Have you noticed that stress can lead to extreme or black and white thinking patterns? Therapy For Real Life Podcast host Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW explains how extreme thinking is part of the body’s stress response and how mindfulness can help you cope instead. This episode draws on concepts from Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach us how to interrupt extreme thinking with self-care skills adapted for everyday life. DBT draws from Eastern Philosophy and mindfulness principles, such as the core concept of the ‘dialectic’ — the idea that two seemingly opposite truths can exist at the same time. Anna references and reads from DBT’s manual of handouts by Marsha Linehan and shares examples of balancing opposites. Follow along in the DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition (pgs 148-151) for content referenced in this episode. Contemplate what a little more balance could look like for you as you listen along. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. TherapyForRealLife.com

How can you practice strategic self-care when the problem you are facing has no end in sight? Therapy For Real Life Podcast host Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW explains concepts from Dialectical Behavior Therapy and adapts them into self-care skills for everyday life. DBT's radical acceptance skill is ideal for coping with stress that is outside of your control. Anna explains how DBT’s treatment developer Marsha Linehan integrated core concepts of mindfulness into her work, including the lesson that radical acceptance can also lead to radical change. Follow along in the DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition (pgs 342-344) for content referenced in this episode. Settle into a comfortable spot as Anna adapts the DBT Turning The Mind skill into a guided meditation intended to motivate you towards action in your own life.  Contemplate what radical acceptance means to you in your daily actions. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. TherapyForRealLife.com

The holidays are upon us, which brings a lot of happy celebrations. The holidays can also bring a lot of difficult emotional triggers, such as painful memories, grief for family members who can’t be with us, or challenging dynamics with family members who are with us. Listen to Therapy For Real Life host Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW as she describes tiny self-care actions that you can take despite the holiday ups and downs. Personalize your own self-care plan so that you can enjoy the upcoming holidays to their fullest. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. TherapyForRealLife.com

There is no one way to experience grief and loss. Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW talks with Brie Pierquet LCSW about her experience counseling survivors through loss and making sense of grief. Brie shares simple self-care suggestions for coping with a loss, including ways that loved ones can play a supportive role. Anna interviews Brie about the many ways that “moving on” from grief can look so different from person to person. Listen in to learn about the diversity and beauty that grief can reveal. Personalize your own self-care activities as you listen to practical ways to make sense of a traumatic loss. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. Learn more about the Bay Area counseling practice and self-care resources: TherapyForRealLife.com .

What roles do you play in your life? Which of these roles are voluntary vs. involuntary? How do the roles that you play impact your level of burnout? Tune in to the latest episode of the Therapy For Real Life Podcast to learn about role strain, role conflict, and role loss to better understand your own burnout prevention needs. Think about ways that you can buffer and support the roles that you play, while also protecting the roles you want to be more active in your life. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. Learn more about the Bay Area counseling practice and self-care resources: TherapyForRealLife.com

Do you have any burning questions about self-care or therapy concepts that you would like answered on the air? Here’s your chance to AMA with Therapy For Real Life Podcast host and burnout prevention therapist, Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. Submit audio messages of 60 seconds or less by emailing [email protected] or writing your questions directly to the show on the TherapyForReaLife.com homepage (no crisis msgs. *Use 911 as needed.) Let’s talk about Real Life.

How do you recognize avoidance when you are already stuck in an avoidance loop? Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW interviews fellow anxiety specialist, Anja Schmitz PhD, about how to stop avoiding your life and show up for what matters most. Dr. Schmitz was recently featured in the New York Times article "When Silicon Valley Goes To Therapy" and is a leader in the health tech space.  She shares lessons learned from her research experience at the National Institute of Mental Health and direct work with individuals working to overcome debilitating anxiety. Listen in to hear Dr. Schmitz describe how to take small steps to train yourself out of an avoidance loop. This is not therapy. This Is Real Life. Learn more about therapy resources, self-care tips, and the Bay Area counseling practice: TherapyForRealLife.com .

“Burnout” is a concept that has blown up in the culture as a term that is both very specific and has also been criticized as not specific enough. Let’s work with that. Burnout prevention therapist Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW summarizes and critiques current definitions of burnout in this latest Therapy For Real Life episode. Anna argues that we need a very flexible term for the conversation around burnout to be as inclusive as possible. She goes on to argue that valuing inclusivity and resisting the urge to over-pathologize burnout may help us solve it together. Tune in to the conversation around burnout to personalize what successful burnout prevention looks like for you. This is not therapy. This Is Real Life. Learn more about the Bay Area-based counseling and burnout prevention consulting practice: TherapyForRealLife.com .

Therapy For Real Life asks: “How can you tell the difference between anxiety and fear?” Take a moment now to do your own mood check as your learn about functional vs unhealthy signs of anxiety and stress. Learn how to interrupt the anxiety cycle as host Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW translates therapy research into actionable self-care strategies for everyday use. This is not therapy. This is Real Life. Learn more about therapy resources, self-care tips, and the Bay Area counseling practice: TherapyForRealLife.com .

Did you know that Therapy For Real Life designs and facilitates self-care events for the workplace? Burnout Prevention Hack-A-Thons are an opportunity for your team to learn research-backed self-care strategies in a fun and experiential workshop. Anna Lindberg Cedar MPA LCSW adapts concepts drawn from mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy into stress management strategies for the workplace. Be part of a culture that values emotional wellness. Visit TherapyForRealLife.com >>> workshops for more info or email [email protected] to set up a consultation.