As a result of this crisis and pandemic, we have been collectively impacted by this world we live in. There are many tragedies that have come with this, but as a positive outcome we have grown closer. We are sending and receiving messages of healing, sharing stories of hurt, acknowledging that each other is the… CONTINUE
Resisting Your Self-Defeating Impulses Through Dangerous Journaling
You can’t un-send that text. You can’t un-say those words. You can’t un-punch that wall. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. Sometimes emotional energy feels like it MUST BE expressed! Rage and resentment. Anxiety, fear, desperation. These feelings can be so intense they make your heart pound. They make your face twitch. This energy… CONTINUE
Saying Goodbye to Negative Thinking and Finding Joy in Movement
Has the word and meaning of exercise turned into a complicated set of emotions for you? To some, exercise may be a “chore” or a tireless fight. To others it is a great feeling of joy and reward. There is no question moving your body is important – but when can exercise become harmful and… CONTINUE
The Key to Happiness Is Closer Than You Think
As a therapist, I often ask myself a fundamental question: Is there some essential trait or circumstance that my happiest, most well-adjusted clients have in common? It’s certainly not financial success or professional accomplishments. It’s not religious affiliation, or lack thereof. It’s not physical beauty or even health. It’s not having a big supportive family or being… CONTINUE
Managing your Chronic Worry
I have a lousy clothes dryer. When I load it with wet towels, they tumble around for hours and hours, but nothing especially useful happens. The anxious mind works like this. Worrisome thoughts spin round and round, round and round, but they never really get “dry.” More thinking is rarely the answer. Identifying Categories Anxious… CONTINUE
Mindfulness, Wine and Sweaty Socks
Back when I drank, I enjoyed learning about wine. One of the keys to appreciating wine is learning to recognize and describe its various aromas. Some wines have “notes” you would expect. Vanilla, almonds, black cherries. And some wines have notes you would not expect. Sweaty socks, tar, wet Pomeranian. Believe it or not, some… CONTINUE
When in Doubt, Choose Connectedness
Like it or not, you are connected at an intimate biological level with everyone that comes across your path. Suppose I find myself on an elevator with a stranger. Maybe I’m feeling stressed that day, so my breathing is faster, more shallow. I’m nervously shifting from foot to foot. Studies show that this tends to… CONTINUE
Mindful Eating, Mindful Living
Mindful eating isn’t so much about what you’re eating. It’s how you go about eating it. When my wife and I lived in the Netherlands, going out to eat was initially a little uncomfortable. Amsterdam is a small city, so space is tight. Many restaurants seated us practically should-to-shoulder with complete strangers. Coming form the… CONTINUE
Compassion: The Key to Self-Growth
When I was ten or so, I heard a story that still sticks with me. A man was on a plane, flying home after traveling all week for work. Utterly exhausted, he hoped to get a couple of hours sleep before returning to his family. Just as he was nodding off, two little girls seated… CONTINUE
Mindfulness: Stepping Off the Roller Coaster
Everything is medicine. Food, sex, exercise, texting, drugs and alcohol. Meditation, prayer, volunteering, sleeping and shopping. We do these things because they change our brain chemicals. This is what it means to feel “good.” It means your brain chemicals are balanced just so. So you relentlessly chase this thing or that thing, trying to feel… CONTINUE
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