Quarterlife Center - Counseling for Young Adults

  If you’re new to therapy, you probably have some questions about how it works. One of the most common questions we get at QLC is “what should I talk about in therapy?” Here are 5 helpful ideas to get you started. 1. Talk about how you decided to begin therapy. Did something happen recently that led you to seek counseling? What have you been struggling with? Have you been thinking about doing this for a long time? Did a friend or family member encourage you to begin therapy?) 2. Share your feelings about beginning therapy. Are you excited, nervous, ambivalent, angry, distracted? How does your body feel? Are you thirsty, hungry, tense? 3. Share how you feel now that you’ve arrived to your counseling session. Were you stressed out trying to find the office? Did you arrive on time? Where you rushed? Is the appointment how you thought it would be? Are you feeling more nervous or less nervous now that you’re there? Are you physically comfortable in the office? Do you feel nervous, re...

  The past or anticipated death of someone we love can be especially difficult during the holiday season, a time when many people around us are celebrating with close family and friends. Rather than being a time of celebration, it can sometimes become filled with sadness, longing, and emptiness. Here are some tips to help you get through this holiday season: Allow yourself to acknowledge that this time of year might be different or difficult and that it’s okay for it to feel this way. Make a plan for where, when and with whom you want to celebrate the holiday. You might want to change your traditions or plans to accommodate the fact that this year feels different and you might need more/different support. Try to anticipate and communicate your needs to others you will be with during the holidays. Consider picking out a gift for yourself that reminds you of the person you’ve lost (favorite music, hobby you’ve shared, picture frame, charm or ornament etc.). Give yourself permission t...

  Creating a successful romantic relationship requires focus, creativity, and flexibility. Quarterlife couples often have additional stressors on their relationships typical of young adulthood, such as geographic moves, navigating a long-distance relationship, financial instability, career insecurity, and shifts in social life. With so many transitions, it is common for couples to lose sight of the fact that relationships require nurturing, Here are 3 ways you can improve your relationship. 1. Prioritize self-care. Taking care of yourself emotionally and physically is ultimately your own responsibility. If you find yourself frustrated with your partner for not attending to you and your relationship enough, first check in and make sure that YOU are taking care of yourself enough. When we aren’t adequately nurturing ourselves, we often look to our partner, to fill in those gaps that are ultimately our own responsibility. Before talking to your partner about what he/she is not doing ...

  You may have grown up hearing things like, “Oh my gosh, you’re so ADHD.” And while the person saying it may have sounded a tad exasperated, your ADHD makes you who you are. Your creative, spontaneous, and energetic nature isn’t anything to apologize for or feel ashamed of. Here are the benefits of an ADHD brain — start thinking of it as your superpower! 1. ADHD makes you a flexible thinker You may have heard the word “neurodiverse” in the last couple of years. This term refers to an individual whose brain develops differently or uniquely for some reason. Growing up, you may have thought being different was bad for one reason or another but being different can also give you strengths that no one else has. ADHD is a type of neurodiversity that allows an individual to be exceptionally good at various thinking tasks, like flexibility and thinking outside the box. 2. ADHD allows you to hyperfocus You may think that ADHD means that you can’t focus on anything or even sit still. While p...

  Dating someone with anxiety can be challenging for both people involved. Anxiety can stand between you and your partner and create doubt and confusion for seemingly no reason at all. Yet, there’s no reason a mental health condition should stand between you and someone you love. Dating someone with anxiety is possible, and there are some key ways that you can prepare. We’ll break down some of those ways in this blog. 1. Learn about anxiety disorders. Learning about anxiety and what it is doing to your partner is the first step. You’ll most likely see it show up in two ways: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and/or panic attacks. GAD has symptoms that are similar to panic disorder, OCD, and other types of anxiety. Living with this disorder is often a long-term challenge for those experiencing it. They may persistently worry about a number of areas in their lives or over-think plans and solutions. They may perceive situations and events as threatening, even when they aren’t, or the...

  The holidays can be an extremely difficult time for those experiencing infertility. Holiday gatherings can cause anxiety, sadness, and even jealousy–it’s hard to see women who are pregnant or a family that has the baby that you are longing for. If you are dreading this holiday season, here are 5 tips to make it more bearable: Change of Plans If you are feeling overwhelmed by holiday festivities this year, it is okay to change your plans. Think about the parts of the holiday that are important to you this year and consider ways to prioritize those experiences and ditch the rest. Detox Social media and photo holiday cards can be especially triggering for some during the holiday season. Consider going on a digital detox and limiting your exposure during the holidays. If you find you are having difficulty, make a plan for opening holiday cards, which can include waiting until after the holidays to open them, or opening them with a friend or partner present. Plan Ahead Holiday gatheri...

  Given all the changes that come with pregnancy and parenthood, you might be wondering if the emotional and physical differences you are feeling are cause for concern. While adjustments, including some feelings of sadness and worry, can be normal, there are also signs that might indicate it is time to seek additional support. Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) are a group of emotional and sometimes physical symptoms that can affect pregnant and postpartum parents. Symptoms of PMADs can appear anytime from conception up until 1 year after birth. This group of disorders can affect parents in every financial, cultural, racial, religious or age group and can be caused by changes in biology (hormonal), physiology, and environmental factors. Although less commonly talked about, partners can also experience these symptoms, for men referred to as Paternal Perinatal Depression (PPND). While experiencing symptoms of a PMAD or PPND can be distressing, it’s important to remember tha...

We have heard that the pandemic is over; and shortly after that, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) corrected the claim, informing us that this was not the case, but that we are in a much more hopeful and confident place than ever before. This is just one example of the back-and-forth we have been experiencing for a while now. It seems that we are in another period of transition where we’re trying to adjust to the “new normal.” And it wasn’t too long ago that we had to adapt to the “pandemic normal.” In March 2020, the world faced a series of forced choices in efforts to adapt to lockdowns, limitations, and losses. Waves of fear, anger, sadness and other complex emotional experiences surfaced, and we did our best to make things work within the confines of our new reality. Through facing our individual and collective suffering, many of us found rhythms, adaptations, and processes that started to work for us. Maybe we sometimes sulked and balked, as we tolerated and accepted what we co...

  When you graduated from college, moved out of your parents’ house, or took that other next big step into adulthood, you likely heard the following from someone in your life: “This is the most exciting time in your life! Make the most of it. Live every day to the fullest. I wish I could go back and do it all over again.” And yet, maybe it didn’t feel as exciting as it should have. In fact, your 20s and 30s, despite being the rumored “most exciting time of your life” can often be the most disorienting. It involves so many big decisions and new experiences that you’ll find yourself wondering, “What am I doing with my life?” or “Am I doing this right?” more often than you’d probably like. As you go through these transitions, you may experience a quarterlife crisis. This phenomenon is incredibly common for quarterlifers. Keep reading to learn the signs and symptoms below. What is a quarterlife crisis? A quarterlife crisis is a period when someone in their 20s or 30s experiences overwh...