Melissa Plantz, Author at McKinney Christian Counseling

About Melissa Plantz

Melissa Plantz is a Christian author and freelance writer. She spent twenty years in the pharmacy industry and has specialized in faith, fitness, nutrition, geriatrics, and mental health since 2015. She writes from the beautiful Lake Marion area in South Carolina.

How to Alleviate ADHD and Anxiety Symptoms

How to Alleviate ADHD and Anxiety Symptoms

By Melissa Plantz|2024-09-27T09:50:25+00:00July 12th, 2024|ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects roughly more than 5% of the population in the United States. That is about eight million American adults. On top of the symptoms of ADHD, many of these people also have an existing anxiety disorder. Whether ADHD masks the symptoms from anxiety or vice versa, the link between ADHD and anxiety exists. Learning to manage both disorder symptoms can help you at work and home. Tips for alleviating ADHD and anxiety symptoms You can alleviate ADHD and anxiety symptoms by making a few lifestyle changes and creating new habits. It may take time for your brain to accept the new routine, so consider creating a trigger. Once you have the trigger, concentrate on habit stacking. For example, if you know that your stress level seems to trigger your ADHD and anxiety symptoms, introduce ten minutes of exercise a day. Your goal may be to work out for 30 minutes a day eventually, but for now, ten minutes will suffice. Your trigger could be putting on your workout clothes after brushing your teeth in the morning. This may trigger the habit of taking a short walk before coffee. Brushing your teeth and drinking coffee in the morning are both habits. Now, you can stack those habits with a short walk or workout. Try the following lifestyle changes to see changes in your ADHD and anxiety symptoms. Exercise Exercise is an effective way to relieve stress and lower anxiety. It can also boost concentration and focus. Aim for the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week or seventy-five minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week. However, do not get caught in perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking. It is okay if you can only fit in a ten minute walk daily. You will feel a difference. Eating [...]

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Common Triggers for Chronic Anxiety

Common Triggers for Chronic Anxiety

By Melissa Plantz|2024-09-27T09:51:29+00:00December 22nd, 2023|Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Chronic anxiety can make you physically ill, emotionally drained, and mentally tired. Do you suspect that you have chronic anxiety, but you are unsure of what is triggering your symptoms? Since chronic anxiety seems to run in the background of our bodies’ processes, what could trigger us to have panic attacks and experience rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, lightheadedness, trembling, and stomach issues? Triggers for chronic anxiety. The good news is that once you have identified the trigger(s), chronic anxiety is treatable. You can learn techniques to gain control of a panic attack and work through the issues that contribute to the trigger. The following is a list of common triggers for chronic anxiety. A counselor can help you work through your trigger(s) and suggest methods and treatments for managing anxiety. Traumatic childhood. Traumatic childhood and adolescent experiences can create a situation where chronic anxiety can breed. Physical, emotional, and verbal abuse or neglect as a child can leave the adult feeling insecure with low self-esteem and low self-confidence. They may worry that people will leave them, or they may settle for a toxic relationship. Traumatic adulthood. Children are not the only ones who can develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and chronic anxiety because of a traumatic experience. An adult in an abusive relationship or who has undergone a traumatic event may develop anxiety. For example, if an adult had a bad experience with a vaccination, they may develop anxiety and fear about going to see a doctor or being admitted to the hospital. Health problems. Chronic health problems and conditions play a part in chronic anxiety. If you deal with a chronic illness (or several) your quality of life may decrease. Depression and anxiety can develop when you can no longer do the things you once did. Many [...]

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Does Premarital Counseling Lead to a Successful Marriage?

Does Premarital Counseling Lead to a Successful Marriage?

By Melissa Plantz|2024-09-27T09:48:53+00:00July 8th, 2023|Couples Counseling, Featured, Premarital Counseling, Relationship Issues|

More couples are seeking premarital counseling. According to Health Research Funding, couples who choose premarital counseling have a higher success rate than those who do not. You cannot guarantee that you will have a happy, joyful, loving marriage for the rest of your life as factors outside of your control are at play, but what if you could be more prepared before you say, “I do?” Premarital counseling opens doors. Premarital counseling aims to get to the foundation of the marriage relationship. You must have a firm foundation to have a rock, solid marriage. If this foundation is rooted in Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, it will make navigating the trials and obstacles in a marriage a little easier. Christian premarital counseling points you in that direction and equips you with communication skills. You learn more about each other’s backgrounds and how you would handle specific situations. It addresses problems and how to solve those while keeping your relationship strong. What to expect in premarital counseling. Most premarital counseling sessions can be divided into two to eight sessions, with an average of eight hours of counseling before the wedding. Premarital counseling should be considered before the ceremony. Sometimes the officiant will also provide premarital counseling, especially in faith-based ceremonies. The topics in premarital counseling will vary, but the most common are listed below. You should have a good grasp of what marriage means to you and your partner and the values and expectations you have of it. You should also discuss non-negotiables. For example, if infidelity and adultery are deal-breakers, say so. Make it clear that you do not want to go into a marriage or stay in one if your spouse ever chooses someone over you. The value of marriage. Marriage may mean something different to your significant [...]

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Be Victorious and Embrace Self-Growth

Be Victorious and Embrace Self-Growth

By Melissa Plantz|2024-09-27T09:50:42+00:00August 18th, 2022|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

Have you ever been presented with an opportunity that sounded amazing, but you turned it down because you did not feel equipped to carry it out properly? How did that make you feel? Did saying no to the opportunity lower your self-esteem and confidence and hurt your self-growth? Now consider this: what if you spent time working on yourself, your mind, your emotional resiliency, and your marketable skills? How far could this self-growth and personal development take you? When you prioritize self-growth and pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses, the sky is the limit. Why focus on self-growth? God created each one of us with unlimited potential, yet we place a limit on ourselves. Sometimes we blame our circumstances, childhood, location, or education. But the truth is that no matter where you are currently, you can make a change. That change starts with you embracing self-growth. How to develop self-growth Self-growth is the continuing education of yourself. It is the study of you and what you need to learn to fulfill your purpose and calling. You are born with a talent that can be honed, but you must learn skills. The good news is that everyone else must learn skills too. Self-growth is part of personal development and can serve you for the rest of your life. The following are ways you can start embracing self-growth. Set goals. Where do you see yourself a year from now? Five years from now? Where do you want to be a year from now? Like with any journey, you need to set a destination before you can plan how to get there. Do you want to own your own business? Do you want to open a nonprofit? Ask yourself questions. Challenge yourself. Some of these goals may sound too big and impossible, but [...]

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Melissa Plantz

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