Self-Help

Resources for the Stressed-Out

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Bird on frozen bird bath with seedsWell?

Did you survive the holidays?

Are you more or less stressed out than you were three months ago?

I hope you’ve had some time off, as I have, to recharge.

But just in case you’re entering the new year in need of some “unlaxing,” I want to share with you a roundup of websites full of stress-busting resources, including one especially for caregivers.

If you’re responsible for taking care of someone, that responsibility can take a toll on your well-being even if you’re not aware of it. Read More

Left Out? 3 Survival Strategies for the Fifth Wheel

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woman alone at partyHave you ever been with two other people and felt like the odd one out?

Did it seem like nobody would notice or care if you weren’t there?

In that case you know what it’s like to be the fifth wheel.

Huh?

Don’t I mean the third wheel?

Not unless you experienced yourself as a stabilizing influence!

Joining two people on a date doesn’t make you a third wheel; it just makes you a third person. Read More

Why You Shouldn’t Label Yourself

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The way people talk about themselves in therapy sometimes, it’s clear that certain things they do are a mystery to them.

“I’m really bad at calling people back,” is the kind of generalization I regularly hear as a therapist.

“Why do you think so?” I ask.

“Um… because I don’t call people back?”

Just as there are reasons for everything you do, there are reasons for the things you don’t do.

In the example above, as soon as we looked at a recent example from the client’s life, we both saw a very good reason for her hesitation in returning the call. Read More