Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place?
Have you ever been at a crossroads in your life? When we are faced with making a decision to do one thing or another, it could be very difficult. Then the “what ifs” begin. This happens when we are faced with a new job, leaving a current relationship, or even starting one, also with addiction our inner battle will rage over whether to stop using or not. When faced with a difficult decision,...Learn More
Life Process
We joked about enlightenment in graduate school. Many in our ranks bragged about reaching that state and our teacher said, “If you think you are enlightened, go home for the holidays.” Better face it, there will always be issues. Therefore, the only way to breeze through them is to create a good relationship with yourself. Yes, I’ve heard it for almost 29 years, that it is selfish or...Learn More
The Dentist
Just reading the word dentist has caused a shiver to run through me ever since I was a kid. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had hours and hours of drilling and extractions, and I’ve made my way through it, but it still causes me anxiety. It helps that my best friend is my dentist, so I trust his expertise, but that still doesn’t mean that those ancient fears go away. My father had to have his...Learn More
Have Hope, Dare to Dream
If you have the opportunity, a great book to read is “Love, Miracles, and Medicine” by Dr. Bernie Segal. He helped people with advanced cases of cancer heal and sometimes without medical interventions. He advocated having the desire to live. There aren’t a lot of clinical books on the value of hope, but with hope, we can suffer through a lot and make it to the other side. In the book, “Man’s...Learn More
Rising Suicide Rates in Washington
The rising rates of suicide are alarming. Already in the state of Washington, there have been over 1,200 people who have taken their life. What if a person you knew told you they wanted to kill themselves? I worked at a crisis center for 11 years and dealt with people who were suicidal on a daily basis and here are the important steps to take. Ask them if they were thinking about killing...Learn More
Dad’s Memorial
A rainbow followed me as I drove to work this morning. The morning before my father’s memorial celebration. He lived a good 90 years and seemed to have a good life. I came to love my father after the rocky start of his abuse in my younger years. Because of this I went through extensive therapy and was then able to confront him as an adult. From that moment we began to build a wonderful...Learn More
Managing Withdrawals
After writing three books, back-to-back, I have to admit that I am going through withdrawals. It isn’t as severe as when I was coming off drugs in 1981, but still, they are withdrawal symptoms nonetheless. It struck me that I go through this same process when I am dieting. Is everything in life an addiction? Okay, if I have to confess, I may be addicted to the little games I play on my phone....Learn More
How to Spark Motivation
How to get ourselves in motion can be difficult, if you’ve been used to leading a lethargic lifestyle. Simply getting up from the couch and washing the dishes may feel agonizing, when the habit has been watching T.V. or playing a video game. This was the topic of the group this past week. How do you get your butt in motion when the habit seems sometimes too difficult to break? My question is,...Learn More
Developmental Psychology
When I started in the field as a counselor, my supervisor Marie preached about understanding where a person was developmentally. Working with the learning disabled you’d see an adult and then realize they operated as a child. Up to this point, I understood that early childhood trauma caused mental illness later in life. It was in our early years we tried to create a strong sense of self. If...Learn More