If you have experienced loss, you may have asked yourself, “How am I supposed to move forward?” You have likely experienced the painful reaction of grief. Grief can be explained as a gradual undoing of the psychological ties that bound you to your loved one. While losses can be diverse in nature and severity, this…
Oblivious (ə-ˈbli-vē-əs): 1 – lacking remembrance, memory, or mindful attention 2 – lacking active conscious knowledge or awareness In my daily conversations, I am often reminded that most of us are dangerously unaware of our thoughts and feelings. Although our post-modern lifestyles afford us a wealth of knowledge and personal activities, these often serve only…
How often have you noticed your child copying your action, words, or thoughts? Maybe you were driving and heard your child in the back seat repeating, “Come on, people! The light is green! Go, go, go!” Or when you were mowing the lawn and your child got his toy lawnmower and started doing it alongside…
8. That is the percentage of people who will accomplish their new Year’s resolution goals this year. 25. That is the percentage of people who will even make it past 30 days of trying to achieve those goals. That means by Valentines Day, 75 percent of those of us reading (and writing) this post will…
For five straight months, I went online to look up the Pilates class schedule. I promised myself I was going to get back to it the very next day. And so, for five straight months, 2 or 3 times a week, I would click on the big, bold, flashing “Sign Up!” button. I would then…
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “boundary”? Maybe it’s a fence, gate or a towering wall. Psychologically and relationally, boundaries are assertive statements of limits used to describe feelings and needs, expressing what is “me” and my property, and what is “not me” and not my property. They…
BAM! What happened?! You just learned your partner has been cheating on you: I’m injured! This hurts! I’m angry! I want to cry! Why did my partner do this?! They wrecked us! This was all their fault! Now that everyone involved knows, you have to try and make sense of the who, what, when, where,…
Growing up we learn all sorts of lessons from our parents, teachers, friends and loved ones. One of those lessons is about random acts of kindness and using kind words when speaking to others. We all remember being kids and learning to “be kind to one another.” We hear quotes like, “In a world where…
I often encounter parents who are concerned because their child doesn’t talk about their feelings. Whether it’s in response to a separation or divorce, the death of a loved one, bullying at school, or any other number of issues, parents desire to help their children talk through their emotions. But therein lies the problem: Children…
One of my jobs as a therapist is to make sure that whoever walks into my office for the first time feels safe and comfortable. One way I often do this, is through humor. Here is a common exchange I engage in if they are new to therapy: Therapist: So… is this your first…