Being a mental health counselor I thought I would be immune to all those “mood swings” and “pregnancy brain” symptoms pregnant women experience. I was mistaken and now realize that the effects pregnancy has on our emotions and thinking patterns are real.
Coloring Outside the Lines
The crush of September is upon us. Kids are going back to school. The perceived freedoms of summer are gone. We start to become more focused on work and responsibility. I hear about this every day. As I sit with people, I hear more stories of being overwhelmed and under rested.
Have Faith
When life is tough, we prefer to think that ‘the tough get going’. We like to believe that we are the masters of our own fate and destiny. Sorry, it’s not true. Have faith. That’s what we’re left with in moments of struggle, when we are really knocked to the canvas. Have faith. We can let go of our ambitions, see our hopes float away, see our best laid plans laid to waste, and after the anger and hurt subside, we can have faith…. Or we go back and try to play the game again.
Let’s Get Messy
So many people start a therapy process because they want real change. They want to change their relationship, their place in the world, their ability to cope with the things that stress them. People don’t want a band-aid, they want to experience a different way of being. When therapy is great, that is what people can experience.
A Moment for Pause
Today the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling that stated that marriage is no longer permitted to be solely between one man and one woman in this country. When the news hit the wires, I was in that rare moment between clients when I get to see what is actually happening in the outside world beyond the safe confines of my room. My browser exploded with messages from friends, family and colleagues about their reactions to this moment.
Faith Isn’t What You Know. It’s What You Believe.
My faith is a collection of ideas, beliefs, and even sentiments that I believe but don’t know for sure. In fact I can’t know it for sure. That’s why it’s called “faith” and not “knowledge”. I can “know” what the tenets of a faith are, like tenets of Judaism or Christianity, but I can’t really believe them until I come to them, myself, in my practices of faith; that is, in living life and bringing my faith practice into my life.