Occupational  Therapy

Adulting: the struggle is real.

 

So much of adulting is trying to be Goldilocks. Finding that sweet spot that is just right. 

The laundry is never done. The doom scrolling has taken over. Accidentally thinking  of your boss gives you a jolt of panic. During the same hour of your life you're panicked, you're also exhausted and overwhelmed. No Goldilocks here. 

 

Mental health affects our lives in so many complex ways. If you've been in therapy before, you know that it can be so so helpful to work through the emotions, cognitions, and bodily sensations that come up related to trauma, mood disorders, or anxiety. But sometimes those things on their own are not enough. Sometimes mental health struggles can lead to all kinds of other difficulties.

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If you are parenting a kiddo with complex needs, you might:

• Feel completely overwhelmed and overstimulated all the time

• Feel like a failure as a parent, or feel like an amazing parent but never get to attend to your own needs

• Struggle because as soon as you find a strategy that works, your child's needs have changed

• Feel completely alone because no one else seems to get it, not even your child's teacher or doctor.

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If you are an ADHDer, you might:

• Feel overwhelmed by your daily to-do list ALL THE TIME.

• Struggle to keep deadlines and then feel like a failure.

• Miss appointments or find yourself unable to make it to things on time.

• Feel like you are more clumsy or physically awkward that those around you.

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If you are Autistic or Highly Sensitive, you might:​​

• Sense that everyone except you has a "how-to" manual on how to navigate relationships.

• Feel irked or bothered by certain sounds or textures that don't seem to bother others.

• Get inexplicably angry or overwhelmed when in loud environments.

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If you deal with Anxiety or Depression, you might: 

• ​Feel awkward in social situations.

• Avoid activities that you might enjoy because you don't have the emotional energy.

• Found that even when you have a moment to yourself you cannot make yourself relax.

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If you are going through transition or change in relationship, housing, school, or career, you might...

• Feel totally out of your element and unsure of what is expected of you.

• Struggle to connect with others around you. 

• Feel inexplicably and uncontrollably overwhelmed by your emotions.

• Change quickly from being super motivated to not motivated

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Occupational Therapy: Making every task a little less work. 

 

OT's will focus on some or all of the following with you in your sessions, which may take place in the office or out in the community.

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• Evaluation of your functional abilities, strengths, and challenges related to daily activities and how  mental health conditions impact these things.

• Treatment Planning and Goal Setting which may focus on improving your environment to fit your needs, enhancing coping skills, or increasing participation in meaningful activities, just to name a few.

• Skill Building and Interventions such as teaching coping strategies, stress management techniques, time management skills, and social skills training.

• Environmental Modifications that might improve mental health at home or at work. They may also make recommendations to your school or workplace in order to help you access the supports you need.

• Assessments focused on anything from cognitive functioning, Sensory Processing, recovery and hope, learning styles, or frustration tolerance.

• Collaboration and Referral internally with your other therapist(s) and externally to other specialists or community resources as needed.

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​Mischief managed.

 

How much would your life change if you could engage in something other than doom scrolling in your down time? How about if you found ways to keep on top of your to-do list and calendar? Or had a better sense of how and why your body reacts to the sensory world around you? What if you had a handle on all the things that drag you down in life? Or less of a feeling that you were failing your kids?

 

What if things really could be just right?