By Dr. Ana Costa
Let me start with a confession: I’ve been wanting to write an article about procrastination, but have been putting it off for a long time… so ironically, I’ve been procrastinating about procrastination (writing). What is procrastination? Procrastination refers to delaying or not completing a given task, and instead engaging in a less important one, despite …
Continue reading "What is procrastination and why do we do it?"
Assertiveness is the quality of expressing your views, opinions or feelings, in a calm and clear manner, without becoming either verbally aggressive or too passive. It’s a fine balance to strike, and we don’t always get it right. Let’s have a look into the 3 most common styles of communication that people generally use. I’m …
Continue reading "Assertiveness: The Goldilocks of Communication"
Mindfulness has been incorporated into several psychological interventions, either as a sole or core component of the intervention. A body of research has examined the effects of mindfulness on psychological health and has suggested that mindfulness training is associated with positive psychological effects, including increased subjective well-being and positive emotional states, reduced stress, improved regulation …
Continue reading "Mindfulness and Mental Well-Being: Part 2"
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness has been defined as the awareness that arises through “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4). Other similar descriptions of mindfulness have emphasised “the non-judgmental observation of the ongoing stream of internal and external stimuli as they arise” (Baer, 2003, …
Continue reading "Mindfulness and Mental Well-Being- Part 1"
Feeling sad is a normal experience in life. However, when these normal feelings of sadness occur for most of the day, you have has lost interest or pleasure in daily activities, and these symptoms persist for more than two weeks, then it is likely that depression has developed. How can I help myself to feel …
At some point in your life, you will have felt sad, demotivated or anxious. This could be associated with a particular negative life event, such as the loss of a loved one (through death, separation, divorce), loss of career (with potential financial difficulties), illness/injury/ loss of health, or relationship struggles. The impact these negative life …
Continue reading "To Engage or Not To Engage in Therapy: That Is the Question"
Having clinical depression is more than feeling temporarily unhappy with how things have been going on for you. If you want to know whether you are clinically depressed, this is the diagnostic criteria. It should include at least 5 of the following 9 symptoms present nearly every day (DSM-5, APA, 2013*): Depressed or irritable mood …
