Ah, 1970’s TV. So weird. So wonderful. In the opening sequence for Kung Fu, Kwai Chang Caine brands himself with the dragon and tiger by lifting an iron pot full of red-hot coals with his bare arms. Ouch. There’s a reason shaolin masters are not found on every street corner. Like Caine (but thankfully without…
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When last we met I introduced you to Dr. Michel Dugas. One of Dr. Dugas’ claims to fame involves a clever metaphor: anxiety (specifically GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder) as an allergy to uncertainty. To Sneeze or Not To Sneeze Think about an allergy to dust or pollen. If anyone on earth gets a pile…
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Worry Worry Worry In my last post I promised to get into more detail about dealing with the anxiety and worries connected to uncertainty. Now, worry is no fun. So then, why don’t we stop worrying? It seems pretty straightforward, on the surface of it. If you are tired of worrying about uncertainty — which…
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Sometimes it seems like anxiety is trying to tell us something. Those tingly feelings in our guts do feel like a warning signal; alerting us to something serious and best not ignored. However, anxiety is not NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). I was listening recently to a discussion between 4 psychologists. One of them,…
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I started to write a post about a new intervention I’m offering, and it just didn’t seem like the right topic at the right time. As great as this new service is, it’s going to have to wait; because there are more pressing concerns these days. Seems to me — based on conversations I’ve been…
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We’re Facing Uncertain Times To fear or not to fear, that seems to be the question we (and by “we” I’m amazed at the fact that this includes pretty much the entire human race right now) are faced with. COVID-19 has accomplished some things. I’ve debated writing something about it. If you’re anything like me,…
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Tolerating Calm, Part 3 OK, I was planning to wrap-up this whole tolerating calm thing today. However… it ain’t gonna happen. I’m having too much fun writing about it. For the 3 people reading this blog (Hi Mom!) I promise I’ll get to the “how to fix it” stuff. Later. Two weeks ago, I wrote…
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Part 2 of Tolerating Calm How does one tolerate calm, when the state of calm can actually trigger anxiety? Well, psychotherapy has been on about this for a long time. It’s a big part of what I do every day. It Takes a Village I’m not alone and psychotherapy itself is not alone in helping…
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“Tolerating calm.” Say what, now? I’ll admit, when I first heard this phrase – tolerating calm – it sounded odd; almost an oxymoron. What’s to tolerate? It’s… calm. Calm itself can be quite pleasant. The young folk might use the word “chill” (or at least they did at some point; I can’t keep up with…
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