Depression – Basic Steps Mental Health

The Positives of Depression

Scott Alpert — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:00:41 +0000

When I graduated from the University of Santa Monica with my master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, the famous cancer surgeon Dr. Bernie Siegel was our graduate speaker. I still remember the speech vividly because he wished pain upon us all. In explaining this, Dr. Siegel stated that pain can be an incredible motivator. Our university […]

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Befriending the Problem

Scott Alpert — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:30:58 +0000

Whether you suffer from depression, anxiety, mood swings, anger, or substance use, the most important element is befriending it. This may sound rather bizarre since this society basically tries to avoid issues in hopes of them going away. I ask you has it? Our repeating problems are repeating for a reason. In learning from and […]

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Rising Suicide Rates in Washington

Scott Alpert — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 18:00:03 +0000

The rising rates of suicide are alarming. Already in the state of Washington, there have been over 1,200 people who have taken their life. What if a person you knew told you they wanted to kill themselves? I worked at a crisis center for 11 years and dealt with people who were suicidal on a […]

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A Tribute – Thank You for My Tears

Scott Alpert — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 20:50:45 +0000

I often call myself a dinosaur because I grew up in a different era where the social norms were much different. As a child, we only had a handful of television stations that came in fuzzy most of the time. Often I turned to the radio for entertainment and especially to listen to sporting events. […]

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The Blank – How Am I with Myself?

Scott Alpert — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 21:14:06 +0000

It finally happened! After years and years of writing articles, I am finally blank. Who knew? My past program clients would be in shock because after four weeks of treatment I still had things to discuss. When I was in graduate school, we used to counsel one another. By the time we graduated, we were […]

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Are You Surviving or Thriving?

Scott Alpert — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 14:02:08 +0000

After 28 years in the industry, I often reassess myself. This is a periodic check-in to see how I am doing. Currently very happy but why? And honestly, the answer is staying active. When I have a purpose, I do well. But this is just me. Recovery of any type is not a one size […]

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Woundology – Bonding in Our Wounds

Scott Alpert — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 19:35:19 +0000

The theme of this last week has been on people imagining the worst-case scenarios. You know, “What is the worst thing that can happen?” It is almost as if we were weaned on this. How often have you focused on the worst thing? The surprising thing is that when we fantasize about something, reality and […]

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Getting Over Loss

Scott Alpert — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 01:30:04 +0000

Getting over the loss of somebody special is not an easy task. In graduate school, they taught us people have to feel their feelings during this period. Feeling your feelings for somebody that is not used to feeling emotions can be a difficult process. The intention of this article is to assist people who are […]

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Getting Out of the Shadows

Scott Alpert — Tue, 04 May 2021 04:20:33 +0000

When I write mental health articles, I try to stay as neutral as possible. For therapists, we treat people that often have opposing viewpoints to our own, and for me personally, I learn so much from the other person’s point of view, which makes each day rich and an opportunity to search my own self […]

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Sadness

Scott Alpert — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 21:20:56 +0000

If you suffer from depression, it can be debilitating. No energy, no motivation, feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless. Even when I was working with megastars in Malibu who was well known around the world, even they would feel this way. One day I was shocked when one told me, “I want what you have – […]

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