Perspectives
SCG Staff Articles
I Almost Gave Up
Wow, summer is almost here! It is June, the month where most students are preparing for summer activities and parents begin to plan for summer vacations. However, this June our nation will once again mourn the death of small children and adults in Uvalde, Texas. Many are feeling the sting of despair while others fall deeper into depression. You may ask if there is a difference between despair and depression. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn’t. National tragedies can often bring about both. Many despair and ask “why”? Others struggling with depression become more depressed.
Mental Health for Men in Modern Society
Mental health is still very much a taboo topic in the year 2022. In this most recent decade, a lot has been done to make mental health issues more accepted, acknowledged, and understood. However, as a society, we are still very much in the dark when it comes to issues regarding mental health. I see evidence of this everywhere I go, whether it’s on Tik Tok where pop psychology misinformation mongering is rampant, or in the news where horrible acts of violence are frequently misattributed to mental illness. We need to talk about these issues and keep talking about them until they are fully understood, mental illness is fully acknowledged as an illness in its own right, and treatment is no longer stigmatized.
Death and Taxes
Nobody wants to die, but everyone will. It is a fact. Eventually, one day your heart will stop pumping, oxygen will no longer reach your brain and you will perceive nothing ever again. But, people will remember you. Your spouse, your friends, your children, others whose lives you touched. And in a way, they will carry you on into the future, for who knows how long. But, eventually, given enough time, your name, the impact that you had on the world will fade and return to the dust from whence it came. And on Good Friday, if you follow the Christian tradition, we take a moment to remember this fact.
Being Human
One of the core truths of being human is the presence of weakness. We want to hide it, even from our own awareness, but despite our best efforts, there is no way to deny the reality that you cannot do everything.
Including Women
The month of March is Women’s History Month and March 8th is International Women’s Day! It's a special thing to have the opportunity to focus on all of the incredible women who have helped shape our society. Each of these women had a story to tell and without their strength and perseverance, we never would have heard it. People, regardless of gender, experience hardships and periods in life where they need assistance. Sanctuary Counseling Group (SCG) feels that any person who seeks mental health care should be able to access it. We all have a story to tell.
All Means All
As a young African American girl growing up in a rural, southern town, I thought life was great! From dangling from my grandmother’s apron as she hung freshly washed clothes to dry in the warm summer’s sun, to buying penny candy at the local general store, to playing hopscotch with my siblings and neighborhood friends, to riding in the back of Mr. Calvin Edward’s pickup truck to and from Sunday School, I believed I was living the good life. During Black History Month in my local church, we were encouraged to give speeches and to dress up as historical African American men and women who had integral roles in moving the African American race forward. I believed this to be a tradition that all cultures practiced. At such a young age, I did not understand the significance of why we celebrated Black History Month.
The Path Awaits You
One of the real treats I was offered as a child was a “discovery ride”. My father would take me on a jaunt that did not include a preconceived destination. The goal was to travel roads we had not been on to see sights we had never before witnessed. We might travel on major highways, backroads, or even gravel and dirt roads. And the trip might last a couple of hours, an afternoon, or all day. Every trip was unique as were the sights we discovered. It was tremendous fun. I never lost my love and fascination for this kind of road trip and which I still hold today. On my most recent trek, I discovered the Red House Presbyterian Church established in 1756. The cemetery behind the church contained graves of very early settlers who lived when our state was still a colony.
SCG 2021 Christmas Card
Sanctuary Counseling Group wants to wish our community a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Enjoy this holiday season with loved ones. Stay safe. Come see us again in the new year! We are here for you.
Immigrant Day - Self Reflection
I have lived as an immigrant for almost half of my life. Living as an immigrant for all this time is how I found the strengths and qualities that make me today. As an immigrant, leaving one’s country, family, and everything that is known since birth becomes a challenge that is not easily grasped.
How Do We Wait When Things Aren’t Great?
Waiting is hard. Does anybody actually enjoy the process of standing in line? Sometimes it feels like we’re searching for ways to distract ourselves before the inevitable conclusion. Waiting can be exceedingly lonely if we’re experiencing it in isolation. And yet, anticipation can be fun. That sense of longing for something you’ve put your hope in. Maybe it’s excitement about getting married. Perhaps you’re really looking forward to the new Spider-Man movie. Or you could just be waiting on your cake to finish baking. Currently, we are in the season of advent, an often reflective season in which we are challenged to look back on what all has happened the previous year, recognizing the impact those events have left on us and casting our gaze toward the upcoming year. It can be both sobering and joyful.
Beat Them With Thankfulness
I propose that gratitude is the recognition that more things have to be going ‘right’ than ‘wrong’ for you to be alive. Despite the chaos, we can take notice that kindness, gentleness, beauty and compassion are usually easy to find.
Men In Therapy
Our workplaces, churches and homes are full of men struggling to recognize their own wants and needs. Often it is because men misunderstand themselves or are unable to accurately articulate what they want. Society places demands on everyone, but I have learned that men may often be ignored or overlooked when it comes to dealing with emotions and relationships.
The Most Obnoxious Roommate: You
Yourself. Can’t live with you, can’t live without you. And that can be exhausting from time to time. Maybe it’s that pervasive sense of constantly questioning everything that you do.
Domestic Violence Help
Domestic Violence is prevalent. As many as 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men face domestic violence from an intimate partner, resulting in injury, mental illness, STD’s, lack of self-worth, and isolation.
It’s Not Just Sitting Still: Adult ADHD Awareness
When you think about ADHD, most of us have that picture of the young kid who doesn’t focus or can’t sit still in class. Maybe they have fidget toys or a different chair in a classroom. We rarely think about ADHD outside of childhood or even the classroom.
The Loss of a Grandchild
If you come to a place of devastating pain in your life, may you be blessed “with the healing of heart, mind, and soul” by the therapists at Sanctuary Counseling Group, God bless you in all your life.
Information on Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence is prevalent. As many as 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men face domestic violence from an intimate partner, resulting in injury, mental illness, STDs, lack of self-worth, and isolation.
What to Say or Do When a Child Dies
Any time someone is experiencing grief, we all struggle with how to address it. It is hard to know what to say or do to ease the pain of the person. When someone or a couple loses a pregnancy, infant, or child, the difficulty is compounded. We feel completely inadequate in our endeavors to comfort or console them. Words are not enough or seem trite, worn, or inappropriate. Our actions seem to be “too little, too late” or completely insufficient.
World Mental Health Awareness Day
Read what the SCG staff therapists have to say about mental health as we observe World Mental Health Awareness Day.
The Raw Truth about Abusive Partners in a Relationship
Domestic abuse or intimate partner abuse incorporates many aspects of negative patterns in relationships. Unfortunately, domestic abuse does not discriminate by age, race, gender, faith, class, or sexual orientation. In terms of intimidation, manipulation, and control, the abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, spiritual, or psychological.