Finding a therapist can be difficult, stressful and scary. But with the right information, you’ll have the tools you need to find and connect with the best therapist for you.

How to Find the Right Therapist For You

When looking for a therapist, it’s important to remember these four tips: 

1. You’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you. You can expect the therapist to ask you questions to get to know you. But you should also feel empowered to choose a therapist who you connect with. It’s important to acknowledge what their personality is like so you can decide if you’d enjoy being around this person for an hour or two each week. 
2. Pay attention to the areas they specialize in. Having a flashy website or profile with several positive reviews doesn’t guarantee a therapist will be the best fit for you. If you read their profile and see that they don’t spend much time attending to the primary issues you face, keep searching. Doing some research on other providers to see how their expertise lines up with your needs is the recommended approach to finding a therapist. 
3. Give it some time. It might take a few weeks for you to decide if a therapist is a good fit—and that’s completely normal. Finding the right therapist for you can be kind of like dating. It can be difficult to tell if you’ve found “the one” after the first encounter. Sometimes, you’ll need to schedule subsequent appointments for two, three, and maybe four weeks before you can make a firm decision on how you feel about the therapist you’ve been seeing.
4. Evaluate your financial situation. Covering the costs of therapy can be complicated, and understanding what your insurance will cover isn’t necessarily easy.. If seeing a therapist causes you financial stress, see if you can negotiate with the therapist. If they aren’t willing to work on a sliding scale, consider looking for another therapist. Each therapist handles financing differently, so there’s always a chance you’ll be able to find one who offers  a cheaper rate or a sliding scale. 

Fostering a relationship with a new therapist may feel a little scary, but it’s important to know that is okay. New relationships come with awkward change and growing pains. The important thing is to leave no stone unturned in your search for a therapist. You never know who you may find! 

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Stress is a situation where a person anxious and threatened. 

There are different ways to cope with stress. Sometimes due to accidents, environmental, personal disasters, or any threat, a person can face stress. Due to such conditions, a person can face:

1. Helplessness, frustration, sadness
2. Shock, disbelief, numbness
3. Difficulty in making the decision
4. Stomach issue
5. Back pains headache
6. Use of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes

8 Ways to Cope with Stress

Trouble in sleeping and eating can be a normal stress reaction. Following are the ways to deal with stress.

1. Exercise
   Exercise is one of the best ways to deal with stress. Daily workouts relax your mind and body. Mood also gets better by doing exercise. 
   
2. Muscle Relaxation
   Muscles become tense when a person is under stress. The following are ways muscles can be relaxed:
   • Massage
   • Stretching
   • Hot bath
   • Plenty of night’s sleep
     
3. Deep Breath
   Deep breaths are very effective in coping with stress. For deep breaths, sit down in a comfortable place, place your hands on your lap, and feet on the floor, or you can lay down. Close your eyes and feel like you are in a beautiful place, on a beach or garden or any peaceful place. Take deep breaths in and out. Do this activity for 5-10 minutes daily.
   
4. Eat Well
   Good food makes the mood better. Balanced and regular nutrition helps a person in feeling better. Add vegetables, fruits, and grains to your meal. 
   
5. Take a Break
   Take a break from your busy life. Do some activities that give you pleasure like
   • Yoga
   • Prayer
   • Meditation
   • Listening Music
   • Spend time with nature
     
6. Make time for Hobbies: 
   Try different relaxing hobbies and enjoy your life. It will make you feel better. 15-20 minutes will be enough for you. Activities include:
   • Solving Puzzles
   • Knitting
   • Reading
   • Do art tasks
   • Play golf, board, and card games
   • Watch a movie
     
7. Talk about your issues
   If something is bothering you and disturbing you, seek help from others. Talk to your family members, your friends, or a therapist. If no one is available, self-talk can also be an excellent way to reduce stress, but this self-talk should be positive; otherwise, it will be harmful. 
    
8. Remove the factors causing Stress
   Find out what is causing the problem in your life, like it can be your job, your task, etc., eliminate them from your life. If you cannot remove them, at least reduce them. If you are unable to find out stress causers, then keep a stress journal. Note that when you become stressed /anxious, you will notice a pattern.

The post Tips for Dealing with Stress appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

Spring is the time of the year for embracing all things light and fresh as there is abundant growth of freshly new flowers, grass, and delicious, colorful produce. 

Eating seasonally aligns our minds and body with nature and is a great way to get the most flavorful and freshest produce around. Food abundant in spring is refreshing, regenerating, and detoxifying, which forces us to leave behind the heaviness of grounding foods. 

Healthy Foods Available in Spring Season 

1. Cauliflower 
2. Cabbage 
3. Broccoli  
4. Radishes 
5. Asparagus 
6. Root veggies like carrots, parsnips, turnips beets  
7. Onion and garlic 
8. Avocados 
9. Leafy greens: parsley and cilantro 
10. Strawberries 
11. Green onion and chives 
12. Snap peas  
13. Mushrooms

4 Spring Recipe Ideas – Simple, Fresh & Delicious!

Now with the help of these essential, let us know how to make some nourishing spring meals: 

A Savory Toast

1. Roasted red beet hummus on toasted bread. 
2. Sauteed asparagus with pepper 
3. Place leaves of cilantro and sprinkle a hemp seed  
4. Squeeze a lemon. Enjoy!

A Spring Green Smoothie

Assemble these ingredients and blend: 

1. Frozen bananas 
2. Frozen steamed cauliflower  
3. Frozen mango 
4. Avocado for healthy fats 
5. Lemon juice  
6. Some fresh greens 
7. A handful of fresh mint 
8. Filtered water  

Spring Veggie Sandwich 

1. Onto toasted bread, add chive vegan cream cheese and your favorite spring vegetables like onion, avocado, radishes, carrots, and broccoli sprouts, and top with the remaining piece of bread. 

Spring Veggie Pad Thai

1. Chop up your favorite spring vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, and snap peas 
2. Heat some oil and sauté ​ your vegetables, mix them well. When cooking vegetables, add in your pad thai noodles and cooked according to instructions 
3. Add some sun-butter pad thai sauce and mix it well. 
4. Top with green onions, cilantro, and sunflower seeds 

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If the year 2020 has taught us anything it is that sometimes we have to PIVOT. Traditionally New Years’ is filled with Resolutions…flossing every day….going to the gym….no more soft drinks…

No one is going to argue that those things are good for you, they are healthy, but what I’m asking you to do is to rethink societal norms. What if you restructured how you thought about resolutions? What if you transitioned those resolutions into goals that are more achievable and more reasonable? One bad day doesn’t ruin the whole goal, there is rooms for mistakes and growth. So, what goals should you be setting?

1. Personal Goals: These goals are about relationships. How are you doing at checking in with friends and family? What goals can you set? Checking in once a week with 2 people each week? Hanging out with friends once a month? 
2. Professional Goals: What do you want to accomplish at work this year? Do you want a new promotion? Do you want to spend less time chatting with co workers and more time focusing? Do you want to stop working after hours? Do you want to find passion for your work? Do you want to specialize in something? 
3. Financial Goals: Saving up for a new car, new house? Want your savings or 401k to look a certain way? Are you going to eat out less one time a week? 
4. Health Goals: Going to the chiropractor? Stretching more? Drinking more water?

The best things about goals is that they can be changed, they are flexible. Goals are also measurable. You can set short term goals and long term goals. The big question is…What is important to you as you look at the year 2020? As you look at 2021, focus on things that are achievable and helping yourself become successful, because if we know anything hindsight is 2020.  
 
If you find yourself struggling with goal setting, we have mental health professionals who are here to help you. Don’t hesitate to reach out. 

The post Rethinking Your Resolutions appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

“Merry Christmas!” “Happy Holidays!” “Happy New Year!”
​
​These phrases in our society typically bring happiness and joy, but to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, these words can sting.  Grief is hard enough on a normal day, but you add the pressure and expectations of the holidays, the pain seems to increase.  Throughout the holiday season, those of us who are missing someone important could use some relief.  Here are some tips that can help you through this holiday season. 

1. Decide what traditions you want to keep and which ones you’d rather not try to do.  You do not have to do everything, but it is important to review your traditions and do the traditions most important to you. In deciding what traditions you’ll keep during the holiday season you can also choose to add a new tradition.  
2. Decide what traditions you want to keep and which ones you’d rather not try to do.  You do not have to do everything, but it is important to review your traditions and do the traditions most important to you. In deciding what traditions you’ll keep during the holiday season you can also choose to add a new tradition.  
3. Decide what traditions you want to keep and which ones you’d rather not try to do.  You do not have to do everything, but it is important to review your traditions and do the traditions most important to you. In deciding what traditions you’ll keep during the holiday season you can also choose to add a new tradition.  
4. Decide what traditions you want to keep and which ones you’d rather not try to do.  You do not have to do everything, but it is important to review your traditions and do the traditions most important to you. In deciding what traditions you’ll keep during the holiday season you can also choose to add a new tradition.  
5. Decide what traditions you want to keep and which ones you’d rather not try to do.  You do not have to do everything, but it is important to review your traditions and do the traditions most important to you. In deciding what traditions you’ll keep during the holiday season you can also choose to add a new tradition.  

Wherever you are along your grief journey, whether your loss was last month or years ago, you are allowed to grieve and feel the feelings that come up during the holiday season.  There is no timeline to grief, therefore there is no timeline on using whatever coping skills you will need in your emotional toolbox this holiday season.  If you are needing help along your grief journey, we invite you to give our office a call. We can set up a time for you to speak with someone who can walk alongside you in your grief journey this holiday season and beyond. We wish you a Happy Holiday season, filled with joy and times of remembering and reflection.

If you are struggling with grief this time of year, schedule an appointment with one of our providers to help you through this season. 

The post Dealing With Grief During The Holidays appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

Your family at Curis is here to help! We have some of the top experts in chiropractic, counseling, and nutrition ready to help you make this your best year ever. Here are some of the common Grinches looking to steal your Christmas this year, and a simple, easy idea or two to help you make the most of this season:

Stress

We shop, party, travel, decorate, cook, and play hard during this next month. All this can take a toll on our body’s adrenal and immune system, because it’s continuously in a “fight or flight” mode. The chiropractic adjustment restores balance with the “rest and digest” part of our nervous system[1]– and who doesn’t want a little improved digestion this time of year? Choose to reduce and simplify, and for everything else, make sure you are following your chiropractic care to keep that stress level in check.

Sitting

Between all the merrymaking, we all like to curl up with a blanket and watch a Hallmark movie or seven. Take time to stretch or move and stick with your exercise routine. Your body will thank you! Also- sitting with your ankle over one knee may feel comfy and cozy until you stand up. Instead, sit cross-legged, or cross your legs at the ankles to avoid low back or hip pain[2]. If you’re driving or flying for long periods of time, make sure your car seat is ergonomically adjusted for ideal safety and comfort, and take time to stretch, walk, and breathe. Your Curis chiropractor can help!

Snacking

So many gatherings revolve around food this time of year, and it’s tempting to overindulge. Some sweets are fine, but everything in moderation. Alcohol, dairy, sugar, and dairy can all add to our inflammation levels, making us more sensitive to pain[3]. Remember to drink lots of water, choose smaller portions, and try to fill up on the healthy first before the visions of sugar plums dance in your head. Enjoy the treats, but just be sensible. You can also try some new things to do instead of eating.

Sickness

It seems like everyone is fighting off a cough, a head cold, or a stomach bug. During winter months, our exposure to sunshine dips, lowering our production of active Vitamin D levels, a crucial hormone in activating our immune system. Did you know that in addition to getting Vitamin D, a chiropractic adjustment can DOUBLE the number of circulating white blood cells[4]? Research is uncovering incredible evidence of how your nervous system runs your immune response, and a great way to keep from getting sick is to ensure your body is communicating optimally with itself!

While the rest of the world is downing Thera-Flu, unwrapping the latest back pain gadget, or summoning the will to hit the gym for some 2020 gains, you can take the proactive approach to your health, and schedule a visit with your Curis provider today! Whether for yourself or a loved one, the gift of health is priceless, and it allows you to enjoy everything else about the happiest time of the year. On behalf of all your Curis Functional Health team, thank you for entrusting us with your care!

Dr. Kaleb Valdez is a chiropractic provider in the Curis Flower Mound location. He loves Christmas and chiropractic.

The post Avoid Pain and Stress This Holiday Season appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

There are hundreds of blogs and Instagram posts that teach you how to rid your life of stress. The truth is, life is stressful, and anxiety can be a natural consequence of life stressors that we face daily. Relationships, work, and parenting can often feel chaotic…pair these already complicated and often overwhelming areas of life with living during a pandemic, it can feel downright unmanageable. Instead of attempting to “rid” our lives of stress and anxiety, we must first accept that feeling difficult emotions is a part of life. It’s important to first identify and accept these difficult emotions, in order to create healthy and lasting change in our lives.
 
ACCEPT: Accepting that stress can be a natural experience during difficult times is a much healthier approach than entirely “ridding” our lives of difficult emotions. That’s an impossible task that would feel us leaving forever disappointed. What we resist, persists, and this approach is much more realistic approach that incorporates self-compassion and the acceptance that we aren’t perfect, nor should be. Just because we experience difficulties does not mean we are weak or unprepared. It means we are human and we have the strength and capacity to identify when we are not feeling our best. 
 
ACT: What’s the next step after identifying that difficult emotions are just a part of life? Sit in misery, clouded by stress and anxiety? NO! Asking for help is the biggest sign of strength and self-care. In addition to eating healthy, exercise, maintaining healthy relationships, quality sleep, therapy can be an excellent space to process difficult emotions and learn how to effectively cope with them. It can be so easy to feel “stuck” in a cycle of stress and negativity. We aren’t born instantly knowing how to cope in a modern era of traffic, feeling burnout from work, financial issues, or family drama. A therapist can help you identify coping skills and safely process life stressors in order to live more joyfully. 
 
PRACTICE: Therapy isn’t the last stop in creating lasting change. Implementing tools on a daily basis is crucial to managing stress and anxiety. When these stressors bubble up to the surface and you feel like you don’t have a grasp, these difficult emotions are free thermometers that tell us we need to be more active in our self-care. Although there’s no “cure” for stress, and it’s impossible to rid our lives entirely of them, it’s possible to take hold of our lives through dedication and practice. 
 
If you have any questions about the therapeutic process, please reach out! It’s never too late to ask for help.

The post Managing Things that Scare You Fears & Stressors/Stress IS Stressful! appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

Vital Points About Addiction

The urgent need to address addiction today has been overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the ravages of addiction continue and it looks like have been made worse by the pandemic. There are several key concepts essential to grasp for a balanced understanding of addiction and what can be done.

Addiction Cannot be Controlled by the Addict or by Loved Ones
Often, family members––partners, spouses, children, parents, etc.––try to help by giving what they feel is support: money, a place to stay, second chances, another car, a job, bail money, and yet, the madness continues. This is called enabling and actually prolongs the problem.

The Addict is Not the Disease
Unchecked, the alcoholic/addict’s behavior at some point will become too painful for the loved ones to bear. Then, the only thing the family can do is protect themselves. This requires either professional help and/or attending helping groups3.

The Addict Runs the Family
The readers who have had the experience of a loved one with addiction will tell you, the alcoholic/addict and the addiction are the center of the family and the alcoholic/addict, essentially runs the family.

The Loved Ones and the Families Need Help Too.
Think of a tornado tearing its way through your house, turning everything upside down and inside out. This is what addiction can do to a family. And, the family will need repair. It takes work to resolve the resentments, the distorted communication patterns, the almost overwhelming guilt/blame, and confusion. The family needs recovery also.

Addiction Continues to Affect the Family for Generations if Unchecked
Families I have worked with, often feel that, since the addict has stopped using, is living in a different city, or has passed on, has been divorced, that the problem therefore has been solved. I’ve never seen one case where this is true.

I often have clients with issues such as anxiety or depression, and, when getting the family history discover that one or more of the family members (grandparents, uncles, etc.,) had problems with addiction. This affected the client’s parents and these patterns were passed on to the client in some way. We can’t just shut the door on a room destroyed by the tornado and consider the job done.

The Good News
There are many excellent resources for treatment; residential (long and short-term), outpatient services, group therapy, the groups mentioned earlier, and intensive individual counseling. Since addiction has become a prominent, national issue, there are more and more reliable resources for those affected by addiction3, directly or indirectly. Millions of addicts and families have recovered from their nightmare of addiction and live happy, productive, healthy lives.

Footnotes

1. In this article, the term addiction refers to both alcoholism and drug addiction (whether the drugs are by prescription or illegal).
2. More than 10 percent of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems, according to a 2012 study. Alcohol sales have increased dramatically since sheltering in place: 27.1% for wine and 31.7% for spirits, and 243% increase in online alcohol of any type, according to a Nielsen study.
3. Groups such as Al-Anon, Families Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA), etc. Therapists experienced with addiction know of and can recommend the appropriate treatment for someone.

The references for Footnote 2:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Data Spotlight: More than 7 Million Children Live with a Parent with Alcohol Problems, 2012. Available at: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3223/ShortReport-3223.html

The reference for the increase in alcohol consumption during the pandemic:
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2020/rebalancing-the-covid-19-effect-on-alcohol-sales/

The post Understanding Addiction appeared first on Curis Functional Health.

Fall is officially here and it’s prime time to bring in the harvest. Let’s shake things up and add some new veggies to the plate!

During this time of year you will find incredible vegetables such as cabbage, beets, radishes, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, and kohlrabi. Kohlrabi – what? Yep, that right. Kohlrabi! It’s part of the radish family but is slightly sweeter with only a mild spiciness. You can eat it raw or steam it and use as the base for “creamed soup” (perhaps a replacement for potato as a low carb low cal version). Of course, you can also roast them along with your other root vegetables like purple carrots, onions, and squash. They are super detoxing for your system too!

Another outstanding fall vegetable that is good for cleansing the body and kicking the “sludge” out of the gallbladder are beets. I’m not talking just the bottom of the plant, the beet itself either. Did you know the beet tops have nearly 10 times the nutrients of the actual beet?! It also has a great component to it called betaine, which aids digestion and “gets things moving.” Take the tops, stems included, chop them up and sautéed with a little organic chicken broth. Tas-ty!

You can always keep rolling with the cabbage family though too. Take some brussels sprouts and sauté with a little olive oil and balsamic…they caramelize and no longer have the bite some people are turned off by. Maybe even use the green or purple cabbage leaves to make cabbage rolls stuffed with grass-fed beef and tomatoes.

​They are sure to please! Until next time, eat well…live well.

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Who likes talking about suicide? It’s uncomfortable.

1. One third of Americans know someone who has died by suicide (yougov.com)
2. There is one death by suicide in the US every 12 minutes. (CDC)
3. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages. (CDC)
4. Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide. (CDC)
5. Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year. (CDC)

That’s why I want to talk about it.
Looking at those stats is overwhelming and shocking. So what can we do? We can check in on those around us and know what to look for so we can recognize the signs of suicide.

1. Extreme moods swings
2. Reckless behaviors
3. Increasing the use of alcohol or substances
4. Talking/joking about killing yourself
5. Giving away your favorite belonging/rehoming a loved pet
6. Saying you are a burden/hopeless/have no purpose
7. Social isolation
8. Making financial plans
9. Verbal warnings: i.e. “you’ll miss me when I’m gone”
10. Looking for means to commit suicide with

What can you do?
If you are worried about someone you love asking about their wellbeing could be a matter of life or death. Check in on your friends and family. Ask how they are doing, ask how you can support them and never keep someone’s plan for suicide a secret. There is always hope. There are emergency resources available for those who need them.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are feeling hopeless or you are identifying with any of the behaviors or thoughts mentioned in this article, there is no need to be ashamed, there is help for you. Contact your mental health provider today if you do not have one please contact us and we will set you up with the appropriate therapist for your needs.

If you are currently having serious thoughts of harming yourself or have a plan to harm yourself or commit suicide, you need to get help right now.

If you are in the U.S. you can call 911 or The National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255).

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