Research has shown that meditation can help with stress and anxiety. With the rise in war exposed veterans in the US needing treatment, studies are being conducted to see how mindfulness and meditation can help people dealing with trauma. As a psychologist with a regular meditation practice, I have noticed how closely meditation resembles the exposure…
Do you or a loved one have a pattern of reacting quickly before really thinking things through, only to later experience regret or other unpleasant consequences? Impulsive behavior can include relatively minor annoyances like talking out of turn or jumping the gun to more serious problems like taking dangerous risks or acting out destructively on…
When it comes to tragedy, loss or unexpected death (such as by accident, suicide, acts of violence, or natural disaster), our focus is naturally drawn toward what has been lost. In our shock and sadness, we find ourselves spending countless hours wondering why and speculating about how something like this could happen. It is also common in…
We all engage in problematic behavior from time to time, despite the fact that we intellectually realize it’s not good for us. When we do this repeatedly, it can feel like a painful trap we fall into over and over again that we are powerless to avoid. These patterns can include things like turning to…
Imagine for a moment that suffering is like a sandwich. Some painful things are inevitable, unavoidable and outside of our control – such as the pain caused by other people’s actions and extraordinary events that occur. This is the bread in our suffering sandwich – after all, its just not a sandwich without the bread.…
Guilt is an emotion that involves self-blame or a sense of responsibility for a regretted thought or action. Like any other emotion, guilt is not necessarily based on facts. Justified guilt is what we feel when the facts of the situation warrant the level of responsibility and regret we experience. Perceived guilt is what we feel when…
When you are working toward a positive change in your life, setbacks such as loss, failure and rejection can make you feel discouraged, frustrated, anxious and sad. Too much of this can lead to self-doubt, depression, and getting completely off track. It is important to understand that setbacks and disappointments are unavoidable and perhaps even…
Self-regulation, or the ability to identify and respond appropriately to internal needs, is being increasingly recognized as an important skill. It appears Americans may be getting worse at it. Our lives are filled with endless distractions leaving us with little time or motivation to pause and look inward. Researchers speculate we are over-regulating our children’s…
Anger gets a bad rap, but it is a normal human emotion and we can learn to harness its energy for good. We tend to feel angry when we: feel out of control believe our rights have been violated think we are not getting our wants or needs met Since anger is an emotion it is…
Grieving is a normal human response to losing someone or something important. Experiencing a loss can involve strong emotions, troublesome physical symptoms, and may require a period of adjustment. The way we experience grief can be influenced by a number of factors including the nature of the loss and the meaning we make of it,…
