Pain & Purpose

Pain is an inevitable and natural part of life.  No human being goes through life without experiencing loss, disappointment or other difficult emotions.  When we encounter painful circumstances and feelings, we think of them as something negative and want to get rid…

Feeling distressed about the way you look is something that society tells us is “inevitable.” We believe that body image distress is something we will all experience for our entire lives; that it’s just something we have to deal with. We’re taught…

It’s been a year since we first heard about a new viral illness impacting the world and began to shift our lives in response to it. We’ve been provided with suggestions and best practices from the CDC, at times changing and conflicting…

When we have negative thoughts about our body, we often believe that we will always feel negatively and that there is no other option. In fact, society seems to suggest that this is the case. The way you feel about your body…

In television and media, OCD is predominately portrayed as a fixation on cleanliness and order. Because of this, our society at large often fails to recognize that OCD can express itself in a number of different formats and dimensions.   While it is…

When you were a child, were you enlisted into adult conversations?  When the joys of youth could have been your top concern, were parents or guardians seeking your emotional and intellectual support? Were they involving you in complex discussions of divorce, financial…

A few months ago I wrote about “What if…”, some of the intrusive thoughts that cause us to worry about all sorts of future scenarios. As I thought about how I wanted to wrap up the year, “why’s” came to mind. These…

We all have those moments when it becomes very difficult to communicate with a loved one. Maybe we’ve had a bad day and are in a terrible mood, maybe it’s a really sensitive subject, or maybe the other person just cannot see…

Talking about New Year’s resolutions becomes quite a hot topic in the last few weeks of the year. After reflecting on the highs and lows of the past 365 days, it’s common to feel motivated by the blank slate of a new…

Reflection. A word to sum up this year. A year of hopes and plans that would ultimately be disrupted. A year of canceled gatherings, traditions, and travel itineraries. This year forced us to take a pause from the external world and turn…