“Always move toward your demons. They take their power from your retreat.” (Thom Rutledge) How does fear show up in your life? Is it that dread of facing the day that causes you to hit the snooze button when your alarm goes off in the...
Most of us feel better when we have some degree of control over our lives. After all, feeling on top of things gives us a sense of security and competence. Learning a new skill can increase our self-confidence. Acing an interview and getting the job...
Low-grade tension. Difficulty relaxing. Feeling overwhelmed by life. You’re probably aware that these symptoms are commonly associated with anxiety. However, there are additional indications of anxiety, such as: Perfectionism : Contrary to what you may think, perfectionism does not mean that you think you are...
What constitutes trauma or adversity? Essentially anything that causes physical or psychological pain or injury. This includes personal illness or injury, witnessing the same in someone else, natural disasters, enduring abuse, the death of someone close to us, job loss, addiction, financial problems, relationship difficulties,...
Does it ever seem as if there’s an internal debate going on in your mind? One voice says, “This report which I’ve prepared for my boss sucks”, while another voice tells you that “It’s fine – never mind the typos and grammatical errors”, and a...
There can often be a big gap between having good intentions and taking the associated steps to transform these intentions into action. We can get tripped up by not feeling like making a healthy breakfast (rather than eating fast food), going to the gym (rather...
“Worry” is such a common term that we may believe it to be part of our natural state and possibly helpful. The truth is that worry runs us down, keeps us in the problem, and can eventually lead to such a frazzled mental state that...
True recovery from an eating disorder, be it anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, or “garden variety” (but no less damaging) compulsive overeating, requires recovery from perfectionism (which doesn’t have to be “perfect”, by the way). It’s so seductive to believe that once we reach...
“All I’ve ever known was competition, what the $#@$%*! am I going to do now?!” My old training partner and friend lamented to me after leaving the orthopedic surgeon’s office on a sunny afternoon in the summer of 2006. My friend had sustained his third...
Years before COVID-19 emerged and quickly took over our society, I was conducting phone sessions as well as in-person office visits with clients. Mid-March of 2020, when it became clear that I could not in good conscience continue to see clients in person, possibly endangering...