My interest in the concept of mindfulness began during graduate school, but I did not understand much about it or recognize its benefits until a few years later. I struggled in 2018 after my brother and I had to decide to remove our father from...
In the United States, discussion of individual therapy is at an all-time high. We more readily make the connection between the trying circumstances many of us are living through and the resultant impact on our mental health. Often, we expect there will be biases and barriers...
When I first took over ownership of Chicago Mindful Psychotherapy, there had been a monthly blog post written by the previous owner. I inherited this responsibility and, for the first few months, I put it off until the last minute and threw something together. Eventually...
What is Gaslighting? A lot has been written over the past six years about gaslighting, which is a form of psychological abuse that leads a victim to doubt their own sanity, perception of the world, and their own feelings. The term comes from a play by...
Sunday “scaries,” bubbling anxiety, paranoia, restless nights. One could say I am in active recovery from perfectionism. Not only that, but I have been setting the intention to separate myself from, and challenge, romanticized stories of hard work. The kind of hard work that celebrates...
Imagine you want to get back into running after not doing it for a year. If you expected yourself to be able to traverse the same distances you did previously without stopping, or match your personal best speed, you would likely be disappointed. You will be rusty....
Finding our way. What a statement. I write this in context as I stop to pause and think about the state of the world and the state of our hearts. There is always much uncertainty. There is much sadness. As much as we might like to...
By now, I imagine that most of us have heard about the concept of “hitting the pandemic wall” – a term popularized by Taniza Vega, a host from New York Public Radio. In addition to having heard this term, I imagine each of us can...
If you're reading this, you have survived 2020 and that in and of itself is a reason to be proud of yourself. Without a doubt, 2020 was a difficult year filled with sadness, fear, anxiety, and so many other emotions brought about by so...
This blog post will not be about the presidential election, but it would be silly not to acknowledge it. As I write this, Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election just a few hours ago. People, including many who were not excited...