Our personal lives and our work lives can be filled with tense moments, conflict, and competing demands. Life also delivers ups and downs in the form of job losses, cheating spouses, major illnesses, and death. Being able to manage these difficult times effectively requires skills that anyone can learn. Not only is being unflappable an admirable and beneficial quality in times of crisis, it can also be good for your mental health.
[More]
July 27, 2014
by Caleen Martin
How many of us have had a particularly nasty, stressful argument and within a day have an intense flare up leaving you in agony? Probably too many of us. Communication will make or break each and every relationship we have throughout our lives. So why aren't we taking it more seriously?
[More]
July 23, 2014
by Cathy England, MA
It is not uncommon for people to experience worry from time to time. This can come in the form of worry over an upcoming deadline, concern about a sick loved one, or stress about a financial situation. For most people, that type of worry is time limited and is affected or brought on by a specific situation. In other words in typical instances, the person can identify the reason for their anxiety.
[More]
July 20, 2014
by Cathy England, MA
It is not uncommon that anxiety problems are caused by physical illness, and it can sometimes be difficult for the professional provider to differentiate the two. It may be that treating the medical problem can alleviate the appearance of anxiety so that when the medical condition is treated, the anxiety symptoms may disappear. This is why it is important to have troublesome anxiety symptoms evaluated by a medical professional. Hyperthyroidism is a medical condition that commonly co-occurs with anxiety.
[More]
How often can you say that you are fully present in the moment? It’s a hard question to answer, especially if you haven’t asked what that actually means. The ability to be in the moment involves attention and presence to experience a moment with all its fullness. That is, your mind, your body, and all your senses are focused in that moment.
[More]
June 18, 2014
by Caleen Martin
Why is it that we are so good at caring for others and so dysfunctional when it comes to caring for ourselves? Our culture has trained us to be givers, not takers. The problem is that being the proverbial 'good girl/boy' will literally rob us of our lives. We find that we never seem to have time for ourselves, our relationships become one-sided and we become more resentful towards others over time.
[More]
Since happiness is an individual experience, it is important to identify the things that make you happy, and to start incorporating more of these moments into your life. While we cannot define happiness with unified agreement, we must each ask ourselves, what can I do to create opportunities for happiness? When you ask yourself this question, then you can explore and define the moments that create happiness and joy. Here are 10 things you can do now to construct moments where happiness may be experienced in your life.
[More]
What exactly is shame? Shame is a painful emotion backed by guilt and embarrassment. Every person has experienced shame at one point or another depending on a variety of circumstances. But, we are not born ashamed.
[More]
May 14, 2014
by Caleen Martin
Being selfish has always been considered a trait to avoid. We're taught to give to others, to be selfless and caring. Many times however, we take our selfless acts to such an extreme that we are giving to others at the expense of our own welfare. This happens most often with our children and partners.
[More]
May 7, 2014
by Caleen Martin
Change Your Words, Change Your Worth is the mantra used by Adam Braun, founder of Pencils for Promise. His story is about the language of business and how he found a creative way to engage with other prominent entrepreneurs and not lose them the moment he began discussing his non-profit organization. Braun realized very early on that the terminology he used could make or break the connections he formed in the business world. Those of us living in the world of Fibromyalgia have also found this same issue regarding the discussions we have about our health.
[More]