Puglisi Counseling, LLC

12/01/2025

This video is for anyone who feels small town pressure when thinking about therapy. Choosing support is not weakness. It is courage.
Ready for your first step? Puglisi Counseling is here.
Puglisi Counseling | Scranton PA | 570-766-0772

11/28/2025

So… how did Thanksgiving go? 🍂

Now that the holiday is over, I just want to check in. However your day went, you made it through. And that matters.

Maybe it was actually really nice. Maybe you had good moments mixed with hard ones. Maybe it was exactly as difficult as you feared. Maybe it surprised you in ways you didn’t expect. 🌺

Whatever happened, your experience is valid. 💛

If you’re feeling relieved it’s over, that’s okay.

If you’re feeling lonely now that everyone’s gone, that’s okay too.

If you’re replaying conversations in your head, wondering if you said the wrong thing, you’re not alone. 🌱

If you’re exhausted from performing “fine” all day, I get it.

If you’re grieving today harder than you did yesterday, that makes sense.

You don’t have to debrief it perfectly or have it all figured out. 🤍

Some of you might need to talk about it. Some of you might need to never speak of it again. Both are completely fine. There’s no right way to process a holiday.

If you’re struggling today:

Be gentle with yourself. The emotional hangover from family gatherings is real. Give yourself permission to rest, to feel whatever’s coming up, to reach out if you need support. You survived the day. Now take care of yourself after it.

And if you need to hear this: you did your best. Even if it didn’t feel like enough. Even if it was messy. You showed up however you could, and that took courage. 💚

11/28/2025

Signs You’re Emotionally Exhausted 💞

Emotional exhaustion doesn’t always look like what you think. It’s not always dramatic breakdowns or obvious burnout. Sometimes it shows up in the smallest, weirdest ways that make you feel like you’re losing it.

You might be emotionally exhausted if:

1️⃣ Crying over tiny inconveniences - Spilled coffee, can’t find your keys, someone ate your leftovers. Suddenly you’re in tears and you don’t even know why.

2️⃣ Rage at slow wifi - The buffering circle sends you into a spiral. It’s not about the wifi. It’s about everything else you’re holding.

3️⃣ Can’t make simple decisions - What to eat for dinner feels impossible. Your brain is too tired to choose anything. Decision fatigue is real.

4️⃣ Fantasizing about disappearing - Not in a harmful way, just… imagining what it would be like to have zero responsibilities. To just exist somewhere quiet and alone.

5️⃣ Physical pain with no cause - Headaches, stomach issues, tension, exhaustion. Your body is screaming what your mind won’t say: you need rest.

Here’s what you need to know: These aren’t signs you’re weak or dramatic. They’re signs your nervous system is overloaded and you’ve been running on empty for too long. 🪫

You deserve support. You deserve rest. And you deserve to feel better than this. 💚

Need help processing emotional exhaustion?

📱 570-766-0772
📧 hello@puglisicounseling.com
💻 www.puglisicounseling.com

Let’s work through it together. You don’t have to keep running on empty. 🤍

11/27/2025

To everyone showing up this Thanksgiving, however you can 🧡

Whether you’re surrounded by loved ones or spending it quietly alone. Whether you’re celebrating big or keeping it small. Whether you’re feeling grateful or just trying to get through the day.

You’re doing enough. You’re enough.

I hope you find moments of warmth this week. A good meal. A kind word. A reason to smile, even briefly. And if those moments don’t come, I hope you’re gentle with yourself anyway.

You deserve care. You deserve peace. You deserve to take up space, exactly as you are. 💛

Wishing you a safe and gentle Thanksgiving. 🍂

11/26/2025

“Be grateful for what you have” is exhausting advice when you’re barely holding it together. 😤

Let’s talk about gratitude during Thanksgiving week, because somewhere right now someone is telling you to “just focus on the good” while you’re drowning. And honestly? That doesn’t help. It actually makes things worse.

Toxic Positivity vs. Real Gratitude 🎭

Toxic positivity says: “Everything happens for a reason! Just be grateful!” 🛑

Real gratitude says: “This is really hard AND I’m glad my friend texted me today.” 🌱

See the difference? One erases your pain. The other makes room for both your struggle AND the small good things. You don’t have to choose between them.

The Both/And Approach 🤝

✅ You can be grateful for your job AND hate it right now.

✅ You can love your family AND need space from them.

✅ You can appreciate your life AND wish things were different.

✅ You can be thankful for support AND still feel incredibly alone.

These things can exist at the same time. Your hard feelings don’t cancel out the good ones. And the good ones don’t make the hard ones less real.

What Actual Gratitude Can Look Like When You’re Struggling 🌱

It’s not a grand list of blessings. It’s tiny. It’s specific. It’s honest.

“I’m grateful my bed was warm this morning.” 🌺

“I’m grateful I didn’t have to talk to anyone today.” 🌺

“I’m grateful for that one song that made me feel something.” 🌺

That’s it. That’s enough. You don’t owe anyone a performance of thankfulness.

This Thanksgiving, You’re Allowed To… ✨

Feel however you feel without shame. Skip the gratitude posts if they make you feel worse.

Acknowledge that things are hard right now.

Appreciate small things without pretending the big things aren’t heavy. Survive the day without forcing fake joy.

Your struggle is real. Your pain is valid. And you don’t have to wrap it in a bow of gratitude to make other people comfortable. 💚

11/26/2025

🎨 Some kids come home overflowing with words. Others come home and shut down.

Both are normal. And sometimes the best way to understand their day is through creativity, not conversation.

Creative activity: The Emotion Color Dump 🎨

Here’s a simple after school art project that helps kids process their day without having to “talk about feelings” because sometimes they just don’t want to.

What You Need:
• Paper, any kind
• Markers, crayons, paint
• Nothing fancy

How It Works:

1️⃣ Ask your kid: “What color does today feel like?” Let them choose without explaining why.

2️⃣ Let them fill the whole page with that color. Scribble, paint, whatever. No rules.

3️⃣ Ask: “What other colors are in there?” Maybe anger is red. Maybe a good moment at recess is yellow. Maybe confusion is purple. Let them add those too.

4️⃣ They can layer, mix, cover, and redo anything they want. There’s no wrong way to do this.

Why This Helps 💭

Kids don’t always have the words for big feelings. Colors and movement give them another way to release what they’re holding. They’re processing without pressure. Adults can use this too.

No Pressure Version:

If they don’t want to talk about colors or feelings at all, that’s okay. Let them create anything. The therapeutic value is in the doing, not the explaining.

Sometimes the best after school reset is simply making a mess with art supplies and not having to perform for anyone. 💚

11/26/2025

The Split Perspective: What you think vs. what’s actually happening 🧠

Ever notice how your brain can turn a normal conversation into a disaster in your head?

🌱 What you tell yourself:

“She said it was okay, yet she didn’t seem happy.”

“He seems defensive.”

“Her tone seems aggressive.”

🌺 What’s actually happening:

“I feel afraid.”

“Should I approach her?”

“I feel apprehensive.”

This is anxiety lying to you. It takes your internal fear and projects it onto other people, making you believe THEY’RE upset when really, YOU’RE uncomfortable.

Here’s the truth: Most of the time, people aren’t thinking what you think they’re thinking. Your brain is just trying to protect you by preparing for the worst. But that protection comes at a cost. It keeps you stuck in your head, second-guessing every interaction. 🔄

Therapy helps you close that gap. It teaches you to recognize when your anxiety is narrating the story vs. what’s actually real. You learn to check in with yourself first before assuming everyone else is mad at you.

You don’t have to live in the split perspective forever. 💙

Ready to work on this?

📱 570-766-0772
📧 hello@puglisicounseling.com
💻 www.puglisicounseling.com

Let’s close the gap together ✨

11/26/2025

11/26/2025

It’s 9 pm and you’re still scrolling. Why? 📱

You’re exhausted. You know you should sleep. But here you are, one more video, one more post, one more scroll. Just five more minutes that turns into an hour.
Here’s the real question: what are you avoiding?

Scrolling Is Numbing 🔇

Late night scrolling isn’t about entertainment. It’s about keeping your brain busy enough that you don’t have to feel what’s underneath. Because the second you put the phone down and it gets quiet, everything you’ve been pushing away all day comes rushing in.

1️⃣ The anxiety about tomorrow.

2️⃣ The conversation you keep replaying.

3️⃣ The loneliness that hits different at night.

4️⃣ The sadness you didn’t have time for.

5️⃣ The life you feel you’re not living.

Your Brain Is Protecting You (But Also Trapping You) 🛡️

Scrolling distracts you from pain. Sometimes that’s survival. But when it’s every single night, you’re not resting. You’re running. And that feeling you’re avoiding? It’s still going to be there tomorrow night.

And the next. The only way through it is to actually feel it.

Try This Tonight 💭

Put the phone down 30 minutes earlier. Just notice what comes up. You don’t have to fix it. Just notice.
Are you anxious? Lonely? Sad? Angry? Stuck?

Then ask yourself: what would happen if I let myself feel this for just 5 minutes?

The feelings won’t end you, but the avoidance might slowly drain you. But the feelings? They just want to be acknowledged. 💚

11/25/2025

“Just be grateful” hits different when someone’s missing from the table. 💔

If this is your first Thanksgiving without someone you love, I need you to know something: there’s no “right” way to get through it. You might be okay one minute and completely not okay the next. That’s normal. Grief doesn’t follow a schedule, and it definitely doesn’t take holidays off.

It’s okay to feel everything (or nothing!) 🌊

You might feel sad. Angry. Numb. Guilty for laughing. Guilty for not being “festive enough.” All of it is valid. You don’t have to perform gratitude or fake your way through the day. If you need to cry at the dinner table, cry. If you need to step outside for 20 minutes, do it. Your feelings aren’t inconvenient, they’re real.

Create New Traditions That Honor Them 🕯️

Some people light a candle. Some set an extra place at the table. Some share favorite stories about their person. Some skip the big gathering entirely and do something completely different. There’s no wrong way to remember someone. Do what feels right for YOUR heart, not what others expect.

Give yourself Permission to Opt Out 🏡

Maybe you’re not ready for the full family gathering. Maybe you need a quiet Thanksgiving this year. Maybe you can only handle an hour. That’s completely okay. You’re not being difficult or dramatic. You’re surviving. And sometimes survival looks like protecting yourself from situations that are too painful right now.

The Empty Chair Is Real 💚

Everyone else might move on with dinner like normal, but you’re feeling that absence in your bones. You’re not imagining it. They SHOULD be there. It’s not fair. And pretending everything’s fine doesn’t help. Acknowledge it. “I’m really missing [name] today.” Say it out loud if you need to.

You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to hold it together. You don’t have to make other people comfortable with your grief. Just get through it however you can. That’s enough. You’re enough. 🤍

📞 570-766-0772
📧 hello@puglisicounseling.com
🌐 www.puglisicounseling.com

Serving Scranton, Pennsylvania In-Person & Via Telehealth

Puglisi Counseling provides mental health therapy services throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. Online and In-Person Counseling with Licensed Therapists in NEPA.

11/25/2025

Ever notice how sitting still makes your anxiety spike instead of settle?

You don’t have to sit still to calm down. 🏃‍♀️

Some people soothe anxiety by sitting and breathing. Others feel worse the second they stop moving. If stillness spikes your panic, that is not a failure. That is your nervous system doing its job.

Anxiety is energy.

Your body fills with adrenaline. Your heart races. Your muscles prep for action. Trying to sit still in that state can feel impossible.

So move the energy out.

🚶‍♀️ Fast walking or pacing

🤸‍♀️ Shaking out your arms and legs

🧗‍♀️ Pushing into a wall for ten seconds

🏋️‍♀️ Quick bursts of exercise

🎵 Dancing to one song

🧘‍♀️ Deep, strong stretching

Movement completes the stress cycle and gives your body what it’s asking for. You’re not avoiding your anxiety. You’re working with your nervous system, not against it.

If you need to move, move.

It means you’re listening to your body. And that is wisdom, not weakness. 🤍