Tag: psychology

Guilt & Shame

Guilt and shame are heavy emotions to bear. They compel us to scrutinize our actions and character, often leading to intense feelings of self-consciousness and self-critique. This intense self-reflection can spiral into excessive or irrational levels, potentially contributing to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other illnesses. Guilt and shame can […]

Love, Compassion, & Empathy

In the realm of human relationships love, compassion, and empathy are paramount not only in our interactions with others, but also play a crucial role in how we relate to ourselves. As James Baldwin said “One can only face in others what one can face in oneself.” We cannot know and love another person without […]

On Grief

Grief is our natural response to loss, an emotional reaction that transcends the boundaries of what or whom we hold dear. It’s an acknowledgment of absence, be it the departure of someone or something we held dear, an expectation we had for our future, or hope for change. We mourn when we lose family, friends, […]

5 Steps To Handling The Holiday Blues

The holiday season is traditionally seen as a festive period, a time for gathering with friends and family to celebrate and spread cheer. Yet, for many, this season can be fraught with challenges and emotional trials. These difficulties stem from a variety of deeply personal reasons. Some individuals grapple with traumatic memories linked to the […]

Perfectionism & People Pleasing

Perfectionism and people-pleasing are treacherous traps, in which we place all of our self-worth into the hands of others. At their core, perfectionism and people-pleasing reflect a relentless drive to meet impossible standards and an unyielding desire to gain the approval of those around us. The root of these behaviors is a deep-seated need to […]

10 Steps to Setting Better Boundaries

Setting boundaries can be incredibly challenging especially when we engage in people pleasing. For many of us, it goes against our deep desire make people like us, while also not disappointing anyone by failing to meet their expectations. However, this can lead us to overcommit ourselves. Trying to make everyone happy, while our own needs […]

Spirituality & Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy and spirituality share a significant overlap. Many of us embark on our psychotherapeutic journey in search of healing, and as we heal, we broaden our objectives, beginning to search for meaning and purpose in our lives, or striving to understand and achieve our full potential. The desire to heal and grow into the best […]

Therapy Should Make You A Better Person

In recent years, there has been an unmistakable surge in ‘therapy speak’. It’s no longer rare to overhear discussions about attachment styles, coping mechanisms, or emotional labor at coffee shops, family gatherings, or even in the media. When celebrities openly discuss concepts like “being present” and “emotional labor” during prime-time interviews, it’s clear that the […]

The Expat Experience

Expats, immigrants, and migrants are all people that have left their homes for foreign shores in search of a better life. It is an intensified way of life, exciting at times, but fraught with challenges and hardships. I am the child of immigrants, and have been living as an expat for over a decade. I […]