The holidays are approaching and it can be one of the most activating times of year. You already know you can’t control what Uncle Joe says at the Thanksgiving table or what your mom says about your partner or your parenting. So how can you preserve your emotional wellbeing during family gatherings? Realistic Expectations...
Don’t confuse communicating about your emotions with emotional dumping
There’s a lot of advice about not bottling up your emotions, being vulnerable and telling people how you feel. But when does this cross the line into emotional dumping? Here are 3 signs of emotional dumping and what to do instead: 1 – Talking about the same issues over and over again Rehashing something...
Unexpected Habits of Emotionally Strong People
When you think of someone who is emotionally strong you may think that nothing bothers them or that they never struggle when they encounter hard situations in their life; but that’s not always true. Being emotionally strong does not mean a person is stone cold or never feels down, they are still human, so...
When Pop Mental Health Advice is Actually Enabling
There’s a lot of pop mental health advice floating around on social media these days and I’m totally here for it…well, some of it. Should we be more informed about trauma, emotional intelligence, relationship dynamics and attachment issues? Yes,100%! Although it can be beneficial, there are some times when this is actually enabling you....
3 Reasons Why You People Please
Do you have trouble saying no? Do you constantly worry what people think about you and you find yourself apologizing frequently? Do you avoid confrontation and feel responsible for other people’s feelings? If you struggle with any of these things then you may be a people pleaser. Let’s get to the bottom of what...
3 Common Holiday Triggers + How you Can Prepare
Every year as summer comes to a close, we transition into fall and then immediately into the holiday season. It seems to happen pretty quickly and for some people it is exciting and they thrive on the energy and hustle and bustle but for others, it can be a stressful time that they would...
What is Self Abandonment?
There’s a lot of information out there about abandonment issues, but what about self abandonment? And why is self abandonment a problem? Abandonment issues are essentially the fear of being left. Usually because an important figure was not present when you were young. The way this shows up is through having an anxious attachment....
Do you fight dirty in your relationship?
Fighting in relationships is inevitable and, actually, important. The couples I worry about most are the ones that don’t fight. Because it means it’s harder to get to what’s really going on. Fighting can be what comes before a new level of intimacy, a step toward more commitment in the relationship, a big breakthrough...
How Do You Know When You Need A Break From Social Media?
A lot of parents bring up phone time and social media use as concerns in sessions. We thought we’d take a minute to talk about this because it’s important for teens, but also for you as adults. Social media and screen time are here to stay and it’s not all bad. So let’s learn...
Let’s Talk About This Strategy: Ignore Your Child’s Tantrums or Big Feelings
This is a big parenting technique that has been taught for decades about how to deal with tantrums and big feelings: just ignore them. And, if we’re being honest, it makes sense coming from a behavioral perspective – reinforce behaviors you want to see more of and ignore behaviors you want to see less...