Ideas on Mental Health & Meaning
Back to Normal?
You may have heard me say this before, but "normal" is not a point along a spectrum with a defined set of criteria. No, "normal" is the spectrum itself. There is a wide range of "normal" that is considered to be within acceptable limits. That being said, we've...
“Liminal Space”
Many times in my reading, I find an author who expands on my thoughts or ideas in a much more powerful way than I ever could. That happened this morning, so I thought I would share it with you - it's similar to what I have been writing about throughout the virus...
Love & Podcasts in the Time of COVID-quarantine
I don't know about you, but it's hard to be the most loving husband and father after being in the same house nearly 24-hours a day for the past several weeks. This is a trying time - a fascinating one if you let it be - but a difficult one for many of us. I found...
Who Will You Be?
When this is all over - when the world returns to "normal", or the new normal it will be, Who will you be? Many of you may have just celebrated the holiday of Easter, a holiday of rebirth and resurrection - with a season of preparation and contemplation leading up to...
Almost Lost It All
If you read my Monday morning email last week, you know that this site was hacked, and I almost lost the whole thing - several years of articles and blog posts and all the related information that promotes my practice. Obviously, I didn't lose it, it's still here. ...
Be Her Hero
I read a lot to stay on top of the latest developments in my field, as well as to grow personally. Usually I have stack of books next to my "reading chair", a stack up on my desk, a few downstairs in the basement, and my ever-present Kindle in my backpack. I like to...
What is Love?
Last week, I discussed the idea of "what makes a man", or even "a good man". The final idea was that a good man "loves defiantly", or loves better than what our current culture expects of him. But, what is "love"? It's a difficult concept that philosophers,...
What Makes a Man?
Men, we've got a problem - many of us don't know what it means to be a man. We know it. Our wives, girlfriends, co-workers, daughters, and female friends know it. We've been getting some mixed messages for a while, and it hasn't been easy - we can blame society,...
The Four Horsemen of Relationship Apocalypse
Hopefully your Valentine's Day last week was an enjoyable one - maybe you enjoyed a nice dinner out and some connecting conversation, or perhaps a quiet evening and home and some closeness. But if not, if Valentine's Day was a source of relationship stress,...
How to Discover Meaning
"Man is a being in search of Meaning." - Viktor Frankl So how do we find meaning in our lives? The simple "How To Guide": We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or...
But I Just Want to be Happy!
"But I just want to be happy - why can't that just be easier?" That was the statement from my teenage daughter during one of "those" discussions about life, the future, responsibility, success, etc. I feel for her. It can't be easy - it wasn't easy when I was her...
Next Level Self-Care
In our stressed-out, 80-hour work week, 5-hours of sleep per night, skip meals, work smarter not harder, hyper-connected, teched out world, we've recently started to hear more about "self-care" - the idea of taking time for yourself. As a clinician, I remember quite...