Overcoming a Dysfunctional Litter
(Note: People instinctively work to keep the anxiety in their environment to a minimum all the time. I’ve read several great articles lately about effective ways to do this. This series is about ineffective ways people deal with their anxiety. If you’ve ever wondered at how some people behave, or what their motivations are, this [...]
(Note: People instinctively work to keep the anxiety in their environment to a minimum all the time. I’ve read several great articles lately about effective ways to do this. This series is about ineffective ways people deal with their anxiety. If you’ve ever wondered at how some people behave, or what their motivations are, this [...]
(Note: People instinctively work to keep the anxiety in their environment to a minimum all the time. I’ve read several great articles lately about effective ways to do this. This series is about ineffective ways people deal with their anxiety. If you’ve ever wondered at how some people behave, or what their motivations are, this [...]
I heard a story on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me the other day about a ban placed on triangular shaped flapjacks (in England, a flapjack is a granola bar, not a pancake) after a student was hit in the face with one. The sharp corners of the triangular-shaped bar could potentially put an eye out, [...]
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon, The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are [...]
One of the early casualties of growing up in a dysfunctional family is self-soothing, which is the ability to calm ourselves in times of stress; in particular, emotional stress such as anxiety, fear, sadness, and depression. The first rule of dysfunction is that a child’s emotional needs go unmet (this can take many different forms). [...]
When I was a girl, people were always telling me to smile. Adults of all kinds, from neighbors to teachers to total strangers, would say, “Smile! You’re such a pretty girl when you smile!” Because I didn’t have a lot of reason to smile, and because I hated being told what to do, even when [...]
Many years ago, when I was still going to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, I called my sponsor once with a whole litany of complaints. None of them were huge; it was just standard life stuff and one of my routine bouts with sadness; one of those days when everything seemed out of place and nothing [...]
Years ago, when Jim and I took our first vacation together, my sister and her family also went on vacation around the same time. The contrast between our itineraries was striking, to say the least. Jim and I took a motorcycle trip. We packed camping gear, so if we couldn’t find hotel vacancies, or happened [...]
It’s that time of year again. You know, lots of good food, parties, pretty lights, shopping, caroling, chestnuts roasting and sleigh bells ringing…For many people, it’s also the most stressful time of year. There is so much pressure! Pressure to spend too much money, pressure to find the perfect gifts, pressure to be cheerful even [...]