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Bringing Serenity to your life with Comprehensive Behavioral Health Solutions

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NEW: Resiliency & Mental Wellness for First Responders
January 11, 20201
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NEW: NAMI Frontline Wellness

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) new initiative, in partnership with #FirstRespondersFirst, supports frontline professionals with resources for their immediate and future mental health needs. Click here to learn more.
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Coping in the 2020/21 School Year: A resource guide for students and young adults

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) developed
a behavioral health resource guide for middle and high school students, adolescents and young adults coping during the 2020/21 school year. This guide will help spotlight issues and find resources so that Maryland students and young adults can know how to help themselves, and each other, manage stress and recognize signs of crisis during the pandemic. Click here to learn more.





Employment & Internship Opportunities
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Talking to Kids About the Attack on the Capitol

Explaining the violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying that President-elect Joe Biden won the election.
  1. Wednesday’s (1/6/2021) violence at the U.S. Capitol is an attack on our country and on our democratic institutions.

  2. Most children are aware of more than we realize, and many educators and parents have spoken frankly to them about the racism and bigotry that they have experienced or witnessed.

  3. Continuing that discussion is critically important in this moment.
Click here to read more from the National Education Association. 

Photo: istockphoto.com/JUANMONINO

5 Ways to Reduce Anxiety, Anger, and Depression in 2021
Let's make 2021 the year of losing the baggage.

2020 was a doozy. Chances are you are stressed out, burned out, and probably tired out. We are all waiting to see a much better 2021 that is full of promise and hope. 

But because hope is not a strategy, I encourage you to do these five things in order to take control of the wheel and live a baggage-free life.
Learn what cognitive distortions are and quit using them. They will dictate your thinking and your life by default. They are the number one reason people remain stuck and unhappy. They are typically learned when you are young and can actually be at the root of much anxiety, anger, and depression. Click here to learn more about cognitive distortions. 
  • Learn to draw boundaries with others. Boundaries define who you are and how you expect to be treated. Toxic people who will not respect your boundaries drain your life force and should be eliminated from your life if possible.
  • Learn to chill out. Constant stress takes a toll on your health. Same with chronic anger. It might be time to take a break from the media and your devices and live in the moment with your surroundings and blessings. Learn meditation or biofeedback practices that you can do at home. These teach you to take control of anxiety so that it doesn’t take control of you.
  • Get organized. This is the best way of gaining control over your environment, your property, your time, and your finances. Having complete knowledge of all parts of your life is very peaceful and allows you to take the necessary actions. A chaotic household is a life suck and provokes anxiety and anger. The overwhelm that it causes can actually lead to depression.
  • Add something to your life that enriches it. This can be a hobby, sport, or intellectual interest of some kind. This will kick up your serotonin for the New Year and get you off to a good start. It renews interest in life in general and can help you meet new friends. 
I know these sound very simplistic, but they work. We often want to think things are much more complicated than they are and that is when we look for complicated solutions when the actual ones are right at our fingertips. The more complicated you make something, the more stressful it becomes. When you believe your solutions are manageable and under your control, you will gain peace, reduce anxiety and irritability, and buffer yourself against depression. 

If you notice, these are all things that you learn to do. They are not illnesses to overcome or walls that cannot be climbed. They are not solutions that are just for some people, they are for anyone who will take a bit of time and incorporate them into their lives. Every one of you reading this can do them. Maybe you only need to do some and already have some in place. Maybe you need to do all of them. Either way, they can be done and you will feel better after you do them. You may have spent half your life already in a disorganized mess; think how good you will feel to finally conquer that.

Take ownership of your life for 2021 and ring in a baggage-free New Year!

Written by 

Dr. Audrey Sherman; content from Psychology Today.


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CARF International, a group of companies that includes CARF Canada and CARF Europe, is an independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services. Toll free (888) 281-6531. www.carf.org 


If you are experiencing a mental health medical emergency, call 911 or go immediately to the closest emergency room.



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