So often we allow our thoughts to run unexamined through our brain. Often those thoughts lead to negative behaviors. Below is a list of 8 limited thinking patterns that I will often explore with clients. They are taken from the book Thoughts & Feelings by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis and Patrick Fanning. It is a…
One of the central facets of addiction is the unwillingness to take responsibility. Without exercising the all-important watershed of self-responsibility, breaking the compulsive cycle that leads to addictive behavior is all but impossible. Systems like AA or the Minnesota Model, which allow the abdication of self-responsibility to The Program, The Meeting, The Sponsor and even…
But what about the unhealthy emotional and relational expectations portrayed in so much of our media? Is there really much of a difference in the hyperbolized sexual imagery of typical pornography and the hyperbolized momentary emotional high felt in a romance film or romantic comedy that sends us looking for a “love” that doesn’t exist?…
People who have control issues are usually trying to live a pain free life. (14)
Sometimes, I have people tell me that they cannot help but think the thoughts they have. I often ask them if they believe that they can change thier thoughts. We will often play this simple game that illustrates each person's ability to change his or her thoughts.
Everyone has anxiety and stress. It is in how you have prepared for it and how you deal with that matters. Very rarely is the "event" actually an emergency or insurmountable obstacle. Our reactions to or lack of preparation for stressful situations are what we need to monitor. It is important to be able to…
Carol Anne Riddell, the former TV reporter and one-half of the newlyweds who have been widely criticized for participating in a Sunday New York Times wedding feature that detailed how the couple had broken up their previous marriages in order to be together, said she regrets nothing. Riddell told Forbes on Tuesday: "We did this…
"Adventure isn't hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply To the day to day obstacles of life – Facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, Testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, Discovering our own unique potentional."~John Amatt (50)
One of the most difficult things to deal with is when a family member abandons the family. The holidays can exasperate this problem. When a family member makes a poor choice to not love or forgive or hurt you, it can be hard to handle the holiday hoopla. Or maybe you have to choose to…
The overriding reason for the surge in serious problems on campus is that college is the age of depression. Depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and other serious mental conditions first rear their head in late adolescence. Also, colleges are harvesting the first crop of kids who grew up on Prozac and other new-wave antidepressants. The drugs…
