Intrusive thoughts are those thoughts that enter your mind and may cause anxiety and hyperfocus on those thoughts. These thoughts...
Blogs
Recovering from being told I was Stupid
We have finally had lots of sunshine the past few days crunched between days and nights of high winds, rain...
Facing Grief in Covid Times
My father died suddenly almost 56 ago. He was 56 when he died, and he would have been 112 years...
Creating Safety
Every day we see the headlines and read the newsfeed – the latest Corona surge is running amuck; the most...
The Benefits of Long-Term Therapy
There does not seem to be an agreed upon definition of long-term psychotherapy. I have been a psychotherapist in private...
Acceptance: Deciding to Put Traumatizing Memories to Rest
Acceptance is a loaded term in American society. Many suffer from what I call the closing credits syndrome. This happens...
Life Lessons Learned during the Pandemic
I am looking out the living room window. Nobody is on the street and the quiet is daunting. It is...
Promise of Better Days Ahead: Part 10 Seeking Safety
I wake up in the morning religiously at four thirty AM. I have no need to get up that early. ...
How White People Will Benefit from Fighting Racism
It was sometime during 1969 at my house in suburban New Jersey. I was eighteen years old and one...
DV(Domestic Violence) Poem
This poem is dedicated to all the women I have known in my personal and professional life who have been...
Dealing with Shelter in Place, Stay at Home Orders: COVID-19 Crisis
Many states now have issued Shelter in Place, Stay at Home Orders as ways of preventing the spread of the...
Discovering that you are Worthy
Feeling unworthy can adversely affect the quality of your life. Read on to examine this issue. Ask yourself these questions:...
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Dealing with Shelter in Place, Stay at Home Orders: COVID-19 Crisis
Many states now have issued Shelter in Place, Stay at Home Orders as ways of preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. We are being required to spend as much time in our homes as possible and to limit contact with others outside our living quarters. The reality of being cooped up for days is intense. Feelings of depression, anxiety and total hopelessness can kick in at any moment. Let’s take some time to talk
Discovering that you are Worthy
Feeling unworthy can adversely affect the quality of your life. Read on to examine this issue. Ask yourself these questions: Do you ever feel that you are not worthy? How does that feel in your body? What kind of thoughts come up? Where did the belief that you are unworthy come from? Do you wake up in the morning fearing that you are going to let down people close to you? Do you feel you
How to Stop Being Hurtful to Others because you are Triggered
Shirley was driving after an intense day at work. Exhausted, she just wanted to go home and connect with her partner. The traffic was awful as usual and the car’s headlights in the rear view mirror were blinding. She turned up the rear view mirror to stop this assault to the eyes. The traffic thinned out as she headed home, but when she turned the corner, a car was stopped in the middle of the
Grief: We Muddle through Loss Together
Hi, my name is Bob Livingstone and I am a psychotherapist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been fortunate to have worked with many around the issues of grief and loss for the past thirty-two years. I chose to specialize in this area because my father died suddenly when I was fifteen. I am sixty-eight years old and at times I’m still baffled and torn up inside about this pivotal
Promise of Better Days Ahead Part 9: Overcoming the Fear of Risk Taking
It was August 1962 and I was eleven years old. New Jersey in the summer was hot and school was going to start in a month. My father, mother, sister and I were getting ready to head to Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire for a vacation with mom’s parents. My grandparents lived in Boston and I have memories of going to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox-Yankee double headers. I would take the streetcar near
Honoring Traumas and Loses: Acknowledging Painful Experiences
Have you ever wanted to deal with your emotional pain in a different way besides reliving traumatic memories? Have you ever heard the words “You need to forgive” and have no idea of what these words mean or what their purpose is? Have you ever felt that intellectually and emotionally reviewing loss in your life no longer serves any purpose, but you don’t know where to go from here? Hi I’m Bob
Have you ever been Addicted to a Person?
Have you ever been addicted to a person? What is it like? How you do recover from this addiction? The addiction to a person can be every bit as consuming and troubling as an addiction to a substance. The symptoms are: 1. Making his needs a priority instead of your own. Paying for his rent when you are about to be evicted for not paying yours is an example of this. 2. Compartmentalizing the addiction.
Do you believe that your inability to resolve a conflict with a deceased loved one will keep you stuck and unfulfilled forever? Continue reading for ways to overcome this dilemma.
Promise of Better Days Ahead: Part 9-A Deeper Love Here is my story: I was fifteen years old living in the suburbs of New York. My hometown was Highland Park, New Jersey. I lived on a quiet street with my mom, dad, thirteen-year-old sister and my dog, Foxy. I was a walking poster child of adolescent insecurity. I felt like my place in the world was always in jeopardy and lived to play organized and
Promise of Better Days Ahead Part 8: Not Broken
Yesterday I saw the new Bruce Springsteen inspired movie Blinded by the Light. I loved the film and cried all the way through it. The movie was made for me because it had all the necessary storylines to reel me in and I was highly attentive until the closing credits rolled. Those storylines were: Father and son relationship, racism, sexism, adolescent angst, search for oneself and working-class folks losing their jobs accompanied by the soundtrack
Promise of Better Days Ahead Part 7: Woodstock Fifty Years Later
It was Thursday August 15, 1969 and I was at the gas station watching the attendant fill up my mother’s yellow Dodge Dart Swinger. This car was known for its less than powerful acceleration up any hump in the road. The sun was starting to set, and I checked my pocket for tickets to The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival and they were still right there in my jeans pocket. This trip was planned
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