Between Stimulus and Response Is the Answer to Anxiety.

Between Stimulus and Response Is the Answer to Anxiety.

...When we become distracted and our minds are preoccupied with the future, it can be very helpful to bring ourselves back to the present, which is where God’s grace is! The future is not yet, and God gives us the graces we need when we need them, and not a moment before. When we think too much about the future we cannot appreciate the present, which is all we really have. The future, when it arrives, will become our present, and if we do not learn to orient ourselves better to the present moment, the future will never arrive. We will end up spending most of our time and energy directed toward something that does not exist and perpetually miss out on what God is trying to give us right now. ..

Two Suggestions for Surviving the Holidays

Two Suggestions for Surviving the Holidays

...On the flip side, when there are things that can be controlled, control them! Anxiety and stress trick us into believing that we have no power over some scenarios, so we must fight the trap to be idle and take charge. “I can control how early I go to bed to ensure I am not exhausted in the morning.” “I can remove myself from the living room if my family is gossiping.” “I can teach my kids the importance of Christmas even if I don’t see my sibling doing so with their children.” We empower ourselves when we take control!..

Jesus: the Wonder-Counselor

Jesus: the Wonder-Counselor

...During their sorrowful journey, Jesus himself approaches and begins to walk with the two.  The Risen Lord is intuitively aware of their negative beliefs of course, but before admonishing them, he asks them to expound further about their distressed state.  What follows is arguably the longest continual one-way dialog anyone has with Jesus in the Gospels (Luke 24: 18-24).  It appears Jesus is simply allowing them to get grief, frustration, and hopelessness out of their system.  Nevertheless, Jesus knew that catharsis alone was not enough to transform these sojourners.  He understood that only by firmly calling them out on their irrational and unsubstantiated beliefs could progress be made....

Musings on the Heart

Musings on the Heart

...Some commented on social media that it is because people are turning to Satan instead of God. At the core of this there is truth, since evil certainly comes from the devil, and evil at times appears to be winning in our world and in our country. Yet this seems to imply that it takes an overt Satan-worshipper to perpetrate such an atrocity. While this might provide a modicum of comfort in a way, since one would have to go to the extreme of uttering some prayers to the fallen angel or pledging one’s being to him, I don’t believe this is necessarily the case. In the Gospel of Mark we are told that evil can have another source as well. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery…” (Mark 7:21) It’s a matter of the heart. The heart is a very powerful thing – much more powerful than any gun...

Why do health professionals use diagnosis and do I need one?

Why do health professionals use diagnosis and do I need one?

...A common factor in determining whether or not a diagnosis is warranted includes the individual’s level of functioning.  If academic functioning is falling below expectations and homework time is negatively impacting the functioning of the family (e.g., a 15 minute assignment takes an hour), that’s a good example of when to seek professional help...

A reminder from Hugh Hefner about Lust: an obsession of the mind and an allergy of the body.

A reminder from Hugh Hefner about Lust: an obsession of the mind and an allergy of the body.

...Obsession of the mind refers to the invasive and pervasive fantasies about sex which get stuck in the mind of an addict. These are often triggered (as well as fueled) by fears and resentments. Triggers are what we refer to in addiction as the starting point of the addictive process. The process moves from the trigger, to mental obsession, also called fantasy, to planning some sort of acting out behavior to relieve the obsession, to finally acting out (i.e. acting out through porn and masturbation) the final phase is guilt and remorse...

Paying for Play: Does therapy work for young children?

Paying for Play: Does therapy work for young children?

...Some parents may ask themselves why they cannot simply provide play therapy at home.  There are several reasons.  First, oftentimes at home, there are multiple distractions and the parents may not have the time to solely dedicate to play with the child while ignoring these distractions.  Or, the emotions and thoughts that need to be processed are related to the parent, disallowing the child to appropriately display their feelings with the parent present.  This does not mean that the parent is necessarily at fault for the child’s emotions or behaviors, but sometimes it is helpful for the child to have an outlet outside of the home...