Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 6:30pm

Contact for Pre-Booking

402 E Patapsco Ave, Baltimore MD 21225

+1-667 8421003

info@practicallifehealthservices.com

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Psychology

How to Relax Before a Job Interview

Leave a Comment / Psychology / By

Interview anxiety is very common (even if you know you are well-qualified for a job). Meeting strangers in a position of authority; talking about yourself; being evaluated and judged on your appearance, demeanor, and ability to sell yourself—these are all triggers for nerves and stress. However, there are strategies you can use to help alleviate anxiety before an interview. And they work for both in-person and video-call interviews. How to Relax Before an Interview In the days and hours leading up to an interview, take proactive steps to prepare yourself and manage stress. While it may be difficult to achieve a real state of calm, you will feel better if you are making an effort to cope with your anxious feelings. Practice Self-Care Taking care of your body can go a long way toward alleviating nervous energy and helping you feel more calm. Avoid caffeine, get enough sleep and exercise regularly.1 Keeping yourself in good health is paramount when facing potentially stressful situations. Visualize Success Find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed, close your eyes and visualize yourself being successful in your interview. Visualizing success is more than just positive thinking. When done correctly, it prepares your brain to behave in a certain way.2 This technique is used by elite athletes before competitions to improve performance. In the future, virtual reality might help you prepare for an interview. A small study investigated the effectiveness of using virtual reality (VR) to improve job interview skills, reduce fears, and increase confidence about job interviews. The results showed that the VR program lessened anxiety.3 Features such as ongoing feedback and being able to review a transcript of the interview were cited as helpful.  Do Your Research Research is a good anxiety-reliever. Before the interview, learn as much as you can about the potential employer and prepare answers to common interview questions. Every bit of preparation that you can do will help to increase your comfort level and make you feel more confident and capable in the interview. Reduce stressors unrelated to your actual performance in the interview, such as uncomfortable clothing, getting lost, or showing up late. Well in advance, choose an outfit that is comfortable and that looks good on you. If you aren’t familiar with the location of the interview, give yourself plenty of time to find it or do a trial run a day or two before, making sure to factor in traffic conditions at the time you’ll be traveling and where to park. If your interview will be on a video platform, make sure you have installed any apps you’ll need. Test out tech like your webcam, microphone, and headphones in advance to confirm that everything is in working order.

Simple Tips That Help You Fall Asleep Quickly

Leave a Comment / Psychology / By

Good sleep is incredibly important. It helps you feel good and makes your body and brain function properly. Some people have no problem falling asleep. However, many others have severe difficulty falling and staying asleep through the night. Poor sleep can have negative effects on many parts of your body and brain, including learning, memory, mood, emotions, and various biological functions. 1. Lower the temperature Your body temperature changes as you fall asleep. Your body cools down when you lie down and warms up when you get up. If your room is too warm, you might have a hard time falling asleep. Setting your thermostat to a cool temperature between 60–67°F (15.6–19.4°C) could help (4). Individual preferences will vary, so find the temperature that works best for you. Taking a warm bath or shower could also help speed up the body’s temperature changes. As your body cools down afterward, this can send a signal to your brain to go to sleep (5). One literature review found that taking a hot bath or shower before bed could improve certain sleep parameters, such as sleep efficiency and sleep quality. Sleep efficiency refers to the amount of time you spend asleep in bed as opposed to lying awake. People who took baths or showers measuring between 104°F–108.5°F (40.0°C–42.5°C) 1 to 2 hours before bedtime experienced positive results. They reported improvements in their sleep even if their baths or showers lasted for as little as 10 minutes. More research is needed, but these findings are promising . 2. Use the 4-7-8 breathing method The “4-7-8” method that Dr. Andrew Weil developed is a simple but powerful breathing method that promotes calmness and relaxation. It might also help you unwind before bed (7). It’s based on breath control techniques learned from yoga, and it consists of a breathing pattern that relaxes the nervous system. It can be practiced any time you feel anxious or stressed. Here are the steps: This technique can relax you and help you fall asleep quickly. 3. Get on a schedule Many people find that setting a sleep schedule helps them fall asleep easier. Your body has its own regulatory system called the circadian rhythm. This internal clock cues your body to feel alert during the day but sleepy at night. Waking up and going to bed at the same times each day can help your internal clock keep a regular schedule.

The Most Common Marriage Problems Faced By Couples

Leave a Comment / Psychology / By

Tthere’s no way around it: Long-term relationships are hard work—and there will be bumps along the way. Even the best marriages go through ups and downs, but couples that last have one crucial thing in common: They know it’s them as a unit versus the problem, not one person versus the other. “You can’t solve couple problems individually,” says therapist Jocylynn Stephenson. “It almost always fails because you don’t have the input of the other person.” While the specifics of those problems will vary from couple to couple, there’s comfort in knowing that others are likely grappling with some of the same core issues you do. Read on for a look at six of the most common marriage problems—and an expert’s advice on how to work through them together. The SolutionBe intentional about getting more involved. You don’t have to make your partner’s hobbies your own or know every detail about the roster history of their favorite football team. But you do need to look for opportunities to share your passions. “Figure out where the two of you can align so you have visibility on each other’s internal lives,” Stephenson explains. If you love figure skating and a particularly exciting competition is coming up, ask your partner to watch it with you. (Knowing the engagement has a distinct beginning and end will help make them more amenable to participating.) On the flip side, if your partner is an avid cyclist, make time to check in on the pastime. “It can be as simple as saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on for you? Are you going on any big rides soon? Who do you ride with?’” Stephenson says. By actively staying in-the-know about what’s important to your partner, you validate their interests—and reconfirm your marriage as a place to explore those interests in the process. In these instances, Stephenson begins counseling by helping couples explore the reasons behind their habits. “A lot of our work as marriage therapists is about helping couples understand one another, so I start with what spending means to each of them,” she says. “Where did you learn how to deal with money? What did you see growing up?” This lays the groundwork for more empathetic conversations about how to approach finances as a unit.

Phobias and Fears in Children – Powerful Strategies To Try

Leave a Comment / Psychology / By

Phobias happen when tame, harmless things turn into bullies. They take on a power they don’t deserve, in ways that often don’t make sense. The fear is real and persuasive, and for kids, they can be particularly debilitating. The good news is that phobias and fears in children are very manageable, and with the right guidance and strategies, kids can be empowered to move straight through the middle of the intense fears that get in their way. What causes intense fears or phobias?Often (but not always) when there are specific phobias or fears in children, there will be a starting point – something that happened that first made the fear come to life. It might be something that happened to the person, to someone else, or something that was heard about in a story, a movie or in the news. A fear of dogs for example, could have its beginnings in an actual scary encounter with a dog, hearing about someone being traumatised by a dog, or seeing a news story or a movie about a dog attack. That event is then generalised from something that happened because of one gnarly dog, to something that could happen with any dog. All dogs are then avoided in order to avoid the frightening feelings that is associated with them. With a phobia, being in the presence of the feared thing will bring on a fight or flight reaction that is so strong as to send parts of the brain ‘offline’. This is because the brain believes so strongly in the threat, that it makes way for the person to act automatically, on raw instinct, without the intrusion of the part of the brain that would prefer to take time to analyse the situation and come up with a different plan. The avoidance that comes with phobias aren’t so much about avoiding the feared thing, but about avoiding the intense feelings that come with it. These feelings are connected to the fight or flight response, a physiological response that involves the release of neurochemicals to get the body ready to fight for its life or run for it. When the body doesn’t fight or flee, there is nothing to burn the neurochemicals. They build up and bring intense emotion and physical sensations (such as a racy heart, sick tummy, clammy hands) that feel awful.

How to Control Anger: Tips to Help You Stay Calm

Leave a Comment / Psychology / By

Anger is a normal feeling and can be a positive emotion when it helps you work through issues or problems, whether that’s at work or at home. However, anger can become problematic if it leads to aggression, outbursts, or even physical altercations. Anger control is important for helping you avoid saying or doing something you may regret. Before anger escalates, you can use specific strategies for controlling anger. Anger is a normal feeling and can be a positive emotion when it helps you work through issues or problems, whether that’s at work or at home. However, anger can become problematic if it leads to aggression, outbursts, or even physical altercations. Anger control is important for helping you avoid saying or doing something you may regret. Before anger escalates, you can use specific strategies for controlling anger. Here are 25 ways you can control your anger:

All Rights Reserved by ©2022. PLHS