Part 1: General Introduction to Mental Health and Aging Have you ever forgotten your keys or misplaced a monthly bill? Forgetfulness can be part of normal aging. Occasionally making bad decisions, forgetting what day of the week it is only to remember it later, or not being able to recall a particular word may be part of normal decline. However, regularly experiencing problems paying bills or losing track of time altogether may be indicators of a larger problem. Intermitten

**This is Part 3 of Parenting with Intention; a 3 part-blog series by Aika Erlandson, LMFT-Associate at Austin STRONG: Relationship Building Center** Sometimes, parenting can be a stressful experience. When stress takes over the parenting, your child(ren) are paying very close attention and learning from your behaviors. Children look to their parents for support and modeling in figuring out how to manage emotions, especially when they feel distressed. As a parent, you may not

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." -William Arthur Ward Sometimes in a long-term relationship, we fall into a routine of “normal”. She makes the coffee in the morning, he makes the bed, She makes the kids’ lunches, he picks them up from school, she cooks the dinner, he helps with homework, she pays the bills, he does the dishes and round and round we go. This is how we get th

Sometimes marriage can feel like a long ride on the “struggle bus”. Particularly for those who have never been married, or who have been in marriages that didn’t go the distance, it can seem confusing that people keep choosing to join this institution of marriage when it only appears to make everyone miserable. Almost everywhere you turn, popular and social media is full of examples of miserable spouses, bickering partners, unfulfilled romantic dreams, and failed marriages. A

“Irreconcilable differences”, “we wanted different things”, “I didn’t know who he/she was anymore”, “after awhile we didn’t have anything in common”, “we just grew apart”. Whether you’ve seen one of those sentences in the news, heard it uttered by a friend, or used it yourself, you may recognize some of those phrases as frequently cited reasons for seeking a divorce. What all those sentiments have in common is an expression of an irreparable distance that has come between the

Although every job has an element of stress, for those who work in the first responder community, stress can take on heightened levels. Not only are first responders dealing with deadlines and paperwork, like any other job, but often with life and death scenarios where the stakes are high and split-second decisions can have monumental and life-altering results. It is an unfortunate reality that many in the helping professions unwittingly let stress and burnout creep in to bec