Supporting Your Kids’ Mental Health
The pandemic has not been kind to kids’ mental health and wellness, increasing everything from depression and anxiety to substance abuse to issues with sleeping and eating. Isolation and uncertainty as well as lack of access to care during the heart of the pandemic have contributed to a growing mental health epidemic among kids, tweens and teens. Check out the signs to watch for and resources for help.
Read moreTuning in to Your Mental Health
We are living through challenging times, and we know many people are experiencing depression, anxiety and stress. This not only impacts mental health, but it can take a toll on your physical well-being and may warrant a conversation with your healthcare provider.
Read moreMental Health: When It’s Time for a Therapist
If your recent “mental health day” has turned into more of a “mental health month,” you might want to transition from self-care to that of a trained therapist. While it can be difficult to determine if your winter blues are the sign of something more serious, a therapist can be a great resource for pretty much everyone who has unanswered questions, needs support, or is facing a challenge at work or home.
Read morePostpartum Care
Once your baby has arrived, you may feel a swing of emotions and wonder about your new postpartum body. Caring for your infant is rewarding, but not always easy, which often makes it harder to take care of yourself. Clinic Sofia wants to help you understand how to care for the emotional and physical changes that happen after the birth of your child.
Read moreMaking the Most of Your Pregnancy
Forty weeks, three trimesters, 10 fingers and 10 toes. Whether your pregnancy seems to fly by or it feels like you’ve been pregnant forever, when you make the most of your pregnancy, you will create some positive memories and move forward into labor, delivery and parenthood with a greater sense of calm and confidence.
Read moreDepression
Depression can be a result of life events, seasons, work stress, finances, or a strained relationship. It’s natural to feel a little blue, fatigued or empty from time to time. However, if your brief bout of sadness or tiredness deepens, begins to interfere with your daily life or leads to loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, you may be experiencing depression.
Read moreAre You Getting Enough Vitamin D?
If you suffer from muscle weakness, bone pain, the winter blues or increased illness when winter rolls around, you might have a deficiency of vitamin D. How do you get enough of the sunshine vitamin on a cold winter day?
Read moreHow to be Kinder
What was the last random act of kindness that you performed? Are you kind to yourself? Do you struggle with less-than-nice thoughts (and sometimes words)? Whether you need a mini-kindness makeover or a more significant overhaul in attitude, there’s no time like a beautiful summer month to kindle a kinder spirit. Kindness is the perfect combination of nice, thoughtful and sincere, and, like stronger muscles, it’s definitely something you can cultivate through a few exercises.
Read moreAsk Sofia: How Do I Get Help from an Abusive Relationship?
If you are struggling with an abusive relationship – whether the abuse is emotional, physical or both – the first thing to know is that it is not your fault that you are being mistreated. Like everyone else, you deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. In addition to physical abuse, emotional abuse can take the form of criticizing or blaming, public and private humiliation, controlling behavior and threats.
Read moreBeing a Great Single Mom
Single moms everywhere juggle work, school and personal lives. Whether you chose to be a single mom or single parenthood was the last thing you ever expected, the following tips can help you make the most of running a one-parent household.
Read morePostpartum Depression and Anxiety
If you have struggled with postpartum depression or the less-recognized postpartum anxiety, you are not alone. As many as 20 percent of women experience anxiety, fatigue, loss of interest in favorite activities, increase or decrease in appetite, feelings of guilt, difficulty concentrating, insomnia or sleeping too much, or thoughts of harming themselves or their child. While most cases of postpartum depression last less than a year, they can impact mother-baby bonding, relationships and overall wellness, so this is not something to take lightly.
Read moreHolidays and Your Health
Between an endless cookie tray at the office, busy schedules that can take a toll on your healthy routines, family struggles, the pressure of planning the perfect party and even seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in these darkest days, the holidays aren’t always healthy days. “Many of our patients this time a year are struggling with frantic schedules, high expectations and less time for self-care, something we all understand a little too well,” said Dr. Donna Block. “I encourage the women we see – and myself – to find just 10 minutes a day to do something good for themselves. Even a small break from the busy season can help you appreciate it that much more.”
Read moreAsk Sofia: How Do I Know if I Have Depression or Just a Case of the Blues?
As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, it’s not uncommon to feel a little blue, fatigued or wistful for warmer, brighter days. However, if your brief bout of sadness or tiredness deepens, begins to interfere with your daily life or leads to loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, you may be experiencing depression. About 19 million Americans experience depression each year, according to WebMD, with women accounting for nearly twice the cases as men.
Read moreAging and the Female Body
Whether you’re noticing the outward signs of aging such as fine lines and more brittle hair or the inner signs – decreased metabolism or loss of flexibility, for example – your body continues to change with each year and each decade. Other signs of aging can include hair loss, dry eyes and skin, sluggish digestion, issues with bladder control as well as menopause. With that said, there are a variety of measures you can take to keep your body feeling young, looking good and going strong. For instance, your muscles only weaken if you let them.
Read moreThe Importance of Self-Care
The kids’ winter jackets, boots, scarves and mittens. Too many deadlines at work. A persistent winter cold (and the persistent winter cold). Appointments, to-dos and events. With everything on your plate, taking care of yourself might come last – or not at all. And yet, if you don’t do the things you enjoy and you […]
Read moreLearning to Love after Loss
From the death of a spouse or partner to the end of a significant relationship and even the loss of a beloved family pet, loss takes a toll on our hearts and minds, emotions and energy levels. If you have recently experienced a major loss, the following steps can help you learn to love again: […]
Read moreA New Take on New Year’s Resolutions
While nearly half of us take the time to make New Year’s resolutions, only eight percent of us are actually successful in sustaining them for the long term, according to the University of Scranton. Whether it’s getting more organized, saving more money or exercising more often, our resolutions often fall by the wayside before the groundhog has a chance to see his shadow on Feb. 2. So this year, how about a New Year’s resolution with a twist? Rather than focusing on a perceived negative (“I need to stop eating junk food” or “I need to stop making bad decisions”), set a positive intention for 2014.
Read moreHow to Feel More Sexy Every Season
Granted, it can be challenging to feel sexy when you’re cloaked in five layers to keep out the cold. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t feel your best and find a little sexy even in the dark of winter. When you tap into your sensuality, you see your body at its best, build confidence and get more in touch with what’s going on inside.
Read moreThe Art of Thankfulness
When someone pays you a compliment, do you say “thank you” or come up with a million reasons why you don’t deserve it? Being thankful – and accepting the thanks and praise of others – is truly an art, and there’s no better time to celebrate it than during the month of Thanksgiving.
Read moreHow to Survive the Loss of a Loved One
While loss and death are a part of every life, that doesn’t make them any easier. The following tips can offer guidance in the wake of a loss.
Read moreAlcohol: Dangerous or Healthy for Women?
If you’re making a toast to your sweetheart, yourself or the good things in your life this month, then, with all the conflicting studies on the topic, you might wonder whether that glass of alcohol is more healthy or harmful to you. And the answer is: It depends.
Read moreLearn to Love Your Body
Whether you are covered from head to toe in turtlenecks, long pants and boots or ready to shed your inhibitions for Valentine’s Day, learning to love your body—at every age and every season—is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself.
Read moreHow to Say No During the Holidays
Parties, cookies, travel, end-of-year projects at work … the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can feel like a mad dash, rather than a fun journey through holiday celebrations. If you find yourself overburdened, overwhelmed and overscheduled, consider these tips for saying no during the holidays to make your days a little brighter: […]
Read moreThe Lowdown on Postpartum Depression
Thanks to celebrity moms (Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox and others) and less-famous-but-equally-brave new moms who’ve brought the topic out of the shadows of childbirth, postpartum depression is no longer a secret or a dirty word. As a matter of fact, up to 25 percent of women experience depression after giving birth and, for […]
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