Toolbox: Going off to College in the age of Covid-19

This year, thousands of freshman will begin their college careers on campuses across the country.  While some universities (Harvard, MIT, etc.) closed their campuses fall semester, many are opening their dormitory doors in the hopes that some semblance of campus life can be created, even in these challenging times. 

But this year will be different.  Freshmen/women will have another layer of stress to combat.  In addition to the normal challenges of transitioning to university life, they have to contend with COVID-19 .  Here are some tips to help prepare and succeed this year:

• Make a schedule and keep to it. For many, college is the first time where there is no one to make sure you get out of bed and go to school(even if it is online).  Also, it is the first time where you are not attending classes every day, and have bells to tell you when it’s time to stop and go.  It may seem simple, but it is likely something you take for granted.  This is especially true in the time of COVID-19, where many of your classes will be online, and there is even less structure to classes than in-person instruction.  So do yourself a favor, and make a schedule.  Include class time, TA meetings, and times to study, eat, sleep and workout.

1. Attend all your classes online and in person.  There may be a real temptation to skip classes, as attendance may not be taken. College moves at a much quicker pace than high school, and missing one class can put you far behind. Success in college , as in most things in life, requires you show up.
2. Plan on doing all your reading/studying most days, at least the first term. Getting behind can put you in a very difficult position and create unnecessary anxiety. Also, find your best study environment. Is it your dorm room? Common areas? The library? Do some exploring as to what space is available given COVID-19 restrictions. 
3. Get a good night’s sleep– there is a temptation to stay up until 2 am every day, chatting and playing video games.  But sleep is what restores your body and helps your mind to function properly.  Sleep helps regulate your mood and stress level, and keeps your “freaks outs” manageable. In addition, sleep also keeps your immune system strong, as your body can repair itself during slumber. In COVID-19 times, this is incredibly important!!  Aim for 7-8 hours a night.
4. Eat regularly  and watch your caffeine intake.  Keep your body and mind fueled( tip: proteins help you think).  Watch caffeine intake, as it can exacerbate feelings of anxiety.
5. Exercise and get fresh air regularly.  Exercise is a great stress reliever and mood manager.  While the fitness centers on campus are likely closed, outside activities are available.  Running/ walking/ biking are excellent options during the pandemic.  Even when the weather gets colder, it is good to look for online fitness options to keep your stress levels down and mood up.
6. Figure out the best fit for you to meet people.  Are you more comfortable one on one? Then focus on introducing yourself to folks one at a time.  In small groups?  Ask if you can join in.  If you are invited to join in, even if you are a little anxious, go.  This may be the first time in a long time you’ve  had to make friends.  It’s normal to be anxious. But just like going to class, you have to show up to make friends.  So Go. 
7. You may be wondering how you are supposed to manage the above while sticking to your pandemic protection plan( mask-up/6ft apart).  It is more than possible. In fact, everyone at college will A) be making friends a priority and B) be more than willing to find a safe way to connect regardless of COVID-19.  
8. Know where and how to access Campus support: Do you know where campus health center and counseling center are located and how to contact them?  During the pandemic, services are likely to be online, so make sure your laptop/tablet/phone works properly.
9. If you start to struggle with feelings of anxiety and depression, do not ignore them. If the normal things you do to help yourself feel better are not working, reach out to your university counseling center.  If you are struggling to get out of bed, are so anxious you can’t focus on your studies, or struggle to make social connections, call the counseling center.  This is exactly what they are there for.  
10. If you are currently working on your mental health with a therapist at home, you may have the option to continue while you transition to college life.  Insurance companies are covering telehealth sessions during COVID-19, and many plan to continue coverage indefinitely.  Even if you are moving out of state, you may be able to continue your counseling, as many states are allowing out of state therapists to provide online services.  Your insurance company will be able to let you know if this is possible.
11. If you feel suicidal at any time, tell someone (ie resident advisor, a friend, the counseling center, suicide help hotline 1-800-273-8255 ). Suicidal thoughts are not as uncommon as you may think.  When folks are emotionally distraught, it’s not uncommon to think, “I don’t want to feel this way anymore” or “This is too hard, I want this to be over”.  They are a warning sign that you are really struggling and need help. Most importantly, suicidal feelings are not permanent and can be treated and eradicated. Reach out.

I wish you great success on your university adventure! Here’s to discovering amazing things in your studies and about yourself!

Be well,

Dr. Marsh

EMDR–EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION & REPROCESSING

“Traumatic experiences may have happened long ago, and we may not recognize how much they affected us. The negative emotions, behaviors, beliefs, and sensations that cause chronic problems generally can be tracked back to these unprocessed memories. In that way, the past stays present. EMDR can help you make sense of the trauma-based symptoms (like anxiety, panic attacks, sadness, anger/rage, phobias) and identify their cause”-Dr. Francine Shapiro, from her book “Getting Past Your Past.”

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a well-researched psychotherapy approach that enables people to heal from emotional distress and symptoms related to trauma. Trauma based experiences affect the way a person views themselves and others. The resulting negative emotions, beliefs, or behaviors become the symptoms of a person’s suffering, not its cause. While many therapies work on minimizing symptoms, EMDR targets the cause: trauma-based memories that are “frozen” or unprocessed in the brain’s memory network. Discovered in the late 1980s by Dr. Francine Shapiro, EMDR gave new hope to combat veterans that were experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition regarded as difficult to treat. Her research hypothesized that when trauma-based memories were re-processed in the sufferer’s brain, the distressing symptoms decreased or disappeared altogether. Over the last 25 years, EMDR therapy has evolved into a comprehensive, highly effective therapy used in healing people that have experienced both large and small traumas.

How Does it Work

The goal of EMDR therapy is to completely “process” past traumatic events that are causing symptoms in a person’s current life. “Processing” does not mean just talking about negative memories, or identifying ways to minimize the related symptoms such as anxiety, depression or feelings of unworthiness, for example. It means setting up a learning state that allows these past experiences to be filed and stored appropriately in the brain’s memory network.  This often results in increased insight regarding both previously disturbing events and long held negative thoughts about the self. During an EMDR session, the client may call to mind a visual image related to the memory, a resulting negative belief about self, and the related emotions and body sensations that occur. During this part of the therapy, the client follows right-to-left eye movement to repeatedly activate opposite sides of the brain, like what happens during REM sleep when memories are “processed”. Research has shown that the long-term effects of untreated childhood trauma get carried over into adulthood and are passed down to the next generation. Adults who grew up with physical/sexual/verbal abuse, physically or mentally ill parents, bullying, family dysfunction, domestic violence, family members with addictions, etc. most likely experienced a great deal of trauma as children. In adulthood, the trauma now presents itself through symptoms such as anxiety, depression, job performance issues, substance abuse, chronic low self-esteem, anger/rage, etc. EMDR has been used to effectively treat thousands and thousands of people who experienced forms of early childhood trauma.

What is a Session Like?

EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment that starts with comprehensive history-taking to get a clear understanding of the client’s memory, associated negative beliefs, desired positive beliefs, and accompanying body sensations. Once the clinician has determined which memory to target first, the client is asked to recall the worst aspect of the memory together with the accompanying negative beliefs and bodily sensations. The client will be directed to move their eyes from side to side or employ some other form of bilateral stimulation (BLS) via visual, auditory, or tactile experiences. Within the client’s brain, associations arise, and the client will begin to process the memory and the related negative feelings in a more adaptive way. The memory that was once charged with emotion becomes less distressing. In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level. For instance, a victim of a rape shifts from feeling horror and powerlessness to “I survived it and I am strong.” EMDR therapy leaves clients feeling empowered by the very experiences that once crippled them.

If you experience any of these trauma-based symptoms, ask your therapist if EMDR is right for you.

ANGER/RAGE         EATING DISORDERS        PTSD or ANXIETY       DEPRESSION

  FEARS/PHOBIAS      INTIMACY ISSUES       SEXUAL ADDICTIONS      PANIC ATTACKS

 SUBSTANCE ABUSE         SOCIAL ISOLATION        DIFFICULTY TRUSTING      FEAR OF FAILURE

EXTREMEGUILT/SHAME         LOW SELF-ESTEEM         PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Carol Van Kampen, LMSW

Carol Van Kampen, LMSW is an individual private practice psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma treatment at Marsh Psychology Group. Carol is EMDR trained. Contact her at marshpsychologygroup.com

cvankampen@marshpsychologygroup.com

https://marshpsychologygroup.com/carol-van-kampen-lmsw/

Signs of adolescent depression often differ from adult symptoms

Teens face many challenges and pressures as a natural part of their development. We expect some difficulty in facing these issues, including changes in moods and behaviors. So how can we determine when these changes go beyond what is considered a ‘normal’ part of development? How do we know when a teenager is depressed and in need of Mental Health treatment?

According to a 2016 study 10-15% of teens have had a depressive episode, and the rate is increasing. Symptoms of a Major Depressive Episode include:

Some differences in how teens experience depression compared with adults can make it more difficult to recognize. Because peer relationships are the center of adolescent development, teenagers are less likely to withdraw from friends or become socially isolated when depressed. While depressed adults often withdraw from social relationships and activities, teens are more likely to withdraw from adults than peers.

While adults are more likely to become emotionally withdrawn and turn inward when depressed, teens are more likely to act out through expressing anger and irritability. This can lead to teens becoming more defiant and argumentative, especially toward adults.

Because teenagers are still developing a full awareness of themselves and their bodies, they may be more likely to experience somatic symptoms than adults. These include frequent stomachaches, headaches, and other body pains that are not related to any physical condition or cause.

Due to normal developmental processes that occur during adolescence, it can be difficult to determine whether or not an adolescent is suffering from mental illness. If you notice signs of Depression or are worried about your teenager’s behavior, contact a Mental Health Professional for more information.

-Laura Gross, LMSW

Laura Gross is a fully licensed social worker who specializes in teen mental health issues. Contact her at: lgross@marshpsychologygroup.com

Marsh Psychology Group: 248-860-2024

These are stressful times for all of us. The pandemic, as well as daily life during these uncertain times is testing our emotional resilience. Here are three strategies you can add to your self-care toolbox which will help manage your anxiety and limit worry during all of this uncertainty.
1. Stay in the Present Moment
It is easy to be in our head too much, worrying about the past or the future and feeling strung out between the two. It is easy to feel that you are spiraling, and your anxiety is growing. It is easy to get distracted and obsessively follow the news or social media stories and forget about everything else.
Staying in the moment means being present to the here and now. It means not being distracted by the things we cannot control but rather, engaging with what is. We do not have control over the outside world, but we do have control over what is inside of us.
Instead of filling your mind with worrisome news, look at what is going on right in front of you. Get in touch with your senses. What can you see, hear, touch, taste and smell right now? Play with your kids or your pets, cook a new recipe, or take a warm bath. In this way, you are tending to your physical and emotional needs, and this helps you to stay out of your head and stay in the now moment.
During challenging times, pay attention to your body signals like shallow breathing, feeling shaky, feeling chest tightness or lightheadedness. Try not to see these signals as something additional to worry about, but rather as signs that alert you to take a break.
Pause and get still. Be there for yourself.
Reconnect with what is going on around you. Practice a grounding technique by focusing on those five senses and your breath.
2. Feel and Accept Your Feelings

We all experience an increase in uncomfortable feelings during challenging times. If we have to stay at home, there are fewer distractions to take our mind off fearful thoughts and difficult emotions. But remember we are meant to feel our feelings.
Fighting your feelings and running away from them will create more stress.
Let your feelings happen. It will not feel comfortable right away or be easy, but resisting feelings will in the end, be more painful.
Stop telling yourself that you should not feel a certain feeling, or that you are weak or too sensitive or being ridiculous. Stop shaming yourself for feeling whatever you are feeling.
When we invalidate or ignore our feelings, it is harmful to our mental well-being. It breaks down our self-esteem and leaves us feeling defective and alone. It creates a disconnection from ourselves that can lead us to feel confused about our decisions because we no longer know how we feel or what we want.
Staying mentally healthy during difficult times requires you to feel your feelings and to process them, which means not fighting or avoiding them.

3. Engage in Something Meaningful
It is important for our mental well-being is to engage in something meaningful.
When we learn not to make our feelings a problem, it creates the space we need to engage with something meaningful, something that is important to us, and something that brings us joy.
We can choose something new, something fun or active, or something creative. We can come up with new projects or can focus on being productive. We can improve our relationships by having some fun or being caring toward each other. We can take time to play with our kids and pets.
This is not about denying or avoiding the realities of a difficult situation. It is about preserving the mental energy needed to deal with it in the most effective and compassionate way possible.
Whatever it is, choose something. Get present and engage with it. It will take your mind off things. It will give you a break.
A big part of preserving our mental energy and health, is maintaining a sense of purpose in the face of a crisis. So remember, we must stay in the moment as much as possible, feel our feelings, accept ourselves and accept where we are in this process of adjustment and adaption.

Be well,

Carol Van Kampen, LMSW

Carol Van Kampen, LMSW is a individual private practice psychotherapist who specializes in anxiety, depression, grief and trauma treatment at Marsh Psychology Group. Contact her at marshpsychologygroup.com
cvankampen@marshpsychologygroup.com

Carol Van Kampen, LMSW