Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Anxiety”
He has a brain tumor!!! My first thought as I examined the lump behind his left ear. “Did you bump into anything? Hit your head on a cabinet door? Is it tender?” I peppered him with questions, trying to identify a logical explanation for the bulge. My husband had been experiencing sharp intermittent pains in his left ear for a …
Do you have an emotional vocabulary? Do you use a wide range of words to describe how you are feeling or do you rely on “fine” and “okay?” In our environment of rapid change and clipped conversations (verbal and through technology), most of us rely upon the expedient answer of “fine” when queried by someone, especially in a non-intimate environment …
I watched a short video a few months ago of the 2016 commencement address from Dean James Ryan of the School of Education at Harvard. His speech centered on five questions he thought were important to ask oneself when navigating life. I made a list of those questions. It sits on my desk and I review it regularly. The fifth question …
This week I’ve been struggling with doubt. Self-doubt. I was sitting in a meeting a few days ago and I wondered, “am I really contributing here?” “Am I the right person with the right skills to help? There is so much this organization needs and I feel so inadequate to help it move forward. Am I the right person? …
A friend mentioned that she was impressed that I could generate thought-provoking articles each week. I replied, “It’s just whatever I’m thinking about at the time.” I don’t believe I was trying to deflect the compliment, because I do write about what I’m struggling with, what I’m learning (or relearning), and/or what I’m noticing about myself and my environment. Lately …
I used to think that I had most things figured out. It took a serious health event a few years ago to quickly convince me that I didn’t. I hadn’t realized until that experience how important self-compassion is to resilience and recovery. Basically, self-compassion is a critical factor in well-being. In the initial stages of my recovery I was, fearful, …
Over the years, I’ve worked with many clients who try very hard to contain, control, repress, or ignore their emotions. There seems to be a belief out in the ether that some emotions are not okay, too difficult, or too embarrassing to experience. Or that one shouldn’t deeply feel an emotion that is not “positive.” We may even receive messages …
Have you ever noticed that you think differently at night? I’m not talking about the early evening hours say 7:00 or 8:30 p.m. I’m talking about the night hours, after midnight and before 6:00 a.m. Those hours in which most of your world is sleeping (except for the cats and other nocturnal animals, of course). When I was young and …
Hafez (or Hafiz), the 14th century poet said, “The words you speak become the house you live in.” I was reminded a few weeks ago, of how powerful our words (and our actions) can be. I started Thriving Thursday (newsletter/blog) because I wanted to share my thoughts, fears, and ultimately, my learning journey of life. It was (and is) a …
My computer was hacked! Being hacked brought back those anxious thoughts that sat in the back of my mind and would come wriggling to the surface like those huge worms after a rainstorm. “Will I get hacked? How does it happen? How will I know I’ve been hacked? How do you deal with it?” Well, my wriggling worries, came to pass. Luckily, …
