I invite you to think back on your earliest memories and ask yourself, are you the same person you were then as you are now? How did you think, what interested you, how did you move through the world? How did you think and feel about yourself? Who did you think you were and how […]
Today is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. It is a time when the twinkling lights of the holiday season have faded, and there are no more social events to look forward to. What’s worse is that we still have three more months of the lingering darkness of short days and gloomy […]
Many of us grew up in unhealthy environments. For some, it was being bullied in school, while for others it was growing up in homes where parents, although they tried their best, passed their own traumas on to us. Perhaps we were rewarded for being self-sacrificing, or received harsh critique, or worse, we were abused. […]
There is a long tradition of making New Year’s resolutions, committing to significant changes in our lives in an effort to improve our life quality and relationships. Many choose to commit to better physical health by deciding to eat healthier, join a gym, or lose weight. Others decide to quit smoking or drinking. Some pledge […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Attachment theory is a very popular topic these days. I see many clients that come into therapy asking about their own attachment style and how it affects their relationships. Other clients come to therapy because they are struggling in their friendships and partnerships and want solutions to the barriers they have to intimacy. Attachment theory […]
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 […]
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 […]
