Spill the (Therapy) Tea

Spill the (Therapy) Tea

Seasonal Sadness Isn’t Just the Weather: Understanding SAD and Fall Fatigue

The clocks change, the light fades, and suddenly your motivation evaporates with the daylight. Welcome to November. If you’ve noticed lower energy, heavier moods, or that you’re sleeping more but feeling worse, it’s not in your head. You might be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or a milder form of seasonal mood change — sometimes called “fall fatigue.” 🧠 What’s happening in your brain When daylight decreases, your body produces more melatonin (the sleep hormon

Nov 181 min read

Holiday Boundaries: When “Family Time” Feels Like Emotional Cardio

The holidays are coming — which means it’s officially “boundary season.” Family time can be lovely… or it can feel like running an emotional marathon in jeans. Maybe it’s the same political debate every year, the “When are you getting married?” interrogation, or that one relative who believes volume equals being right. Between the pressure to be cheerful, the expectations to show up, and the emotional landmines of old family dynamics, the holidays can easily go from festive

Nov 114 min read

Why Gratitude Feels Awkward—and How to Make It Actually Work

Let’s be honest: gratitude season can feel... forced. You’re barely holding it together, your inbox is overflowing, and someone on Instagram is telling you to “just be thankful.” Cue eye roll. But here’s the thing: gratitude does have real mental health benefits. It’s not just a Pinterest mantra — studies show that regularly practicing gratitude can boost dopamine and serotonin (your brain’s “feel good” chemicals), reduce stress hormones, and even improve sleep. The trick i

Nov 42 min read

🎃 Ghosted by Your Feelings? How to Handle the Emotional Hauntings of Halloween

Boo! 👻 It’s that time of year again—when skeletons come out of closets (literally), everything smells like pumpkin spice, and pretending to be someone else is totally encouraged. But while the fake cobwebs and candy bowls are easy to clean up, the emotional ghosts hanging around? Not so much. At ABC Counseling , we love Halloween for its creativity and laughter—but it’s also the perfect time to talk about the ways fear, masks, and ghosts can show up in our emotional lives. �

Oct 312 min read

🕸️ “Monster in My Mind”: When Anxiety Dresses Up for Halloween

October is full of jump scares — haunted houses, creepy clowns, your inbox after a long weekend. But for some of us, the real monster isn’t under the bed — it’s in our head. Anxiety loves Halloween. It gets to wear all its favorite disguises: The “what if” witch who brews worst-case scenarios. The perfectionist vampire who sucks all your energy until nothing feels good enough. The ghost of past mistakes who whispers “remember when…” at the worst possible time. At ABC Coun

Oct 282 min read

🍬 Emotional Eating, Sugar Rushes, and the Sweet Side of Self-Compassion

Halloween is basically the Olympics of candy consumption. Mini Snickers, Reese’s cups, and Skittles somehow multiply overnight — and suddenly you’re standing in the kitchen at 10 p.m. with an open bag of fun-size regrets. But here’s the thing: eating a few (or a few dozen) pieces of candy doesn’t make you weak, lazy, or “bad.” It makes you human. At ABC Counseling , we’re all about helping people find balance — and that includes your relationship with food, your body, and tha

Oct 252 min read

Venting: Why It Doesn’t Always Feel the Way You Think It Should

We’ve all been there. You’ve got feelings brewing inside you — frustration, overwhelm, maybe that one snarky comment from your coworker that’s been living rent-free in your brain all week. And you think: I just need to vent. The idea is that venting will feel like blowing off steam: you let it out, you feel lighter, your friend nods in solidarity, and you both move on. But sometimes? It feels less like letting off steam and more like chugging gasoline and lighting yourself o

Oct 222 min read