The feeling of alienation is a very painful one. People in pain want to relieve their discomfort. The trouble is that they are not qualified to diagnose the origins of their pain nor to prescribe an appropriate course of treatment. This is not a DIY situation. They will misdiagnose the
Read More
Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger July 6, 2018
For as long as America has been a country, men have been king of the hill. However, many men have had difficulty adjusting to relatively recent societal shifts from the increasingly powerful role of women in the workplace to the acceptance of same-sex relationships. With globalization, automation, the decline of
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger July 2, 2018
When therapist Colleen King was 19 years old, a psychiatrist told her that because of her family history—her father and brother having bipolar disorder—she shouldn’t have children. Today, King’s clients regularly tell her that people have told them they shouldn’t or can’t have loving relationships. Sadly, these are just two
Read More
Shared by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S., Contributing Blogger July 1, 2018
Why do bad things happen to good people. We can be going about our day, when suddenly the randomness of life takes over. No matter how big or strong we are, life happens. People die, we get sick, our stuff breaks down. We struggle, suffer and endure losses. No one
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 28, 2018
Managing our emotions revolves around four components: • 1 Expressing ourself • 2 Taking care of ourself • 3 Building up our tolerance for frustration • 4 Maintaining a positive outlook EXPRESSING OURSELF Most of us have heard the expression that communication is 10 percent information and 90 percent emotion.
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018
There are four reasons we get angry: • 1 Seeking revenge. We feel hurt, so we use anger to get even and make things fair. • 2 Preventing disaster. We feel worried, so we use anger to attack others to get control. • 3 Pushing others away. We feel sad,
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018
Many of us perceive ourself as being at the center of the world. This attitude is called egocentrism. As a consequence of this naive, self-centered perspective, we mistakenly conclude that we are somehow responsible for everything that happens in the world. We feel accountable for all the bad things that happen
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018
Some of us feel terribly out of control when others are unable to “explain” events to our satisfaction. When we are unable to come up with an acceptable solution to a problem, we are often left focusing on who is at fault. It is like having an open wound. It
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018
When we feel badly about ourselves, we may imagine that we can relieve our pain by “proving” that we are superior. This is called overcompensation. The trouble is that it doesn’t work. We all want to be better than we are. We want to be smarter, happier, thinner, richer, wittier,
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018
Some people deal with their guilt by blaming others. We may deny our guilt because, very often, we are so full of guilt from the past that we cannot tolerate the addition of one more ounce in the present. We may be afraid that we will lash out, breakdown, or
Read More Shared by Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger June 22, 2018