Do you find yourself anxiously ruminating over how to keep your family safe as gun violence seems to rage out of control in the world around you? You’re not alone in this anxiety.

Are you desperate to get off the psychotic merry-go-round of self-blame, intense external pressure, constant risk assessment, and the resulting feelings of profound inadequacy? Yes? You’re not alone.

Another reminder for you (and me!) to breathe…

The fight or flight response is nature’s adaptive way of helping you out in times of extreme distress. But too much of a good thing can become pretty darn bad. Whether it’s because the threat has subsided or that we have to give our nervous system a break despite the chronic presence of stress, we need some go-to strategies for when we’ve been triggered (or activated, to use a less contentious word).

Uncertainty makes it hard to plan. The inability to rely on plans leads to feeling out of control and let’s be honest, most of us reaalllly don’t like feeling out of control. In fact, taking control is often a tried and true coping mechanism when you’re feeling particularly anxious. But what do you do when things are totally out of your control?

Do you find yourself going to great lengths to avoid your problems, hoping they’ll go away with neglect? Many of us do, and most of us learn the hard way that our problems remain stubbornly present and may even have grown with all that inattention.

Are you feeling burned-out? When self-care feels inaccessible, turn to some self-compassion.

Are you finding yourself getting more and more overwhelmed by the seeming neverending-ness of surviving through the COVID? You’re not alone! How does one cope when so many of your coping mechanisms have been stripped from you?

As a therapist, I often preach the power of connection. But how do you access that connection in an era of social distancing?