After caring for my mother into her demise for about eight years, I noticed that I was very drained and seemed to have lost my creative spark. Having always regarded myself as a creative person and since I had been a dancer and then a creative arts therapist for so many years, I assumed [...]
Last night we attended an annual Halloween dance party which has been part of a nearly thirty-year tradition for our circle of friends. It is always fun to try to guess who the familiar person might be, under some outlandish costume. Sometimes it is easy (despite the elaborate disguise), to pick up a known trait [...]
I often see couples in my practice who are struggling with communicating to each other in their relationship. Sometimes one or both of the partners are burnt out in their jobs, or caring for kids as well as trying to find time to connect. Perhaps due to exhaustion, depression, and anxiety, the couples’ intimacy (both [...]
It’s no secret that our thinking minds are very powerful; we often believe most things we tell ourselves. Then there is the problem of what we interpret OTHERS are thinking, and that can get very confusing in interpersonal relationships…ever gotten anxious about that? Last week I was convinced that I had upset my website [...]
A few years ago I slipped on the last patch of ice from winter and fractured my wrist. I was surprised at how emotionally upsetting that experience was, as well as observing how my whole body reacted to that one limb being injured. It was not a bad break, no surgery needed, but my mood [...]
Now I am officially a senior, I get the AARP newsletter, which often has articles about strategies to live a longer and more enjoyable life, and how to reduce stress. It always strikes me as ironic that as elders we are still looking for the Magic Elixir, even though we have less time left in [...]
In my Psychology training, we were educated that responding has a more effective outcome than reacting when it comes to helping anxiety and depression. My spouse and I often talk about this, as we watch our cat, who is waiting for a hummingbird to land (she has been waiting a long time!); she would then react [...]
Lately, I have found myself talking with friends and clients about the Pros and Cons of using the Social Media. I must say that I can hardly imagine being without my Smartphone these days, but I notice myself anxiously checking it far too often. There is a sense of being on ‘hyper alert” for any [...]
A road trip- great for anxiety! Recently we planned a road trip to New Mexico and had a wonderful four days in a more remote place there. It was so refreshing to be in a different landscape, and to remember that our usual perspective on life is pretty narrow. It is easy to get into [...]
We were having tea with our neighbor yesterday who was talking about her New Year resolutions. I was reminded of how often we make these ambitious statements to ourselves and then in a few months we get discouraged and anxious (“I’ll never really be able to do that!”), or life has taken over and [...]
New dates will be released in 2021.
