“Everyone has the ability to increase resilience to stress. Training your brain to manage stress won’t just affect the quality of your life, but perhaps even the length of it.” – Amy Morin How many of you have ever heard the statement, “you need to remain calm in a demanding […]

STRESS! USE & CONTROL; DON’T BE ABUSED & DEBILITATED!

The good Lord made us all out of iron. Then he turns up the heat to forge some of us into steel. – Marie Osmond Throughout my years as a therapist, I have been privileged with meeting many people who have overcome and dealt with many things that most of […]

THE TRUTH ABOUT PAIN & SUFFERING YOU MUST KNOW

It takes strength to make your way through grief, to grab hold of life let it pull you forward. – Patti Davis When someone you know is going to die, you have a chance to prepare; at least a little. However, the unexpected and sudden death of a loved one […]

FACING THE SUDDEN DEATH OF A LOVED ONE

There is always in an inner game being played in your mind no matter what outer game you are playing. How you play this game usually makes the difference between success and failure. – Tim Gallwey Facing difficult circumstances and challenges can be quite difficult for anyone. Losing a loved […]

ARE YOU A VICTIM OR A RESILIENT?

The climb might be tough and challenging, but the view is worth it. There is purpose for that pain; you just can’t always see it right away. – Victoria Arlen Many times throughout your life you will deal with stress and the struggles of life. There will be events in […]

LOST IN THE FOG OF LIFE’S PAIN? You Need Psychological ...

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. – John Muir The pain of life surrounds me and almost seems to consume my very existence. I didn’t ask for this. My life is […]

ANTIDOTE FOR LIFE’S PAIN: NATURE’S LOVING HUG

All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming. – Helen Keller Many times in our lives we are subjected to other people’s negative comments or actions. Pretty much, you find that others, at times, will say and do something that just absolutely triggers a very […]

WEEDS OR FLOWERS? HOW TO DEAL WITH THE MANURE OF ...

“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway” – Steve Maraboli     A recent Gallup poll revealed that America is the most stressed nation on earth! In fact, the research noted that this year Americans reported the highest level of stress, anger, […]

ARE AMERICANS ADDICTED TO STRESS? Time for Recovery!

We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. – Stephen King Do you know anyone that can undo the past? I certainly don’t! If someone makes a mistake and we tell them what they “should” have done, they will resent us even if we were right. They […]

How to Handle Mistakes: Stop Shaming & Start Shaping

There is no physical fixed reality, no single perception of the world, just numerous ways of interpreting world views…  – Deepak Chopra Ever watched a scary movie? If so, can you remember some of those scary scenes that just freaked you out? How did the producer of that movie get […]

How to Start Overcoming Anything

When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. – John Wooden Imagine you are playing in the biggest game of your life; that game could be an actual sporting game or just simply something truly challenging you are facing. As you imagine being in this challenging situation, […]

AN UNDEFEATED MINDSET: RHINO

Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything! – Deepak Chopra From my patients to friends and colleagues, it seems everyone is way too stressed out. They all seem to be complaining of the same things: “they’re tired,” “they’re anxious,” “they are operating with little […]

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM BRAIN DRAIN?

“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” – Ralph Martson Many of us struggle a great deal with being stressed out or even burned out! We all have so many things in our day to day lives to […]

What is the best work-to-rest ratio for peak performance?

When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. —DALE CARNEGIE   Learning to survive and prosper in the jungle of life takes more than just luck and hope; you need to be […]

DON’T JUST HAND OVER YOUR POWER TO FEEL BETTER!

Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality. – John Gardner   Self-pity. Or, just plain feeling sorry for yourself is a lot more dangerous than you think. Self-pity is a soldier of death. The more […]

STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF

The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects. – Lord Jeffrey   “He made me do it.” “My whole day is wrecked because of you!” My life is wrecked because of this!” If my husband could just do […]

HOW BLAMING TAKES AWAY YOUR POWER

I have to remember it is not love that has hurt me; but someone who could not love me in the right way – R. Y. S. Perez   For most couples it is not hard to learn to get along and play house. Pretty much each person settles into […]

5 Signs of an Emotionally Healthy Relationship

The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance. – Jodi Picoult   Over the holidays, many of us had a wonderful time spending time with family members, getting and receiving gifts, and celebrating with friends. However, many of us […]

THE 3 P’s OF RESILIENCE; HOW TO BOUNCE BACK!

If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy. – Dale Carnegie   Many of us have heard the stories of countless heroes who have faced some of the scariest events in life and then were deemed fearless; as if […]

TWO SIMPLE STEPS TO MANAGE FEAR THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO ...

The lizard brain is not merely a concept. It’s real, and it’s living on the top of your spine, fighting for your survival.” – Seth Godin   Many of you may be shocked to hear that we all have a lizard brain! Now I am not saying that we all […]

YOUR LIZARD BRAIN NEEDS A BREAK!

“When we allow negative messages to fester in our head, they take on a life of their own.” Lolly Daskal   Our mental mindset and behaviors have a great impact upon the quality of our lives. We want the best, but there are 10 types of cancers out there that […]

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THESE 10 LIFE DEPLETING CANCERS?

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.  – Aristotle   Back to school time can be a stressful and trying time for teachers and parents. Remembering to breathe can sometimes be a struggle, LOL. The following is a list of 8 items that are essential for […]

Your Back-to-School Toolkit!

One of the fastest ways to hurt your brain is to get less than seven or eight hours of sleep at night. – Daniel G. Amen   We live in a world where concussions are being taken very seriously. Youth sports coaches are being highly trained to recognize concussions and […]

IMPACT OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON YOUR BRAIN!

Rumination tends to be eased if we learn to be mindful. – Peter Kinderman   Have you ever heard of the word, “Ruminate?” I am pretty sure most of you have. Then again, have YOU ever ruminated about a past troubling event? If so, you might like this quick article. […]

QUIT CHEWING ON YOUR MENTAL CUD!

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”  – Robert Brault   I am not a fan of snakes, in fact, many know that I am quite afraid of those darn snakes. Ever been bitten by poisonous snake? I can’t […]

FEELING STRESSED? TRY THIS ANTIDOTE

If you can’t be flexible in life, you become irritable with life. – Anonymous   I grew up right on the border between North Dakota and Minnesota and definitely know what a flood is like. The border is guided by the Red River of the North which is the only […]

THE HALLMARK OF HEALTHY HAPPY HUMANS

He sat in his room and felt so alone. He struggled to breathe and other times wondered if he should even keep on breathing. It was incredibly draining for him to pretend to be ok. He wanted to cry, but refused. He felt like he was drowning. His life seemed […]

A STORY OF HITTING ROCK BOTTOM AND A NEW BEGINNING

What happens to us when we become too stressed or too emotional? Quite simply, biology kicks in and affects our ability to mentally perform. Every human will at some point experience this and knowing what happens and how to control it can save relationships, jobs, and many other life experiences. […]

HOW BIOLOGY AFFECTS YOUR ABILITY TO MENTALLY PERFORM

Many of us understand the effects of alcohol intoxication. We seem to notice that our perceptions are altered, reaction time is slowed, we tend to do things we wouldn’t normally do, heart rate is lowered, fine motor functioning is impaired and eventually gross motor functioning is impaired. Pretty much we […]

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN EMOTIONALLY INTOXICATED?

Many of us have heard the stories of countless heroes who have faced some of the scariest events in life and then were deemed fearless; as if they didn’t have any fear. In fact, an outfitting company has coined the phrase “No Fear.”   We also hear of numerous stories […]

TWO SIMPLE STEPS TO MANAGE FEAR

It simply comes down to this: do you want to operate with a healthy brain or an unhealthy brain? Which do you prefer?   At my therapy office in Sterling, Colorado, many people are seeking out treatment and not wanting to be put on any medication. Rather, they are looking […]

WHEN DOES A PERSON NEED A MENTAL HEALTH MEDICATION?

How many of us become worn out as the day goes on? Or, worse yet, are already worn out even before the day has begun?   The term “durable” can be defined as capable of withstanding wear and tear. When we apply this term to our mental fortitude, we can […]

YOUR BEST ALLY AGAINST STRESS!

How many times do you feel yourself struggling with stress or feeling worried? If you are like many Americans, you may feel like such feelings are normal and may have no idea how actually stressed you really are.   Stress and worry can feel absolutely miserable and painful. However, how […]

STRESSED? WORRIED? YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!

Anxiety attacks can be awful, frightening, intense, and seem like you are out of control. Symptoms of an anxiety attack can include: overwhelming fear, feel like going crazy, feel like losing control, a surge of doom and gloom, urgency to escape, dizziness, heart palpitations, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain […]

HOW TO HEAL AND RECOVER FROM STRESS/ANXIETY ATTACK

When you are driving down a busy intersection with lots of cars and people around you, do you speed up? Or do you slow down? Hopefully, you slow down. By slowing down you tend to feel more in control of the vehicle; thereby eliminating the chance of causing a horrendous […]

HOW TO CALM YOUR MIND AND BODY

Depression silently enters the room unannounced and uses its sticky fingers to tighten its grip upon its victim. The victim, unaware of depression’s presence, begins to feel sad and starts to withdraw or isolate from others just falling right into depression’s hands and the grip is tightened. Once feeling down […]

BEAT DEPRESSION WITH A SIMPLE 1 – 2 PUNCH!