Year: 2011
My latest blog on Pamela’s Punch is about Why Facebook May be Bad for Your Psychological Well-Being.
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While reading an article on mindful gift giving, I realized that some of the best relationship advice during the holidays is to take stock of inherited traditions. What worked at one time, may not work as well anymore, especially regarding gift-giving. Many families debate, anguish, and obsess over the best way to give gifts. Pick […]
READ ARTICLEOnly a few states grant gay couples the right to marry and in states that do so many gay couples have rushed to exercise that right. My partner of sixteen years and I tied the knot soon after marriage became legal here in D.C. in 2010. Early in our relationship it felt risky for me […]
READ ARTICLEMy latest Pamela’s Punch blog, When the Honeymoon is Over: How to Keep the Love Alive, takes a look at the “honeymoon phase” in relationships and how it can dissipate relatively quickly. What happens to us during the honeymoon phase and how can we nurture our relationship to be deeper and more powerful than we […]
READ ARTICLEMy most recent article in Counseling Today magazine examines how sexual addiction impacts couples and how counseling can help both partners on the path to recovery. I was particularly intrigued by a book one of my sources, Barbara Steffens, co-authored, Your Sexually Addicted Spouse: How Partners Can Cope and Heal. Steffens rejects the typical co-addiction/co-dependency […]
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There’s no denying it — Thanksgiving is here. “Black Friday” deals have been advertised for the last week, grocery stores are crowded and picked over, and therapists write about the many benefits of gratitude. Some of us are excited, making holiday plans and looking forward to the coming season. Others of us have a sinking […]
READ ARTICLEThe title of Byron Katie’s book, Loving What Is, speaks for itself. Instead of wanting what is not, we can learn to accept and even love what is, which Byron Katie calls reality. It is human nature to want more. We think more is better and that more will fulfill us and make us feel […]
READ ARTICLEOurs is a culture of striving. Our conditioning is to try to accomplish more and to be more efficient, controlled, smart, spiritual, or _______ [fill in the blank]. We should be better professionals, friends, partners, parents, or have better stuff, jobs, friends, partners, or bosses. We should even need to be more grateful! More is […]
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“The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything.” – Albert Schweitzer. Great wisdom, but as it turns out “penetrating the mystery of life” is easier said than done, especially when our brains instinctively […]
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Giving thanks can be a complicated process. We often don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it. Loss opens our eyes to what we truly value and whom we truly depend on. Growing up Thanksgiving was filled with noisy children, warm moments and the good scents coming from my mother’s kitchen, a superb cook. […]
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