I had a cat who compulsively pawed at her own shadow on the wall. Sometimes this habit seemed to entertain her. Sometimes it seemed to frighten her. The thing was, however frantically she pawed at that shadow, it pawed back just as frantically. My cat never seemed to figure out that the only way to […]
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 […]
Are You in a Love Triangle?
It often seems as if a third party is disrupting a couple’s relationship bond. The most concrete example of this is a love triangle in which one member has an affair. But there are other kinds of “love triangles” in which the third party is much less obvious than a direct romantic or sexual rival. […]
Approval Seeking
Few things are less satisfying than the approval of others. Do you want to impress your boss, your neighbors, your friends? Do you want to make your family proud? You can easily spend your whole life chasing a few encouraging words from important people in your life. And even if you do manage to catch […]
Will You Ever Get Ahead?
by James Robbins, M.A., LPC You want more money, but things never work out right. Until one day they do. For the first time in your adult life, you can look at your bank account without your stomach twisting into knots. Now what? Now that you have more resources, you’ve taken on a bigger mortgage, […]
