4 results for tag: Denial


My Fantasy of the Dalai Lama was Shattered & I am Sad Today

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed yesterday and noticed that a friend I respect and admire had made a casual, sarcastic, and off-putting comment about the Dalai Lama. My initial reaction was, “What the f*ck?” Anger, betrayal, and rejection of my friend, not the Dalai Lama, rose inside me. She is not somebody who typically speaks harshly of people. So, I did what we do in 2023. I did a Google search on the Dalai Lama. The first eight were articles about him and his life. When I read the ninth, my heart sank and my spine went limp for a split second. “The Dalai Lama asks a boy to suck his tongue.” I resisted opening the ...

9 Things your Therapist wants you to Know

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this essay on things your therapist wants you to know! As a counselor, I often want to share many of the elements the author describes below. Many people make assumptions about therapists and counselors and what we know, don't know, or what we are like when we are not meeting with clients. I tend to chuckle when folks assume that I am someone that goes to bed early, gets up at dawn to meditate, and rarely if ever, goes out and comes home late at night, which I do often! Therapists and counselors are rarely shocked by your experiences or traumas. For someone like me that has been doing this since 1993, I have been present with folks sharing their experiences, challenges, and obstacles for a long time. I have also experienced plenty in my own life. I am ready for whatever your particular brand of mess or chaos that is your life. We all have messes in our lives!...

10 COVID-19 Emotions You’re Not the Only One Having

This is an incredibly helpful and informative article on coping with COVID-19 emotions. The suggestions for identifying what we are experiencing and knowing we are not the only ones going through this challenging period in human history is supportive and inclusive. This is the first time in human history that such a global pandemic has occurred since the internet, news media and social media has been as entrenched in our lives as it is now. We are experiencing an extremely high level of COVID-19 emotions that we're not present during other global pandemics. The reasons are two very critical situations - we did not know the specifics of what was happening throughout the world as we do now, and there is such a high degree of misinformation creating fear, confusion and distrust that did not exist previously. Anybody can post a blog on COVID-19 without any medical or pandemic knowledge or training, and find an audience of people that will believe them, make decisions based on the misinformation and spread false recommendations that others will share with others. This is harmful to our collective wellbeing on so many levels! Please be gentle with yourself. You are NOT supposed to be OK. We are all experiencing a wide range of COVID-19 emotions that are loud and at times overwhelming. Please be gentle with yourself, and ask for help if needed. 10 COVID-19 Emotions You're Not the Only One Having - Michael Swerdloff - Providence Holistic Counseling, Coaching and Reiki ...

A Year Without Alcohol

A Year Without Alcohol is an awesome blog post by Kelly Fitzgerald about her year without alcohol. Kelly's experiences are fairly normal for someone making a choice to become sober, leading a sober lifestyle. I am including her story because it is important for people to read the experiences of those who may be going through something similar and know it can and will get better. ...