Suicide Is Not a Choice and Other Myths Debunked

Interview: Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D.

Dr. Cira has worked with hundreds of people struggling with suicidal thoughts. Unfortunately, she also had a family member commit suicide, so she understands the tragedy of this both personally and professionally.

What Dr. Colleen Cira Can Say in an
Interview About Suicide
:

Suicide is so confusing and difficult to understand because suicide sounds awful to someone who isn’t in tremendous amounts of pain. The idea of taking your own life sounds terrifying to most of us and then all of the consequences that come with suicide (loved ones grieving, feelings of failure, etc) make it sound pretty unappealing if you’ve never been in so much pain that death sounds like a relief. But someone’s profound pain coupled with the hopelessness of feeling like the pain is never going away can make death sound/feel like an answer. The problem is that most pain DOES go away, but sometimes it takes a lot longer than what is ideal which leaves people in a tough position.

Continue reading “Suicide Is Not a Choice and Other Myths Debunked”

How to Find Happiness and Stay Grounded During Times of Change

Available for Interviews:  Dr. Colleen Cira
Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.
What Dr. Cira Can Say in an Interview on
Incorporating Gratitude in Our Lives:

Sometimes achieving our goals/ambitions/dreams does not give us the happiness we expect. There are a few reasons for this:

    • It’s human nature to want more. Just like getting a bump in our salary rarely results in more financial savings because we increase our lifestyle to meet our new financial situation, the same is true emotionally. Eventually, the rosy glow of whatever new, positive thing occurred wears off and we find ourselves wanting more.

Continue reading “How to Find Happiness and Stay Grounded During Times of Change”

How to Have More Compassion in a Combative World

Available for Interviews: Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D.

Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

People often struggle with compassion—not only for others but also for themselves.  Here are a few things we can try to build more kindness and empathy into our lives and the lives of the people who surround us:

1) Just listen. Don’t interrupt with advice, with silver linings, or with solutions. Just listen. Truly listen. Don’t think about what you’re going to say next or how they’re doing it wrong, or what they could be doing differently. Just listen and take in what they’re saying to you.

Continue reading “How to Have More Compassion in a Combative World”

Let’s Have an Open Dialogue About the Stigma of Mental Illness

Interview: Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D.

Dr. Colleen Cira is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Cira Center for Behavioral Health, PC. She is an anxiety and trauma expert as well as a consultant, supervisor, speaker, writer and advocate.

Talking points for an interview:

How Stigmas and Misconceptions on Mental Illness Impact Quality of Life, Opportunity, and Wellness
      • For the longest time, mental health difficulties have been equated to being “crazy.”  Women who struggle with mental health are typically seen as “hysterical” or “weak” and men can be perceived the same way or as “aggressive” and “angry,” depending on the presentation.  And when we decide that someone’s experience isn’t valid for whatever reason (weakness, vulnerability, being “hysterical” being angry, etc.), not only do we disempower them, we also devalue them as a human being.
      • That experience—of constantly feeling sidelined, not taken seriously, and devalued—can create a vicious cycle where people feel destined to fail or be misunderstood so they stop trying, which only increases people’s negative perceptions which only increases that person’s hopelessness and lack of effort to change things.
      • I dream of a world where tears are a sign of strength, not weakness.  Where genuine human connection, with your clients and colleagues, is seen as an asset, not a liability.  Where being honest about the things that matter to you is seen as courageous, not unprofessional. Where vulnerability is seen as brave, not as overly sensitive or unhinged.  Where periods of anxiety, sadness, or relational upset, are seen as HUMAN, not pathological.
        Acceptance Versus Judgement
        in Today’s Society
        • Old habits die hard, don’t they!  America, and the world really, has a long history of stigmatizing folks who struggle with mental illness and because we’ve been doing that for a long time, it’s built into our brains, our places of work, our families and every other system we can think of.
        • When a problem is systemic—like this or racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.—it takes a lot of very conscious and deliberate effort by lots of different people over the course of decades to make individual changes and systemic changes that eventually lead to societal changes.
        • Like most things, we’ve gotten a lot better about understanding mental health and therefore being more accepting of it, but we still have a long way to go.

 

Available for Interviews: Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D.

Dr. Colleen Cira received both her Masters and Doctorate from The Illinois School of Professional Psychology and is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the State of Illinois.  She’s the Founder and Executive Director of Cira Center for Behavioral Health, PC, a boutique group practice specializing in Women and Trauma with locations in Chicago and Oak Park.

She was named one of the “Top 100 Women in Chicago Making a Difference,” by Today’s Chicago Woman. Dr. Cira is a trauma and anxiety expert, clinical supervisor, writer, speaker, consultant, activist, wife, and Mommy to two little ones.

Contact:
Jo Allison
PR Managing Editor
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Grief and Loss: How We Can Help Others During a Pandemic

Interview with Dr. Colleen Cira:

Dr. Colleen Cira is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma, and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

 

Talking Points from Dr. Cira
On How to Help Others Cope with Grief & Loss:

We are all experiencing a collective trauma, which means to some extent, we are all experiencing some amount of grief and loss. Here are a few things to consider when trying to cope or help others cope.

Continue reading “Grief and Loss: How We Can Help Others During a Pandemic”

How to Raise Empathetic Kids: Making the World a Kinder Place

Available for Interviews:  Dr. Colleen Cira

Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma, and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

 

Talking Points on What Dr. Cira Can Say in an Interview
About Explaining Protests to kids:

There are several ways that you can increase your child’s emotional intelligence and empathy.

    1. You must have empathy yourself.  The most effective way that kids learn is by watching the way their parents behave.  If YOU, the parent, have and demonstrate empathy, your children will grow up to be empathic.  Give money to homeless folks, check in on friends, family and neighbors who are ill and/or struggling, take your child to a peaceful, family friendly protest, volunteer at a food bank together.  SHOW UP the way you’d like your child to show up someday.

Continue reading “How to Raise Empathetic Kids: Making the World a Kinder Place”

Managing Anxiety & Finding Mental Health Help Now

Available for Interviews:  Dr. Colleen Cira

Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma, and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

 

Talking Points on What Dr. Cira Can Say in an Interview
On How to Manage Anxiety and Find Mental Health Support:

The past two years with the pandemic have fueled a mental health crisis in the United States. Because of the ripple effects associated with this, have witnessed a surge in depression and anxiety-related disorders as a result.

How to Managing Anxiety

1) Control What You Actually Have Control Over

How Can Grief Affect Your Health and Overall Well-Being?

Available for Interviews: Dr.Colleen Cira

Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

What Dr. Cira can say in an interview on Managing Grief:

It is not an overstatement to say that millions of people have experienced intense grief over the past year. Increasing our understanding of its presence in our lives, and knowing how to cope and respond to it in a healthy way is the best course of action.

 1. Grief is intense, comes in waves, and is a long process (Stages of Grief) so it can very easily take a toll on one’s health and well-being.

Continue reading “How Can Grief Affect Your Health and Overall Well-Being?”

When Depression Comes Out as Anger: Causes and Solutions


Interview with Dr. Colleen Cira

Dr. Colleen Cira is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma, and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues for over twenty years.

Talking Points from Dr. Cira
On Anger & Depression:

Why do people suffering from depression often get angry?

  • Being depressed zaps our energy and makes everything seem harder, including thinking and feeling. Essentially, someone who is depressed has very limited emotional bandwidth.
  • If you’re low on energy and patience, everything is going to seem like a chore, including interacting with people. Every last bit of energy you do have is going inward, just trying to put one foot in front of another, so that’s a lot less energy you have to be kind, thoughtful, or empathic.

Continue reading “When Depression Comes Out as Anger: Causes and Solutions”

3 Signs Your Mom Has High-Functioning Anxiety and How to Help

Available for Interviews:  Dr. Colleen Cira

Dr. Colleen Cira, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Women and Trauma and has worked with hundreds of people struggling with mental health issues.

 

Talking Points on What Dr. Cira Can Say in an Interview
On High-Functioning Anxiety:

High Functioning anxiety is a term that commonly is used to describe someone who suffers from symptoms of anxiety (chronic worry, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, etc.), but is able to function through the anxiety as opposed to someone with a diagnosable anxiety disorder which makes it very difficult to function.

Continue reading “3 Signs Your Mom Has High-Functioning Anxiety and How to Help”