Each of us has someone in our life who makes us feel as invalid as an expired coupon. All too often, that person is our very own self, but sometimes it’s a parent, a partner, or a friend. Many of my patients want to know what to do about a person in their life who […]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects millions of people and causes a lot of mental, physical, and spiritual distress. Because OCD can be debilitating, it is important to note that the problem is not the disorder itself; rather, it is the anxiety that comes from the symptoms of the disorder. So when you are compulsively demanding […]

Have you ever found yourself caught in a downward spiral of negative thoughts? It’s as if your mind is like a funnel with thoughts racing towards the bottom only to get stuck in the neck. The more you try to think your way out of the funnel, the more distressed you become because there appears […]

All parents remember the emotions experienced when their first child was born. Besides boundless joy, we also experienced an overwhelming sense of responsibility. We realized we needed to make adjustments. For instance, when a young friend became a father for the first time, he and his wife were worried about leaving the hospital with their […]

Many of us may have grown up with the idea that making mistakes is a bad thing. When we received a bad grade or things didn’t go as expected, we may have felt distressed as we told our parents about it. We worried about their negative reaction. The urge to avoid errors goes back to […]

A dad takes his six-year-old daughter to play at a playground. The monkey bars have been a challenge for her. She had tried many times in the past, and on the second or third bar, she typically fell. This time, she tries to hang on, but her hands get slippery, and on the 4th bar, […]

“Limits, like fears are often just an illusion.” –Michael Jordan We have an amazing, active mind that helps us survive in our daily living. We could not do what we do if it weren’t for our wonderful and powerful mind. It is truly a marvelous gift! However, sometimes it gets carried away with producing thoughts […]

Eating disorders can be a mystery to outsiders. It’s difficult to empathize with throwing up, starving, or bingeing until it hurts. But there’s a reason for every eating disorder. In this edition of Daily Mindfulness, we reveal 4 psychological drivers behind anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, and other forms of disordered eating. Looking in from the outside, […]

As the worst of winter sets in, some folks notice their tempers may match the days: short, dark, and icy. Winter blahs are pretty common this time of year. Some people even grow to hate holidays. Others feel let down once the Christmas tree is out by the curb. Still, others get ground down by […]

One definition of addiction is a compulsion to continually engage in an activity or behavior despite its negative consequences. When the repetitive behavior results in the individual experiencing legal, health, relationship, and/or vocation problems, that individual most likely has an addiction. How do we acquire an addiction? Some of us are genetically predisposed to acquiring […]