Do you struggle with staying consistent with exercising? Does it seem like everything else is more important? Does this inconsistency bleed into other areas of your life? Many wonder what's that about? Researchers & social scientists alike agree that staying active is a very important part of life. It not only improves physique and physical [...]
"Befriend Not Obliterate Emotions" Trauma reorganizes our minds, brains, bodies, and perceptions. It alters not just how we think or the content of our thoughts, but also our capacity to think at all. After trauma, the world is experienced through a different lens. A person who carries trauma can become focused on suppressing what they [...]
Unmanageability is not a word that we hear often unless we are familiar with 12 Step programs and recovery but, it is one of the identifying characteristics of drug and alcohol addiction. Most of us like to believe that we exert a certain amount of control in our lives. When we begin to struggle with [...]
So many times I've worked with people who ask, "How do I make this anxiety go away?!" Other than taking out my magic wand, which doesn't seem to work no matter how many times I swish and flick, the truth is that anxiety doesn't go away. Yet, that's not a life sentence of misery either. If [...]
When I came into the office last week one of my coworkers was complaining about the dreary, rainy day we had. I smiled and said "Yes, but at least my grass and flowers are getting watered!" That got a laugh from my co-worker. We went on our ways feeling happier. Yes, I am an optimist. Optimism [...]
Introduction Pat Harvey and Jeanine Penzo, both licensed clinical social workers, have a book called Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions. It’s a book that I have been enthusiastically recommending to parents who are confronting this difficulty. The book teaches Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills, established by Marsha Linehan for treating adults. These skills help [...]
Experiencing stress in our daily lives is unavoidable. Stress is a much broader concept than anxiety in that it refers to the response your body has when you are facing situations that force you to act or adapt to your environment. Stress serves an important function in that it communicates to you that your body’s [...]
Stephen Porges 2017 book The Pocket Guide to The Polyvagal Theory is much more readable than his comprehensive 2011 book The Polyvagal Theory. This new book is intended to offer the concepts in the earlier book to a wider audience. The concepts are particularly relevant to those clinicians involved in treating people who have suffered [...]
Parenting an Anxious Child can seem like a daunting task. Many parents bring their children to therapy who are struggling with anxiety or mood swings. This is a great first step! Very often, children with Anxiety or Depression are dealing with a difficult transition, an illness, or are having a school issue. As a result, [...]
The book To Buy Or Not To Buy, by April Lane Benson, Ph.D., published in 2008, explains how people fall into overshopping and gives excellent advice about how to get oneself out of this unfortunate pattern. If your overshopping has damaged your relationships, your self-esteem and/or your finances, then this book is for you. It’s [...]