It seems like everyone has anxiety these days. To be fair, there’s a lot going on in our world that is anxiety provoking. But what is anxiety exactly? How do we know when it’s just a feeling or something more, like an anxiety disorder? Does one’s personality make them more prone to experiencing anxiety? First, …
Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis
Julie Williamson is the Founder and Therapist of Abundant Life Counseling St. Louis LLC. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Registered Play Therapist. She enjoys working with adults facing the challenges of family of origin issues, women’s issues, healthy dating relationships, emotional abuse, depression, and anxiety.
To Feel is Human
Recently, I was at my parents’ house, and they decided to put on old home videos of my sisters and I when we were small children. Most of their videos seem to be of us opening our presents each Christmas. These videos all seem to be pretty much the same, with the exception of us …
In Defense of Emotions…
Stop for a moment and think of the term: emotion. What comes up for you? Here are some things that immediately come to my mind: “Oh, she’s so emotional;” “don’t be so emotional!”; feelings; good and bad emotions; eye rolls; the episode of the Bachelor that I watched last night; crying; screaming; laughing. Looking at my list, I notice messages that …
Our Brains Are Built to Solve Problems
Have you ever stopped to marvel at the amazing, intricate organ in our heads that we call the brain? It’s always fascinated me how one single organ can be capable of so much. From sending messages to and from various other organs in our body, to creating genius works of art, to decoding and interpreting messages through …
Down the Rabbit Hole of Thoughts
Has this ever happened to you? You’re having a seemingly normal day, no major stressors or anxieties weighing you down, and then bam! All of the sudden, a distressing thought intrudes into your peaceful day and soon you notice your head spinning, your heart rate increasing, and you’re experiencing all of the pangs of anxiety …
Struggling with Singleness During the Holidays
I’ve put off writing about the topic of singleness for a long time. It’s something I’ve felt I should write about for a while. When I saw that it was on my schedule to write about this week, I thought, “Hmm, maybe I’ll write about something else instead.” But I decided to do what I’m …
A Reflection on Holiday Cards
I love a good holiday card. Growing up, my sisters and I would eagerly comb through the mail each day, looking for cards from friends and family both near and far, and take turns opening each card. There were the cards we looked forward to every year: those from our best friends’ families, the card …
Managing Anxiety at Work
The workplace can serve as a perfect escape from anxiety that we experience outside of our jobs. It can provide us with distraction; if we feel competent in our jobs, it can give us a feeling of control over our world; it can provide us a place to channel our passions and talents. But what …
Counterintuitive Ways of Coping with Anxiety
Ahh, anxiety. The little devil on our shoulder that can show up when we least expect it, even when nothing in our lives seems to warrant it. It’s that pesky pest, that vengeful monster, that taunts us and tells us something is wrong and that we should be very, very afraid. It can give us …
On Fearing Rejection…
“The fear of rejection is worse than rejection itself.” – Nora Profit Oh my goodness, can anyone else relate to this quote?! How much of our anxiety is centered around being rejected in some way, shape, or form by others? How much do we change ourselves, how we live, and how we relate to others …