Stress Reduction – Who Doesn’t Need It?

Posted on by Dr Mark Parisi

Summer is a busy time – so much to do and see. But sometimes this extra push we give ourselves may lead to feeling ‘overwhelmed’ or lead to conflicts in our relationships. Maintaining balance is healthy for our own agendas and for our relationships; to minimize burnout, anger, frustration, and conflicts. Dr. Parisi and Associates offers Chicago therapists to help you take a step back, examine your stressors, to find your healthy balance, to organize your priorities and agenda. It is good to feel fulfilled, not overwhelmed.

Here are 5 Tips for Dealing with Life’s Stress

1) Time Management:  Make a schedule for yourself. We need to keep the more important events and obligations at the forefront of our schedules and fill in with the less important as we are able. Be sure to include time to relax, refresh and get the proper rest that you require to be at your best.

2) Healthy Lifestyle:  Believe it or not, eating healthy can actually keep your energy and your moods more steady. We do better when we have the proper rest and some daily exercise can definitely contribute to stress reduction.

3) Be a Positive Person:  It has been said that 90% of life is ‘attitude’ and the rest is what happens. We all get those lemons, yet it is so worthwhile to ‘learn to make lemonade.’ Often times, adversity can be an opportunity in disguise. We can discover some new alternatives or realize a new strength we did not know we had. Negative thinking can produce unresolvable frustration, apathy and burn-out.

4) Hang with Positive People:  Sometimes it seems like attitudes are contagious. Being with negative persons can color your mood dark or drain your energy. Be with people who energize you and make you feel good about yourself.

5) Find Support:  Speaking with another person, especially a professional therapist can truly help you achieve your goals of enjoying life more and not feeling overwhelmed, burned out or over-stressed.

If you find that you are not having success with stress management and need more help, contact Dr. Parisi for supportive counseling. We have locations in Chicago and the surrounding area (Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Barrington, Hinsdale, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Park Ridge, and Wilmette) to help. Affordable Counseling to Be Your Best.

Contributing Editor: Stan Kain, M.S.

Tom Naratadam, Psy.D., LCPC

Hi and thank you for choosing me!  Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Dr. Tom Naratadam.  I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and both my Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) and Masters Degree in School Psychology (Ed.S.) from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.  I completed my Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) certification in Illinois in 2015.  My professional work experience is diverse and includes work in multiple settings including residential, inpatient, outpatient, community mental health, group private practice, and school-settings throughout the Metro Chicagoland area.

I have worked as an outpatient provider with Dr. Mark Parisi since 2010. In addition to my work with Dr. Parisi and Home Psych Services, P.C., I have worked as a bilingual school psychologist at the Chicago Public Schools – performing extensive diagnostic testing and spearheading group therapy with children and adolescents – and more recently in the private school systems.

I have expertise working in multicultural populations and have conducted numerous workshops on cross-cultural issues related to the Latino and Asian-Indian cultures. My experience also includes several years of assessing and working with children and adolescents who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Conduct and Mood Disorders, and issues related to adolescent sexuality and identity.  I provide in-office and teletherapy services for Generations and Home Psych Services using secure video teleconferencing technology for the comfort, convenience, added privacy and safety of my clients.

I am proud of his Asian-Indian heritage. I enjoy traveling, enjoying Chicago’s wide array of restaurants, and spending time with his family and friends. I am a non-native speaker of Spanish and have excellent fluency.

Self-Esteem Versus Self-Acceptance

Posted on by Dr. Mark Parisi

Do you know the difference between self-esteem and self-acceptance? Is there a difference? Why is it even important? What would a counselor say?

Whether or not you use an affordable psychologist in Chicago, you have taken a moment to think about yourself and where you fit in your own world. Do you find value it or do you hold some secret insecurities? Let’s look at it from a Chicago Area Psychotherapist’s view.

Self-Esteem

Psychologists in Chicago see self-esteem as a person’s overall evaluation or his or her own worth. Self-esteem is typically based on your own value of yourself as a person, including your own emotional view of those beliefs. The belief in one’s self esteem can usually be related to one specific aspect of life. The problem with self-esteem is it can be fake. People can have high-self-esteem or pretend to because they have been told they do well at something but can be harboring serious self-doubt and insecurities.

Self-Acceptance

Our low cost psychiatrist in Chicago believes self-acceptance is a much better path to real happiness. No one is perfect. We all have our flaws, but being able to accept ourselves flaw, quirks, and all is real self-acceptance. To accept that you have aspects in life to work on and that you are not perfect gives one greater freedom to be themselves bases on real merit and not in a way that is seeking approval from others.

Self-acceptance is far more realistic way to fit yourself in to the world around you than self-esteem based on peer approval.

So what does this really mean for you? Finding self-acceptance versus building your self-esteem does not mean resigning yourself to the status quo, but rather accepting things as they are with an eye toward improving what you can and what you really want to.

We all have the goal in life to find happiness and be happy with ourselves. Dr. Parisi and Associates have play therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists, in Chicago who can help whether your concern is your child or yourself.

For affordable counseling in Chicago and surrounding areas including Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Barrington, Hinsdale, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Park Ridge, and Wilmette, contact Dr. Parisi.