Managing a Crisis
When situations are too much to handle, it is natural to feel overwhelmed, shut down, panic, and regress to a childish state. If you ever have felt like this before you are not alone – one out of five people suffer from conditions that warrant serious treatment, but how many actually get the help they need? I worked at the first Mental Health Urgent Care center in this country, where...Learn More
Have You Avoided Therapy for Years?
Years ago I saw a billboard that said “We cater to dental chickens.” Did chickens have teeth? I was confused. I asked a friend, who laughed at me. Of course, this was in my substance use years, but as my mind cleared, all I did was laugh at myself. I was going to title this article, “Catering to Therapy Chickens,” but knowing my state of mind back then I decided to play it straight. If...Learn More
Obligation – Stay or Go
Are we so entrenched in societal rules that we’ve lost track of our own well-being? For many people, they have married a person because it was the correct thing to do. Then they will remain in the relationship because of the children, and will see the signs that their partner is abusive, but if they ended the relationship what would other people think? I ask people how long in the...Learn More
How to Obtain Mental Health
Obtaining mental health shouldn’t be a secret. Everyone should be entitled to experience peace, joy, laughter, hope, and love. Just because you may feel you had the perfect upbringing and the perfect life doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness takes work on a daily basis it is not simply given to you. Since the late 1800s the practice of Psychology has tried to assist people in living...Learn More
Out of Control
We have no control over anything. Not our children, the dog, people at work, or the neighbors that are driving you crazy. This is because each person is in control of themselves. We have a very powerful mind and our mind determines our actions “and” nobody has access to another person’s inner workings but themselves. Let’s imagine your best mate does something upsetting. “You are making...Learn More
Changing Your Mindset
My panic attacks began when I was a teenager. From that moment my only focus was on avoiding them at all costs. Little did I know that with this way of thinking, I was attracting panic attacks to me. I vividly remember waking up in the morning, opening my eyes, scanning if the panic symptoms were present, and then found my heart racing. I felt trapped in my own living hell and from that...Learn More
Desire – Helping Others Before Myself
For Thanksgiving, I was about to do the typical “stay-at-home thing” like I had for the last few years but wanted to be with family. It had been a while, being caught up in running the facility, but now I needed a break and wanted to make my 90-year-old mother happy. I was getting back into the habit of making others more important than myself, burning myself out, and simply needing to get...Learn More
Limiting Beliefs
Just before I began writing, something upsetting happened that got me upset. This happened because my expectations weren’t met. It’s hard to admit that I reacted like a spoiled child, but it is true. I had just gotten back from a great week of recovery work in Los Angeles, due to all the fires, and as the plane landed in SeaTac I guess all my maturity was left on the tarmac. And thus, as...Learn More
Why Are We Here?
Our eyes open, there are people peering at us, and all we can do is look back. We are a helpless child trying to make sense of the world upon our birth. Not able to think, all a baby can do is observe, but as we grow, our brain wires, and suddenly we have the ability for complex thinking. Then comes the universal questions: Where did life come from? Why are we here? What happens after we...Learn More