toxic relationship, relationship counseling, couples therapy, hoboken therapist, jersey city therapist, marriage counseling, nj therapist, nyc therapist, premarital counseling
Courtney Glashow
How To Tell If You’re In A Toxic Relationship

When you are in a healthy relationship, it naturally functions well. Of course, like any couple, you may have disagreements from time-to-time or there may be some hard times, but you band together no matter what. You are able to make major life decisions together, discuss problems once they occur, and genuinely enjoy spending time with one another.

On the other hand, you have toxic relationships. In a toxic relationship, the ‘norm’ is feeling drained and unhappy after spending time with your partner. This should be a major red flag that some things need to change.

You may still love your partner, but the relationship does not seem enjoyable. Maybe minor issues turn into full-blown arguments or you always seem to provoke one another. It may even get so severe that you dread spending time with your partner instead of getting excited to see them, like you were in the past.

Continue reading this blog to see if your relationship is toxic, and some guidance on how to navigate a toxic relationship.

How To Tell If You’re In A Toxic Relationship
Intergenerational Trauma, trauma counseling, jersey city therapist, hoboken counseling
Courtney Glashow
Disney’s Encanto: How It Got Intergenerational ...

Disney has a way of exploring heavier life topics that can help children and the 2021 film Encanto is no exception. Movies like Inside Out and Soul also assist children in exploring heavier aspects of life, such as emotions, trauma, consciousness, and even death. Encanto joins the long list of children’s movies that have a deeper message.

Disney’s Encanto offers a multigenerational story about a grandmother and her family who have been endowed with magical gifts. The Madrigal family lives in a hidden village in Colombia. While each family member does their best to live up to their reputation and help others in the community, the facade slowly begins to crumble figuratively and literally in the house that all three generations share.
Not only do people love this movie because of its catchy soundtrack, including the famous song “We don’t talk about Bruno”, but people also love it because of its exploration of generational trauma.

Disney’s Encanto: How It Got Intergenerational Trauma Right
control issues, mental health blog, jersey city therapist, hoboken counseling
Courtney Glashow
7 Ways to Let Go of Control Issues

Do you have a hard time going with the flow? Do you have to follow a schedule or routine at all times? Do you try to control other people in your life? If you are dealing with control issues, it is likely that you feel like you must exert power over your life, relationships, and general environment. In some cases, this exertion of power may extend to the life of other people.

Control can simply be defined as exerting influence or power over the environment, actions, and behaviors of yourself or another person. There are many reasons why you may feel like you need to be in control, such as insecurities or fear of the unpredictable. At times, your need for control may become overwhelming and tiring, causing chaos in your career, relationships, and your overall quality of life.

7 Ways to Let Go of Control Issues
couples therapy, hoboken counseling, jersey city therapist, mental health blog, nyc counselor, relationship counseling
Courtney Glashow
8 Tips for Dealing With A Narcissist

While some people may be quick to throw the word “narcissist” around, it is important to remember that there is a distinction between someone being self-centered and unsympathetic, and someone who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Many people may have what doctors call narcissistic characteristics, such as feeling entitled or having a strong sense of self-importance. People who have narcissistic personality disorder may be challenging to deal with.

The first step to determine your dynamic with someone who you think is a narcissist is to know the difference between someone with narcissistic tendencies and someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

8 Tips for Dealing With A Narcissist
trauma counseling, nyc counselor, nj therapist, jersey city therapist, hoboken counseling
Courtney Glashow
How to Heal Childhood Trauma as an Adult

When you think of a child, you probably imagine a young person who is resilient and fast-moving. These traits may cause you to believe that situations do not leave a lasting impact on children’s emotional health; however, that is not the case. If left unsolved, your emotions that came from a traumatic experience as a child can live in your subconscious mind. This will continue to affect you until you detect, process, and solve it. In order to heal childhood trauma as an adult, you have to learn how to process painful emotions.

A healthy way to respond to childhood trauma occurs right after the trauma has taken place. When the trauma occurs, you recognize that it is an offense to yourself. Afterward, you would feel your emotions and acknowledge the fact that the offense does not dictate anything about you personally. In other words, you do not make a negative meaning out of what occurred. Generally, it is rare for people to react in this manner.

This process is not automatic. Certain emotions, like rage and unhappiness, are difficult to express. On top of that, some cultures may view this outpouring of emotions to be socially unacceptable. Therefore, this causes many people to suppress their emotions. For a kid, this process is even more burdensome. For instance, someone may comment on a child’s weight or a part of their body which can cause a long-lasting inner dialogue to occur in the kid’s head, creating body dysmorphia. While this can happen to adults as well, it may be easier for an adult to push aside outside commentary in comparison to a child.

How to Heal Childhood Trauma as an Adult

holiday stress

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5 Ways to De-Stress This Holiday Season

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5 Ways to De-Stress This Holiday Season

From family gatherings to cooking and baking your favorite dishes, the holidays can truly be a magical time of the year. Seeing the smiles on the faces of your loved ones is precious, and some of the most memorable times can be created during the holiday season. However, it is also important to acknowledge the darkness that can appear during this time of year in the form of holiday stress.

While the holiday season is an undeniably joyous time of year, that does not mean that it does not have its hardships which can easily produce stress. Everyone is normally busy during the holiday season. It can become normal to have a packed schedule during this time of year which may prevent you from allocating some much-needed self-care.

Whether you’re rushing around to get all of your loved one’s presents, preparing dinner for your family, or planning to host the holiday at your house, many tasks need to be completed during the holidays. In other words, it can seem like your to-do list is never-ending on top of other life responsibilities, like work and parenthood for instance.

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How To Cancel Holiday Plans Last Minute

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How To Cancel Holiday Plans Last Minute

In the world of COVID-19 and a global pandemic, many people are having a lot of stress and anxiety with the upcoming holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years Eve, and more holidays are right around the corner. People typically have traditions and plans to see family who they may not typically see throughout the year. December is usually a time when a lot of people get together with not only their loved ones, but also their colleagues and friends during multiple celebrations. In 2020, every social holiday tradition is being challenged and questioned as to how safe it is to celebrate as usual.

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How To Navigate Holiday Planning Stress During A Pandemic

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How To Navigate Holiday Planning Stress During A Pandemic

Normally, the holidays can be a stressful time to plan around different family, friend, and job celebrations. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the stress of the holidays has been at an all time high. With the colder weather approaching along with the holiday season, a lot of people are worried how they will continue to socialize safely with others. The best part about the holiday season is that you are spending time with people you care most about. It is typical to see some family or friends once a year due to the holidays. This year, it is not only hard to travel but it is also stressful to figure out how to plan holiday celebrations while feeling safe.

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What To Do After You Binge Eat

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What To Do After You Binge Eat

A lot of people experience binge eating in their life and a good majority of those people feel terrible after it happens. It is possible to experience binge eating once in awhile and that would not be classified as a Binge Eating Disorder. whether or not you have a binge eating disorder, it is still important to have a plan after you experience a binge.

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8 Ways To Beat Seasonal Depression

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8 Ways To Beat Seasonal Depression

This time of year can be hard on a lot of people as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. Seasonal depressive disorder is a real thing. It means that you feel more down, lethargic, and depressed during a specific time of the year. For most people with seasonal depressive disorder, this falls during the winter time. Usually the winter comes with less sunlight and colder temperatures that isolate you inside. Without nice weather that entices you to go outside, it can be hard to feel motivated to stay active and do things you usually enjoy doing.

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A New Years Resolution You Can Stick To

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A New Years Resolution You Can Stick To

Congrats! You made it through the gift giving holidays and to the end of the year. The new year is right around the corner. This is usually a time that a lot of people reflect on what they accomplished in the past year. You also reflect on all of the highlights and happy moments you had over the past year. It is common for people to post on social media their top liked photos, the vacations they went on, their favorite movies or books, etc. This is a way to reminisce in all the things you enjoyed. The next thing that people turn their thoughts to are what they want their next year’s highlights to look like. Maybe they want to travel more, read more, or spend more time with family. There are so many things that people want to change in their life. It seems like a great time to reset and focus on accomplishing a new goal since you have a whole new year ahead of you. These hopes of change are called New Years Resolutions.

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10 Tips To Holiday Self-Care

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10 Tips To Holiday Self-Care

The holidays can be an extremely stressful time. Usually you have a lot more plans, you spend a lot more money than in your usual budget, you reflect on what you didn’t accomplish this year, you stress about the year ahead, and/or you find yourself feeling generally sad. All of these stressors are normal during the holiday season. As a mental health professional, I recommend that the holidays should be seen as your most important self-care time. Use this time to take off from your usual life stressors and relax. Below are some tips on how to do just that.