Poison comes with a warning label and an identifiable picture of skull and crossbones. Wouldn’t it be helpful if certain toxic people in our lives came with the same? Actually, the person himself is not toxic, but rather the behavior in your relationship is. The challenge is, this behavior is … Read More
Grieving During the Holidays
How do we cope with missing people and holiday traditions from seasons past that are no longer in our lives? Experts on grief typically stress that everyone grieves in his/her own way, and it’s okay to accept and respect whatever feelings you may have. Below are some suggestions to assist … Read More
Are Trauma Triggers Hijacking your Brain?
Have you ever been accused of overreacting? The cause may be your reaction to a trauma trigger. Triggers are memories, behaviors, thoughts, and situations that escalate emotional reaction. When you are in this highly emotional state, you lose the ability to make rational decisions. For some, it can result in … Read More
Failure and How to Recover
Consider how you treat yourself after you experience failure. Do you engage in self-criticism, shaming thoughts, or take inventory of your shortcomings or bad luck? Now ask yourself how you would treat a good friend who experienced a similar failure. I’ve noticed, we will say things to ourselves that we … Read More
Healthy Eaters = Diet Success
Why is it that diets fail? Often, it is our thoughts that sabotage us in succeeding with eating healthy. The thought that you can’t have the french fries, pizza, or ice cream you have enjoyed for years incites a sense of rebellion. For most of us, this causes us to … Read More
Redefining Failure: A Conversation with Sara Blakely
Is fail a four-letter word in your vocabulary? Do you define yourself by your failures? Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of Spanx, offers a redefinition of failure. She states, “Failure for me became not trying, versus the outcome.” Our perception of an event and what we think the event means … Read More
Eating Mindlessly and the Strategies to Resist
We’ve all done it – eating the entire gallon, box, or bag of junk/snacks in one sitting without realizing what we were doing. This lack of awareness or mindless eating contributes to many people’s struggle with maintaining a healthy weight and balanced life. Turns out, there is a mind-body connection … Read More
EMDR Therapy and Trauma
Treating trauma can be difficult. There is emotional distress that needs to be addressed, as well as the effects of trauma on the body and nervous system. One of the evidenced-based interventions effective for transforming trauma is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). When we experience a traumatic event, we … Read More
Is Emotional Eating Causing You to Overeat?
Food represents so much more than just fuel for the body. From our earliest moments of life, emotional eating can play a big part. When you were a toddler and fell down or had to get a shot, you were offered a sweet treat to make it better. Little league … Read More
Recognizing Trauma
The American Psychological Association defines trauma as the emotional response someone has to an extremely negative event. It is also possible to suffer trauma when you are not the victim, but a witness. For some, the effects can be so severe that they interfere with the ability to live a … Read More
