Mental health Expert Voices Today

Making Lemonade from Lemons

Have you ever listened to a promo for the 11:00 news and heard something like this: “Family’s house burns down, all is lost, stay tuned at 11:00.” Then you listen in and, in fact, all has been lost -- the house as well as all the belongings. Yet, the family is interviewed and manages to seem okay reporting that at least they all made it out including the cat. The kicker is that they also report looking forward to the opportunity to building a new and better house! Why is it that some people can face adversity without experiencing so much stress? How is it that some people can deal with challenges and see them as opportunities? It turns out that these individuals have a trait called hardiness. Some background More…

Come Out of Your Comfort Zone and Grow

I’m just back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Truth be told, these were never destinations that were on my short list. The motivation to go came from the fact that my daughter has been working in Australia for almost a year and I wanted to see her. The timing of the trip was determined by my school calendar -- I was in between semesters. Well, that had both an upside and a downside. It gave us enough time to do this lengthy voyage (both in getting there and in order to see the sights) but it took us away from the usual holiday festivities with friends at the Holiday Season. So, in all honesty, I was not making this journey in total excitement; rather, there was a bit of anxiety or discomfort. It is the latter that provokes the theme of this blog. More…

New Year – A Time for Change Part 2

So, have you started on those resolutions yet? How’s it going? I truly hope you read and re-read the skills I offered in last week’s blog. They really will help you achieve the results you want. As promised, today’s posting will talk about change as it pertains to your relationships. I think that there are a lot of expectations and misperceptions in this area. Hopefully, my writing will help to clarify some of these so you can have a better relationship in 2009! Some basics to watch out for More…

Gaining Wisdom

In the middle of a very troubling customer experience yesterday, I came to a very pleasant conclusion: I am glad I am not young any more. I was trying to cancel a service I receive from a utility. (I won't name them because Verizon gets enough bad press as it is. Just Goggle "Verizon" and "customer service." You'll see.) Canceling the service took four separate calls and a total of 1 hour and 13 minutes on hold--my phone has a built in timer, and I kept a running tab. Somewhere around the third call, when I finally got through, I mentioned all the time I was spending on hold. The person on the other end said, "oh. You called on Monday. That's our busiest day." Right then I realized no baby boomer designed Verizon's customer service program. More…

New Year – A Time for Change Part 1

First, let me start out by wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! I hope that 2009 brings all of you the best and all that you wish for. Generally, you tend to think about the New Year as a time that marks change. And so, I’d like to address several components regarding change apropos to the tradition. In order to look at this subject from different aspects, I’m going to discuss it both in this week’s blog and next week. Today, I’ll address New Year’s Resolutions. After all, I’m sure many of you made some! More…

Health and Happiness

I just returned from a lengthy trip that included stops in Israel, Egypt, Morocco, and Spain. The trip was planned with a loose itinerary because the best travel is the unexplored and the adventures you experience along the way. When you travel you open yourself up to experiences outside the safety of your nest. More…

Being Grateful in Difficult Times

No doubt, you are all aware that the Holiday Season is upon us. The calendar says so. Perhaps some of you are hosting the Thanksgiving dinner and, therefore, are a bit more sensitive to the upcoming traditional time to celebrate. Yet, in these recent economic times, for many of you, it will be difficult to think in terms of celebrating. Rather, in times when things are tough, the contradiction in emotions may even bring on a sense of intense anxiety. Clearly, soon after Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chanukah and Kwanzaa occur. This year, especially, it may be a hardship to make the usual purchases. Hard to find the good More…

Imagine Your Way to Success

Ever seem like what's in front of you is more or less hopeless? That's happened to me. I showed up recently at the Minnesota State Fair to give a brief but important (to me) presentation as part of Minnesota's sesquicentennial (150 years) celebration. In a big chautauqua tent, I was scheduled to give a short, audience-engaging presentation on body wisdom twice between panel presentations by high-powered speakers. More…

Put More Fun into Your Work

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Coming Back

I cannot do everything, but I still can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do. – Edward Everett Hale More…