People who have endured traumatic experiences often complain of recurrent nightmares. The good news is that this is normal and it is the brain’s way of trying to make sense of what happened. The bad news is it can invoke painful emotions such as fear, anger, and depression and can lead to insomnia. Nightmares often unmask subconscious thoughts surrounding the traumatic event. It can be…
At lunch yesterday, I was discussing with a friend the increase of people struggling with anxiety — particularly anxiety attacks– in today’s culture. We were speculating as to the reasons behind this trend. Perhaps it is because we have a younger generation who is used to getting what they want, when they want and who don’t know how to respond to failure or disappointment. Perhaps…
Over the past few weeks I have been inundated with calls and meetings with people in crisis. Life is tough…there are days when we all wonder how we will persevere. In times of extreme stress, our brain releases cortisol in effort to help us regulate our stress response so that we can return to a state of homeostasis. In moderation, cortisol is a helpful hormone….
Horrified, I ran for my life. Fear gripped me as I listened to my daughter in the distance ahead of me screaming and crying in terror. How did this happen? This was like a scene in a bad movie, and yet it was inescapable. Just moments before, we were laughing and chatting about our latest find. We were on safari in the Masaii Mara, admiring…
Have you ever seen the movie, Tangled? It’s a modern-telling of the fairytale, Rapunzel. This movie is a favorite in my house, and recently it has helped to teach me an important lesson. In the movie, the mother hides her beautiful daughter away in a tower in an effort to protect her from harm; in doing so, the mother has prevented her child from…