By Erica Bobish, LSW Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Depression. Winter Blues. We have a lot of names for the way the time of year may play into our mental health. As we approach colder weather, shorter days, and darker mornings, it’s not uncommon to start to experience lower moods. According to the National Institute of …
Lower Temperatures and Lower Moods: What is Seasonal Depression? Read More »
By Erica Bobish, LSW I was at Walgreens in the middle of August when I saw Halloween candy out. School semesters hadn’t started, we hadn’t even made it past Labor Day, and here I was staring down aisles of candy, pumpkins, and decorations. Nearly a month later, it’s mid September, and my local Target has …
By Erica Bobish, MSW Many of us go through the day focusing on our to-dos and tasks we need to complete. At the end of the day, we then will measure our productivity and decide if what we did was enough that day. Sometimes, we’ll bring our work home, answer emails outside of work hours, …
By Karli Bigler Main point/overview: It can be so easy to feel shameful about our bodies, especially for oppressed populations and communities. Here are some things American society doesn’t teach us about weight, diet, and beauty standards, and how to go against the current to celebrate ourselves. *The information shared in this post was gathered …
By Erica Bobish, MSW Lately, the news just feels like one tragedy after another, and I can’t help but cringe when someone tells me to “just stay positive” or “it just is what it is”. While these sayings can be well intentioned, they can also be hurtful to the folks they are directed at, as …
It’s okay not to be okay: Going against toxic positivity Read More »
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW Beginning therapy can be a difficult process, whether it’s someone’s first time or they are starting up again. There’s often a stigma about going to therapy that a lot of people have to overcome. We often hear, “When starting therapy, it feels like I’m admitting something is ‘wrong with me.’” While …
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW We live in a time where a lot of information is readily available on the internet, often right next to us on our phones. This can be helpful when we need to find answers quickly, but it gets riskier when we are searching for something that isn’t an exact fact. When …
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW Human rights are important for numerous reasons, but psychologically speaking, our rights solidify our identities and how others accept us. There are many examples of rights being threatened in past and present, and with reproductive rights being in the spotlight right now it feels like a good time to address the …
Emotional Processing When Your Rights Are Threatened Read More »
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW We talk a lot about goals—in therapy, at work, with people around us. We look at our needs and decide what we want to add or how we want to improve. It’s great when we give ourselves something to work towards, but what happens when we set the bar too high …
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW When you hear the terms “trans” and “non-binary” do you find yourself confused? We want to clear some of that up to create a more inclusive environment all around! Full disclosure—this is being written by a cisgender woman, but I feel it is part of my job in my field and …
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW We talked before about having negative emotions and experiences. We looked at ways to understand that internal process and be supportive to ourselves when we have that inner conflict. So what happens when the negative feelings aren’t just inside, but are another person in our lives? We have even less control, …
By Jill Bajorek, LCSW “Keep thinking positively!” “Focus on the good instead of the bad.” “Don’t allow negative thoughts.” “Just let it go!” We’ve heard these pieces of advice before, right? Sure, it would be great to have a life full of only positive experiences and feeling good all the time. The problem is, that’s …
By Marko Sipka, LCPC Technology is undoubtedly an essential part of modern life. So much so that it is hard for me to imagine going about my daily life without relying on my smartphone. In this sense, it would seem the smartphone has become much more than just a tool to make life easier. It …
By Amalia C. Pryor, LCSW Well, here we are 10 months later in the deep depths of this pandemic. It’s cold, dark and seemingly never ending at this point. With rising covid cases and constant reinforcement in the media of loss, death, sadness– grief is at an all time high as well as loss of …
Finding support with grief, loss and death in the time of COVID-19 Read More »
By Amalia Pryor From the time we were born, we have had expectations instilled in us from the generations before such as college, engagements, weddings, kids, traveling, careers, the list goes on! It really can be anything. But what if what we want for ourselves doesn’t fit with what society or family expects from us? I …
The effects of societal pressure and our self esteem Read More »
Encircle works with young adults throughout Illinois, and primarily in downtown Chicago in the fantastic West Loop area. Our office is steps from the pink and green line EL stop at Clinton, has ample street parking, borders River North and the Loop, and is next door to the Ogilvie Metra, the French Market, and the Fulton Market neighborhood. Currently, we are offering virtual sessions, as well as in-person sessions in the newly updated office in the amazing West Loop neighborhood.
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