ANTI-LONELINESS
  • Home
  • About
    • Me
    • Loneliness
    • The Project
    • My Team
    • Testimonials
    • Privacy Policy
  • Services
    • Therapy & Counseling
    • Couples Counseling
    • Online Counseling
    • Supervision
    • Internship
    • Support Groups >
      • Divorce Support Group
      • Grief Support Group
  • Academy
    • Academy for All
    • All Courses
    • From Conflict to Connection
    • How to stop Perfectionism
    • How much of a Perfectionist are you?
    • Burnout Recovery: from exhaustion to resilience
    • How to stop Procrastinating
    • Σεμιναριο για τις σχεσεις
    • Divorce Recovery Programme
    • Grief Recovery Programme
  • Blog
    • Loneliness
    • Self-Development
    • Relationships
    • Family
  • RESOURCES
    • Extra Resources
    • In the Media
    • BOOKS >
      • Books for everyone
      • Books for professionals
    • CARDS
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • Me
    • Loneliness
    • The Project
    • My Team
    • Testimonials
    • Privacy Policy
  • Services
    • Therapy & Counseling
    • Couples Counseling
    • Online Counseling
    • Supervision
    • Internship
    • Support Groups >
      • Divorce Support Group
      • Grief Support Group
  • Academy
    • Academy for All
    • All Courses
    • From Conflict to Connection
    • How to stop Perfectionism
    • How much of a Perfectionist are you?
    • Burnout Recovery: from exhaustion to resilience
    • How to stop Procrastinating
    • Σεμιναριο για τις σχεσεις
    • Divorce Recovery Programme
    • Grief Recovery Programme
  • Blog
    • Loneliness
    • Self-Development
    • Relationships
    • Family
  • RESOURCES
    • Extra Resources
    • In the Media
    • BOOKS >
      • Books for everyone
      • Books for professionals
    • CARDS
  • Contact

Fear of Getting Old: What is Gerascophobia & How To Cope

16/8/2022

0 Comments

 

Fear of Getting Old: What is Gerascophobia & How To Cope

young woman smiling
Our society is obsessed with youth. It is only necessary to look at the booming, billionare anti-ageing industry to understand the length of our obsession with appearing young. It comes as no surprise that many of us struggle with a deep-seated fear of aging. The fear of getting old is all too common and can fuel our anxiety and disrupt our mental health. That is why we want to share with you what psychology has to say about the fear of aging, and, most improtantly, discuss how to cope with this fear so that we can live more fulfilling and self-compassionate lives.


Read More
0 Comments

What Causes Fear of Failure? A Psychologist Explains

7/1/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Fear of failure can be one of the most self-sabotaging, crippling feelings we can experience.
But why does it have such a powerful impact on us that it can make us stop chasing our dreams, avoid starting new relationships and be hyper-vigilant all the time?
​How can we allow fear to exert such control over our lives and, most importantly, how can we overcome this fear?


Read More
0 Comments

Coronavirus talks:Ā Why we need trust more than fear, especially right now

12/9/2020

0 Comments

 

Why we need trust more than fear, especially right now

Trust in the coronavirus pandemic
After almost six weeks of isolation, working from home, keeping 1,5 metres away from everyone around us and stocking up on food, what we learned from this pandemic is not crystal clear yet. Are we going back to normal? And what is “normal” exactly? Is this “normal” better or worse than before?
Some of us have been drawn into fear and all the scary scenarios about the future. Some of us were more hopeful and trusting. And most of us were just drifting from one side to the other, back and forth, a never-ending bounce from fear to trust. 


Read More
0 Comments

Coronavirus talks: Which (emotional) phase are you at right now?

12/9/2020

0 Comments

 

Which emotional phase of the coronavirus pandemic are you at right now?

Picture
Here we are, all together, in the midst of a worldwide threat, trying to keep our head above water; trying not to panic and, at the same time, trying to be as well-informed as possible.
For the first time after many decades we are dealing – on a massive level – with an invisible enemy: a virus no one knows how to extinguish. And an isolation without a deadline.
How do we feel? Our feelings are on an overwhelming rollercoaster, and we go through many phases through that period. Let’s take a look at them.


Read More
0 Comments

The Pros and Cons of Being a Perfectionist

18/3/2020

0 Comments

 

The Pros and Cons of Being a Perfectionist

Picture
As we wrote in our previous article ‘How Much of a Perfectionist are you?’, perfectionists tend to feel that nothing they ever do is good enough; that they need to work unrelentingly in a bid to better themselves, or else there’ll be negative consequences. If a perfectionist feels he/she is not meeting the high standards they hold for themselves, they will often experience distress or inner unrest which can affect negatively their mood or result in anxiety.
With this description perfectionism sounds like a really unpleasant, unwanted trait. So why do so many of us personify it? Well, as behavioural psychology tells us, everything we do is done because we believe it will be of benefit to us (or it has benefitted us somehow in the past) - and perfectionism is no different. The perfectionistic thoughts described above breed by definition an intense drive to perform well, and their continued presence in our lives can be put down to the successes and external validation (who doesn’t love compliments?!) this increased drive once brought us. 


Read More
0 Comments

Our Inner Critic: What Causes It & How To Overcome It

2/12/2019

0 Comments

 
Inner critic
Being on the receiving end of criticism is never easy. Being criticised probably comes in moments when we feel ourselves most vulnerable - whenever we make mistakes, feel embarrassed or fear disappointing others. Having somebody to judge us about being wrong, foolish or inadequate is very unpleasant and challenging experience for anyone. However, the impact of criticism to different people varies immensely and is based on one major factor - their childhood.


Read More
0 Comments

Have you ever been to "Inner Peace Land"?

2/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Inner Peace
There is this idea that Inner peace is like a destination, where, upon reaching, you become a brand new person and nothing upsetting or discomforting can get to you anymore. In this “Inner Peace Land” (if we can call it like that), there is no stress or any uncomfortable emotion; there is no conflict, there is no pain, there is no fear. And we even believe that if once something upsetting comes, we will not even blink, due to our “zen” zone that we have successfully acquired.

Reality Check: is there such a place? NO.


Read More
0 Comments

How Much of a Perfectionist Are You?

26/10/2018

0 Comments

 

How much of a Perfectionist are you?

Perfectionism
  • Does it take you a long time to make a decision?
  • Are you the kind of person who is not easily satisfied with their performance/results/ efforts?
  • Do you spend a lot of time organising and making lists before you even start a task or a project?
  • Do you tend to procrastinate when you are assigned a challenging or even boring project?
  • Do you sometimes find yourself occupied with less important tasks while other more important ones are ...still pending?


Read More
0 Comments

One day we will laugh about it.

6/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The "Storm".
​
This is how I call any challenging situation, any hard time in life, that brings turbulence in my inner -hard-won- balance.
​I call it like that not only because it is -objectively- a difficult moment in your life. 
But mainly because it blows a strong wind inside your mind, it makes you feel you have no shelter to protect yourself, it thunders against all what you have believed and dreamt so far, it pours you into an emotional rollercoaster, and all this you have to fight it by yourself. 


Read More
0 Comments

Change Your Mindset: What I Learned From Groundhog Day

28/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
It has become something like a habit. To watch the movie "Groundhog Day" every now and then and remind myself of its life-changing message. Besides having a blast just by watching it. Today I will share what I learned from this magnificent movie, and I hope it inspires you too.


Read More
0 Comments

10 Techniques For Managing Anxiety & Negative Thinking

12/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Defeating anxiety, stress, negative thoughts, procrastination and fears has never been easy. And it never will be. Not because there is something wrong with us, or because we are doing it the wrong way, but because it is something that indeed requires from us conscious effort, time, practice and a lot of mental energy. 
We are actually rewiring our brain: changing the neuron paths existing since childhood which take us a certain way, into  a different path, where things happen in a different way and are linked to different thoughts.​


Read More
0 Comments

Depression Benefits: Is There A Positive Side To Depression?

12/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Everyone talks about the downside of depression. But is there a good side at all? Anger and stress, for example, can help us adapt to external threat and protect ourselves. But depression? Is there any actual benefit to it? In this article we will discuss the bright side of depression; how in the midst of a storm, we can sometimes catch a glimpse of a rainbow. 


Read More
0 Comments

What to read when fighting for a goal/an idea/your family/your job/yourself

16/8/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Three weeks on holidays. After an exhausting year of work, work, work. Three books chosen. (Or, let to be chosen.) 
1. One from the classics: The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway. (Actually that was a re-read. I first read it during my school years. Different eras, different perspectives, totally different insights.) 
2. One from my favorites authors: What I talk when I talk about running, Haruki Murakami. (Or, how a writer can blow your mind, even if he's talking about his running marathons)
3. One from a random pick (someone's suggestions, somewhere in the web): A tale for the time being, Ruth Ozeki. (It turned out to be my first book written by a Zen Buddhist priest which didn't seem at all to be written by a Zen Buddhist priest.) 


Read More
0 Comments

This is how you know you made the right decision: 8 tips for perfectionists

13/12/2015

0 Comments

 

How Do You Know If You Made The Right Choice?

Picture
We don’t know and we can never be sure of if we made a right decision. But letting go of the perfectionist inside us and accepting these facts can bring us solace. 
This is a story, a pattern which comes up very frequently when discussing with people: we all want to know whether we made the right decision or not. Or we are struggling hard in order to be 100% sure that we will make the right decision in a given upcoming conflicting situation.


Read More
0 Comments

Getting to know Panic AttacksĀ 

3/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
While most people have heard of panic attacks, those who have not experienced it may find it hard to understand how frightening it can be. A panic attack is not just an intense feeling of anxiety, but rather a blast of terror that the brain produces only for truly frightening events. Panic attacks are also often associated with intense physical reactions, which often lead those experiencing them to falsely identify them as a serious health issue. Although they are relatively common, panic attacks are often not fully understood. Many suffer unnecessarily because they are unaware that what they are experiencing is mainly psychological rather than physical and that there is an effective treatment for it.
The Basics
The first and most important thing to know about panic attacks is that they are not dangerous. Panic attacks are experienced as dangerous because they activate the emergency system in our brain, which thinks us in immediate danger. A bit like placing a fire alarm near a toaster, the security system in our brain releases false alarm during panic attacks.


Read More
0 Comments

    Self-Development

    TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE.


    Know Yourself. 
    YOU are responsible for how you feel. The others behave in the way they want, but they have nothing to do with the way you perceive their behavior and consequently how you feel. 
    It's merely your decision. 

    Categories

    All
    Acceptance
    Achievement
    Addiction
    Alone
    Anger
    Angry
    Antiloneliness
    Anxiety
    Apps
    Attachment
    Autism
    Avoidance
    Balance
    Belonging
    Blocking-feelings
    Blocking-feelings
    Body
    Books
    Boundaries
    Brain
    Broken Heart
    Burnout
    Busy Women
    Calm
    Cbt
    Change
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Colouring-book
    Comfort-zone
    Comfort-zone
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Compassionate
    Confusion
    Connection
    Control
    Cope
    Coping-mechanism
    Coping Mechanisms
    Copping Strategies
    Coronavirus
    Counseling
    Critic
    Criticism
    Cycle Of Negative Thinking
    Cycle Of Negativity
    Decision
    Decision-making
    Decision-making
    Delaying
    Denial
    Depressed
    Depression
    Disappointment
    Discomfort
    Discomfrot
    Eating Disorders
    Emotional Awareness
    Emotional Eating
    Emotional Intelligence
    Emotional Needs
    Emotional Support Animal
    Emotional Triggers
    Emotions
    Empath
    Empathy
    Escape Negative Thinking
    Expat Life
    Express Anger
    Failure
    Family
    Fear
    Fear Of Failure
    Fear-of-failure
    Fears
    Feelings
    Focus
    Food
    Forest Therapy
    Freedom
    Gerascophobia
    Giving Up
    Goal
    Good Enough
    Grateful
    Grief
    Guilt
    Gutbrain-connection
    Gut-feeling
    Happiness
    Help
    Highly Sensitive Person
    High Standards
    Holidays
    Hope
    Hopelessness
    How-to-make-the-right-decision
    Hsp
    Imperfection
    Imposter Syndrome
    Inner Critic
    Inner-critic
    Inner Peace
    Intuition
    Joy
    Judging
    Kindness
    Laziness
    Learned Helplessness
    Learning
    Life
    Loneliness
    Love
    Make The Perect Decision
    Meaning
    Meditation
    Mental Health
    Migraine
    Mindfullness
    Mindfulness
    Mistakes
    Motivation
    Narcissism
    Nature
    Negative Spiral
    Negative Thinking
    Negative Thinking Pattern
    Negative Thoughts
    New Year Resolution
    Not Alone
    Other People's Opinion
    Pain
    Pandemic
    Panic Attacks
    Parenting
    Parents
    Partner
    Perfectionism
    Perfectionist
    Physical Symptoms
    Postponing
    Present
    Procrastination
    Psychologist
    Psychology
    Psychosomatics
    Psychosomatic-symptoms
    PTSD
    Relationships
    Relief
    Rest
    Ruminating
    Sadness
    Safety
    Scared
    Schemas
    Self Awareness
    Self Care
    Self Compassion
    Self-compassion
    Self Confidence
    Self-doubt
    Self Esteem
    Self-esteem
    Self Improvement
    Self-improvement
    Self Kindness
    Self-kindness
    Self Love
    Self-love
    Self Sabotage
    Sensitive
    Service Dog
    Shame
    Shock
    Signs
    Sleep
    Smartphones
    Social Media
    Stress
    Struggle
    Struggling
    Suffer
    Suffering
    Support
    Suppressed Anger
    Suppression
    Technology
    Therapy
    Therapy Dog
    The Right Decision
    Thinking
    Threat
    Time-management
    Tips
    Toxic Shame
    Trauma
    Trauma Response
    Trigger
    Trust
    Uncertainty
    Values
    Vassia-sarantopoulou
    Vassia-sarantopoulou
    What-to-do
    Women
    Work
    Workaholism
    Work Life Balance
    Workload
    Workplace
    Workplan
    Workshop
    Worrying

    RSS Feed

Counseling

Personal Counseling
Couples Counseling
OnLine Counseling 
​
GROUP COUNSELING 

​Grief Support
Divorce Support 
​Therapy Group 

Blog

Loneliness
​Self-Development
Relationships
​Family 

About

Me
​My Team
Contact 
​The Cards
Privacy Policy ​
NIP Psycholoog
Vassia Sarantopoulou
Head Psychologist - Founder of AntiLoneliness

​Therapy for expats and locals 
Leiden - The Hague - online 
​

Member of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists (NIP)

© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.