losses. He plants suggestions that we tend and cultivate. When those seeds grow viral, they explode into a tangle of vines that tether us to the past. We don’t often address intrusive thoughts to bring under subjection, but rather they subdue and seek [...]

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Eating Disorder Therapy Groups: Are They Enough?

Eating Disorder Therapy Groups: Are They Enough?

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-05-10T16:47:00+00:00May 10th, 2024|Christian Counseling For Teens, Eating Disorders, Featured, Group Counseling, Individual Counseling|

While therapy groups can be an integrative approach to overcoming all sorts of mental illnesses, anyone struggling with an eating disorder likely needs some kind of one-on-one therapy before eating disorder therapy groups are appropriate. However, therapy groups can be part of a holistic plan to overcome any disordered patterns of eating. There are several types of eating disorders beyond the most talked about anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Other disorders include Binge Eating Disorder (BED), Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Pica and Rumination Disorder. Because your treatment journey is unique to you, your diagnosis must come from a trained psychologist who is qualified to help you recognize how your thought processes and behavioral patterns may be contributing to a specific type of disordered eating. Your psychologist will also direct you to types of counseling and therapy methods, in addition to possible therapy groups. Once you are diagnosed, reviewing your treatment plan with your physician and counselor is a great next step. Eating Disorder Therapy Groups: Factors to Consider If your doctor and counselor believe eating disorder therapy groups will help you, how do you know if the group will be enough, or if you should stick with individual counseling? Here are a few factors to consider. Does your budget or insurance plan support both individual counseling and therapy groups? If the answer is yes, then the recommendation would be to continue both types of therapy until your clinician or your counselor recommends just group therapy. Is your group therapy helping you make choices that further your recovery or hindering you? If a group is causing you to compare yourself to others or harbor a competitive spirit toward someone else, then it may not be the right timing for therapy groups that could aid you more when you [...]

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Examples of Gaslighting in a Relationship and How to Respond

Examples of Gaslighting in a Relationship and How to Respond

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-04-23T12:03:14+00:00April 16th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Gaslighting is a subtle form of psychological manipulation in which the gaslighter tries to make you feel as though you are going crazy by twisting reality to make you doubt your memories and perception of events. The word gaslighting comes from a 1938 play called Gas Light, by British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton, in which the husband makes his wife question her sanity by, among other things, surreptitiously dimming the gas lights in their house and convincing her that she’s imagining it. Examples of gaslighting in a relationship Your partner discounts your feelings by telling you that you are being irrational, overreacting, or oversensitive. Your partner denies saying or doing things, even when you show him or her proof and insists you must have imagined it or are making it up. Your partner refuses to accept your apologies and punishes you by withholding affection or giving you the silent treatment. Your partner constantly accuses you of reacting disproportionately to events and of making mountains out of molehills. Your partner often denies or changes facts you clearly recall or breaks promises he or she made, and tells you that you never remember things correctly and must have misheard him or her. Your partner pretends not to understand what you are talking about, keeps saying you are not making sense, and that you are confusing him or her. Your partner tells you blatant lies, and when you call him or her out on them, insists they are true and you don’t know what you are talking about. Your partner trivializes your needs and concerns, telling you that you are too needy or clingy. Your partner describes fabricated scenarios and insists that you said or did things that you know you did not. Your partner tries to isolate you and pull [...]

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7 Tips for How to Overcome Fear

7 Tips for How to Overcome Fear

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-04-09T14:28:19+00:00April 9th, 2024|Anxiety, Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development|

Fear is how our body and mind react to an actual or perceived danger or threat. Our fear response is important as it functions to alert us to danger and help us survive threatening situations. It is important to note that not all fear is bad. In most cases, it is linked to our survival instinct. However, sometimes fear needs to be overcome. Fear only becomes a problem when it is unfounded, constant, or debilitating. This is when our fear, especially when the danger is not real, disrupts our ability to function. Tips for how to overcome fear Since fear can be a complex emotional response, overcoming it will require different strategies and techniques. Below are some suggestions that could help: Face it Facing fear involves identifying what it is, understanding it, and identifying its root cause. We all fear different things for different reasons. If it is a fear of rejection, for example, recognizing it and realizing where it is hindering one’s life is a start. Having identified it, it will be time to face it. Starting small and in a safe environment, people can challenge themselves to do that which they fear. Educate yourself Knowledge is power. Education about the type of fear you experience can be empowering, giving you a better perspective. By educating yourself, you are empowered to challenge any negative thoughts that fuel your fear. Being able to reframe your thoughts comes from an evidence-based approach. Take time out This is helpful when our physical body reacts to our fear. This can be through rapid breathing, shortness of breath, or fast heart rate. If this happens, take time out. Try to distract yourself so you can calm down physically. Taking a walk, having a shower or bath, getting some air, all of these can [...]

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Wrestling with God Over Your Faith

Wrestling with God Over Your Faith

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-03-13T16:59:46+00:00March 13th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

Life doesn’t always fit into a neat box. It can be beautiful, funny, whimsical, and positively delightful. However, life can also be messy, painful, distressing, and confusing. It takes wisdom to navigate the complexity of life well because it can all be a little bewildering and overwhelming at times and we can find ourselves wrestling with God. You’re not alone in wrestling with God. If you’ve walked with God long enough, you will know that there are moments or even seasons of wrestling with God over your faith, over what you know to be true about Him. There may even be seasons where your faith feels barren, or it feels like God is silent and not responding to your cries. The lives of the saints aren’t easy or straightforward, even when their faith compels them to continue serving God and others amid their trials. The apostle Paul wrote about a “thorn” that tormented him to keep him from being conceited about the amazing revelations he’d received from God. We don’t know exactly what that thorn was, but Paul pleaded with God three times to remove it from him, but the Lord’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). Paul had to bear up under that thorn and trust in God’s sufficient grace to carry him through. The eleventh chapter of the letter of Hebrews lists many people of faith who endured extremely difficult circumstances. As we read the Bible, from places like the Psalms we come to understand that these patient sufferers would have uttered prayers such as this Psalm which reads: How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day [...]

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In Pursuit of Spiritual Maturity: Tips for Growing Your Relationship with God

In Pursuit of Spiritual Maturity: Tips for Growing Your Relationship with God

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-01-23T18:29:23+00:00January 23rd, 2024|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

All living things must grow, but that growth looks different at different stages of life and in different areas of life. For example, while our physical growth reaches its peak in the first few decades of our lives, our emotional, mental, and spiritual growth can continue long after physical growth has all but stopped. Your spiritual maturity is one area of your life where you never quite peak – you simply grow from strength to strength if you’re applying yourself. Why pursue spiritual maturity? We were created by God and for God (Genesis 1: 26-31; Colossians 1: 15-23), and we find our deepest joy and meaning only in Him. Genesis 1 tells us that we were created in God’s image, but we no longer reflect God’s image as we were intended to because we chose to distrust God and have life on our own terms (Genesis 3). However, despite our distrust and disobedience, God intends to bless us (Genesis 12:1-3, 50:20), and that’s why He came into the world to rescue us and bless us (2 Corinthians 5: 17, 21; Titus 3: 3-7). All this is to say that despite rejecting Him, God seeks to save people and bless them, and He wants them to be mature in Jesus Christ and to have them look, act, think, live, and love more and more like Jesus did (Colossians 1: 27-28). It’s important to pursue spiritual maturity because that is what allows us to fulfill our highest purpose and pursue our deepest joy. If God made us for Himself, then knowing why and how to relate to God and do life on His terms is a goal worth pursuing with everything we’ve got. What is it all about? There can be some misconceptions about what spiritual maturity is. Having many or [...]

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Does Postpartum Depression Affect Men?

Does Postpartum Depression Affect Men?

By Allen Christian Counseling|2024-04-04T12:58:43+00:00December 27th, 2023|Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling, Men’s Issues|

Postpartum depression is commonly associated with the mother of a newborn. Considering the amount of hormonal shifts her body experiences in order to grow, then birth, and then care for a newborn it would be easy to assume that it is purely a chemical imbalance that will correct with time and treatment. Depression is not, however, purely a chemical reaction. It is also a mental and emotional shift; one that can occur when external circumstances have a major shift. So, it would not be uncommon for men to experience postpartum depression. The clinical term is paternal postnatal depression (PPND). One in ten men experience postpartum depression compared to one in seven women. Here are a few other differences between a man’s postpartum depression (PPND) and a woman’s postpartum depression (PPD). Mothers will usually experience peak symptoms two to three months after the baby is born, while fathers are more likely to peak later in the first year. A woman’s depression will tend to display crying, hopelessness, loss of interest, and guilt. A man’s depression will manifest more as anger and an increase in risk-taking behaviors. Various research suggests that it takes 12-18 months to heal from a major life event, and the birth of a child certainly qualifies. The effects can be physical (in the instance of the mother’s body) and mental (the minds of both mothers and fathers). What does a man’s postpartum depression look like? Men are more at risk for postpartum depression when their wife is diagnosed with PPD. Other risk factors include: Lack of sleep . A personal history of mental illness. A strained relationship with the spouse. Concerns or high expectations about becoming a father. Financial concerns. Fears about the changing dynamics in the family structure. It can mirror the mother’s depression. Just as [...]

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