Self-compassion: Why is it so challenging for so many of us? We fail to be gentle with ourselves. We fail to care for our needs. We fail to give ourselves a break, even when we need it most. We live in a society that values the...
Are you a naturally cheerful person? Sadly, I am not. If I don’t work on it, I can be grumpy, complaining, critical, and downright negative. But, for all who are cheer-challenged, like I am, good news: Cheerfulness can be learned and developed. Yes, with practice,...
I’ve been practicing gratitude for quite some time now. I started a gratitude journal back when I was first married, I’ve studied countless books and research articles on gratitude, and I even spent an entire year learning how to be more grateful and then wrote...
“Are you a human being or a human doing?” I love this question. Since I am a doer by nature, this question reminds me there is more to life than making checks on a list. Since I am much more likely to over-do than to under-do,...
10 Ways to Practice Gratitude Today! When asked what 3 things he would like people to know about gratitude, top researcher, Robert Emmons, said: “First, the practice of gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%. Second, this is not hard to achieve--a few hours writing...
Thanks to my good friend, Julie Hanks, LCSW, I've been able to do a couple of guest posts for her Private Practice Toolbox series on www.PsychCentral.com. The first was my article, "Sharing Office Space With Your Spouse". This was followed up by a Video Tour...
Parenting Practice: 7 Strategies for Summer Sanity Summer is upon us once again with its longer days and warmer weather. Yet for we parents of school-aged children, summer break can be anything but relaxing. I admit, my past few summer breaks have started with a mental...
Parenting Practice: Getting Good at "The Let-Go's" Welcome to my new series, "Parenting Practice". I may have learned a lot about parenting in my psychology practice, but my true expertise has come through the practice of raising my own family. In order to survive as a mom...