K.D. Holmes Blog

Posts about:

Anxiety

KDH Counseling | Anxiety | Adventure

Adventures in Anxiety Treatment

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so out of reach, so impossible to achieve?  And the shame of not being able to achieve it became unbearable so overtime you slowly buried it deep within you, and now you have forgot about it altogether. If so, then welcome to my brain, my office, my world– where we will be uncovering and exploring those hopes and dreams hidden in the dark corner of your soul.

Read More
KDH Counseling and OCD and ERP

The Power of ERP: Overcoming OCD through Exposure Response Prevention

Many of my clients often inquire about the meaning of ERP. Exposure and Response Prevention may sound formal and technical, but in simple terms, it is a behavioral process that brings order to the chaos of the OCD merry go round. It involves systematically confronting your obsessions while resisting the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors. ERP becomes even more effective when combined with various other skills and techniques.

Read More
KDH Counseling Holiday Stress

Mental Health and the Holidays

So in addition to holiday stress, some of us can add in our internal struggles that don’t stop simply because it’s the holidays.  It can feel bleak and never-ending like a Zombie Apocalypse.  

Imagine you have an internal stress bucket that is half full from the year, then add in more stress from the holidays, and more stress because of your mental health. This is a recipe for your stress bucket to overflow this holiday season. 

Read More
KD Holmes, MS, LPC | Anxiety | Overachieving | OCD

What do I Struggle With?

Sometimes in my office people are curious about me. Some ask what do I struggle with? There is an assumption that therapists do not struggle because of what they know. Knowing and doing are two different types of learning. I had an anxiety disorder for most of my life. I suffered from depression and anxiety when I was a child and young adult.  

Read More
KD Holmes, LPC and Social Anxiety

Did you know...I have Social Anxiety!

Many of my clients would never guess that I have social anxiety.   If you watch my videos, it would seem highly unlikely that I become overwhelmed when I am around a group of people I don't know.  There is a big misnomer that if we know better we do better...but knowing is not learning.  The two are completely different concepts.  You can read a book about brain surgery, but doing it is a learning process based on lots of actions.

Read More
KDH Counseling for tweens, teens, and adults for perfectionism and overachieving

Can Success Impact Anxiety and Depression ?

I see so many clients who have no idea that overachieving is a part of their mental health problem.  They come to me with so many achievements, yet they are consumed with anxiety and/or depression, thinking that their inner overachiever god is "good", necessary, and "essential" for life.

Read More
Anxiety at KD Holmes, LPC and Associates

Why Am I so Nervous?

 

I have been called "nervous" since I was a child.  I would venture to say that large doses of caffeine and chocolate probably did not help my "nervousness".  As a small child, I would drink a coke and eat a bag of Hershey's chocolates and literally run in circles at family functions.  We still laugh at these memories.  

Read More