Gratitude that goes beyond Thanksgiving.

On this special holiday, we are often encouraged to create a GRATITUDE list.  Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has. Take a few minutes out of your day and honestly ask yourself, "What am I thankful for?" Write down your list in a notebook.  It does not matter the length of this list.  For the remaining days up to Thanksgiving, I would encourage you to reflect on this list and GIVE THANKS. Gratitude is good medicine for the mind, body, and soul. I challenge you to give gratitude year around. Giving thanks daily is beneficial for your health. Happy Thanksgiving! Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW

Check out this helpful article about 10 reasons why giving thanks is important: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-thanksgiving-gratitude-20171118-story.html

Myths about Anger

Anger is a feeling or emotion that ranges from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. Often times, many people confuse anger with aggression. Aggression is behavior that is intended to cause harm or injury to another person or damage property. 

Here are some following myths associated with anger. Keep track of the ones you thought were true.

Myth #1: ANGER IS INHERITED.
Evidence from research indicates that people are not born with set and specific ways of expressing anger. Rather, these studies show that the expression of anger is a learned behavior and a person can learn more appropriate ways to manage anger.

 Myth #2: ANGER AUTOMATICALLY LEADS TO AGGRESSION.
Aggression is not an effective way to manage anger. There are more constructive and assertive ways to express anger. Effective anger management skills involves controlling the escalation of anger by learning assertiveness skills, changing negative and hostile "self-talk," challenging irrational beliefs, and utilizing behavioral strategies.

 Myth #3: YOU MUST BE AGGRESSIVE TO GET WHAT YOU WANT.
Many people confuse assertiveness with aggression. The goal of aggression is to dominate, intimidate, harm, or injure another person. Also, known as to "win at any cost." The goal of assertiveness is to express feelings of anger that is respectful of other people. Expressing yourself in an assertive manner does not blame or threatens other people and minimizes the chance of emotional harm.

Myth #4: VENTING ANGER IS ALWAYS DESIRABLE.
Research studies have shown that people who vent their anger aggressively (such as screaming or beating on pillows, etc..) simply get better at being angry. Therefore, aggressive manner reinforces aggressive behavior.

 If you thought the majority of these myths were true, you may need help with managing your anger. Give us a call today. We can help you work towards creating a BETTER YOU.

WE'VE MOVED! Our new office location is 2881 Oakland Park Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306.  We accept insurance, private pay, and offer a sliding scale.  Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW is a Certified Dialectical Behavioral Therapist specializing in adults, children, and adolescences.  Give us a call today at 954-800-0108 to schedule an appointment. Take the first step in creating a better you.

5 Tips for De-bunking Stress

Modern life is full of hassels, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For many people stress has become a way of life. It has become their normal. STRESS is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Stress isn't always bad. In small doses, it can actually make you perform better under pressure and motivate you to do you best. However, if you are constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the ulimate price. So the question, you must ask your self is... Am I in control of my stress or is stress controlling me? If stress is in control of your steering wheel, try these 5 tips: exercise daily, engage in relaxation techniques, talk to someone you trust, eat healthy, and get enough sleep. There is "no one size fits all solution" to managing stress. Most importantly focus on what makes you feel positive, calm, and in control. If you feel that you need more helpful tips for managing your stress, schedule a session and we will work together to get YOU in control of your stress. ~ Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW

Let's get Communicating!

More and more people are coming into my office perplexed by communication within relationships. There are 3 important communication styles one should know. These are: aggressive, assertive, and passive. The most important communication style to display with other is assertiveness. I believe this is a characteristic we should all strive to have in our daily communication.

What is assertiveness? Assertiveness is being firm, direct, and honest with the person you are speaking with. It's respecting the rights of others and recognizing the importance of having your needs and rights respected as well. A person who displays assertiveness communication is confident about who they are and realize that they have choices about his or her life. Aggressive people are loud, bossy, and pushy. They dominate and intimate others as well as violate other's rights. This type of person "gets his or her way" at anyone's expense, steps on people, and reacts instantly. Lastly, passive communication is where an individual is unable to speak up for his or her rights, gets "stepped on" often, and is always very accommodating towards others. This communication style reminds me of the "proverbial doormat."

Now, analyze your own communication style. Which are you like? What do you need to do make a change? Need help with this change, call us at 954-800-0108.

~Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW

The World Need Inspiration!

Life is diffcuilt, and no one said it was easy. Here is an inspirational poem that will surely have you standing TALL.
You Will Never See Me Fall
by Joyce Alcantara
You may see me struggle but you won't see me fall.
Regardless if I'm weak or not I'm going to stand tall.
Everyone says life is easy but truly living it is not.
Times get hard, people struggle and constantly get put on the spot.
I'm going to wear the biggest smile even though I want to cry.
I'm going to fight to live even though I'm destined to die.
And even though it's hard and I may struggle through it all.
You see me struggle...you will NEVER see me fall.

3 Tips to Loving Yourself

Self-love means that you forgive yourself of your past errors and mistakes; you continue to strive to be the BEST person you can be. It's important to note that loving yourself does not mean that you are selfish or condone your past mistakes. But simply you treat yourself fairly and with respect.

Here are three tips to help you love yourself:
1. Stop being hard on your self.
Beating yourself up may have the short term effect of making your work hard. However, the price of this may be costly in the sense of resentment to self, sense of defeat, and emotional scars.

2. Implement the Golden Rule and include your self.
The Golden Rule, as we teach to younger children, is to treat others as we would wish to be treated. What if we added a little twist to this? Treat ourselves the same standards as we treat others. You would never call you mother, best friend, or child "stupid." Why would you call yourself that?

3. Forgive your self.
Striving to be your best maybe one of your goals in life. However, it is important to cut your self some slack when you fall short of your expectations. Making a mistake or not being perfect is apart of being human. If you make a mistake or didn't give it your 100%, its okay. Simply, dust your shoes off, pick your self up, and move forward.

Love your self for who you are and all of your parts. Start today and love you!
Namaste ~Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW

4 Tips to Manage the Holidays.

The Holiday Season can often promote anxiety, depression, and stress.  People are often faced with demands- parties, entertaining, shopping, baking and cleaning- just to name a few.  This season use our 4 tips to help manage those holiday stressors. You may just enjoy the Holidays this season. 

1. Practice Self-Care.  Be good to yourself!  Remember you are number one.  Get enough sleep, eat well, and keep your sense of humor.

2. Set Boundaries.  It is okay to say "NO." Choose the events that you must and want to attend.  Your body will thank you emotionally, mentally, and physically. Don't beat your self up or feel guilty about saying, no."

3. Eliminate Useless Worry.  Effectively plan ahead of time -- from organizing a gathering, to buying gifts, to taking good care of yourself. Do positive visualization before you walk into situations that make you nervous.  It's very important to enjoy yourself!

4. BREATHE. This sounds like a no brainer.  But often times we forget to take deep breaths and give ourselves the oxygen we need.  

Here is a useful breathing tool that you can utlize at any time: 
1. Inhale through your nose for 3 seconds. 
2. Hold your breath for 5 seconds. 
3. Exhale through your mouth for 5 seconds.  
4. Say to yourself, calm now. 
5. Repeat until you feel centered and grounded. 

Start implementing these tips today and you will notice a difference in your actions, moods, and thoughts associated with the Holiday Season!

Happy Holidays from Provide 4!

Provide 4 will be closed from 12/20/13 until 01/05/13.  Just leave us a message and we will be happy to give you a call back to schedule an appointment.  We return calls within 24 hours. 

A Time to Give Thanks

During this week, we celebrate a special holiday known as Thanksgiving with our family and friends.  On this special holiday, I encourage you to create a GRATITUDE list.  This is a time where you can truly reflect on what you are thankful for.  I would like for you to  take a few minutes out of your day and honestly ask yourself... "What Am I THANKFUL For?" It does not matter how long or short your list is.  For the remaining week, I would encourage you to reflect on this list and GIVE THANKS.  Put this list in a special location and you can revisit this list at any time.  It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to give thanks.  This truly can be reflected upon daily. Enjoy your Holiday!   Happy Thanksgiving! ~Kacee Tannenbaum, LCSW

A self-esteem boost for YOU!

We hope that this poem encourages YOU to dig deep and allow for YOU to be all that YOU CAN!
It's time to have the mindset that YOU CAN be DETERMINED and SUCCEED. I guarantee you that this poem will do that for you!

Victorious Attitude
by James Kisner

You cannot claim a victory, if there is no reward.
You cannot shape the future, if you wait until it's here.

The future has no purpose, if you live today in fear.
Your future lies within your hand, to do with what you may.

For tomorrow brings results, of what you've done today.
The choices that you make today, reflect the life you seek.

But first of all, the seeds are sown, before the gardener reaps.
The future's like a lump of clay, you hold within your hand.

As time goes by, the clay gets hard, so mould it while you can.
Failure is an attitude, that haunts the mind of man.

But, results will be successful, for the one who knows HE CAN!

10 Common Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn't really true. These inaccurate thoughts are usually to reinforce negative thinking or emotions. We tell ourselves that these thoughts are rational and accurate, but really they only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves. By learning to correctly identify this 'stinkin thinkin', a person can answer the negative thinking back and refute it. By refuting the negative thought over and over again, it will slowly diminish over time and a more positive and balanced way of thinking will form. If you feel that you often experience these different types of cognitive distortions, we encourage you to give us a call today at 954-800-0108 and set up an appointment with one of our professional counselors.

RELAX.

What does it mean to relax? Most people will answer in a way that suggests that relaxing is something that you do later. You will do it on vacation, when you retire, or when you get everything checked off of your list-DONE! Most of us postpone relaxation until our "inbox" is empty. Could this contribute to why most people operate as if life was one great big EMERGENCY? Here's the thing, you can relax now. Yes, right at this given moment. It is helpful to think of relaxation as a quality that you can access on a regular basis rather than it being reserved for later. Being more relaxed involves training yourself to respond to the different dramas of life with kindness and patience. Now, its up to you to continue to live your life in a constant state of crisis or take a few moments out of your day to relax and make healthy life choices to the dramas of life. Choose to relax.

SEIZE YOUR DAY!

10 Coping Skills to help you get through your STRESSFUL day:

1. Take 3 deep breaths.
2. Count to ten.
3. Hum your favorite song.
4. Talk to your "venting" partner.
5. Take 15 minutes to yourself.
6. Walk outside and observe the scenery.
7. Read your favorite poem or quote.
8. Remember stress is an attitude.
9. Stop saying negative things to yourself.
10. Say something nice to someone else.

Need more tips to help you get through your day, please schedule an appointment with our professional counselors at 954-800-0108.  We look forward to hearing from you. CARPE DIEM!