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2131 Capitol Ave. Ste 206
Sacramento, CA 95816
US

916-287-3430

Thrive Therapy & Counseling provides high quality therapy to Highly Sensitive People and to kids, teens or adults struggling with anxiety, depression or self-esteem.

Blog

This blog is written by therapists in midtown Sacramento and focuses on the concerns and struggles of highly sensitive people (HSPs), LGBTQIA+ folks, and adults struggling with depression, anxiety or just trying to figure out what they want for themselves.  There's help and hope through counseling and therapy!

Reducing Stress and Anxiety with Parts Work

Ileana Arganda-Stevens

It’s 10:30 pm and you’re winding down for sleep. You’ve scrolled on your phone for the past 45 minutes or so, and your eyes are starting to get heavy, so you put it down, imagining you’ll drift off soon. Suddenly, you remember that thing you’ve got coming up, or that awkward moment with a coworker earlier this week, and the fact that your partner/child/cat seemed a bit distant the past few days. Your heart races, your breathing becomes shallow, and your eyelids snap open like those roll-up blinds in old cartoons. What if you forget to do something? What if they’re all mad at you? How can I tell? What are the signs? And how can I make sure everything doesn’t fall apart? Anxiety, panic, and insomnia are often linked to an overactive inner planner, predictor, or problem-solver. Read on to learn how we can work with these parts of us to reduce our distress and increase our sense of well-being.

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Relationship Expectations for HSPs

Ivy Griffin

Do you find yourself ruminating on things a friend or a loved one has said or done long after the moment has passed? Do you try to “let things go” only to find the memory and the feelings of what happened resurface with more intensity? Many highly sensitive people (HSP) get the message that we’re too sensitive, causing us to question our feelings and expectations toward others. How do we know what reasonable expectations look like? Read on for 3 helpful tips for navigating relationship expectations as an HSP. 

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Sick and Sensitive

Leigh Johnson

I’ve been sick on and off for the past month. It began with a single symptom, as most sicknesses do, and has since progressed into a whirlwind of Doctors’ visits, testing endeavors with conflicting results, an unrelated COVID exposure and period of isolation, a resurgence of the original ailment, and a whole lot of uncertainty. Being ill is unpleasant for anyone, but as a highly sensitive person it can be hard not to feel downright pathetic with the intensity of just how bad things feel - not just physically, but emotionally. If you’re also an HSP and feel especially “fragile” during times of illness, you’re not alone!

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categories coping skills, mental health, therapy Midtown Sac, therapy Sacramento
tags highly sensitive person, sick, sickness, sad when sick, coping, therapy Sacramento

Denial: Taking Off Our Blinders

Ileana Arganda-Stevens

Our emotions are kind of like our friends and relatives, not all of them are welcome at our house! We may feel close and welcoming toward our Aunt Joy, but cold and distant toward Uncle Anger – “I barely know him, and…he's KINDA weird!” Unlike our friends and relatives, we don't get to choose if our emotions are part of our lives – they're here to stay, whether we like it or not. When emotions are unwelcome or unfamiliar, we may use defense mechanisms to deal with them. One such defense mechanism is denial. When we use denial to keep certain emotions at a distance, it can have unintended consequences – we may experience repeated feelings of being “stuck”, numb, confused, or even anxious about certain things and we just don't know why. By learning how to recognize and work with denial, we can become more comfortable with distant emotions and increase our awareness, agency, and  self-assuredness. 

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categories therapy, therapy Midtown Sac, therapy Sacramento
tags surviving and thriving, denial, defense mechanisms, coping skills

Forgiveness - Focusing on Ourselves

Ileana Arganda-Stevens

The idea of forgiveness brings up strong feelings for many people, myself included. I struggle to write about it and to talk about it, which makes me think it’s important to try – even if I’m somewhat clumsy. We often shy away from topics that leave us unsettled or frustrated for their heaviness and lack of clarity. But in some ways, I think this can make things worse – robbing us of the opportunity to stretch our internal capacities to bear the messiness of our existence. Perhaps devoting a little bit of time here and there to heavier topics will build our mental and emotional muscles, so to speak.

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categories coping skills, mental health, therapy, therapy Midtown Sac, therapy Sacramento
tags surviving and thriving, forgiveness, forgive and forget, self compassion, therapy Sacramento