I have something to say that may freak you out, doubt yourself or even make you scoff in disbelief.

Your Emotions are vivid, and yet not real.

What do you mean, not real? Aren’t my emotions real?

Short answer- No, my friend, they are not.

And

Yes, in fact, they are.

But they happen without the reasons we usually ascribe to them. I remember in grad school, I had a great professor who always liked to remind us, “Humans are great at knowing something painful is happening, and terrible at attributing the cause correctly!”.

Shame Attack!

Nourishment through Self Care

We hear this term “self-care” frequently, and most people agree that it’s important to nourish our bodies with some form of it.  However, putting it into practice is a struggle and challenge that many people experience, as we are often a nurturer of others – and not so much of ourselves.  We commonly perceive self-care as being “selfish” because we are putting ourselves first instead of tending to the million and one things that need to be accomplished!  So how do we change that perception within our minds?

I often refer to the announcement that they make on the plane before takeoff.  “If there is a sudden loss of air pressure and the oxygen masks deploy – make sure you fasten the mask to YOURSELF FIRST – so you are able to help those around you.”  The same reasoning applies to self-care.  Maintaining the stamina to take care of everyone else is difficult unless you’ve taken care of yourself!

Quiet Your Critic

As we start on Week 2 of the Best Day Ever Challenge, (see https://bestdayever.com/challenges), I have been thinking about how if we do not become mindful of our inner critic, she begins to rule us, and dominates our choices even when we have the greatest of intentions.

Face-to-Face with Social Anxiety
Leaning in to our fears about people...

I want to talk about social anxiety. This is a subject that hits close to home for me, because it’s something I’ve struggled with from a very young age, and continue to manage on a daily basis. It’s also becoming a silent epidemic in our culture. Technology and the internet is making social isolation convenient and easy, and fanning the flame of social anxiety.

Where The Fruit Is

Thoughts on risk, therapy, and transformation

“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair.
We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business because we’d be too cynical.
Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”  --Annie Dillard