Posts Tagged ‘emotions’
When Emotions Take Over: Working with Parts Instead of Fighting Them || By Annabelle Denmark, LPC
Life brings uncertainty, loss, and relational pain. When it does, our nervous systems react. Tension rises. Big feelings surface—fear, anger, loneliness, rejection. If those feelings build without support, they can push us toward extreme coping strategies: addiction, self-harm, suicidal thoughts. For people who have experienced ongoing or repeated trauma, these emotional states can begin to…
Read MoreYour Fight Response || By Laura Zwisler, LPC
I have observed from my seat across from the human condition, that adults with particularly unjust childhoods tend to have “anger” problems. In reality, they have a handful of problematic triggers that cause them to act out whenever they feel threatened in the same way they were as a kid. From that viewpoint, their behavior is rational. From…
Read MoreThe Art of Compassionate Communication – Part 2: Observing & Feeling || By Kevin Culver LPCC
This series of blogs is focused on how we can improve communication in our relationships, both professionally and personally, specifically by using Rosenberg’s framework of nonviolent communication (NVC). In the last blog, we identified the roadblocks that often get in the way of understanding and collaboration in our communication – namely judgment, comparison, denial of…
Read MoreThe Power of Video Games as a Coping Mechanism: A Therapist’s Perspective II By Deanna Edwards, MA
In the world of mental health, coping mechanisms are the tools we use to navigate emotional stress, anxiety, or difficult situations. As a therapist, I’ve seen the evolution of how people cope with life’s pressures. One method that has become increasingly common is video gaming. While it has its critics, video games, when used mindfully,…
Read MoreHow to Accompany Ourselves and Others in Grief || By Catherine Dockery, MA, Conscious Aging Facilitator
Feeling grief was impossible for me most of my life. I grew up in the middle of a very large family, My mom had absolutely no capacity to hold her own grief nor to recognize or welcome mine. I learned really quickly to be strong, to be independent and not too needy. In order to…
Read MoreIt Hurts || By Beth Hinnen, Certified Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher
Movies always deliver. My choices have changed over the years, however one element is always critical for me — transformation. When a character has insight, introspection, an epiphany, internally or externally triggered, I don’t care. What I want to see is that a different choice can be made, a different path taken, a new lease…
Read MoreSurrender or Control – Which One Serves You Best? II By Lora Cheadle, JD CHt
What do you do when life throws you a curve ball? Do you fight for control, muscle up, power through, and do what it takes to overcome, or do you surrender? Or does it depend on the situation? If you have ever made a bigger mess out of an already challenging situation, then you might…
Read MoreAcknowledging the Mess II By Marielle Grenade-Willis MA, LPCC
I recently saw Everything Everywhere All At Once in theaters, and I kid you not that my eyes were wet from the emotional whiplash for almost the entire movie. The film feels like colliding with the entire universe in that every scene is emotionally and sensorially over-the-top. To reduce the entire plot to a battle…
Read MoreInstinct, Emotions, or Intuition? II By Rev. Mary Coday Edwards, MA
Instinct and Emotions “What’s going on? Is my instinct for survival kicking in, am I falling back into an old emotional pattern, or is my intuition telling me something?” These are common questions that arise in my spiritual facilitation work. Eckhart Tolle says an instinctive response is the body’s direct response to an external…
Read MoreDefusion 101: How Cognitive Defusion Can Help You Reclaim Your Power ll By Gina Henschen, MA, LPCC
Negative thoughts can be tough to shake, especially if you’ve been struggling with them for a long time. These thoughts may have such a hold over us that they affect our feelings, behavior, and even our sense of self. If this is something you experience, know that you’re not alone. You may have tried various…
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