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Serenity in an Age of Anxiety

      Selma* picked up her Zoloft and wondered for at least the hundredth time, if she could  stop taking it. Periodically, she cut it in half or if she was feeling particularly rebellious, skip a few doses.  She felt exactly the same. At least for a few days.  Then the anxiety would start creeping back.…

  Over the last twenty years it has become increasingly clear that inflammation is a major factor in chronic illness. Inflammation at the cellular level, that is, not a swollen ankle from an ill-advised snowboarding race or a bruised knee from a run-in with your credenza. The inflammation associated with diabetes, heart disease, dementia and…

  All anxiety narratives end with the fear that we are not lovable or worthy or the unspoken dread that life ultimately lacks meaning.  These doubts create fuzzy lenses that change otherwise neutral events into anxiety generators and insurmountable obstacles. An unanswered call becomes evidence that we are unloved.  A lost job morphs into proof…

      What do you worry about?  What keeps you up at night? The first step to mining your anxiety narrative is to identify and understand it. The narrative is a collection of reasons you have that keep the anxiety flowing. They are an artesian well of red herrings, even if many of them are understandably…

     ‘My review is coming up and I have no idea how I will fare,’ Brenda* worried out loud. She hated not knowing because if it was bad enough she could lose her job. She explained how a few people at her level had been laid off. Then again, she argued how qualified she was…

Now that you know a wise, fearless and kind Brilliant Counselor is available for the asking, here is how to access him/her/it.   Find a quiet and private place where you will not be interrupted. Sit in one chair and place an empty chair directly in front of you.   Imagine a BC is sitting…

Few people can afford all the therapy and coaching they want or need. Friends can fill some of the gaps and are invaluable but can be loath to point out the ways we contribute to our own problems.  Plus, if we tend to blatter on and on about a problem, their tolerance can have limits.…

    Before Paulo Coelho and Marianne Williamson had best-selling books advocating better living through love and connection, Einstein had taken the leap from theoretical physicist to metaphysician.  Metaphysics literally means beyond physics but is more generally used to describe a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of being, existence and reality.       Through…

Life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering- and it’s all over much too soon.  Woody Allen   Robert* was having trouble sleeping. His brain would not turn off. Was his business ever going to be successful?  There was barely enough money to pay the bills. Then there was dating, which was about as fun…

Always remember you are absolutely unique.  Just like everyone else.  Margaret Mead   Did you know that anxiety is now the most common mental condition in the U.S. affecting 40 million adults? The clinical categories including social anxiety, panic, obsessive compulsive, post-traumatic stress and generalized anxiety disorders are only the tip of the worry iceberg.…
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