mental health Archives - Page 7 of 8

June 2, 2025 by Alan Zupka

How to Track Your Mental Health

Tracking Your Mental Health: A Path to Clarity and Growth

If you are seeking to strengthen your mental health and enhance your overall well-being, one of the most empowering steps you can take is to begin tracking how you feel. This practice serves not only as a mirror to reflect your current emotional landscape but also as a tool for identifying patterns, clarifying challenges, and setting goals rooted in intentional change.

From a narrative therapy perspective, tracking offers you the chance to author your own story with greater awareness and agency. From the lenses of positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness, it can deepen your connection to your strengths, help restructure limiting beliefs, and foster present-moment insight.

Here are a few suggestions I offer to support you in beginning a reflective and sustainable mental health tracking practice:

Choose a tracking method that resonates with you. Whether you find comfort in the tactile process of writing in a journal or prefer the accessibility of a digital app, the key is to select a format that feels intuitive and sustainable for your lifestyle. The method is less important than the consistency and honesty you bring to it.
Designate a daily time for self-reflection. Making this practice part of a daily ritual, such as after dinner or just before bedtime, can help you build a rhythm. Please set an alarm or reminder if you think it’s a challenge. The routine itself can become a gentle cue to check in with yourself.
Create a space that invites focus. A quiet, comfortable environment free of distractions can help you become more attuned to your inner experience. Even a few minutes of focused presence can yield meaningful insights.
Begin with concrete indicators. If identifying your overall emotional state feels overwhelming, start by tracking specific areas such as your appetite, energy level, mood, sleep quality, or stress level. These touchpoints can serve as reliable anchors for reflection.
Set SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals are more likely to lead to meaningful change. Rather than saying, “I want to feel less anxious,” try saying, “I will meditate for ten minutes each morning for the next four weeks.” Framing goals this way increases the likelihood of follow-through and allows you to celebrate tangible progress.
Focus on one goal at a time. It is natural to want to address many aspects of well-being at once, but taking on too much can lead to overwhelm. Start small, focus deeply, and allow yourself to experience success in one area before moving on to the next.

Partnering with a Professional

As you begin tracking and reflecting on your mental health, you may discover that you would benefit from guidance in interpreting what emerges or in setting and maintaining your goals. I am here to help. My therapeutic approach is grounded in narrative therapy, positive psychology, CBT, and mindfulness. Together, we can explore your story, uncover your strengths, and co-create a path forward that feels meaningful and sustainable.

If you are ready to take the next step, please contact me to schedule an appointment. You don’t need to do this alone. Support is available, and your well-being matters.

December 25, 2022 by Alan Zupka

How Your Self-Esteem Affects Your Mental Health

Having low self-esteem is something many people of all ages deal with. While low self-esteem is not considered a mental health condition in itself, the way we think about ourselves directly impacts our mental health and overall well-being.

What is Self-Esteem?

Self-esteem refers to the way people feel about themselves. Someone with healthy or high self-esteem thinks positively about themselves and their abilities. They believe they deserve respect and have no problems setting healthy boundaries.

Individuals with low self-esteem do not feel very good about themselves. They constantly measure themselves against others and always come up short. They may not think they are worthy of love and respect and will typically not set healthy boundaries, allowing others to take advantage of them.

How Does a Low Self-Esteem Affect Mental Health?

The following are some ways low self-esteem can impact a person’s mental health:

Poor Relationships

Humans are wired for connections, but when we have low self-esteem, we tend not to put ourselves “out there” socially. Consequently, we tend to isolate ourselves, leading to poor relationships and loneliness.

Addiction

Studies have indicated low self-esteem in childhood can lead to addictions later in life. Many addicts use alcohol and other substances as a way to cope with negative feelings about themselves.

Depression and Anxiety

Living with low self-esteem day after day, week after week, can very much take its toll and eventually lead to the development of depression and anxiety.

How to Build Your Self-Esteem

Building self-esteem is important for mental health and for living a happy life. But it’s not necessarily easy to do it. It’s not like losing weight where you can say I am going to eat less and move more.

That is why I recommend working with a trained therapist who specializes in helping people build their self-esteem. A therapist can help you identify your core negative beliefs and determine where they came from. They can help you develop new, realistic self-esteem that reflects your true self.

Please contact me if you or someone you know is suffering from low self-esteem and would like to explore treatment options.

SOURCES:

https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/July-2016/Why-Self-Esteem-Is-Important-for-Mental-Health

https://www.hormona.io/why-self-esteem-affects-your-mental-health/

https://fherehab.com/learning/self-esteem-mental-health

December 18, 2022 by Alan Zupka

Mental Health Effects of Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is not as easy to spot as physical abuse, but often its effects can be just as traumatic. Emotional abuse can involve many tactics, including gaslighting, shaming, and manipulation. All of these are intended to leave the victim feeling confused, powerless, and hopeless.

Typically people suffering from long-term or short-term emotional abuse, and depending on the length of time, can experience varying mental health effects.

Long-term emotional abuse happens over many years. Examples are a child growing up in a home with an alcoholic parent or a sibling with anger issues. Someone may find themselves in a marriage with a narcissistic partner.

Short-term emotional abuse can result from a nasty exchange with a stranger or micro-interactions with colleagues or neighbors.

The following are some short-term and long-term effects of emotional abuse:

Short-Term Effects

Isolation or a sense of deep loneliness
Self-doubt
Shame
Confusion
Low self-esteem
Anxiety connected with social interactions
Feelings of powerlessness

Long-term Effects

Neuroticism, or the tendency toward a depressed mood or negative emotions like anger
Chronic stress
Physical health issues like muscle tension and shortness of breath
Attachment issues
Apathy
Eating disorders
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or CPTSD (chronic post-traumatic stress disorder)

You Can Heal from Emotional Abuse

With time, patience, and plenty of self-compassion, it is very possible to heal from the trauma of emotional abuse. Working with a mental health professional who has been trained specifically to help people who have been victims of emotional abuse is a great starting point.

If you’d like to explore treatment options, please reach out to me.

SOURCES:

https://psychcentral.com/health/effects-of-emotional-abuse

Emotional Abuse and its Impact on Mental Health

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327080

November 13, 2022 by Alan Zupka

Neurodivergence’s Impact on Mental Health

When we speak about human behavior or ways of being in the world, we have traditionally described someone as having normal behavior or abnormal behavior. Recently, mental health experts have begun to look at things in a broader, more inclusive scope.

What Does Neurodivergent Mean?

Neurodivergent is a term used to describe someone who either behaves in a specific way or processes information in a specific way that differs from cultural norms. It is an important shift in the mental health community because it allows clinicians to discuss diagnoses, such as autism, in a way that doesn’t portray the diagnosis as an illness or problem to be dealt with. In addition to autism, other diagnoses may be considered a form of neurodivergence, such as ADHD, any learning disability, dyslexia, and Tourette’s syndrome.

Benefits of Neurodiversity

Much of the world has embraced cultural diversity. We have been taught that diversity is our greatest strength. Well, people are finally starting to realize that this concept goes beyond just cultural diversity and should extend to the diversity of thought and being as well. Neurodiversity can actually be beneficial to society because different ways of thinking and looking at the world bring different perspectives and insights to the table.

Temple Grandin is a perfect example. Temple is autistic, and her unique perspective and way of thinking allowed her to revolutionize the practices for the humane handling of livestock.

Instead of stigmatizing people who have been diagnosed with a “cognitive disorder,” we must encourage them to embrace their differences and share their unique insights and perspectives with the world.

SOURCES:

Remain Curious