Recently I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media asking, “What’s your word for 2020?” I am praying that 2020 would be a year of DELIGHT in my life. When I think of delight I think of a groom’s expression as he sees his bride for the first time on their wedding day. I think of a parent’s excitement as his child takes her…
After losing both my husband and my mother-in-law to suicide, I felt both guilt and shame. I wondered how could I have missed this? If only I’d said this or done that…the list goes on and on. I also felt shame. I thought others blamed me. “She must have been a horrible wife or he would never have done that.” Then there was the shame…
I heard the familiar vibrating sound notifying me that I had a new message. I clicked on the message and what I read made my heart cry out. A dear friend (who I will call Peter) was telling me goodbye. He was prepared to end his life. After twenty minutes of talking the phone went silent. I waited. And waited. And waited. No more messages….
With all of the recent violence in the streets of America, people are talking about mental health more than ever. While I am extremely grateful that people are talking and that (hopefully) agencies will focus more funding toward mental health, I feel compelled to share that the vast majority of people with a diagnosable mental illness are NOT violent. “Most people with mental illness are…
“I love writing!” There. I said it. I absolutely, positively love writing. Do you know what else I love? I love dancing, hiking, camping, and reading by waterfalls. So why don’t I do these things more often? Recently, I was asked to co-write a counseling book with a colleague. Once we started talking about the book and creating outlines, I could feel my blood pumping…
It’s that time of year again — GRADUATION! It is such an honor to teach aspiring minds. Today, one of our psychology students was asking me about the stole stole I wear as part of my regalia. I was delighted to share with her that in graduate school, we were challenged to wear the stole in honor of someone who helped us in our educational…