Everything in balance

 The holiday season, while filled with celebration and connection, often brings a surprising amount of pressure. Between family expectations, financial demands, and the rush to “make everything perfect,” stress can build quickly. Fortunately, there are simple and intentional ways to reclaim calm during this busy time. Photo by Octavian Iordache on Unsplash One powerful strategy is setting boundaries . Holidays tend to blur personal limits—saying yes to every event, every request, and every responsibility. Choosing what truly matters and letting go of the rest can create space to breathe. Whether that means declining an invitation, limiting spending, or carving out quiet time, boundaries help protect both energy and emotional well-being. Another way to destress is by embracing small rituals of self-care . These don’t need to be elaborate: a warm cup of tea before bed, a morning walk in cold air, a few minutes of journaling, or playing a favorite holiday playlist. Consistent micro-...

  Photo by Carles Rabada on Unsplash Somewhere along the way, our society started confusing punishment for crimes with containment — and containment with care. Jails and prisons were designed to hold people who choose to break the law of the land. Laws that have been reviewed and established as true and within the constructs of the U.S. Constitution. The criminal justice system was built to contain crime—not to care for those battling mental illness. Prisons were never designed for people who hold extreme beliefs—only for those who act on them in ways that violate the law. Words alone should never warrant punishment, let alone death. Every year, thousands of people with serious mental health conditions are funneled into the criminal justice system—not because they’re inherently dangerous, but because they’ve broken laws as a result of untreated mental illness. Our systems of care continue to fail them. When someone is psychotic, manic, or deeply depressed and doesn’t receive tim...

     Photo by  Jon Tyson  on  Unsplash      I n a world that claims to value free speech, it’s striking how often truth-telling is punished. Not with handcuffs or censorship, but with subtler weapons: professional isolation, social backlash, reputational smears, and the quiet erosion of trust and HARD WEAPONS (again) as of last week a with a shot heard around the world! For many, especially those in education, healthcare, the justice system, and faith-based organizations, expressing an honest opinion can feel like walking through a minefield. They push you to obey, follow, and parrot the powerful; they demand alignment, or at the very least, silence! 🔍 The Emotional Toll of Self-Censorship Silencing oneself isn’t just a strategic move—it’s a psychological burden. Over time, the internal conflict between what we know and what we’re allowed to say breeds: Chronic anxiety: second-guessing every word, every post, every conversation. Moral fatigu...

 ⚖️ Are Judges Trained to Deal with Mental Illness? Spoiler: No they are NOT! And that’s a problem                                                   Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who was arrested on Aug. 22 after he fatally stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska. (abc.com)  The suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown  had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia, his sister Tracey Brown said. She said her brother told her multiple times the government had implanted a chip in him. (cnn.com)  What is justice in this case? Death penalty? life in prison? Life in a Hospital for the criminally insane?  The history of this man is woven with chances to protect society and get him help but time and time again the system failed to do both or did it fail? Failure, in this case means you ...

  I used to think as a therapist that getting people to the space of healing was a destination. That at some point, the person would have a moment, like walking up to a mountaintop, where the pain would vanish, and the view would be clear. That is a false hope! Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash The true way to see self-healing is as hard work. Healing is more like tending a garden in soil that's hard, uncared for, abandoned, and weed-filled. We bought a new house and found a lot of sand and stones where our garden needed to grow. I would have easily said, "No, we'll just buy from the farmer's market!" But, one must first decide to do the work, and that can be very intimidating. My wife said we could do it, and we DID! Watching that sand transform into a thin garden in year one, then a lush garden in year two and beyond, the connection hit me hard: this is what I've been doing with people for over 24 years. Therapy is much like tending this garden. Initially, ...

  CALM in PTSD SURGE When PTSD flares up, time becomes elastic. A smell, a sound, a shadow—any one of them can hurl you out of the present and into a flood of memory and fear. These moments don’t ask permission, they don’t play fair and you do not have warning most of the time.  I teach the targeted and focused process of grounding as it can help reestablish safety, gently coaxing the nervous system out of panic and back into now. 🌀 What Is Grounding? Grounding is the practice of anchoring yourself in the present moment. It's not about denying your past or suppressing emotion—it's about regaining control during an emotional hijack of the here and now. Some grounding techniques are sensory: Touch grounding: Holding an object and focusing on the physical interaction of your skin and thoughts while holding an object. It can be a specific object of any random object that is close by such as an as a small stone you carry with you, an ice cube out of glass of soda, pen, coins ...