The Most Common Question I Get Asked When people hear that I work as a psychologist I often get asked: How do you listen to people’s problems day after day? The underlying question is essentially… How do you insulate yourself from your clients’ feelings? The Answer: I don’t. First, protecting myself from my clients’ feelings just doesn’t work. If I fought and shielded against them inside they’d only get more intense …
How To Create Balance The Three Minds In order to find our inner balance it is helpful to think in terms of us having three states of mind. Emotional Mind When you’re in the emotion mind logic can drop away, you may speed up, get busy and become vulnerable to overly emotional ways of looking at yourself, others & the world. Fear or hopelessness can distort the facts and it’s …
Treating Problematic Porn Use
20-25% of internet searches are for pornography This stat may leave you wondering if so many people are viewing it, is it really that bad? That depends. The fact that you’ve watched porn before doesn’t mean that you have a problem. Even watching it on a regular basis doesn’t mean that you are “addicted” to porn. However, if it becomes a problem, it can become a destructive force in multiple areas …
The 4 Causes of Social Anxiety
Which are Holding You Back? Does the thought of attending that networking event send shivers down your spine? Do you try to avoid small talk because you think that you have nothing interesting to say? Or, do you hate those big family get-togethers because you’re afraid that everyone will notice that you aren’t as smart as the rest of the family? Don’t worry, it’s not just you. These feelings are …
Early Trauma Can Change Your Brain’s Response to Pain
Early Trauma Can Change Your Brain’s Response to Pain Have chronic pain & also had a rough childhood? They could be linked. New research is uncovering the connection of trauma in childhood to chronic pain. When stress gets internalized and emotions get stuffed there seems to be a connection to developing chronic pain for a significant proportion of people. Here’s the gist – when a child grows up there are …
Getting Clarity on Your Anxiety
This post covers the following topics: Getting clarity on your anxiety The good & bad sides of diagnosis Anxiety disorders – the complete list What all anxiety disorders have in common If you’re reading this there’s a very good chance you’re sick of feeling anxious, you’d like to get it to change and the things you’ve tried so far haven’t worked (more than a for short time at least). In …
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
There are many times when being organized, responsible, neat and tidy can help someone to live better. On the other hand, when these types of behaviors and following of rules take over then OCD can become a large problem. OCD is a common, chronic disorder that is made of two parts – obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions Obsessions are uncontrollable, recurring thoughts, impulses, or images that trigger intense anxiety. Here’s a …
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety that is focused on the fear of having a panic attack or they they will be in a place that will be unsafe to have a panic attack. The fear can often be related to being scared of feel trapped, helpless or that they will be humiliated for losing control in front of others or in public. Some of the most common situations people …
Panic Disorder
A panic attack is a sudden rush of extreme fear that reaches a peak within a few minutes and triggers intense physical symptoms. Often when someone is experiencing a panic attack they feel as they they are totally losing control, having a heart attack or even dying. It can be common that these attacks can come from seemingly nowhere, even during sleep. Having panic attacks does not necessarily mean someone …
Panic Attacks
A panic attack is a sudden rush of fear that happens with intense physical sensations, a strong urge to escape or get away from the situation and a sense that something really bad is about to happen. According to the American Psychiatric Association, a panic attack is characterized by four or more of the following symptoms: Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate Sweating Trembling or shaking Sensations of shortness …