Sanz Plans | Building Hope

What Do You Want To Change Today?

Mental Health Symptoms To Not Ignore

There are hundreds of symptoms that can indicate a mental health issue is developing, but it can be difficult to know when to pay attention to them and when they are not a concern. Here is a relatively simple way to be able to assess whether you are experiencing...

Your Best Life Habits

As a psychologist, I’ve given this a lot of thought, because no matter what someone coming into therapy says they want to work on, eventually, the subject of habits comes up. Usually, we will work to get a particularly healthy habit established or eliminate an...

Which Comes First: Depression or Fatigue?

Why are people suffering from depression almost always also very tired? The relationship of depression to fatigue is very complicated, for the following reasons: 1. Fatigue may actually precede or predict the development of depression, through mechanisms...

Feed a Human, Starve a Troll

If you spend much time online, especially on social networking sites, you’ll get a chance to meet a troll. Okay, not a “real” troll. But in truth, you may never get to know their real identity, because trolls like to hide in the dark a lot. Evidently coming out into...

Falling Out of Love Is Not the End

I’m Not IN LOVE Anymore I know you’ve heard this. You might have said it. “I LOVE her, but I’m not IN LOVE with her anymore.” The kiss of death to most relationships, right? Not if you understand how relationships work. The Wedding Is Not the Marriage First...

Face It

When I am working with clients in therapy, I often share with them this piece of universal wisdom: The extent to which you are willing to cope with reality is the extent to which you can be mentally healthy. It’s just a phenomenon I have observed over the past 25...

Mothers are People, Too…

Happy Mother’s Day! “If it’s not one thing, it’s your Mother!” There’s a saying in psychotherapy that goes “If it’s not one thing, it’s your Mother.” Shall I say the field of psychology has often been less than kind when it comes to Moms, blaming them for causing...

Why People Don’t Change Until They Have To

I became a therapist thinking that people just naturally wanted to change, grow, get better, become healthier… and how cool was that going to be to assist in that process?! Boy, was I naive. After 20 years as a therapist, what I discovered is that it is extremely rare...

Embracing Ambivalence

You know you need to leave him or her. It’s a bad…no…it’s a truly toxic relationship. But you just can’t quit it. You know you need to stop _____________. (Smoking, drinking so much, overeating, cutting, gambling, working so much, killing yourself.) You just can’t...

How To Accomplish Anything

How Do You Make Dreams Real? You want to write a book, learn how to cook vegan, make a new group of friends, or climb a mountain. How do you go about accomplishing anything in life? It actually depends on the kind of person you are! You’ll be more successful in...

Ready to Begin Your Journey?

You have found the place for people who know they need to or want to make changes to be healthier, happier, and more fulfilled. It’s for people who want to lose weight, gain weight, or stop eating disordered behavior. It’s for people who want to stop walking around day after day criticizing themselves and not feeling “good enough.” I’m glad you’re here and I hope you’ll come and read often! ~Anita.

Begin Your Journey To New Hope

Dr. Anita Sanz

PHD - Clinical Psychologist

My primary aspiration in life (beyond survival!) has been to try to foster hope, create safe spaces for good work to occur, and improve well-being through co-creating unique and helpful life strategies with others. To that end, I became a licensed psychologist and coach, and have written extensively about mental and emotional wellness. Becoming the new co-host of the Giving Voice to Depression podcast fits perfectly with my intention of wanting others to know that they are not alone in their experience of struggling in the world. I believe there is so much that we can do to help each other get through… and then get to where we can thrive and enjoy life. I have worked successfully for over 25 years with clients with a broad range of mental, emotional, and physical health issues and also taught psychology classes at the University level. My own lived experience as a late-diagnosed autistic person with ME/CFS gave me a unique set of challenges that have helped me to appreciate the struggles of others with increased humility, empathy, and compassion. Because of both my training and my life experience, I am very good at breaking down the overwhelming into manageable pieces and helping my clients learn how to trust their own experience to craft life strategies that work. It brings me the greatest joy to connect with others and be able to help in whatever way I am able.

An Affirmation for Overwhelm and Procrastination

A Meditation for Peace

A Short Meditation for Sleep

Need Help Now? You may call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 anytime 24/7. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. You can find other mental health resources here: https://givingvoicetodepression.com/resources.htmPlease get help if you need it. Thank you.