It’s never easy, but it requires a lot of support.
As we get older, we see our friends a lot less often. It’s a cultural norm that we almost grow to expect, especially as we juggle more and more responsibilities, like getting married, having a baby, and many more.
When we do see our friends, on a rare occasion, one of them might seem a little bit off. Perhaps they are a bit more tired than usual. Perhaps the usual glimmer in their eyes is lost.
You ask them what’s wrong and they just simply brush it off. …
It’s surprisingly common, even during the darkest of times.
It can be immensely troubling when you feel insecure about yourself. Throw in a relationship into the mix, and suddenly the problem is a thousand-fold.
As an aspiring therapist, I’ve seen a lot already, but insecurity is a lot more common than we think.
For example, in relationships, our insecurities may be heightened, even if it is not immediately obvious to the outsider. Our behaviours don’t exist in a vacuum and may fluctuate depending on the mixture of forces within you and outside of you.
Just remember, in a relationship, it takes two people to make it work. If your…
Canadian Researcher & Writer | MA Candidate in Counselling Psychology | Aspiring Therapist | Crisis Responder
Hello Medium writers,
My name is Synthia and I’m a female in her mid-twenties who is born and raised in Canada. My cultural ancestry is Sri Lankan. Currently, I’m doing my second rodeo of graduate school in Counselling Psychology. I have plans to potentially become a therapist in the future.
For a bit of context, I did my Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology and did my first master’s degree in Developmental Psychology. …
Navigating boundaries just got more complex.
When people get married, they’re not always in a union with just one person — they end up joining a completely new family, one that includes their in-laws.
Navigating a whole new relationship, let alone a mixture of other alliances can be very challenging, especially when you are able to successfully assert healthy boundaries with everyone else.
Despite this, some people work well with their in-laws. In other instances, there may be a slightly unhealthy co-dependency between the partner and their parent, and their parents may be surprised at how differently you approach the world compared to them.
Relationships are…
Employers see extra intelligence in speech versus writing.
Perhaps you’re at work and you have a brilliant idea on the tip of your tongue. The problem is that you have to convey this to your boss. In cases like these, using your own voice is a powerful tool — especially if you are able to cater it to the audience that you are speaking to.
You see, we assume that our best ideas are penned down, but the reality is that presentations are everything, especially when you reach the hearts of the other person.
If you can, you can strategically use your vernacular to reflect an intonation that…
Leaving the comfort zone is never easy.
As we veer closer and closer to the end of the summer, more and more of us are getting increasingly tired, especially as long-term and ongoing stressors have thwarted our plans for fully relaxing — yet again.
We can still take proactive steps now to ensure that we don’t feel increasingly trapped and stuck. I mean, the long winter months will eventually creep up and we need to be mentally prepared for it.
We Still Need Social Connections
It’s of little surprise, but social connections are integral towards further resilience and prolonged happiness. …
These reasons don’t excuse their actions.
It can be incredibly devastating if someone cheats on you. You wonder if you were good enough or smart enough for this person. I mean, it was not your fault that this terrible event occurred— it was the fault of the person who cheated on you.
If anything, you’re the victim here.
Perhaps you are still reeling in a lot of anger, pain, and confusion. Even for the best of us, the question still lingers as to why they did it. …
There’s both the good and the bad.
Where I live, there are plenty of places that are starting to open. With it, comes the divided excitement and fear, especially as the weather starts to get cooler. I personally feel a mixture of both intrigue and fear, especially with the future being so uncertain.
It seems that some people are more than happy to get back to the “normalcy” of things. However, for others, the new normal is more desirable or accessible than what the past offered.
If you are someone who benefitted from working or studying from home, such as those with different learning needs, perhaps reverting…
Yes, they have empathy also.
I’m an aspiring therapist, and I’ve been thinking about emotions a lot — like I usually do. There’s a client that I see who has autism and they often talk about struggling to navigate the unwritten rules associated with various social situations.
As the American Psychiatric Association suggests, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental circumstance that is marked by difficulties in social communication and interaction.
Each person is going to be different when it comes to ASD, but some people conceptualize the situation as context blindness. For example, there’s nuance in social communication and multiple meanings behind various social…
Ikigai is a famous Japanese concept that has been reinterpreted by Western corporate culture.
On most days, I get to meet mental health clients across different walks of life, with varying levels of life experience. For each client that I see, I make sure to always bring something new and fresh to the table.
To meet where the client is at, I have to spend time learning about concepts that are typically outside of my comfort zone. For example, you might be surprised to learn that a lot of therapists and therapists-in-training often know a thing or two about computer science, human resources, banking, and many more.
As time goes on, we become a…
