Our minds are meaning-making machines. First and foremost, our minds try to protect us by figuring out how to avoid danger. Our minds are interpreters of our world and immediate circumstances. It’s a fact of nature – we are instinctively on high alert for danger, because first and foremost we want to survive.  After all, […]

It’s the beginning of July, and you may be wondering where all of those New Year’s resolutions went. You thought that you really meant it when you vowed to never again eat an entire chocolate cake at one sitting, drunk-dial your ex at 2 a.m., or fall behind on your credit card payments. Yet here […]

We can’t expect everyone to approve of us or our behavior at all times – it’s simply impossible, since different people prefer different things. Also, we are not in this world to live up to other people’s expectations. In addition, none of us are perfect. So, it’s inevitable that we’ll be on the receiving end […]

Into every life some rain must fall. As smug as this cliché may sound, it’s true. Even if we’ve been blessed with the “happy” gene, we cannot avoid feeling emotionally uncomfortable from time to time. We feel things for a reason. Our emotional pain carries a message. If someone close to us passes away, it’s […]

Do you consider yourself an “emotional” person? Or do you tend to rely more on your logic and intellect than on your feelings? What are your thoughts on the following concepts about emotions? We are primarily responsible for our emotions. There are certainly genetic components to how intensely we feel certain ways. Some people are […]

Maybe you’ve been thinking about moving on from your current job. Or going back to school. Or getting up an hour earlier, so you can actually eat a real breakfast and enjoy your coffee before the kids are up. And maybe you’ve been contemplating these changes for a month, or a year, and yet you […]

A 2010 study of over 2200 people found that about 47% of the time people are not thinking about what’s going on in the present. What’s more, the Harvard University researchers found that when our thoughts are focused in places other than the present moment, we are not as happy as when we’re in the […]

You may think that you know your spouse on a deep level. And certainly you “get” your best friend. As for your child, well, who would understand them better than you? Or is this really this case? Even if we see someone frequently and talk with them often, it doesn’t necessarily follow that we truly […]

As the New Year approaches, you may be evaluating what has transpired in 2017 and what you’d like to experience in 2018. The following questions may help you to constructively and compassionately consider where you’ve progressed during this year, where you’ve possibly taken some unexpected or unhelpful detours, and where you’d like to go in […]

Entering into psychotherapy can be the beginning of an impactful journey into a more fulfilling life. Yet often people complicate this process and sabotage their progress through misconceptions about what therapy entails. Accepting the following truths can help maximize your chances of making your therapy experience more effective. Accept that growth and change can feel […]