In a conversation last week with a friend, I shared my anxiety about an upcoming skin cancer check-up. Less than a year has passed since my last surgery and the thought of a repeat had me uneasy. “Stay positive”, she responded. Her words made me reflect on the whole positivity movement and the latest buzz …
Art did not enter my life until my late thirties. Prior to that, I believed artistic ability was doled out to my mother and sisters only. Paintings, flower arranging, ceramic pottery, and creating garden design. They did them all beautifully. Then I went to Planet Bead, a little storefront in downtown Milwaukee. I discovered beads …
Through the darkness of this past winter, I have longed for the coming of spring. I imagined the warmth of the sun on my face, the chance to ride my bike, and opportunities to putter endlessly in my garden. So why am I feeling melancholy? As a cancer patient, I am keenly aware of the …
People are so interesting. And complex. And complicated. And still interesting. Being a therapist has given me a front row seat to viewing human behavior and I have found it fascinating over the past 36 years. For example, many of us have spent the last ten months restricted in one way or another. Some people …
I read an interesting article on the site, The Mighty last week and the writer’s thoughts have been whirling through my brain ever since. He spoke of the support he received during the surgery and treatment phase of his cancer and then the sudden loss of support once he had finished. It evoked memories of …
Just when I think I have arrived someplace, I find out that I haven’t arrived at all. I have simply briefly landed. This awareness was brought home in session with a client. But yesterday, it came to hit me again. So, let me take you back in time a little. I’ve been in bed with …
Last week, I began to take a downward turn. My energy was gone. I had trouble eating. My throat felt like it was being stabbed by a hot poker. I felt so bad by Friday that I did not go to a professional training for which I had already paid the tuition. Those of you …
You know how sometimes life just converges on you in such a way that you have to face something uncomfortable that you would rather just avoid? Yep, me too. I have been struggling with chronic pain for the past few months. My right forearm started with painful, hard lumps under the skin. Initially, I thought it was infected lymph …
This week the news media announced the suicide deaths of two young people who survived the tragic Parkland, Florida shooting. Many surmised that the sticky web of trauma, depression, and survivor guilt had caught them in despair so deep these young people only saw one way out. Death. I understood that process. Even in my …
Driving the back, country roads to my own therapy appointment, I reveled in the beauty of fall as I listened to a podcast with Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly. Brene was talking about how people struggle with painful experiences, but often talk about it afterwards by skipping the middle of the narrative. The story goes …
