Graves LLC - Care Center Behavioral Health

Happy Juneteenth!

When it comes to taking care of yourself, it’s important to remember that it’s perfectly okay to feel however you’re feeling.

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy is a verb.

So often it is said or implied that happy is a state of being, something we can become in the right environment, with the right choices, with the right gifts. But that’s actually wrong. Happy IS the choices we make that creates our environment and uses our gifts to their fullest.

It’s not a destination. It’s the action.

We all feel blue sometimes. But when the blues seem to be stretching into weeks, it’s time to be proactive about our mental health. One way to do that is making a Joy List.

A Joy List is a list of things that bring you joy. Perhaps you have a favorite comfort show or a certain song that makes you just feel good. Maybe a book or video makes you laugh so hard that your abs ache and happy tears escape your eyes. Maybe hanging out with friends one evening reminds you of how much you love them and they love you. Once you’ve added all those things to the list, you can pull it out when you feel down and do some of them.

Sure, it won’t cure depression but it gives you a period of relief and reminds you that feeling sad won’t last forever. You will find the other side. And while you get help to move past your sadness, you have these moments of joy.

Love the picture. Love the sentiment. You got this!!

You can do it. ⛰️

Be YOU!!!

And not only is it okay to set boundaries, it’s normal to set them.

Here’s a gentle challenge for June: practice setting boundaries at work, with loved ones, and with yourself. 🩷

Sometimes we get it in our head that the number one goal is being strong and independent. We want to be solely responsible for our own success. It boosts our ego and our self-esteem. Which sounds and feels great. Until we’re faced with a situation too big to shoulder alone. Then the strong and independent role feels isolating and overwhelming. Stress piles up. Depression and anxiety gather. We feel exhausted and ready to break.

We need help.

We need others to show up and take some of the weight off our shoulders. Maybe they make us laugh so we relax. Maybe they offer tangible symbols of their care, like time or gifts. Maybe they offer advice. Or maybe they just hold our hands and let us borrow some of their strength.

Getting help doesn’t make us weak. In fact, it makes us stronger. It makes us feel connected and loved. And isn’t that something we all want to feel?

The art of progress means taking steps. Deciding on a goal is usually the easy part. But it is necessary. Without knowing what you want, you can’t begin to make progress. Sometimes, we get overwhelmed in our feelings. All we know is we don’t want this feeling. And that becomes the goal.

Once you’ve got the goal, it’s time to take the next step: what to do to accomplish the goal. Life is stubbornly still unless you push it forward. Start small. Focus on what is easiest to begin with. Don’t worry about how close or far the end goal is. No one goes from no exercise to running a marathon in a week or even a month; first they need to take a walk around their block. If you get caught up on how impossible the final goal feels when you’ve just decided on it, you talk yourself out of eventually reaching the goal.

Any steps forward are progress. And that’s good. As someone once said, enjoy the journey. Progress is progress, however small or large.

Today we remember those soldiers who gave their lives for our country. Happy Memorial Day

During Mental Health Awareness Month, it's important to remember that your value as a person is not determined by how productive you are. Your worth is inherent and goes beyond what you can accomplish. Take this time to prioritize self-care, set boundaries, and prioritize your mental health above all else. Remember, you are enough just as you are.

Change is hard. For many of us when we’re young, it feels natural. We get taller, we gain new experiences and responsibilities year by year, we change teachers as we advance at school. But something happens as we age and suddenly change feels a lot like trauma. Perhaps it’s because many changes in adulthood cause upheaval in our lives, whether the change be positive or negative. We think we know what’s going to happen and suddenly that is not what happens anymore.

So today, take a breath and remind yourself that change also means you are growing. Your capabilities are becoming more numerous and, of course…

YOU GOT THIS!! 💜

It’s not just mental health awareness month!

It’s still mental health awareness month! 🌟

As we start a new week, let's spread kindness and inspiration. Take a moment to share a kind word or uplifting message to brighten someone's day.

Your words have the power to make a difference and create a ripple effect of positivity.

Together, let's cultivate a supportive environment where kindness flourishes. Who will you inspire this week? Let's make it incredible!"

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to emphasize the importance of mental health and well-being. It's essential to remember that you are not defined by your past. Your past experiences, struggles, and challenges do not dictate who you are or who you can become. It's okay to seek help, talk to someone, and prioritize your mental health. Remember, you are more than your past, and you deserve to live a fulfilling and healthy life. Let's spread awareness, break the stigma, and support each other on our mental health journeys.

Last night, our area experienced a terrible storm. People lost power, limbs were torn from trees, tornados rolled over neighborhoods. Sadly, three people died.

This morning, we are still dealing with the storm even as the sky is a clear light blue. We are walking around our homes, on the lookout for damage. Some places remain without power. It took some staff over an hour to get to work due to multiple traffic lights being out.

But the sky is clear. And we have begun the recovery stage.

When something bad happens, a metaphorical or literal storm with the potential to tear our lives apart, you have a responsibility to yourself to arise and rebuild. Recover. You may still need time to mourn in those things destroyed or lost and that’s okay. But life begins again and you will begin again, too. You are strong. And you have help. There’s an entire community just waiting to lend a hand.

If you’re struggling with recovering emotionally, we’re here for you. Let us help.

You deserve to show yourself the same compassion you show others. 🫂

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

When someone asks, "How are you?” or “How have you been?” we normally say, “I’m fine” or “I’m good.”

But what if you’re struggling?

We put together a list of all the things you can say when you’re not “fine” - check it out at https://buff.ly/3UBqbjh

Repeat after me: mental health is just as important as physical health! 🗣️

Happy 💚

Taylor Swift has a song called “It’s time to go” where she describes scenarios where a person realizes they need to leave a toxic situation and let go of their hopes that had kept them tied to it for so long.

Hope may be very important but so is knowing when it’s time to let it go. There is a reason why the Serenity Prayer is used in several types of treatment, asking God to grant us the wisdom to know the difference between things that can be changed and things that cannot. Some situations, environments, obsessions, thoughts, and even people can be toxic to our mental health and no amount of effort on our part will change that. And, so, learning to leave or ignore those things can be equally as important in improving our resilience and peace going forward. Doing so also means overcoming fear of the unknown that comes after walking away from the familiar, if unhealthy, thing.

But we can do it!

And if you need help, Graves LLC is here for you.

Our services are available for Baton Rouge area Medicaid recipients. We provide services at your home or at convenient locations for you and, for some qualified workers, also offer counseling by telehealth. Our staff is all fully trained in providing skills training and counseling services. If you are interested in services for yourself or your child, please call our office at 225-771-8251 or message us on here.

We are eager to help!

While one in five people will experience a mental illness over the course of their lives, everyone will face challenges that can and will affect their mental health. During the month of May, the American Counseling Association joins the national movement to raise awareness and combat the stigma surrounding mental health.

Explore our resources and tips to help both counselors and the public here: https://bit.ly/3WlBPzK

Hope.

In some ways, hope is the most important quality when facing hardships. Hope is what gives us strength to move forward, to know that this too shall pass. Hope keeps us focused on tomorrow, even when the today or the past has disappointed, hurt, or overwhelmed us.

The quote below is by Martin Luther King, Jr, who certainly knew something about hope in the face of struggle. And that hope inspired others. Hope kept the movement propelling forward despite every barrier and blockade placed in front of it. Hope means we don’t give up but continue to rise again because success may be right around the corner.

Hope creates dreamers, inventors, leaders, protestors, revolutionaries, and many others who are trying to achieve a future better than today.

So nourish that spark of hope within you. You can change the world with it.

Sometimes we make ourselves feel smaller so people don’t feel burdened by our big feelings.

But here’s the thing: your feelings are NOT a burden. We’re so lucky to be sharing this space with you. 💙

💬“I need a break”
“I feel overwhelmed”

The first step to coping with big feelings is communication. Learning how to label emotions naturally leads into how to recognize, describe, and ultimately process those feelings during the therapy sessions.

And communication affects every aspect of your life. Effective communicators succeed in their careers and their personal relationships. They know how to get their point across and how to balance that with listening and being more open to others’ points of view.

So, today, take some time to practice communication and work on this important skill 😁💬