MENTAL HEALTH BLOG
From the Desk of Bhatia Psychology Group
From Our Blog
Get our latest tips and articles from the team at Bhatia Psychology Group to support your mental health journey.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 101: A Beginner’s Guide to CBT
Our thoughts are powerful; They influence our feelings and mood—and even our behaviour. Negative thoughts, in particular, can have significant adverse effects on our mental well-being and overall...
Can a Psychologist Help with Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is often referred to as the "invisible illness," and though it may not be readily apparent, its impact on physical and mental well-being is significant. The condition can render some...
8 Ways to Trick Your Brain Into Making Positive Changes
Change is tough, but it’s entirely possible — in fact, human beings are designed to adapt when necessary. That said, it isn’t always easy. Our internal dialogue and beliefs often prove to be the...
Anxiety Treatment — Where to Start?
Anxiety is more than just worrying — it may keep you up at night, stop you from trying new things, reduce your ability to function at school or work, impair relationships with friends or loved ones,...
Social Anxiety in Kids & Teen: Coping Strategies to Help
As a parent, it’s always tough to watch your child struggle. With the pandemic, it’s no surprise that more and more kids and youth are experiencing social anxiety. Social anxiety is associated with...
How Psychologists Help Kids and Teens with ADHD
Explore the signs and causes of seven types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and how you can help your child or teen manage the symptoms. If you see your child struggle with...
6 Myths about Teletherapy, Debunked
Teletherapy, also known as online therapy, virtual therapy, and phone therapy, can offer increased access to top-quality, life-changing mental health services. It's nearly two years into the...
How Smoking (and E-Cigarettes) Affect Mental Health
The past two years have given us plenty to stress about, with issues of job stability, health, and more perpetually on our minds. We’ve all had to manage our mental health and deal with the daily...
The Sedentary Pandemic: Is Sitting Affecting Your Mental Health?
Between virtual school, working from home, and gyms closing, many of us have done a lot more ‘sitting’ over the last two years. Before COVID-19, you may have moved around throughout your day —...
Differences Between a Psychiatrist, Therapist, Social Worker & Psychologist
If you find that your mental health is suffering, you might be ready to reach out for support from a professional. With the various clinicians available, it’s easy to get a little confused and even...
Bullying and How it Affects Mental Health
Being a victim of bullying can take a toll on a person’s self-worth and mental health. Read on to learn how to spot the signs of bullying and take action to stop it. Anyone who has experienced...
Winter Blues, SAD & Depression – What’s the Difference?
Winter may kick off the holiday season, but for many these months can bring the melancholy tones of the winter blues and seasonal affective disorder. As the days grow short and the sun disappears...
Does Sleep Affect Your Mental Health (and Vice Versa)?
If you struggle with sleep, you’re not alone. 1 in 3 people face sleep issues each year, and that’s not counting the recent phenomena many call “Covid-somnia.” It’s fair to say that without enough...
Depression: Is it Different for Kids vs Adults?
Depression is a disorder that affects roughly 5.4% of Canadians each year, reports the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Meanwhile, approximately 20% of Canadian youth have a mental health...
Anxiety: Is it Different for Kids vs Adults?
Many of us have experienced the unsettling symptoms of anxiety — from daily nervousness to more significant anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders affect thousands of adults each year and can present...
Can Your Lifestyle Impact Your Mood?
From sleep and stress to nutrition and exercise – our lifestyles can have a significant impact on our moods, how we feel, and our quality of life. The relationship between our mood and our lifestyle...
When Social Media is Bad for Your Mental Health
While social media can help you stay up-to-date with friends, family and even the latest headlines, in excess it can be harmful to your mental health – and lead to a social media addiction. Research...
5 Ways Excess Alcohol can Affect Your Mental Health
While you may reach for a glass of wine or a beer at the end of a night to unwind and relax, it’s important to be aware that too much can impact our mental health. Excess drinking – also called...
6 Myths About Panic Disorders Debunked
What is panic disorder, where do panic attacks come from, and what are some of the common myths surrounding panic disorder? Learn all this and more. At its best, anxiety and stress are evolutionary...
How Do I Know If I Have Social Anxiety?
Read to explore the signs of social anxiety disorder, treatments for social anxiety, and the differences between social phobia, shyness, and more. Most of us can relate to a time we felt anxious,...
Feeling Mentally Exhausted? Understanding Cognitive Dissonance
It’s only natural to feel a little drained from time to time. However, if you’re always feeling tired, and there are no obvious physical reasons — such as lack of sleep or other health issues — you...
What Are the Different Types of Anxiety?
Just as the triggers for anxiety can be different for each person, the type of anxiety they experience is equally unique. While it’s easy to loop the symptoms of anxiety into one broad category,...
Toxic Positivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Maneet Bhatia, Clinical Psychologist, discussed the pressure to stay positive during the COVID-19 pandemic - also known as 'toxic positivity'. View the video here or read the transcript below:...
Psychotherapy vs CBT — Understanding the Differences
Finding the right kind of therapy for yourself or a loved one can be confusing. First, there’s understanding the difference between psychiatrists, psychotherapists, social workers or psychologists....
How to Cope with Pandemic Anxiety or Loneliness
Feeling loneliness, anxiety, or depression as we move into the 2nd wave of the pandemic? Listen to the interview with Dr. Maneet Bhatia from Global News here or view the transcript below....
How to Help Children Process Traumatic Events
Dr. Maneet Bhatia, Clinical Psychologist, discussed helpful tips on how to help your children process events that may be traumatic in an interview with City News. You can watch the interview here or...
Three Ways You Can Improve Mental Health in 2021
Dr. Maneet Bhatia, Clinical Psychologist, spoke with Global News about three ways that you can support your mental health in 2021. Watch the video or read the transcript below: Interviewer 1: All...
How to Avoid Burnout When Working from Home
Dr. Maneet Bhatia spoke about tips to avoid burning out when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in a recent interview with 770 CHQR. You can listen to the interview here or view the...
Managing Anxiety & Depression During the 2nd Wave of the Pandemic
Feeling stress, anxiety, and depression as we move into the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic? You aren't alone. Listen to the interview with Dr. Maneet Bhatia on CJAD 800 AM here or view the...
What is Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)?
You may be thinking that all types of therapy are ‘emotion-focused.’ And you aren’t wrong. After all, most therapies do focus on your emotions, as well as your behaviours and thoughts. In turn, this...
Are You Suffering From Compassion Fatigue?
Compassion fatigue syndrome may result when you are emotionally or physically depleted from caring for someone who has experienced physical or emotional stress. This is a common issue with many...
What’s the Difference Between CBT and DBT?
With many different types of therapy, you might face confusion about deciding which type is best for you. This is very common. However, performing thorough research on potential therapies can help...
How Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Can Help Depression
Modern life poses many challenges, which can lead to feelings of hopelessness, negativity, and worthlessness. If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. In fact, approximately 1 in every 4 Canadians...
Coping With Grief and Bereavement During a Pandemic
Even in a world without the complications and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with loss and grief is painful, difficult, and stressful. The resulting uncertainty, anxiety, and...
How (and Why) to Stay in Touch While Social Distancing
While socializing is an integral part of our lives, with the outbreak of COVID-19 and social distancing rules, a lot has changed. We are no longer able to have those face-to-face interactions with...
Three Ways to Grow Your Relationship — Even During COVID-19
For couples that have recently moved in together, or for those partners who have been living together long-term, the stress and uncertainty of today’s situation can greatly impact your relationship....
How Virtual Therapy Can Help Your Mental Health
With a global COVID-19 pandemic comes significant change, uncertainty, fear, and disruption to our daily lives. During such difficult times, it has been challenging to resume our daily routines....
5 Tips for Working From Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Working from home used to be considered a luxury, since it came with the benefits of creating your own environment, comfort, and methods of productivity. It was a work situation sought-after by...
10 Tips to Reduce Anxiety During the COVID-19 Outbreak
I recently spoke to Global News about reducing anxiety and supporting your mental health during the COVID-19, Coronovirus global outbreak. Here are some of the tips I mentioned, as well as others...
How to Improve Your Self-Esteem
According to the National Science Foundation, the average person has approximately 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day — and 80% of those are negative. While these thoughts can keep us alert and safe,...
20 Things You Can Do to Reduce Stress in 2020
Maybe it’s exam time. Or perhaps you’re getting ready for that next big interview. You feel stressed or anxious. While some stress or anxiety is completely normal, chronic stress has detrimental...
How to Help Your Teen with Mindfulness Skills
Remember your teenage years? Perhaps you sailed through them without too many bumps or bruises. Or, maybe they felt more like a rollercoaster ride. If you are a parent or caregiver of a teenager...
4 Things You Can Do if Your Child is Struggling in School
It’s heartbreaking to see your child struggle at school — whether it’s with reading, writing, social activities other more. Fortunately, there are things you can do that could make a big difference!...
Spring Can Bring on Greater Risk of Depression, Psychologist Says
(Toronto, ON, April 23, 2019) — Spring brings warmer weather and birds chirping, but it’s not always a welcome change to those who are struggling with mental health challenges. Bhatia Psychology...
What is High-Functioning Depression
“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not, and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow High-functioning depression is more common than one...
How Mindfulness Can Help Control Anxiety and Overwhelming Emotions
Mindfulness isn’t just a new age term — it’s an effective tool for managing emotions, especially when they’re overwhelming. Mindfulness works by helping you become more aware of the current...
What Does Anxiety Really Feel Like?
There’s nothing as sneaky as anxiety; it catches you off guard, subtly infiltrates your daily life, and inserts itself into places it doesn’t belong – like in relationships, when you are at a social...
Does Nutrition Affect Your Mental Health?
Have you ever eaten a huge meal (think: holiday dinners) and felt lethargic and apathetic for the rest of the day (and maybe the next)? Then you have experienced the mood-altering effects of food—on...
Can’t Sleep? 10 Tips for a Better Night’s Rest
More than ever, I am appreciating getting a good night’s sleep. I feel better the next day, revived, and ready to work. On the other hand, it is difficult sometimes for me to organize the day in...
A Psychologist’s Guide to Self-Compassion
All of us face struggles, disappointments, and losses. We all experience sadness, regrets, and failures. After all, it is these experiences that make us human. Hopefully, we can use these...
Why Men Struggle with Work-Related Mental Health Issues
Mind, a mental health charity, recently conducted a large survey of 15,000 employees across 30 organizations. When separating the results by gender, they found an alarming statistic. One in three...
Breaking the Stigma of Couples Therapy
What if you and your significant other had regular opportunities to revive and deepen your relationship, focus on each other’s needs, emotionally invest in one another, and practice healthy, open...
Change your lens: How “prescriptions” impact the way we see the world.
As human beings, it is inevitable that we will face difficult and upsetting situations. Some are not in our control (e.g. losing a loved one), some we do not ever expect or can ever prepare for...
