Change your thoughts, change your feelings — Many people have heard of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. It’s sometimes used by counselors to help with depression, anxiety, and trauma, but it can be helpful for almost anyone. When it works, it can seem a lot like magic! I agree it is magic-like, and it’s also scientific. I…

The act of creativity is part of your self-actualization process. — In my own mind, I feel most at home when my brain is working out a creative problem. Sometimes it starts with a general feeling of, “That can’t be done,” and moves into, “But what if I could do it?” Then my brain gets to wondering how. …

Hawaii’s shifty rainbows taught me a lesson about wanting and waiting. In 2003, I took a solo trip to Hawaii. I picked my trip largely so that I could get a close-up look at the state’s famous rainbows. Rainbows had taken on a sacred meaning in my life. They represented…

Prevent complications like PTSD, no matter what you’re going through — Use This Equation: Think, Feel, Question, Heal Recent research suggest that adults in America are struggling significantly with mental health symptoms since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In a post-pandemic CDC study, respondents reported high levels of anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, and increased alcohol and substance misuse.

Learn to Overcome Memories, Anxiety, and Shame About Your Trauma

Otherwise known as the best week of my summer. — Each year, I anticipate the first week of August. Since 2013, I’ve spent these days making crafts out of feminine hygiene products, donating to charitable causes, and helping my friends embarrass themselves. It’s all part of a strange and unique charity event called GISH. It used to be called GISHWHES…

A therapist reviews a fictional book with fantasy elements (the railroad isn’t a metaphor) that is all too real. — I first read The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead in the summer of 2016. It was an Oprah’s Book Club pick featured on NPR’s Fresh Air. I was so eager to read it I couldn’t wait for the local bookstore to get it in stock. I bought the ebook. Perhaps…

Sometimes, PTSD persists. Here’s why and how to get free. — Are you struggling with symptoms like anxiety, hypervigilance, painful memories, nightmares, depression, avoidance and shameful thoughts and feelings? These are a set of symptoms that can make life miserable and may be caused by post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD). As a therapist, this is the area I specialize in and…

I regularly have clients who overcome PTSD — here’s how you can too. By the time clients with post-tramatic stress disorder (PTSD) get to me, they’re often feeling pretty miserable. Common symptoms of PTSD include intrusive memories of past trauma, nightmares or sleep problems, high anxiety spells, and sometimes panic…