Helping humans one email at a time
Helping humans one email at a time
A new method of therapy called Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is spreading quickly in Europe but not yet in the US. Early research shows that it’s more effective than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which for decades has been the gold standard of evidence-based therapy. In addition to anxiety and depression, MCT is also being used to […]
Stop Overthinking with Metacognitive Tools Read More »
I recorded this short guided meditation to offer an easy kind of “Mindfulness 101” practice. It works as a stand-alone experience or as a way to get into a settled, open state of mind for writing or reflection. It can also support relaxation before bedtime. I record custom meditations and guided visualizations for my clients
A Short Guided Meditation to Relax and Be Aware Read More »
This short piece is one of the best I’ve read on releasing the grip of our control freak selves. It’s a timely word here in the midst of various holiday seasons and the turning of the new year. May it land with an exhale in your day.
A Gem for Us Control Freaks Read More »
WRITE A LETTER YOU DON’T SEND Write a letter freely, without editing, to someone with whom you have unfinished business, or to someone you imagine would be a friendly audience for your thoughts. Some people work stuff out with their parents (or children) this way, without ever sending the letter, or with people who have
A Baker’s Dozen of Writing Practices to Fuel Insight Read More »
Psychologist Michael Greenberg lays out four different kinds of compulsive thinking traps we often get caught in. I’ve done all of these at one time or another and am glad to have them laid out so I can catch them when they crop up. Rumination is a common but very unhelpful habit that fuels unhappiness
Pay Attention to these thinking traps Read More »
When we circle around and around on a topic in a tight, repetitive way — that’s ruminating. Our minds will try to convince us that we’re solving a problem when we’re actually just stirring the same tired mud puddle. And often the feeling tone of rumination is negative, whether it’s worry, regret, or self-criticism. Problems
Stop ruminating: it’ll make a big difference in your life Read More »
This dharma talk is from one of my favorite Buddhist teachers on the topic of relating to subjective time pressure. Take a listen and 25 minutes later, you’re likely to experience a perspective shift. In it he reads a poem by Mary Howe called The Moment: Oh, the coming-out-of-nowhere moment when, nothing happens no what-have-I-to-do-today-list maybe half
Does Time Feel Like Your Enemy? Read More »
The five techniques described in this short piece loosen the grip that sticky thoughts have on us. The TED talk on that same page about developing psychological flexibility is really good as well. The short-hand for these practices is “thought defusion” and in short they are: Our sticky thoughts often get to run the show
Making difficult Thoughts Less Sticky Read More »
Take a look at this site with tree root drawings. Here’s one of the humble Scots Pine — isn’t that amazing? Look up your favorite tree and appreciate it in its fullness (you’ll need to look up its scientific name first if you don’t know it already). We humans walk around on top of the
Trees: There’s More to Reality Than We see Read More »
This wonderful piece gives a quick rundown on the researched benefits of the big non-drug things that support mental health: art, music, reading, physical activity, nature, laughter, yoga, sleep, sunshine, social connection, being kind, feeling grateful. Let us find ways to bathe in an abundance of these things every day! (Various medications are still very
Music, Reading, laughter, moving: non-drug prescriptions for mental health Read More »