When writer Elaina J. Martin was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she felt “less than.” “I felt like other people were better than me, less damaged than I was.” In the first few years of her diagnosis, psychotherapist Colleen King, LMFT, worried she’d never be able to function at a higher
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Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 8, 2018
It’s hard enough to navigate social media as an adult. Many of us start feeling envious of others’ lives and experience self-doubt. Even one image can lead us to question everything from our weight to our worth, from our career choices to our day-to-day routines. We know the images are
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 6, 2018
In our society, we’re constantly striving to feel positive emotions—only positive emotions. Happiness. Joy. Gratitude. Calm. Peace. We see sadness as unhealthy and wrong, so when it arises, we feel unhealthy and wrong for experiencing it. We see sadness as unproductive. We just “don’t see the point” in feeling sad,
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger April 4, 2018
Bipolar disorder is a difficult illness. It affects everything. In addition to affecting your mood, it affects your judgment, concentration, memory, energy and sleep. It affects your relationships. It affects your everyday. It can bring about a deep, sinking despair, or jolt you into a euphoric state where your brain
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger March 22, 2018
Challenges provide growth opportunities—if we’re willing to see them as such and to face them. This is especially true for therapy. Yet we tend to assume that in order to be helpful, therapy must be a smooth process, without any hiccups or bumps. But it’s these very bumps, when handled
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 28, 2018
Your daughter is terrified of making mistakes. She sees failure as the ultimate catastrophe. She avoids completing assignments and trying new things. She fears being embarrassed. She gives up easily. She spends extra time on homework and regularly rewrites her assignments. She doesn’t raise her hand in class because she’s
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 25, 2018
Your partner didn’t wash the dishes, or take out the trash or fold the laundry. Maybe they forgot to pay a bill. Maybe they’re running late to your lunch date. Maybe they haven’t hung up the picture frames they promised to hang up (too many) weeks ago. Maybe they leave
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 22, 2018
You’re a mom who has ADHD, and you’re in the thick of mothering. Maybe you’re in the thick of toddlerhood, besieged by big tantrums and bleary-eyed after one-too-many sleepless nights. Maybe you’re in the thick of adolescence, trying to traverse schedules and emotional roller coasters. Maybe you have several kids,
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 19, 2018
Imagine you are in a white room. Use five adjectives to describe the experience. Write those adjectives down. Don’t censor yourself. Don’t erase, scribble out or delete. Jot down the first five words that come to mind. This is the last part of a personality test that Rachael Morgan, an
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 2, 2018
On the outside, you are put together. Always. You are well-dressed, and nothing is ever out of place. You show up on time. Always. You rarely seem rattled—or down or anxious. You rarely seem like you feel anything at all. People would describe you as easygoing, laid-back and flexible. And
Read More Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger February 1, 2018