Overcoming Childhood Trauma Often Starts with Escaping the Fight or Flight Response George and Betty’s doors were buttoned up tightly the day I stood on the side of my house metamorphosing into a twelve-year-old hustler. But smoke billowed from my neighbors’ chimney, so I knew they were home. They were my best option for getting…
Oh, the holidays. There’s so much hoopla about good tidings and cheer. We rush around buying gifts––even for people we don’t like because it’s the “right thing to do.” Then there’s all the mushy Hallmark movies and Christmas cards plastered with smiling faces recounting a year’s worth of “look what I did.” For a lot…
You may not know this about me, but I used to be a lawyer. Well, I’m still a lawyer, but I don’t practice anymore. But there was a time when all I wanted to do was defend criminals. Not because I had a warm and fuzzy feeling towards lawlessness. Actually, it was the opposite: I…
Were you raised in a “shame on you” household? I sure was. Maybe it was the era. Maybe it was my parents pushing me to be more. Or maybe it’s how they were raised. But I’ll tell you what—“shame on you” was a punishment that often hurt more than a bare butt spanking. But let’s…
What do you want more than anything right now? Go ahead. Name it, I’ll wait. Great. Now when you identify this thing or situation you want, is the energy surrounding it dripping with desperation? Does it feel anxious and clingy? Are you white-knuckling your dream? If so, let’s back up. There’s a magic to manifesting…
I hate skiing! I tried it years ago and I fell––a lot. I mean a lot. Heck, I even fell off the chairlift. And that wasn’t the really humiliating part, the real embarrassment occurred when a six-year-old gracefully glided off the lift four chairs later while I was still in a duck and cover position…
When’s the last time you grieved? If it’s been a while, you’re probably overdue. Grief is an essential emotion for long-term happiness. During a time of loss, it offers us the shelter to stay put and the freedom to move on. But it doesn’t always feel that way, does it? I know from experience that…
Have you been working out lately? Naturally, in the year of Covid, my usual exercise haunts are quieter than ever. Treadmills are empty. Pilates reformers are going unused. And, I continue to have a lot more personal space around my yoga mat—as I’ve been doing my downdogs at home. It’s important, especially this year, to…
In the days of Covid it’s easy to lose your holiday spirit. Even though a vaccine is on the horizon, they say it’s going to be a long, lonely winter before we feel its positive impact. So we’re told not to gather. Not to visit. Not to toast one another. Even the age-old tradition of…
In the days of Covid, I haven’t been sick once. Not a cold, sinus infection, or the flu. It could be because I’m not traveling. Or, because I’m constantly washing my hands and wearing a mask. Or maybe because I’m not hugging people. But I really think it’s because I supercharge my immune system. It’s…
We all do it from time to time. Whether we’ve felt slighted in a relationship or insulted by an in-law at Thanksgiving, we all hold grudges. A lot of why we hold grudges and refuse to forgive is subconscious. We walk around like a victim portraying a false sense of valor for the pain that…