There have been nine teenage suicides from Gunn high school in Palo Alto, California since 2009. Teenage suicide happens nationwide. Each year two million adolescents attempt suicide and two thousand are successful in ending their lives. We all have been searching for answers to why these kids killed themselves, and we are seeking ways to...
This article was originally published in MentalHelp.net https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/let-the-tears-flow-crying-is-the-ultimate-healer/ Long ago I came to believe that grieving is impossible unless you can experience your own pain and if you can’t feel your own pain, it is almost impossible to feel anyone else’s. You can walk through life in a state of numbness missing the excitement and...
This was originally published in MentalHelp.net https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/how-to-forgive-your-ex-partner-in-order-to-transform-a-high-conflict-relationship/ My last blog, titled High-Conflict Divorce: Why Forgiveness is Essential, discussed the horrible effects that children experience while immersed in the war with your ex. It also focused on why forgiving each other is essential for your child’s healing. It is clear that many high conflict divorce...
This was originally published in MentalHelp.net https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/high-conflict-divorce-why-forgiveness-is-essential/ A high conflict divorce is a war between two separated or divorced parents. This intense and long-term battle of words consists of emotionally combustable weapons being fired at each other with their children becoming collateral damage. The children may become wounded to the point where it...
I think I am wide awake, but am actually dreaming. I am with my father at the Donaldson Park skating rink. It is the middle of winter in Highland Park, New Jersey. The year is 1964. My dad is gracefully gliding across the ice and he is being observed in awe by the one hundred...
We met Marshall and learned about his parent’s divorce here. Marshall’s father lives in southern California which is far away from his son’s San Francisco home. In the previous chapter, we learned that Marshall’s dad had not seen his son for quite some time and this was having a devastating effect. Marshall wondered if his...
I have been a therapist in private practice for almost twenty eight years. As they say, things sure have changed. The parental complaint of “I can’t get my child to clean his room” has been replaced with “I can’t get my child off the computer, smart phone, video game, YouTube, texting and/or social media.” ...
Everyone faces a crossroad sometime in their life wondering if they want to continue a relationship with a friend, lover or family member. You ponder how much crap you are supposed to take from another human being. You have always looked at his extenuating circumstances and have tolerated his verbal abuse in the past. His...
Written by Gail Meadows and Bob Livingstone Internalized self-hatred is a huge issue and this blog is an introduction to this phenomena. Internalized self-hatred is when you despise your own racial, ethnic, cultural, sexual and or religious identity. This self-loathing far too often results in suicide or other physical self-harm. It also manifests in far more...
I’m angry a lot lately, but I really don’t understand the intensity or frequency of my rage. I have never really been known for my patience, but at age 63, there are tons of infractions that upset me. Bad drivers and traffic jams used to be somewhat upsetting to me, but now a selfish...
