Dr. Chloe Carmichael Blogs

As a clinical psychologist, people often ask me how to "get rid of anxiety." They are usually surprised to learn that anxiety actually has a healthy and essential function: to help stimulate preparation behaviors and provide us with the extra energy we need to carry out those behaviors. A little bit of anxiety can bring adrenaline and focus—which can actually be quite handy when we're in a "go time" situation like taking a test, bringing our A-game during an important presentation, or even getting ready for a first date or job interview. I've come to label this boost as "nervous energy," which can be a gift if we learn how to harness it.

Dr. Chloe talking about REJECTION SENSITIVITY and how to handle your fear of rejection.

Every one of us has our fair share of rejections; some may handle it pretty well, but some people who have a high level of nervousness struggle to overcome it.

Toxic positivity can sound like a confusing phrase at first: after all, positivity is supposed to be positive, right?  However, just like even something as innocent and healthy-sounding as jogging can become toxic if taken to an extreme, so can positivity.  

Bad habits can be hard to kick. We all probably know the old saying that it takes twice as long to break a habit as it does to form one, so it isn’t surprising that having bad habits ingrained in our daily life can be pretty common! 

Choosing an online therapist is not that difficult if you know what qualities and credentials to look for. In my first contribution to US News, I was given the opportunity to shed some light on online therapy and share a few tips when seeking an online therapist. Here is the link to the original article.

In an ideal world, all of the people in your life would be helpful resources, willingly by your side to provide support, add joy, and keep you balanced. But let’s face it: We don’t live in an ideal world (if we did, I’d probably be out of a job!). Most of us will encounter at least one person in our day-to-day at some point in our lives who does the opposite.  Someone who drains your energy, undermines you, puts you down. I’ve recently been asked to speak about the topic of “toxic people” by FOX5 here in New York, and while “toxic people” isn’t a clinical term… I think I sort of knew what they meant. Toxic people chip away at your mental health and overall wellbeing, and the longer they’re in your life, the more damaging their emotional footprint can be.

When we are faced with extreme world events such as terrorism, many of us can feel at a loss regarding how to process our emotions.  On one hand, we feel full of very strong emotion; and on the other hand we may simultaneously feel as if we are actually so powerless over whatever official governmental response will be taken that our feelings can seem almost irrelevant to the broader picture of how these events fit into perspective.