Students giving each other a high five

People-Pleasing: What It Is and How to Navigate It

What Is People-Pleasing Behavior? People-pleasing is very common. This usually means putting another person’s needs before your own and frequently results in doing things that make you uncomfortable or unhappy to make someone else happy or comfortable instead. A common example of people-pleasing behavior is saying “yes” to others without consideration of your own time […]

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Healthy Engagement with Sports

Sportsmanship (and compassion for people) is important in both the participation and viewing of sports Sports are a common past-time for many of us.  I was watching the big Bears/Packers rivalry game this week, and saw Aaron Rodgers leave the field with a very painful, and very distressing, injury. I went online to see if […]

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Peace Fingers Sign

When You (Accidentally) Offend Someone

It can feel terrible when you unintentionally offend someone.  It can happen in marriage, with friends, or at work.  It can even happen with people we don’t know well.  It happens to everyone at some point or another. None of us want to be responsible for someone feeling hurt or angry.  Handled poorly, it creates […]

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Angry Cat

What to Do When You’re Really Angry

Getting angry is a part of life. None of us will live a life free of stressors, and sometimes, whether we want it to or not, anger bubbles up as we try to deal with our stress. Anger is natural, but the behaviors that come out of anger can be scary, hurtful, and harmful. Below […]

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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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How to help your loved one with trauma

How to Help Your Loved One Cope with Trauma

Traumatic events and experiences can elicit a wide range of reactions.  In order to help your loved one cope with trauma, it helps to know some of the symptoms that people experience.  Here are a few: Crying, panicking, or intense fearfulness when reminded of the trauma Withdrawal or pulling away from others Having difficulty sleeping, […]

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Burnout

Burnout Can Be Real and Requires Care

Burnout is a common experience, particularly among high-achieving people.  It can occur in tweens, teens, and adults.  Often, burnout can occur as a result of employment roles, but also other care-giving roles, such as those of parents and helpers. What is burnout? Burnout is defined as a state of chronic, enduring stress.  It is characterized […]

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distressed by distraction

Distressed by Distraction

Distraction sneaks up on us. For example, Nina sits down to the computer. She has just a few things to get done, and she’s got maybe half an hour before she’ll have to get up, get dinner going, and get that load of laundry in the wash. As she starts to get working, she suddenly […]

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Disagreements Within Challenging Relationships

One of the more popular topics on this blog is dealing with disagreements Disagreements are challenging for everyone.  On this blog, we’ve written about how to recognize difficult people, as well as some tips for dealing with them. Some other great questions that have been asked about challenging relationships are: “What do you do when […]

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