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Creativity and mastery serve as protective factors with a significant role in general resilience. Neither diagnoses, nor even described as an area of clinical interest or significance, their importance merits a categorical entry rather than a footnote on this list.

The current diagnoses describing problematic technology use are restricted to addictions, but not every problem with technology is a bona fide addiction. Likewise, the implication that any technology-related stress that is not a qualified addiction is not clinically significant is a disservice to many.

• You get sucked into your phone, tablet, or TV. When you break free, it can be alarming how much time has passed.
• You don’t like some apps, but you will miss out if you don’t use them.
• Other people have commented on how much time you spend on your phone/tablet/computer.
• You are the person doing the commenting above.
• Compared to what’s online, there just isn’t much going on in your life.
• Sometimes you feel like you don’t even know yourself.

Relationships are everywhere: family, friends, neighborhoods, sports teams, churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, covens, and country clubs.

One of the most difficult aspect of fostering relationships is the ability to be angry or sad toward another person in a way that feels safe. As an alternative, we sometimes opt to feel nothing at all and then feel bemused at the ways that the mind-body voices its displeasure.

• You feel stuck in a relationship.
• You are tired of having the same argument over and over.
• Sometimes other people really provoke a strong reaction in you, and it’s not clear why.
• You worry about someone and don’t know what to do.
• When you try to connect to someone, you end up wondering if you’re talking two different languages.
• You have a difficult boss or coworker.

People want to feel good, especially about themselves. This usually goes by the name of self-esteem. But what is self-esteem? We have self-esteem when we feel capable of exerting influence on the world (including other people) in order to get what we want or need to survive. When we don’t have that confidence, we may experience low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.

Identity, transitions, and life stages don’t always present as a clearly defined area of need. A transition can arrive in many forms, from what once was to what is, or contemplation of what might be, or a moment (even a slow and incremental moment) clarifying an aspect of self that was present all along. Transitions are often rocky emotional roads, often involving loss, unwanted or un-asked-for change, or seemingly mandatory adaptation. It’s generally easier to write about transitions than it is to experience them.