Six months ago, my 8 years old niece announced that she wanted to learn how to sew. Every one of us became so excited about it because rarely does she declare an interest or passion for something that is new to her. Her dad went out and bought her a sewing machine, luckily he has some basic skills with sewing and he taught her the basics. For the next three months after that, she watched YouTube videos of sewing and will tell me who her favorite seamstress is. She will even tell me what thread colors she had bought, and so on. However, I had never seen her attempt to make anything.
Where are you, quality family time?
Looking around it is plain to see that so many of us out there lead hectic, over-scheduled lives. Twenty-four hours just does not seem sufficient to do everything we need to do in a day. Many of my clients express a desire for an additional hour, or two, or twelve–particularly parents. Having heard about the importance of early childhood experiences and their impact on development and attachments, parents/caregivers worry that the amount of time they spend with their child(ren) won’t be enough.
First aid for those that are stressed
This week, I’ve been listening to a series of NPR pieces about stress in the lives ofAmericans. I heard about a single mom with diabetes who is struggling to maintain her health; and about a single dad who is struggling to work full time and provide a normal life to his three children; and about a mother of two who had gone back to school to become a teacher and has been unable to find a job now that she has finally finished her degree.
Boredom
The hurricane, storm, cyclone (as our cell phone alert informs us) changed our plans for the 4th of July celebration. The city even moved the fireworks to the night before. Now, we are left with what do we do now? For some of us who has friends or family in the house, we at least have company, for those who were planning to head down to the Boston Esplanade, we now need to change our plans. The feelings of disappointment, annoyance and frustration set in. However, a feeling that we rarely think about is BOREDOM. How many TV shows can you catch up on On Demand, or the feeling that we really should be doing something else? We move from one task to another, without finishing the last thing because we feel bored doing something.
“My problem is not that serious!” The reality of alcohol related disorders
I have had various patients come to my practice wondering about their alcohol intake, how far from “normal” it is, and how close to “alcoholism” has it become. They fear the idea of becoming an alcoholic, often recognizing the illness by having lived with a family member, and other times simply fearing the idea of losing control. This fear has led to avoidance, and more often than not, a minimization of the effects of alcohol on that person’s life. The questioning itself is evidence of concern, and though most times patients provide the many reasons why their “problem is not that serious!”, there is often a sense of vagueness left in the room, a feeling of unfinished business, allowing for further exploration of the motivation for remaining the same or eliciting change.
Relationship life support: When is enough, enough?
In the fall, I attended a conference on couples therapy where I heard a speaker wonder if he, as a couples therapist, helped a couple stay together in a relationship that should have ended? It’s a good question. I wonder about that from time to time as well, but I have a hard time thinking of a moment when I would tell a couple that they should do anything. It feels heavy-handed to me.
