How Social Media Fuels Holiday Loneliness—and Ways Anxiety Therapy in Orlando Can Help

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

You’re at home, too worn out to do anything after a long day of juggling your job, personal or family responsibilities, holiday gift shopping, and everything else on your plate. You sink deeper and deeper into your sofa, scrolling through social media, and it feels like you're sinking into your soul, too. Post after post, it all looks the same—happy people who somehow seem to have it all together. Glowing faces, expensive outfits, glasses raised in celebration, and the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the background. The weight in your chest seems to grow heavier. You can’t seem to shake the feeling of unease—that sense of being on the outside, as if all the best things are happening to someone else.

If you've ever caught yourself comparing your real life to those polished posts and feeling like you're falling short, you're not alone. As an anxiety therapist in Orlando, I often seek out helpful resources for my clients who deal with anxiety. Right now, I'm reading a fantastic book called "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt. It discusses how social media can be particularly damaging to teenage girls. I've been thinking about how social media can intensify feelings of anxiety and loneliness, so I wanted to share some ideas on that and what we can do to deal with it.

10 New Year's Resolutions to Help Ease Anxiety: Tips from an Orlando Therapist

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

If you experience anxiety, even thinking about setting a New Year's resolution may add another layer of stress, making you doubt your willpower, persistence, and abilities, wondering whether you're setting yourself up for failure. You may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to “be more” or "do better." You might feel paralyzed by the fear of not living up to your standards, especially if past attempts to meet similar goals didn't go as planned. These thoughts can create a cycle of anxiety. So, you might give up before you've even tried.

But what if you were to reframe your New Year's resolutions so they are not about perfection or drastic changes?

Anxiety Therapist Shares: 4-7-8 Breathing

In our previous blog, we explored the box breathing technique—a simple yet effective tool for managing anxiety and grounding yourself in moments of stress. Now, we’re diving into another transformative breathing technique: 4-7-8 breathing.

Anxiety Therapy Orlando: Setting Boundaries to Manage Holiday Stress 

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

As the holiday season rolls around, you feel a mix of excitement and joy but also a sense of worry - anxiety and stress. You look forward to taking time off work, spending time with loved ones, and celebrating with those who matter most. However, all the shopping, cooking, socializing, and financial strain can leave you too drained to truly enjoy the holidays.

OCD and Anxiety & How They Are Connected: Insights from an Orlando Therapist

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

Do you have this constant need to control your surroundings or your thoughts only to feel powerless and worn out as a result? In your daily routine, you might do the same things repeatedly to try to calm your anxiety or spend ages worrying about whether you forgot to finish, unplug, or left something undone, afraid that even the tiniest mistake could lead to a disaster.

Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety can feel overwhelming. It can feel like intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are often taking control of your day, your relationships, and your life. At Mindful Living Counseling, Orlando, FL, we understand how discouraging and exhausting this can be. Our anxiety therapist provides a safe environment to break free from these cycles and regain peace of mind.

Understanding the connection between OCD and anxiety is the first step toward finding relief. As an Orlando Therapist, I will guide you in understanding this connection, whether you're seeking anxiety therapy or looking to understand these challenges better.

Anxiety Therapy Orlando: How ERP Can Help with OCD

If you or someone you know is dealing with OCD, you may already know how exhausting it can be. Whether it’s the fear of contamination, the overwhelming need for things to feel “just right,” or intrusive thoughts that overwhelm you with uneasiness, guilt, and shame, these thoughts can become unbearable. When this happens, you engage in endless rituals (compulsions)—wash your hands repeatedly, check locks until it feels “safe,” or mentally review your thoughts, correspondence, or events to ensure you didn’t miss something important. Still, deep down, you know these compulsions won’t stop the anxiety or prevent the worst from happening. Instead, they eat up your time, disrupt your relationships, and leave you feeling stuck.

But there are ways to manage and regain control of your OCD. Working with an Orlando therapist trained in ERP can help you find relief and manage your OCD symptoms.

Anxiety Therapist Orlando: OCD and Its Impact on Daily Life

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

Does your usual daily routines exhaust you? You may spend extra time every single morning checking and rechecking things—you have to make sure the door is locked, devices and appliances are unplugged, or everything is perfectly in order—causing you to be late or start your day feeling stressed. Going through these routines each day offers a temporary sense of relief. Still, having to repeat the same rituals over and over again can become overwhelming, leaving you mentally drained before your day even begins.

Anxiety Therapist Orlando: Understanding Different Types of OCD

Frequently when people think of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they usually think of contamination OCD, which focuses on excessive handwashing and cleanliness. However, OCD encompasses much more than this.

There are different types of OCD such as self-doubt and checking OCD, intrusive forbidden thoughts, and hoarding. Working with a therapist in Orlando can help you understand your OCD and develop personalized strategies to manage symptoms, regain control over your thoughts, and improve your overall quality of life.

Trauma Therapist: Is it ADHD or PTSD or Both?

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

You want to focus, but you can't. You're distracted, and anxiety pulses through your body with a constant message: stay alert, don’t let your guard down. By the end of the day, you feel wrung out like an old wet towel.

Shows an image of two girls talking and writing in a journal. Represents how and Trauma Therapy Orlando can help.

You wonder, What’s going on with me? You've read articles about ADHD and think, Hmm, this sounds like me. Then, while scrolling through TikTok, you come across content about PTSD and think, This also sounds like me.

Now, you're left scratching your head, trying to figure out which one it is.

As a veteran trauma therapist and the owner of a highly specialized trauma therapy practice, Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, I’ve seen many clients ask the same question: Do I have ADHD, PTSD, or both?

A few years ago, I wrote An Inside Look at ADHD & PTSD, where I shared a conversation with Dr. Brady Bradshaw, a local Orlando psychiatrist, about the complexities of having both ADHD and PTSD.

Since then, I’ve seen more and more clients struggling with both conditions. Through this work, I’ve uncovered an even more nuanced understanding of how the symptoms overlap.

In this blog post, I'll dive deeper into the intersection of ADHD and PTSD. We'll explore the ways ADHD can make you more susceptible to PTSD and how EMDR Therapy can help alleviate many of the symptoms exacerbated by having both conditions. First, let’s cover the basics.

Anxiety Therapy Orlando Shares 7 Ways to Support a Loved One Who Is Struggling

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where someone you love is going through a difficult time, and you don't know what to say or do to ease their pain? It can feel like no matter what you do, you're getting it wrong or making things worse. At Mindful Living Counseling, we understand that witnessing a loved one’s struggles can make you feel overwhelmed and powerless, but there are practical ways to offer support.

This article offers tips on how to be there for someone you care about during challenging times.

Anxiety Therapist Shares The Impact of Stress and Trauma on Our Reactions

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

Do you often feel overwhelmed by your reactions or struggle with intense internal conflict? Perhaps you notice yourself reacting in ways that seem contradictory or out of proportion, leaving you feeling confused or ashamed. These kinds of responses are more common than you might think, especially for those with a history of trauma. The truth is, your reactions make sense in the context of your past experiences. When we’ve been through overwhelming situations, our minds and bodies develop survival strategies to protect us, sometimes leading to extreme or conflicting emotions. In this post, we’ll explore why these responses occur and how they are not only normal but adaptive.

Orlando Therapist Shares: Importance of Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community

Written by: Mindful Living Counseling Staff

Come Out With Pride, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit, that host’s Orlando’s annual LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration every October. Orlando is home to one of the biggest Pride celebrations in the Southeast and the largest single-day event in Central Florida!

In honor of LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration happening this month in downtoan Lake Eola we wanted to shed some light on the improtance of mental health in the LGBTQ+ community. Mental health is crucial for overall well-being, particularly for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who often encounter unique challenges and stressors. These challenges can include discrimination, stigma, and social exclusion, leading to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. At Mindful Living Counseling we aim to create a safe and supportive practice where everyone feels valued and understood.

Orlando Therapist: 5 Natural Ways of Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

Do you notice a shift in your mood and energy as the seasons change and the days become shorter and colder? Do you feel tired and down when it gets dark early, sleep longer than usual, or have a low-level feeling of dread? The shorter days force you inside, leaving you feeling lethargic and unmotivated. 

As we head towards the changing of seasons, the days in our part of the world will gradually shorten, leading to less sunlight and warm weather. For people who have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this time change can be particularly challenging. SAD is linked to reduced exposure to sunlight, which affects key chemicals in the brain. According to NIMH - Seasonal Affective Disorder is a drop in serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, combined with an overproduction of melatonin, the hormone that controls sleep, which can lead to feelings of depression, fatigue, and overall sluggishness.

So, what are some things that people who struggle with wintertime blues can do to prepare themselves better?

Orlando Therapist Explores the Difference between Physical Trauma & Attachment Trauma

There's been a lot of hype on childhood trauma recently. You could be hearing about betrayal trauma, insecure attachment, or inner child healing from your therapist, on social media, and in everyday conversations. This may prompt you to reflect on your childhood, wondering, "Did I really experience childhood trauma?" You may be unsure whether what you went through is enough to be considered a trauma.

As a trauma therapist in Orlando, I often witness this uncertainty. Some people know that they have experienced trauma in their childhood, while others may be really uncertain.

So, we are going to break down the difference between physical trauma and attachment trauma because they are two different things. While there can certainly be an overlap between these two types of childhood trauma, many people minimize their attachment trauma because they don't understand it as such. However, attachment trauma can have just as big an impact, if not more, as physical trauma.