The Same Damn Triggers

Do you feel like this when the same trigger damn triggers keep tripping you up over and over again? You thought you’d worked on it, overcome it, vanquished it. But here it is again, rearing its ugly head. —— Yeah, me too. So I’m gonna tell you how I deal with triggers. Hopefully it’ll help…

Read More

What Anger Taught Me

What anger taught me is a precious lesson I will carry with me all my life. In my twenties and thirties, anger was my weapon of choice. Growing up with an alcoholic father and a people-pleasing mother, I soon realized that being angry prevented others from taking advantage of me. Anger helped me feel powerful, strong, and…

Read More

Why it is Hard to Feel Our Feelings

feeling your feelings

Why it is hard to feel our feelings is a subject I could write an entire volume on. I remember a moment during my intense grief over my mother’s death. I was sitting on the oatmeal-colored carpet in our living space, tears streaming down my face. My husband looked at me, sighed, and asked the…

Read More

The Dangers of Spirituality

The dangers of spirituality are not often addressed but they are real. Recently I worked with a client (we’ll call her Brenda) whose mother was diagnosed with a rare illness. The illness caused limited mobility, episodes of forgetting, and an inability to work at the non-profit, a job she loved. Now Brenda had to do…

Read More

10 Ways to Cope with a Difficult Loss

coping with difficult losses

When you lose a loved one, grief knocks you over no matter how strong you are. Here are 10 ways to cope with a difficult loss. 1) Feel your Feelings. Allow feelings to bubble up to the surface: shock, anger, denial, sadness, fear. Everyone’s grief is as individual as their fingerprints, so this order is…

Read More

The Purpose of a Grief Support group

grief is lonely

The pain of grief is something only the grieving understand. The purpose of a grief support group is to offer that understanding and make you feel less alone. When my mother passed away and I was in deep shock and pain, the best healing gift I gave myself was a Grief group. Drowning in a turbulent maelstrom…

Read More

Waiting for A Loved One to Die

waiting for death

Waiting for a loved one to die is like walking on hot coals. When you know a loved one’s death is approaching, you experience anticipatory grief. In other words, death hasn’t occurred yet, but it is coming. Anticipatory grief can be easy or hard, depending on the kind of person you are. Some people like…

Read More