Stress is a natural reaction to threatening situations in life. Often, it kicks in our primitive “fight-or-flight” reflex leading us to believe we have only those two options. This common misconception is not only not true, it can be downright dangerous. Taken at face value, stress makes our thinking more myopic. The trouble here is that by getting sucked in…

In my field, I see a lot of families who do a lot of therapy. Granted, this is a great problem to have as it shows the family is motivated, engaged, and invested. Still, when problems arise, more often than not my suggestion is NOT for more therapy. In many cases, my suggestion to the parents goes something like this:…

The Symptoms of Stress According to the website, http://www.healthline.com/health/stress/effects-on-body,  “untamed” (my term, not theirs) chronic stress can have numerous negative effects on various components of our health.  The following is a brief synopsis on how each body system is affected by stress. Mentally, Emotionally and Socially             Symptoms of chronic stress include irritability, anxiety, and depression. You may suffer from…

Dieting… blah! For many of us, when we hear the word “diet” we cringe. The word itself brings about thoughts of restriction, giving up of our favorite foods, and confusion: eat this, don’t eat that, etc. Going on a diet becomes a chore. Sometimes we have the will power to stick with it for a bit, but more often than…

At the surface, this may seem a bit counter-intuitive; that retreating from one’s emotions would be the first step in mastering them. Yet, it’s most often the case that when we react impulsively and emotionally that we get ourselves into trouble. We’re reactive before we’re reflective.  It’s Not Always a Straight Path to Move Ahead In addition to giving us time…

You Don’t Have to be a Therapist to be Therapeutic I was recently watching an online video by author and entrepreneur, Gary Vee, that really impressed me. It was a short video; simple and to the point. While riding to and from appointments throughout the day, he simply filmed himself making three-minute phone calls to several of his fans just…

Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail It takes three primary characteristics to thrive as an entrepreneur: Humility, Enthusiasm, and Hustle. Most entrepreneurs fail because one or all of these characteristics is lacking. Humility I mention humility first because there is always a learning curve when starting your own business. If you assume you know it all, you can do it on your…

LIFE OUT OF BALANCE: HOWARD’S STORY When I tell people that I used to weigh 315 pounds, their initial response is usually something like, “I can’t believe it.” If the first question is, “How did you lose the weight?” The second question is “How did you get so heavy in the first place?” Followed by something like, “No offense intended.”…

Stress: Negative Threat or Positive Challenge?    Stress is always better utilized when regarded as a “positive challenge” rather than a negative threat. For example, think of Tough Mudders. Tough Mudders are 10 to 12 mile runs with 25 obstacles in between. People crawl in mud under barb wire, jump in freezing, ice-cold water, and even voluntarily risk getting shocked….

The 10 Principles of Goal Setting   We all know that most New Year’s goals fail. “Eat better, exercise more, quit smoking.” They’re vague and lack any real depth or planning. The fact is most of us don’t know how to set real goals. I wrote this article to show people how to turn their dreams into reality. My dream was…