And

The Power of “AND”

“And” is a word that we don’t often think about.  It is quite powerful Let’s start by looking at the following examples “I really liked your presentation, but I think you could make a few improvements” What do you take away from that statement? Do you think you would walk away thinking “boy, that person […]

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Self-Care Practices for Work or School

“I should be able to do this better,” thinks April.  “I just can’t get this project to go well.  My work is so hard!”  April, like many people, is feeling frustrated and upset about a task at her workplace.  As a result, she blames herself, which likely increases her stress, sadness, and job satisfaction.  Some […]

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defusion

Defusion: You Are Not Your Thoughts

“I am so stupid, I can’t believe I did that!”  Cathy yelled out loud and hit her steering wheel.  Unintentionally, she just backed her car into a fire hydrant.  Her car was damaged, she was going to be late, and her stress was high.  Worst of all, at some point, she had to tell her […]

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perfectionism

Perfectionism: A Cultural Epidemic in Teens

Perfectionism, or the tendency to want to do everything flawlessly, is often associated with increased stress and anxiety.  Perfectionism combines excessively high personal standards (“I have to do my best at everything”), as well as feelings of failure if the person falls short of those benchmarks.  Oftentimes, our need to be perfect stems from fear.  […]

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sorry

Stop Saying “Sorry” So Much

The other day, someone bumped me with their cart on the way by, while I was quietly searching for a nice soup for lunch. And I turned around and said, “Oh, sorry!” A friend was talking to me about the loss of her pet, and when her tears came (which, of course they would) she […]

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Learning Disability

How to Talk to Your Child about Her Learning Disability

“Just like our fingerprints, people are all different.  It’s no surprise that we learn differently too.” The above explanation is one that I often provide to young people when they are diagnosed as having learning disabilities.  I also explain to them that most of the time, our schools teach the most common, and sometimes the […]

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