The Basics of Bipolar Disorder
Anxiety and depression are among the most common and well-known mental health issues affecting Americans today. We know, however, that these are not the only two mental illnesses that one can experience. 5.7 million American adults experience bipolar disorder....
A Closer Look at Stress (and How to Minimize It)
Stress. It's a part of our everyday vocabulary. If you're not feeling stressed, your friend or coworker is. Life is just so stressful. But, the more you say a word, the less it actually means. So, what is stress? What does it look like? And, more importantly, how do...
Quick Tips for Back-To-School Blues & Anxiety
We're halfway through August, and--dare I say it--the dreaded *September* is almost upon us. For most adolescents, the thought of going back to school can muster some discomfort. It's always sad when summer ends (though, maybe not for parents). And, as the reality of...
NJ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): The Basics
If you're looking for NJ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for yourself or your teen, call (908) 256-6965 or e-mail info@blueprintmentalhealth today. At Blueprint Mental Health, we talk A LOT about Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). However, most people are more...
Psych 101: Free Will and Fatalism
How much of our life can we really control? It’s no surprise that bad things just happen to us sometimes. Drivers rear end us. Natural disasters occur. Family members pass away. Or, maybe, we are subjected to traumatic life experiences. And, we can’t change that....
Psych 101: Pavlov for Parents & Counselors
If you’ve ever taken an ‘Intro to Psych’ course, you’re probably familiar with Pavlov and conditioning. Remember the dog experiments? (If so, you can skip ahead.) Ivan Pavlov is most recognized for his work in classical conditioning. He studied how dogs came to...
Buckling Up & Being Happy with Emotion Regulation
Wanting to avoid negative emotions is very normal. We may stop dating to avoid the sadness of a breakup or breech in trust.We may avoid trying new things for fear of failing or disliking them. Maybe a teacher tells you that a subject just isn't for you and you never...
Finding the Middle (Path)
Black and blue or white and gold? It's safe to say that "the dress" ruined (almost) as many relationships as Monopoly. It was, in a word, infuriating. How could anyone think it was white and gold? (I still can't see it.) In life, a lot of things might seem like "the...
3 Simple Tricks for Distress Tolerance
You wake up in the morning, make a cup of coffee, and turn on the news (or peruse it on your phone). These days, it seems as if every news story is a bad one: natural disasters, crimes, political unrest. It's stressful. In a recent Huffington Post article entitled...
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Mental Health Meets Social Health
Last week, we talked about ways to implement mindfulness into your daily routines. While mindfulness is perhaps the most well-known module of DBT, it takes more than just "being present" to master this therapy. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) helps us to improve...