Free Self-Improvement Topics in Chicago

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  • Affirmations: What’s the “Big Deal?”

    Nancy Belda, President, Nancy Belda

    The use of affirmations does NOT qualify you as a practitioner of "woo woo" science. Affirmations are the assertions that something exists or is true. Aren't your goals true? Don't you believe that a better life exists for you? By using affirmations, you will ratchet up your ability to achieve goals, recover from trauma - of any kind - and live the life of your dreams. Nancy will share with you the techniques of creating positive affirmations for your personal life. MORE >

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  • Pathological: What 25 Years of Living with Mental Illness Taught Me About Self-Stigma and How to Eradicate it

    Sarah Fay, Ph.D., MA, MFA, Award-winning Author and Mental Health Advocate, Northwestern University

    In this gripping and inspiring talk, Sarah Fay shares her experience of mental illness and psychiatric diagnosis. She received her first diagnosis at age twelve: anorexia. While in the mental health system for the next twenty-five years, she was given five more diagnoses: anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, and bipolar disorder. Sarah has since healed. This talk explains how she overidentified with her first psychiatric diagnosis, mistakenly using it against rather than for herself, and continued that pattern into adulthood. MORE >

    Sarah helps us better understand what a psychiatric diagnosis is and what it isn’t and how to use it to heal and flourish, not stigmatize ourselves.

    Topics covered:

    - Mental illness, mental health, and psychiatric diagnoses
    - Stigma and self-stigma
    - Self-talk and self-empowerment
    - The power of self-joy

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  • You Are a Visionary: How to Create True Mental Wellness in the Workplace

    Sarah Fay, Ph.D., MA, MFA, Award-winning Author and Mental Health Advocate, Northwestern University

    In this engaging talk, Sarah shares her own experience of mental illness and psychiatric diagnoses and the extensive research she completed for her journalistic memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins). Everything we think—and Sarah thought—about mental health and psychiatric diagnoses is wrong. Believe it or not, when it comes to eradicating stigma and self-stigma, that’s a very good thing. MORE >

    We know that stress, suffering, and trauma take a toll on workers, employers, companies, and organizations. 85% of workers report the workplace negatively affects their mental health and wellbeing. Long-term stress increases the risk of mental health issues and mental illness. When a worker isn’t feeling mentally and emotionally well, their safety and the safety of others are at risk. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), depression alone costs employers $17 billion to $44 billion and causes an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year. Stigma and self-stigma against mental health conditions have been shown to increase stress and therefore exacerbate mental health conditions producing a negative and costly looping effect.

    How then do we eliminate stigma and self-stigma in the workplace?

    Topic covered:
    - Mental health in the workplace
    - Stress and how it affects mental health and psychiatric conditions
    - Mental illness and psychiatric diagnoses
    - Stigma and self-stigma
    - Being a visionary

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  • Why Settle For Less?

    Robb Hill, Founder/President, R Hill Enterprises Inc

    Why Settle For Less, When You Can Be The Best? Many people settle for far less than they can have or achieve. Complacency becomes their biggest enemy, as disappointment becomes the norm. Knowledge is not power, APPLIED knowledge is power, and learning this application, can change the life out come. MORE >

    Financial advisor, author and inspirational speaker, Robb Hill has for over 18 years helped people not only put their financial house in order, and reorder their thinking processes for a better life outcome. His powerful lectures on basic financial planning, corporate communication and personal development are revolutionizing the way people look at their lives, their choices, and their futures.
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  • Knowing and Loving: The Keys to Real Happiness

    Robert Beezat, Owner and President, Robert A. Beezat. Inc.

    Be Joyful! Have Fun! Be the happy person you were born to be. As human beings, we are born to know and love. With a grasp of this basic concept, we can make choices and decisions which will enable us to live good, authentic, happy lives in the short term and long run. Understanding, developing, and nurturing the human capacities of knowing and loving are the keys to finding deep and long lasting human happiness. It is never to early or too late to be deeply happy!
    MORE >

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  • Reducing Deadly School Violence

    Kasia Wereszczynska, Clinical Director / Executive Director, Counseling Speaks / In Her Shoes Foundation

    Learn from Kasia Wereszczynska about reducing deadly school violence in a thought provoking presentation that focuses on prevention through understanding behavioral health.

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  • Career and Job Search Strategies

    Sander Marcus, Ph.D., Practice Leader, IIT Center for Research & Service

    "What am I going to do when I grow up?" is a question we hear from people of all ages. The strategy for getting a job (interviewing, resumes, etc.) is always an important topic. Sander will provide an overview or address specific topics.

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  • Becoming An Innovator

    Stephen A. Di Biase, Ph.D., President, Premier Insights, LLC.

    "10 Keys To Unlock Your Innovative Self" offers the reader a short, simple, easy and fun treatment teaching anyone how to use the basics of innovative behaviors for becoming a more effective problem solver leading to a higher quality of life. Specifically, this treatise touches on why every human being is an innovator at birth, how we can maximizes, this natural trait, the importance of curiosity, imagination, inquiry, methods of learning, the importance of play and passion and how to use the scientific method while being careful of formal education. MORE >

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  • Get Off Your Buts! How to Make Progress Instead of Excuses

    Tammy Cook, Productivity Coach, Tammy Cook Coaching

    “I was going to do that last week – but...” Are you tired of feeling like you’re always struggling to catch up, while you only wind up falling further and further behind? If you’re ready to start making small changes that will have a HUGE impact on your life, step up to the plate and… Get off your “but…”s! MORE >

    Tammy’s 3 easy-to-remember keys give you immediate, actionable tools to use to begin conquering procrastination and creating new habits.

    Tammy will share tools and techniques that will enable you to;
    • Increase personal productivity at work AND at home
    • Conquer procrastination
    • Reduce pressure & stress
    • Develop a highly effective mindset
    • Feel better mentally and physically
    • Have more energy
    • Increase self-discipline… AND self-esteem!
    • Have time left over for things you really WANT to do

    Discover how to live a limitless life and finally… FULFILL YOUR POTENTIAL!

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  • Eliminate the Fear of Leaving Your Comfort Zone Post Pandemic

    Susan Neustrom, Ed.D., Life, Leadership Coach, Author, Speaker, Educator, Leading to Action

    Change happened suddenly. You didn’t plan for major disruption. The pandemic turned your world upside down and thrust you right out of your comfort zone, big time. Nevertheless, over the past year you adapted to a different way of working, communicating, and interacting. Of course, now that a vaccine is here restrictions are being lifted, capacity is increasing, and in-person events are occurring. You are ready to get back to normal, whatever normal looks like now and in the future. Relief no doubt, but are you prepared to leave your comfort zone one more time? MORE >

    In this session, Dr. Susan Neustrom unravels the mystery of your personal space called the comfort zone, breaks down the fears that hold you captive even when you don’t know you’re being held captive, and offers strategies to eliminate fear enabling you to move out of your comfort zone and ready to soar to new heights post pandemic.
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