• What are cognitive distortions? Everyone uses cognitive distortions at some time while trying to make sense of life events. Cognitive distortions are known by other names such as faulty thinking, mistaken beliefs, core beliefs, and thinking errors. Cognitive distortions are a person’s misinterpreted perceptions that support their personal belief system about themselves, others, and the world around them. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a personal belief system is a deep-lying acceptance of ideas that are usually rooted in a [...]

  • Life is full of adverse circumstances that can cause a person to feel anything from minor stress to crippling panic. Adverse circumstances can be related to finances, social interactions, work, marriage/family dynamics, life transitions, grief/loss, or health issues, to name a few. Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) is a practical type of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy created by psychologist Donald Meichenbaum. The purpose of Stress Inoculation Training is to help a client build resilience during adversity by learning coping skills to manage [...]

  • 🎧 Listen to this article https://stoneoakchristiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Stone-Oak-Christian-Counseling-Depression-in-Women-Can-I-Still-Be-a-Good-Mom-When-Im-Depressed.mp3 Motherhood teaches you to give endlessly, your time, your patience, your heart. But what happens when your emotional well runs dry? There are days when you wake up already tired. You look at your children and love them deeply, but the energy to keep up with their needs feels so distant. You probably just tell yourself to push through, to keep smiling, to keep the house running, yet inside, something feels broken. [...]

  • The ability to regulate our emotions and control our impulsiveness is key to our mental health and overall well-being. Our emotional regulation, vulnerabilities, and impulsiveness are affected by our biology (developmental and physical), upbringing/childhood, social environment – both supportive or unsupportive, culture, health – physical and mental, life events, stressors, self-care, personality disorders, trauma, and grief. Some of us are born more emotionally vulnerable and impulsive than others, and we all may respond differently to the same situations. When our [...]

  • We all walk into marriage hoping and praying for the best. When we make our vows at the altar, we pledge our love and loyalty to the man we have chosen to spend the rest of our lives with. When we talk about standing with our partner in sickness and in health during our vows, most of us use physical sickness as a reference, but we rarely think of mental health issues like depression as being in that category. Depression, [...]

  • Typical teenage behavior can confuse even the most knowledgeable parent. Behaviors such as the teens wanting more private time at home, wanting to hang out with friends more than their family, or they might stay up all night on Friday night playing video games, only to sleep until Saturday afternoon. None of those behaviors alone are necessarily bad for your teen. But when does seemingly normal teen behavior become a serious problem? How can you tell if your child [...]

  • Depression is hard on a marriage. It erodes the relationship through isolation, emotional unavailability, irritability, sadness, fatigue, and decreased libido. Depression is a mental condition that may require the help of a counselor to arm your husband with the necessary skills and strategies to overcome symptoms. However, there are ways you can cheer up your depressed husband alongside counseling. Cheering Up a Depressed Husband Try the following tips to help your depressed husband feel a little bit more like [...]

  • Depression is a common mental health disorder, affecting more than 21 million adults in the United States yearly. Yet, for many, depression symptoms are alleviated through simple lifestyle changes. Help for depression is available using counseling, medication, and behavioral change. Help for Depression: Counseling and Medications Many people opt for counseling in combination with medications to address depression. Medication may be prescribed for severe depression or if you engage in self-harm or have suicidal ideations. If you are having [...]

  • Are you looking to learn how to combat the post-holiday blues? You are about to read through a step-by-step guide through which you get rid of this degrading situation entirely. The aim of this article is to help one understand such feelings and give a number of simple and practical tips for feeling better and getting through the new year with a fresh and positive outlook. So, let’s get started. Understanding the Science Behind Post-Holiday Blues Why do we [...]

  • Depression is a mental health condition that takes many different shapes. It looks different for each person. High-functioning depression is used to describe depression that has hidden symptoms. On the outside a person with high-functioning depression appears to be okay, but inside they are struggling with overwhelming hopelessness. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy [...]

  • Do you feel overwhelmed by too much to do and not enough time to do it? Are you dealing with a difficult situation at home or work? Do you have unexplained aches and pains, and/or feel tired all the time? Are you feeling all stressed out? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, this article on ways to manage stress may provide you with some much-needed encouragement and hope. Stress is that gap that is [...]

  • 🎧 Listen to this article https://stoneoakchristiancounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Stone-Oak-Christian-Counseling-10-Signs-of-Depression-in-Men-You-May-Not-Be-Aware-Of.mp3 Do you get easily irritated, struggle to control your anger, or feel constantly fatigued? Do you work all the time or drink a lot to try and numb your feelings and help you cope? If so, read on. These are signs of depression in men, and you may be suffering from it. Depression is a common mental health disorder that impacts the way a person feels, thinks, and manages his or her [...]