I tend to be easy to please. Barring a specific stressor, I am generally content. Even so, some days shine brighter for seemingly no reason at all. This morning, the dog was rushing me to get up at dark thirty. The cat was meowing her head off, demanding breakfast earlier than usual. After waiting, waiting, waiting, I realized I never turned on the coffeepot I was waiting for. Sounds like a set up for a pretty rough day, huh? So…
Yesterday, I talked about choosing a broader perspective. To assist in that endeavor, below are three exercises you may find effective and can be done anywhere. While I recommend you explore each of them, you may find that one resonates with you more than the others. Each exercise can be as long or as short as you choose. While longer is better, even a 2-5 minute exercise can quite effectively ground you. While I prefer and suggest these exercises outdoors…
I’m going about my morning as usual, or at least I thought I was. Coffee, feed the cat and dog, feed myself. I’m going through the motions a bit mechanically, my mind everywhere and nowhere all at once. I was suddenly startled from my dissociative state by birdsong. I don’t know why the birdsong broke through, but it did, and a grateful grin broke across my face and I woke up for the first time this morning. Retracing my…
No, I’m not suggesting you join the Army. But I do love their slogan. (And Nike’s, but that’s for another day.) What does it mean to be all you can be? What does a life lived from that philosophy look like? It looks pretty amazing actually. It’s still life, with its inherent ups and downs and all the wonders and catastrophe’s that can be thrown at you. The only different is, well, You. So, what should you do? Simple. You…
We’ve been talking about lots of heavy stuff the past few days and I think it’s time to lighten the mood. I’d like to home in on what it looks like to be ‘healed’. This is an incredibly subjective concept. For me, healed has meant more good days than bad; more stable moments than chaotic; a busier, livelier life. It all kind of snuck up on me. I was so focused on feelings of overwhelm, drowning in emotions, just trudging…
Well, ideally the child is father to the man, or so William Wordsworth poetically claimed. But what happens when our lives missed the ideal trajectory? It only makes sense, does it not, to explore inner child work. Start at the beginning, if you will. But who is parenting that child? Hmmm. You’ve likely heard of your ‘inner child’ or parts work. While mother culture snides and sneers at such fruit loop notions, for many of us, this notion explains everything.…
What a cruel cosmic joke! You’re struggling, drowning in anxiety. Desperate for relief, you follow the advice of the sages and attempt meditation, only to fly off the handle in ever deepening anxiety. What the heck! Before you throw in the towel on meditation, yoga and other relaxation methods, read on to find lasting relief. If you have experienced developmental trauma, PTSD, CPTSD or if you have experienced increased or triggered anxiety upon relaxing, understanding what is going on will…
In my mid 20’s, I began having uncomfortable digestive issues and inexplicable fatigue. After eating, even a small amount, my abdomen would swell to the point of having to unbutton my pants. I didn’t even do that after Thanksgiving dinner…so what the heck? I began scrutinizing what I ate; researching potential effects of various foods; food elimination and reintroduction. Nothing. Thus, began a 17+ year journey to solve the riddle of my body. (I might mention that I absolutely HATE…
Before I had a full grasp on the scope of my situation, [READ: I didn’t know I had been an abused and neglected child. I only knew my Mom had become increasingly hateful towards me as an adult.] I once experienced a red alert panic attack for 6 weeks. I was sleeping no more than 20 minutes at a time, when I’d pass out a few times a day out of sheer exhaustion. Combined, I was averaging no more than…
Do your thoughts sometimes echo eerily like Mom or Dad? But in the worst possible way? Do they tell you how you’re wrong, broken, and just need to be like them? Do they tell you flat-out that you haven’t experienced the things you say you have causing you to question your version of reality? Do they negate and ignore your accomplishments or credit someone else, as in thank goodness you had that person to save you? Do they have all…
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