I’ve been pondering Andrew Solomon’s exquisite reflections on his own experience with depression. As a writer, he captures the pain and anxiety of depression remarkably. He wraps depression with words to enable those who have depression to feel understood and validated and affirmed. No, you are not crazy, you are not alone, and you definitely …
Beautiful and Beastly: Thoughts on Social Media – Part 1
I am not fortunate enough to have grandparents who are still around, but I know a handful of people who still do. And every now and then I find myself surprised to see exchanges on Facebook where grandmas and grandpas are responding to status updates, cute photos, or playing Words With Friends against their much …
FAQ’s about Hypochondria
What is Hypochondria? Hypochondria occurs when a person is abnormally concerned about his/her health in a way that doesn’t fit the picture. It becomes a disorder when it continues for longer than six months, and interferes with a person’s ability to function normally. The anxiety is significant, and surrounds concern that a person has a …
Hump Day Nudge: Helping others
I loved this video…just a minute long, and beautiful…finding creative and unexpected ways to help. Hang in until 26 seconds…when it becomes clear: It’s not always easy to know how to help someone who feels intimidating, a little scary, mebbe even dangerous…but that doesn’t mean it’s not impossible. Even bears can be in desperate …
Beliebers reflect all of us
So…I’m directionally challenged. The GPS is my best friend in a new city, and even with it, I don’t always get to my destination the first time. I’m not proud of that, but it is what it is, and so I’ve learned to be patient with myself, and allow for extra time. This summer, I …
Internal representations of others
I blogged recently about the way adolescents, mostly girls, have incredible, seemingly blind support for Justin Bieber, which seems exuberant to a level that hardly fits the situation: He lives 1000’s of miles away, they have never spoken to him, but they believe they have known him because of how much time they have spent …
Hump Day Nudge: Stage Fright Giggles
For many that have anticipated standing up in front of a crowd to talk or sing or present or play or act, the very thought of it creates sweaty palms, dry mouth, upset tummy, jiggly knees, ear-ringing, and instant hot flushes. I kinda like Joe Kowan…his courage, candidness and cowering in this talk…I like how …
Life Lessons from Hot Yoga
I’m trying hot yoga these days. It was a Groupon, and when it popped into my inbox on a very cold early winter day, it seemed like it was a good idea. Notice the past tense. Hot yoga is hard. Oh, it’s hot, all right. On days when it seems minus a bazillion degrees with …
Hump Day Nudge: Expressed Gratitude
This video makes my face confused…as I watch the folks express their gratitude to someone who has impacted them significantly: my face smiles at the joy of those sharing their gratitude and my eyes tear up at the sheer poignancy of how moving it is to watch that My face hurt at the crying muscles …
Our therapists–real and in full colour
I love where I work…one important reason is that I get to work alongside some of my favourite people. I’m not being polite when I say that–the therapists and admin staff at our offices are some of the most amazing people I know. They are compassionate, supportive and respectful of our clients–absolutely–but what is absolutely …