Parenting and Families

Remember the 7 C’s of Addiction

Addiction can affect your life in many ways which can be more than just substance abuse. It can be caused by alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling and more. Long-term addiction can lead to death, mental health issues, cancer, diseases, losing your job, losing friendships and loved ones.

It is important to have something you can look at that will help you know that you are not alone, and you can recover from your addiction. This can be done by knowing the 7 C’s of Addiction.

The 7 C’s of Addiction can help you or others suffering from addiction:

• I didn’t CAUSE it.
• I can’t CONTROL it.
• I can’t CURE it.
• But I can help take CARE of myself.
• By COMMUNICATING my feelings.
• Making healthy CHOICES.
• And CELEBRATING me.

Let us know if the 7 C’s worked for you! Let’s DO THE WORK and celebrate the recovery!

 

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Importance of Self-Care in a Relationship

How do you practice self-care in a relationship? Taking care of yourself first should always be your number one priority. If you are not caring about yourself first, how are you supposed to be the best person you can be around your significant other when you are at your best?

Here are some ways to practice self-care in a relationship:

• Setting boundaries. Doing this is very crucial in a healthy relationship because it keeps a balance between you and your partner. This also helps reduce conflict, because it sets an example of what you and your partner expect from each other. This will help bring you and your partner closer together because setting boundaries creates open communication.
• Hanging out with a group of your own friends. It is important to have a social life outside of your relationship.
• Maintaining independence is important in a relationship. Don’t rely on or allow your partner to control your judgement or tell you what to do.
• Let your partner know what you like and don’t like. It’s also difficult and may lead to some conflict. But it is important to say how you feel and eliminate anything that is not making you feel good and don’t like. If something is not making you happy you don’t have to do it and that brings the importance of the word “NO” and setting boundaries.
• Having a hobby. This can create a safe space that makes you happy or time set away from your partner that you like. You don’t always have to be doing everything with your partner. Just get a hobby of your own. For example, doing a craft, gardening, collecting coins, going on a hike by yourself. These are examples of self-care.

When you and your partner practice self-care in a relationship you both will be happier in your relationship. It is not selfish in a relationship, and you and your partner will be happier in your relationship

 

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Mental Health during the Holiday Season

These are supposed to be happy times during the holiday seasons. Between everything that may be going on holiday parties, family get togethers, vacations, and celebrating the new year. The holidays can be full of joy, but they can also be stressful and challenging for those impacted by mental health, devastation, or loss of a loved one.

According to NAMI, “You are not alone”, as a 2021 survey showed that three in five Americans feel the holidays negatively impacted their mental health [1].

So, what are ways that we can care for our self during the holiday seasons?

Here are some tips to prevent holiday stress and depression:

1. Take care of yourself. This can be done through self-care and forming healthy habits. For example, going on a walk, doing yoga, going to the gym, watching a movie, reading a book or something that can help you feel less worried and take your mind off a stressful environment and help you boost your mental health and deal with stressful activities.
2. Ask for help. Talk with a therapist or make plans with a trusted individual, best friend that you can trust, or a trusted family member.  Asking for help is not a weakness, it shows that you are strong and have the courage to do so you matter. If you are sad, anxious, depressed, stresses please don’t be afraid to ask for help. BCA Therapy has therapists in Wayne and Yardley that can help you today!
3. Focus on what you can control. Don’t worry about things that are out of your control. If something is bothering, you that is out of your control quit worrying about it and thinking about it, there is nothing you can do about it. This will help you relieve a lot of stress and help you focus on what is in your control.
4. Avoid drugs and alcohol. Just because everyone around you is drinking doesn’t mean you have too as well. If someone offers you a drink and you don’t want to drink say “NO”. It is important to set boundaries for the holiday season no matter who is around. By avoiding drugs and alcohol you avoid an increase in depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
5. Identify holiday triggers. Triggers could be people, places, and things that remind you of past trauma or upsetting events. Examples of holiday triggers could be traumatic memories, a narcissist family member, a loss of a loved one, stressful family relationships, or emotional breakups. To avoid holiday triggers put a plan in place ahead of the holidays to avoid these emotional holiday triggers. These plans can put a plan in place to avoid those triggers and help you reduce holiday related stress.

Source:

[1] Mental Health During the Holidays: 8 Tips That Can Help | NU

 

 

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How can you Rebuild a Marriage After Infidelity?

One of the most common challenges couples come to therapy with is infidelity. Whether it’s one partner or both that cheated, it leaves a lasting negative impact on a relationship when not truly dealt with, even if the infidelity happened years ago.

The definition of an affair varies between partners or couples. An emotional affair is still considered infidelity for some people, despite the absence of a physical connection. But, if your partner cheats, what should you do?

• Give yourself all the time, room and space to process the infidelity.
• Have open and honest conversations about how you both feel when you both can truly hear it.
• Remind yourself that even though this happened, you are still enough.
• Remind yourself that everything you feel is valid, and you can allow all of it room and space to be.
• Remind yourself that it’s completely normal and okay for your insecurities to be louder as a result.

Marriage counseling or couple therapy aims to help couples understand each other, resolves conflicts, and improve the couple’s relationship overall.

Here are reasons to seek marriage counseling after an affair:

• Come to understand how it happen.
• Learn to communicate rather than act out your dissatisfactions.
• Learn to work together to re-build trust and a better relationship.
• Argue in a healthier way.

AT BCA Therapy, we have trained marriage and family therapists that can help you get through the toughest points in a relationship! Couples in therapy can expect that both sides will be heard.

 

 

 

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