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Category Archives: loss

Grief/Loss Counseling Through These Trying Times

The curent state of affairs makes mental health professionals just as needed as our counterparts in the helping professions at this time. There is so much uncertainty that comes with dealing with society today. This unprecedented issue society is facing globally gives us all an experience that many of us haven’t faced before. It also gives us something in common. Many people are losing emplyment, or loved ones in the wake of all this. In relation to grief and loss this applies as the process of adapting to a significant loss that can vary dramatically from one person to another. It often depends on a person’s background, beliefs, and relationship to what was lost. What comes next is how to cope. The five stages of grief are listed as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Through these difficult times that comes with the rollercoaster of emotion it wouldn’t be uncommon to go through these stages in intervals, more than once, or in any given order. It may put a strain on your marriage or family as well. This is what makes marriage therapy, couples counseling, individual sessions, and family therapy essential in helping to build the tools to cope and make it through all this. You’re not alone and there is help through this.

The Choice Is Yours, Therapy Is Love

Ask yourself how long you want to sit with these pestering negative thoughts and contentions that you’re letting hold you back from living the life you deserve. Fulfilled and full love and happiness. The world isn’t perfect and neither are you but that doesn’t mean you deserve to suffer. Manifest the lifestyle and well-being you seek. Experience rapid results on from discovering your life purpose, removing blocks, improving relationships, reducing anxiety, managing pain, increasing abundance, and habit control. Whether you need an individual counseling session, a marriage counseling session, or a family therapy session to tackle a widely diverse array of problems and issues Star Point Counseling Center has the experience and talent to help you actualize the change you want and provides the tools to help you make it happen. You’re in the driver seat. Give counseling with Star Point in Brandon and Tampa a call today!

MARRIAGE COUNSELING TAMPA FL. & BRANDON FL.

As incredible as life is, it is not without its challenges. While some of those challenges are beyond our control, many are the outcome of the path we chose.

We all make bad choices and pursue wrong avenues. We all find ourselves in unfulfilling relationships and lack luster careers. At one point or another, we are all unkind to ourselves. Our thoughts take us to negative places, where depression, anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed take over.

Usually people seek out therapy when they are having a hard time managing it alone. Its one of those things that we resist, convinced that we can work it out ourselves. Most of the times we do work it out, but often we accrue baggage along the way, forming habits and patterns that over time can lead us to places of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Deciding to seek out therapy is not easy. There could be fear, apprehension, uncertainty and maybe even a little hope, that this may be the right place to help you in figuring it all out. Whether its relationship related issues, or more individual issues motivating you, therapy can help.

It is a chunk of weekly time solely focused on you. Whether you use that time to let off steam about the pressures of the job and life or use it to examine your choices and behaviors, this time spent on you is an investment. Therapy can be life altering in helping you get what you want. It is a process and takes time, but with motivation and determination to fix what isn’t working, usually comes positive change.

 

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NO FEELING IS FINAL, Counseling Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl.

Whether you are struggling with worry, panic, obsessions and compulsions, substance abuse, anger, loneliness, hopelessness, sadness, low self-esteem, thoughts of suicide, relationship problems, or a combination of all of the above, please know that many of us have been there.

No matter how deep and dark of a space you feel you are in please know that you don’t have to be alone. In fact, the isolation you are likely feeling could be the worst part. People care about you.  Change is possible. Affordable Counseling in Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl. has helped thousands and thousands of people with depression counseling, stress counseling, depression counseling, marriage counseling, couples counseling and relationship counseling.

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STRESS COUNSELING TAMPA FL. & BRANDON FL.

Causes of stress. The situations and pressures that cause stress are known as stressors. … Of course, not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be internal or self-generated, when you worry excessively about something that may or may not happen, or have irrational, pessimistic thoughts about life.

Examples of life stresses are:
  • The death of a loved one.
  • Divorce.
  • Loss of a job.
  • Increase in financial obligations.
  • Getting married.
  • Moving to a new home.
  • Chronic illness or injury.
  • Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)
  • Physical symptoms of stress include:
    • Low energy.
    • Headaches.
    • Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea.
    • Aches, pains, and tense muscles.
    • Chest pain and rapid heartbeat.
    • Insomnia.
    • Frequent colds and infections.
    • Loss of sexual desire and/or ability.

     

    Some examples of good ways to deal with stress:
    1. Take some deep breaths.
    2. Talk to someone you trust.
    3. Create a stress diary, note down when you feel stressed and why.
    4. Have a health check with your doctor.
    5. Exercise.
    6. Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
    7. Try to avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeine.
    8. Make time for things you enjoy.

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STRESS COUNSELING in TAMPA FL. & BRANDON FL.

WHAT IS STRESS?

As a stress therapy center in Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl., we explain stress to ourclients as our body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When we feel threatened, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus.

This is known as the “fight or flight” stress response and is your body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, stress helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life—giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

Stress can also help you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you’d rather be watching TV.

But beyond your comfort zone, stress stops being helpful and can start causing major damage to your mind and body.

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Anxiety Counseling at Christmas Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl.

The Christmas season is meant to be a time of joy, but for many people it can be a time of stressanxiety, disappointment or loneliness. Christmas comes with high expectations of perfect, happy families enjoying luxurious celebrations and gifts, but not all of us are able to live up to these ideals.

For those who have recently lost a loved one, Christmas can intensify feelings of grief and sadness.

Some people experience feelings of isolation, financial pressures or increased family conflict that can make this a very stressful time of year.

However, there are some steps you can take to help manage stress and anxiety during the festive period.

 

Taking care of money worries

Is the festive season a burden on your wallet? Here are some tips for managing your Christmas finances and reducing your financial stress during the silly season:

  • Identify what’s causing you financial stress. Buying gifts and attending social get togethers can be expensive. Plan ways to reduce spending. For example, you could suggest to your family and friends that you only buy gifts for the kids, or organise a ‘Secret Santa’ among the adults. Set a budget and stick to it.
  • Find low cost ways to have fun. Don’t let money cut you off from your family and friends. If you can’t afford expensive restaurant meals or cocktail catch-ups, organise a BBQ in the park or a party at home where everyone brings a plate of food.

Dealing with family tension

Just because you’re related doesn’t mean your family members will all get along. Split families and unresolved conflicts may contribute to Christmas anxiety. Family and relationship problems can be a trigger for anxiety.

Here are some ideas for getting through:

  • Set realistic expectations. Christmas might not be the fabulous family reunion you hoped for. Plan how you will manage any feelings of anxiety or depression that may arise.
  • Put the kids first. If you have children, consider putting aside ongoing adult conflicts in their interest. Think about Christmas as a day for the kids and focus on enabling their happiness.
  • Drink in moderation. It may be tempting to drink too much during the festive period, but alcohol can contribute to stress, anxiety and depression. Alcohol may be a problem if you’re drinking to cope.
  • Avoid known triggers. If your family has a history of arguing over a certain topic, don’t bring it up.

Managing loneliness

There are ways to overcome loneliness if you find yourself isolated or grieving a loved one over the Christmas period.

  • Connect with friends and family. Even if you’re separated by distance, you can stay in touch with loved ones online or by phone.
  • Volunteer. Why not lend a hand to a local shelter over Christmas? There are lots of charities who need help. You’ll connect with people and feel good about making a positive contribution.
  • Find out what’s on locally and get involved. Whether it’s Christmas carols or local markets, getting out and about can help relieve loneliness.
  • Make plans for Christmas Day. Develop a plan in advance to avoid feeling depressed or stressed on the day. Perhaps make yourself a special breakfast, buy yourself a gift in advance so that you can enjoy on the day, attend a local church service, or take a stroll through the local park to give yourself a treat.

Stay healthy to avoid Christmas anxiety

anxiety counseling Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl, Stress counseling Tampa Fl & Brandon Fl, Depression counseling Tampa Fl & Brandon Fl

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Affordable Anxiety Counseling Brandon Fl. & Tampa Fl. II

Almost everyone experiences some form of anxiety in their lifetime. It’s a natural part of being human and has served some pretty important functions in our survival as a species, such as knowing when to fight or flee from a predator. However, when anxiety begins to manifest randomly and without warning, it can wreak havoc on your whole life.

If worrying has long ceased serving you, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 40 million people in the US suffer from some form of anxiety, making it the most common mental health issue in the country. It is also the number one health issue facing women in America, with men being not far behind.

Modern society does little to mitigate the effects of anxiety. Our highly competitive, success-oriented social model feeds on it; our obsession with social media and electronics camouflages it; our culture’s lack of regard for the importance of mental health perpetuates it. Add to that the stressors of everyday life and possible hereditary cues, as well as personal and environmental factors, and it is no wonder anxiety affects so many people.

The good news is, anxiety is a well-researched and highly treatable condition. With the help of a compassionate and skilled anxiety specialist, you can make sense of the confusion, end the cycle of fear and get on top of your life.

Our Therapist’s can help you with Anxiety Counseling in Brandon Fl. & Tampa Fl. at Affordable Counseling Center

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Affordable Anxiety Counseling Tampa Fl. & Brandon Fl.

Are you not sleeping well, eating regularly or finding time to take care of yourself? Is excessive stress or worry making it increasingly difficult to manage relatively mundane tasks, such as going to work or interacting with family members or friends? Do you feel detached from yourself, uncomfortable in your own skin or numb to the things that once gave you pleasure? Perhaps the prospects of retirement, having children or changes in a relationship have left you worried about the future and wondering, “What next?”

It could be that a traumatic event has left you walking around in a state of constant fear and you want help resolving the cloud of doom that never seems to lift. Or maybe you are experiencing a rapid heartbeat, chronic pain, digestive issues, muscle tension or other physical discomforts, and you worry about the damage stress may be doing to your body. Do you wish you could control your thoughts, understand your emotions and improve all aspects of your life and well-being?

Affordable Counseling Center helps with Anxiety Counseling in Tampa Fl & Brandon Fl.

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CHILDREN OF DIVORCE FACTS

CHILDREN OF DIVORCE FACTS

At Affordable Counseling Center in Tampa Fl & Brandon Fl. we help children of divorce understand what is happening to them and how to cope with their parents getting divorced. 

General children divorce statistics

  • 50% of all North-American children will witness the divorce of their parents. Almost half of them will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage. (Furstenberg and others -Life Course-)
  • One out of 10 children of divorce experiences three or more parental marriage breakups. (Gallagher -The Abolition of Marriage)
  • 40% of children growing up in America today are being raised without their fathers. (Wade, Horn and Busy, -Fathers, Marriage and Welfare Reform, Hudson Institute Executive Briefing, 1997)
  • 50% of all the children born to married parents today, will experience the divorce of their parents before they are 18 years old. (Fagan, Fitzgerald, Rector, -The Effects of Divorce On America-)

Emotional Damage Statistics

  • Studies in 1980 – 1981 uncovered that children in repeat divorces got lower results at school. The other children of their age rated them as less pleasant to be around. (Andrew J. Cherlin, -Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage– Harvard University Press 1981)
  • Teenage children of divorce are three times more likely (35% instead of 13%) to need psychological help within a given year. (Peter Hill – Recent Advances in Selected Aspects of Adolescent Development- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 1993)
  • Children from divorced homes have more psychological problems, than children from which one of the parents has died. (Robert E. Emery,- Marriage, Divorce and Children’s Adjustment- Sage Publications, 1988).

Physical Damage Statistics

  • Between children of divorced parents there are relatively more cases of injury, asthma, headaches and speech defects than among children whose parents have remained married. (Dawson -Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well Being- National Health Interview Survey on Child Health, Journal of Marriage and Family)
  • Children of divorced parents are fifty percent more likely to develop health problems than children in two parent families. (Angel, Worobey, -Single Motherhood and Children’s Health -)
  • Children that are living with both biological parents are 20 to 35 percent physically healthier than children from broken homes. (Dawson,-Family Structure and Children’s Health and Well-being -Journal of Marriage and the Family-)
  • Most molestated childs come from single-parent households or are the children of drug users. (Los Angles Times 16 September 1985 The Garbage Generation)
  • A child in a female-headed home is 10 times more likely to be physically hurt or murdered. (The Legal Beagle, July 1984, -The Garbage Generation)

Long term Effects and Children Divorce Statistics

  • In 1991 a study was done of children from which the parents were divorced six years earlier. The study found that even after all that time, these children tended to be lonely, unhappy, anxious and insecure. (Wallerstein – The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children -Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1991)
  • Seventy percent of long-term prison inmates grew up in broken homes. (Horn, Bush, -Fathers, Marriage and Welfare Reform-)

Problems relating to peers

  • Children divorce statistics indicate that children of divorced parents are four times more likely to report relational problems with peers and friends than children whose parents have kept their marriages intact. (Tysse, Burnett, -Moral Dilemmas of Early Adolescents of Divorced and Intact Families-. Journal of Early Adolescence 1993)
  • Children of divorce tend to be more aggressive toward others. This is especially the case for boys. (Emery, Marriage, Divorce and Children’s Adjustment, 1988)

Suicide statistics of Children of Divorce

  • (Adult) children of divorce are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide than children from normal homes. (Velez-Cohen, – Suicidal Behavior and Ideation in a Community Sample of Children -Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1988)

High School drop out statistics of children and divorce

  • The high school dropout rate of children of divorced parents is roughly two times higher than that of children of which the parents did not divorce. (McLanahan, Sandefur, -Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps- Harvard University Press 1994)

 

Divorce Facts

Being aware of divorce facts will be helpful for parents to prevent a divorce or to make the best out of a divorce once it takes place. Knowing what to expect takes away a lot of the stress that results from a divorce.

Divorce Statistics

For divorce statistics the divorce rate is the most relevant figure. Next to the divorce rate of all the OECD countries, we provide you with information on the number of marriages, the duration of the marriages and the average age of when people marry for the first time. All these factors influence the divorce rates.

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