When I think about the times in my life that I have felt the most hurt, disappointed or frustrated, they all have to do with unmet expectations. Someone did not do, say or behave in the way I anticipated ~ and they should have. I mean, it seemed like a…
Have you ever heard the old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket?” Its a gentle warning that there’s a risk in doing so. The literal risk is that if your basket breaks and falls, you’ll either have scrambled eggs or you’ll lose them altogether. To me it…
What to Do When Sexual Trauma Resurfaces The last few weeks have put issues of sexual assault, and its long-standing effects, front and center in our minds and conversations. Some of those conversations have been in my office as clients deal with past experiences being stirred or “triggered” by…
Timely Transitions “To everything ~ turn, turn, turn ~ there is a season, ~ turn, turn, turn ~ and a time for every purpose under heaven.” This song came to me as I thought about the transitions of this time of year and what they mean to most of us;…
Clients often come to my office because they are in a painful place in life, having an experience they are struggling to make sense of. Our natural resistance to pain drives us to analyze, to evaluate and to search for the explanation of “why” it is happening; on the errant…
I so believe this to be true – for better or worse. Whether they are words of kindness, anger, inspiration or bitterness. Whether they are meant to build up or put down. Whether spoken in person, text, email or on social media – our words are powerful beyond measure. Their…
When I was growing up one of my favorite summer activities was to lay in the grass on a lazy afternoon and find shapes in the drifting white clouds. My neighbor friend and I would lay in my dandelion-dotted backyard on Upton Street for hours. We could pick out everything…
May is Mental Health Awareness month and I want to encourage “everyday awareness” of mental health needs – within ourselves, within our families and within our community. We don’t have to look very far to see lives that are affected by stress, anxiety, mood issues or relationship problems. It happens…
This observation seems self-evident yet I often see people making this their primary stress management plan. Do you know someone who goes through their litany of stressors and you think, “that’s just life happening” – slow traffic, sick kids, disagreements at home, pressure at work. And the implication seems to be…
You may have heard the saying “as within, so without;” it reflects a very simple but profound truth. It captures the idea that your internal world is reflected in the external world; that your relationship with yourself is very much connected to your relationships with others. This is especially true…