As colleges and universities design and implement new safety procedures, COVID-19 may escalate one of the most frequent challenges college students face—isolation. Many college students struggle with figuring out where they “fit in” under normal circumstances. With social distancing and a limit on social gatherings, there is the potential for students to feel even more isolated during this time.

Everyone experiences freshman year in a different way. There is a lot to be excited about when going away to college—making new friends, being more independent, becoming involved in a community, and discovering new passions. However, many students also often wonder why no one told them how difficult the first semester of college might be. Managing unrealistic expectations is one challenge many students encounter during the first year of college, but there are many more.

Preparing for college is an exciting time. Students typically look forward to beginning a new chapter of their lives. With all of this energy spent looking forward, you naturally develop certain expectations. When the reality of an experience does not match an expectation, the gap between the expectation and reality can be difficult to handle.

Recent high profile suicides and the popularity of the show 13 Reasons Why have made it apparent that this is an issue that is increasingly commonplace and yet incredibly misunderstood. The CDC reports that in the United States, deaths by suicide have been increasing over the last decade. Suicide is now one of the top five causes of death for teenagers 15-19 years old.

Most people have heard of seasonal affective disorder, commonly referred to as SAD. If you have never lived in a place where there is a distinct winter season, you may think of the disorder as something difficult to understand, but the truth is that about 4-6% of people suffer from wintertime depression.

You know a confident person when you see one. They are cool and self-assured. Confidence is the belief that you can do what you set out to do. It is a trust in the self and certainty in one's abilities. It may seem like a skill that is arbitrarily handed out to some and not to others, but in truth, anyone can become more confident.

The #MeToo movement has captured national attention by making front page what has long been a dark secret. This movement has been a catalyst for many eye-opening and heartbreaking conversations. It has been sobering to read and hear the confessions of long-kept secrets from so many women in the public eye and our personal lives.

For all of the convenience of the modern world, from GPS systems to smartphones, interpersonal relationships seem to be getting more difficult to negotiate in the digital age. It may seem counter intuitive that in a time where we are more connected to those in our social networks more often than at any other point in history, so many people feel lonely and detached from one another.

October is Depression Awareness Month and as the month draws to a close, I think it is important to review the key indicators of depression. This is a great opportunity to help move toward greater understanding and improve education about depression, its symptoms, prevalence, and some of the courses of treatment available. 

You’ve all heard the phrase passive-aggressive and chances are that you have also experienced the behavior in your daily lives. But do you really know what passive-aggressive means and why people exhibit this behavior? When you experience passive-aggression, do you know the best way to neutralize it?

In 1990, scientists John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey came up with the concept of emotional intelligence. The term described a form of social intelligence that included the ability to:

• Monitor one's emotions and those of others,

• discriminate between these emotions and feelings, and,

• to use this understanding to guide one's behavior.

Starting college is one of the most exciting times in a young adult's life. It is a time of unprecedented freedom and excitement.   It begins a new chapter of your life where you make your own choices and taking complete responsibility for yourself and your behavior. No one is there to remind you to eat and get enough sleep or wake up in time for class. You are in control. 

Recently a friend asked me what it actually meant be a certified success coach. I figured that if one person was wondering, there were probably several others who also wanted to know. To that end, this month I am dedicating my post to explaining what a certified life and success coach does, and why working with one can be beneficial.