Love Me? I Don’t Even Know Me It is February, and the word love is everywhere. If you believe social media, everyone is fanatically happy with their spouse, partner, or pet. Why then is there divorce, Tinder, counseling waitlists, and loneliness? Could it be that to give love and receive love, we first need to […]
I’ll Work for Peace
I get a lot of calls from parents who are heartbroken, fed up, or exhausted because their adolescent child is wreaking havoc in the home. “I just want peace,” they say. I counter with, “teens need a lot of grace and a few boundaries.” What is a parent to do? Four of my favorite parenting
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Sleep, The Cheapest Medicine You Can Give Your Body
The best advice my sister ever gave me was, “sleep when you can.” This is good advice for new moms, people in crisis, and those who are sick; but is it more than folklore? Yes, sleep as medicine is well documented. Poor sleep is a major problem for our bodies. It is linked to weight
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Anxiety
Anxiety is an output of excessive worry that continues over a long period of time. It can be debilitating, frustrating, and also common. Some familiar symptoms may include: Feeling nervous, restless, or tense Having a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation) Feeling weak or tired Having trouble sleeping Feeling these symptoms
Curve Balls
Curve balls is a soft sounding phrase. Curves are rounded and caressive. The image may seem elegant. “Oh life sent you a curve ball,” is the phrase we receive when something drops into our lives unannounced. Curve Balls are not nice. They land on the plate and knock over the food and drink. They hit
Addiction Sucks… for everybody.
I find that addiction is the step-child of other more “acceptable” mental health issues. The families I work with who experience grief often receive sympathy, money in cards, and casseroles brought to the home and served with a hug. The individual who is looking for a career change may receive recommendations, support, and connections no
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The Mental Health of Adolescents
I care about kids. There, I said it. I spend hours planning lessons, am available for pick ups and drop offs, occasionally wipe away tears when there are break-ups or down spirals, and research the best ways to make balance happen in youth culture. According to Infographicworld.com, teens today make double what we did in
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Balance
Balance; oh that’s a tricky word. Many of us would like to think we strive for balance, but do we really?How much time do we spend each day on work? How much time each day with family? What about time alone, or with the spouse? Should we count the chores like breakfast dishes, laundry, and
The Power of Beauty
Beauty is powerful. It opens doors to opportunities, alters moods, and entices us to covet. Beauty has been known to start wars, induce violence, and break hearts; and yet, many of us do not teach our children how to use or appreciate beauty gracefully. We often tell our children that it’s what’s on the inside
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The Reality of Disability
A new friend recently said that she wasn’t going to celebrate Autism Awareness day because Autism was pain to her family. It reminded me of when an old friend delivered a baby with Down Syndrome. There are no words that comfort parents when reality displaces the dreams one has for a child. It is ok
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