practices for maintaining your emotional self care
skill weekly
Coming Together: Bringing Mindfulness to Differing Perspectives
A lot of people are feeling a lot of emotions right now, ranging from hopeful to hopeless; from satisfied to enraged. When we have disagreements, both sides become convinced that ‘if only the other side understood’ their side of things, all could be well. The result?...
Healing Disappointment: Stronger Together
In a nation where half of us are filled with shock and sadness, skillfulness takes on a much different tone. On a normal day, the ultimate aim would be to move towards feeling better, or even happiness. But today is NOT a normal day. Today is a day of monumental...
Taking Role Call: A Self-Compassion and Validation Practice
“Who would wanna look at their suffering?! I mean, why would I want do that?” A dear client of mine asked repeatedly the other day after reading the Are you a Self Esteem Junkie blog. This is such an important question because it is the most natural thing in...
Burnt Out? How to Beat a Case of the ”F**k Its”
We’ve all been there! It can come on fast - or boil up from a slow brew. There are things to do - goals to be pursued - tasks to be managed. But every ounce of you wants to avoid, procrastinate, and plain old throw in the towel! Your mind starts offering you one...
Are You A Self Esteem Junkie? The Unexpected Dark Side
Of course we all want to feel good about ourselves! Striving for success, accomplishing goals, feeling appreciated are all a part of a healthy life well lived. But is there a point at which the pursuit of subjective self worth can trip us up? Like anything in excess,...
Your ETA to Happiness: What You Need to Know
We all want to be happy…. Or at least have more happiness than sadness, anxiety, or anger in our lives. But we don't know how the basic system of our mind-body machines functions, to either promote or hinder our happiness. A simple understanding of this system can get...
#TalkToMe Tati: A Survivor’s Wisdom on Resilience
The tension had been brewing to a boiling point the day the Nazis came to collect young Elizabeth and her older sister. Dressed and packed with their best things, the trip began almost as an adventurous escape from the abusive constraints of their dictator father....
3 Social Comparison Biases that Torpedo Motivation
You know you do it! Most of us do – some more, some less. In the dark of night or light of day, at your desk, or procrastinating before the next task. .... Trolling social media, watching your friends’ successes, casting judgment about whatever thing they're...
Finding True North: Your Source of Caring and Motivation
There’s a theme that tends to come up in my office when clients hit an impasse or feel stuck… “It shouldn’t be this hard! It feels like it’s not going to happen for me.” “I don’t know what to do, how it will go, which way to turn!” “Why is it so easy for...
Getting Better at Feeling to Feel Better (for the Long-Term)
Last week Jane came into my office feeling paralyzed and confused. “When my anxiety starts up I try to use my skills to validate my emotions. But then my mind starts finding all the real things I have to feel anxious about! So how do I know when to listen to...
For Valentines Day: An Open Letter to Your Heart
Dear Hearts: To and from You - we are grateful. It is You that give us the gratitude we feel . . . For the pull of love's calling For the giddy enthusiasm of a new crush For the awe of our true loves beauty It is You that inspires us To pursue more of these...
Are you an Over-Offerer? 3 Steps to Better Boundaries
How does this keep happening!? You knew you didn’t want to go to that event… help out with that thing… didn’t have time to get across town in time for that meeting! But you said you would go…do it… be there anyway. Why do we say “Yes” when we really need to say “No”?...