One of our most primitive defense mechanisms is denial. Mark Twain perfectly captured the essence of denial when he quipped, Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In effect, denial is an effort to avoid the pain or discomfort of reality by pretending it doesn’t exist. It is the emotional … Read More
Defense Mechanisms and Coping Skills – Part 1
Coping skills can take many forms and help us make sense of our experiences, mitigate stress, and sustain our sense of self-worth. Sometimes life can feel pretty overwhelming. Without these strategies for managing life’s stressors and sustaining a sense of emotional well-being, it would be difficult to navigate even the … Read More
Party Survival Skills for the Socially Anxious
For many people, parties are a highlight of the holiday season. But for those who are socially anxious, holiday parties can be nothing short of torturous. Resolving social anxiety exceeds the scope of a blog post, but in the meantime, here are some quick tips for surviving all the festivities. … Read More
The Gift of Failure
Parenthood sparks a powerful, instinctive drive to protect. But, in reality, we do our kids a disservice when we do not allow them the space and opportunity to make decisions with the potential outcome of failure. Like Clark Kent, we are transformed from mild-mannered, everyday people into Authority Figures, Responsible Parties…Tooth … Read More
Holiday Dinners & Divorce
Jill Howgate, one of our therapists at GROW, sat down with the Divorce911 folks and talked about Divorce and the Holidays. Regardless of the season and what holidays you are celebrating, this is great information to have in hand!
Relationships & Social Media
There is a deluge of information about the damaging effects of technology on relationships. A quick Internet search will pull up innumerable sources, from scientific journals to editorial rants, asserting that social media actually undercuts our ability to form healthy relationships. (For the record, I fully appreciate the absurdity of … Read More
Spring Cleaning: Reducing Clutter!
Spring has arrived in full force; short cold days will soon give way to garden tours, egg hunts, proms, spring break trips to the beach, and the inevitable spring cleaning. As ‘Rites of Spring’ go, cleaning probably isn’t at the top of most peoples’ lists. However, I think it’s invaluable … Read More
Cracking the Code
Consciously or unconsciously, we each have a code we live by, a set of principles, beliefs, values, habits, and biases around which we make decisions and form opinions. In fact, the lack of either a cohesive code or a harmony between that code and subsequent behavior is a prominent source of anxiety. Equally stressful is trying to live by a code adopted through force or assimilation.
First Things First: Elements of Healthy Relationships
We put ourselves in the unenviable position of trying to address our relational health by reacting to negative experiences; relational health becomes a process of reverse engineering, figuring out what not to do. My client’s question suggests a much better approach. To that end, I would argue that three conditions are required to foster and sustain healthy relationships
