Find Your Way Through the Pain of Depression

Lori was in a deep, dark depression after her marriage of 27 years ended. She was filled with fear and was experiencing suicidal tendencies. The Meadows helped her learn to sit with her pain, process it, and find hope for the next chapter of her life. Learning how to accept… Read More

The Connection between Your Fuel and Your Mental Health

When you think of managing your mental health, what comes to mind? Maybe you meditate or take yoga, perhaps you participate in group activities to stay connected to others, or maybe you focus on getting enough sleep. Do you ever think of the role food plays in all of… Read More

Gaming: The Addiction for a New Generation

Video games are great escapes from the world. If as a young adult you struggle with real-life relationships, feel pressure from unrealistic expectations, feel powerless, or defeated and inadequate, games are hypnotizing, allowing you to dissociate from real-life stresses at home, school, and work. Gaming offers many rewards, from escape from… Read More

Building Strength and Resilience In the Face of Life’s Challenges

Resilient qualities are not only what we’re born with but also the strengths that we build through encountering life’s challenges and developing the personal and interpersonal skills to meet them. It is one of life’s paradoxes that the worst circumstances can bring the best out of us. According to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) studies performed by Robert Anda (2006) and his team at Kaiser Permanente’s Health Appraisal Clinic in San Diego, we will all experience four or more serious life stressors that may be traumatizing, and according to positive psychology research, most of us will grow from them. Read More

Why We Grieve and the Importance of Mourning Loss

By Tian Dayton, Ph.D. Senior Fellow at The Meadows Grief is a life issue that strikes at the very heart of being human, while we live in a body, pair bond, and procreate we will love and we will lose. The effect of loss can be shocking and dis-equilibrating and… Read More

Approach ‘13 Reasons Why’ with Curiosity Instead of Fear

By Lindsay Merrell, Therapist, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows Since the years of my internship, working with patients facing suicidal thoughts has been concerning, challenging, and inspiring. Individuals struggling with such hopelessness come to professionals in desperate need of relief from what is starting to feel like an inevitable outcome. Our responsibility as professionals is to be persistently and empathically interested in the individual’s struggle. Our curiosity gives them the courage to look at the very pain they fear. Read More

How God Shows Up in Recovery

By Nancy Minister, Workshop Facilitator, Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows I recently listened to a friend talks about her practice of catching herself when she was “off” — in other words, being short or rude to someone when experiencing some sort of conflict. Read More

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Carrie Fisher, and Demi Lovato are among the celebrities to recently share their struggles with bipolar disorder but what is it exactly? First, we should take a look at the big picture. Psychiatric diagnoses fall into several categories: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, substance-related… Read More

April Is Stress Awareness Month

Chances are if you’re under any stress you don’t want someone to make you even more aware. Most people are already experiencing stress but may not know how to keep it under control. Research from The American Institute of Stress indicates that 90% of visits to primary care physicians are stress-related, from stomach… Read More

Healing the Shame of Sexual Addiction

As humans, some of the most shameful experiences we have are those that involve our sexual selves. A single sexual event can bring such shame that it holds a person captive for a lifetime. It can deliver a devastating blow to a person’s sense of value and evoke tremendous pain… Read More