Suicide Awareness and Prevention Updated from its original publishing date December 6, 2014. There’s been lots of talk about suicide in the news lately. With the recent deaths of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, designer Kate Spade, and California pastor, Andrew Stoecklein, there’s hardly a week that goes by without mention of a suicide-related death….
The Many Faces of Depression
It’s important for you to know depression has many faces. Many of us find it difficult to even consider the notion of having a “mental illness”. The stigma about mental illness problems still exists despite the popularity of shows like Dr. Phil and the inclusion of characters dealing with mental health issues in our Thursday night sitcom lineup (This Is Us, Homeland, etc.). Mental illness is something that “other folks” have to deal with not me and you. Until one day it is “me and you”.
Mental illness is just like any other kind of physical illness, there are biological, psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual components to it. Mental illnesses like depression can be debilitating and in some cases deadly. Most of the time, people don’t come to see someone like me until they just can’t take it anymore; their lives have become so unbearable or they are so unhappy that they just don’t want to “do this anymore”. That’s what I hear most often, “I just don’t want to do this anymore”.
Recognizing the signs of PTSD
First let me make everyone aware that PTSD is not my area of expertise so I will be speaking in very general terms today… What is PTSD? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event such as combat, assault, or disaster. Most people experience some…
A.C.T. – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Resources
A.C.T. Resources This growing list of Acceptance and Commitment therapy resources is being curated to provide an on-going repository of useful materials for our readers. – Mindfulness and Acceptance Package provided by AcceptanceandChange.com – Values Worksheet provided by PsychologyTools.org
4 Mindfulness Exercises to focus on your breakthrough
In a relationship series that I’ve been teaching, we’ve been using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a primary approach for developing a clear relationship with self. The goal of ACT is is to create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the pain that inevitably accompanies it. ACT asserts that it is only through…
The importance of self-acceptance in the relationship with ourselves
This is a continuance of the Free to Be Me Women’s relationship series. Dr. S.O.S. spent the first 8 parts of the series discussing how we build a relationship with God. In this six part series Dr. S.O.S. discusses the dynamics of building a relationship with ourselves. In Part 1 she discussed “self-esteem”; now in…
Crisis Management Presentation
Dr. S.O.S. (Stacie Otey-Scott) presentation to the leadership and staff of The Mount on crisis management in cases of suicidality, homicidality, and engaging child protective services. After the click you will find the slide presentation and crisis management summary handouts along with a child protective services protocol summary.
3 Steps to Acceptance
In my latest presentation for the Women’s Relationship series titled Free to be Me, I am focusing on the relationship with yourself. As I have mentioned, life is about relationships, your relationship with God, yourself and others. In session #5 we are dealing with the relationship of “self”. Last week was “self-talk” and learning the influence that our words have in our lives and choosing to use positive self-talk instead of negative self-talk.
This week, we move to acceptance, which includes learning to accept things about ourselves, situations, and relationships. We often find it very difficult to view ourselves in what we perceive to be a negative light due to the impact of shame, guilt, or fear, but by committing to 3 critical steps we can overcome shame, fear or guilt and it begins with acceptance. Learn what the 3 steps to acceptance are.
4 Steps to Stopping Negative Self-Talk
4 Steps to Stopping Negative Self Talk Relationship Series – Session #4 The words that come from our mouths have the power of curses and blessings. We decide with the words we speak, whether we speak positivity or negativity into our lives. In this presentation, I share how seemingly benign phrases can influence our perception…