This post is written for people with misophonia, a condition in which a person has an automatic, sometimes intensely unpleasant internal reaction to specific sounds. Sounds that lead to this reaction are typically…
Misophonia is a condition in which a person has an automatic, unpleasant internal reaction to specific sounds. This reaction can vary from frustration to panic and even rage, and can be quite an…
“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” — Rumi Just…
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a specific type of psychotherapy that is different from traditional “talk therapy.” A few key differences are that CBT is research-based, more structured, and and more goal-directed than…
People can experience many difficulties with sleep throughout their lives. Some people are often told by their parents that even as small children they were never “good sleepers.” Some people experience issues with sleep…
Comfort has its limits. One of the reasons it can be so difficult to approach someone who is suffering is that it can bring us face to face with our powerlessness to do…
“If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by statistical methods” — Williams and Holland’s Law It’s an amazing day for scientific research! Hold on, don’t leave me yet. I know I…
People who experience the loss of a loved one are often tasked with managing life insurance and legal issues, resolving financial paperwork, planning a funeral, and sorting through their loved one’s belongings. All…
When a person has significant issues with their health it can bring many challenges, more than just how it affects their body. Just like it is often helpful to see a physician who…
Sometimes people aren’t very understanding of the pain of grief. They can even be downright insensitive at times. One of the common insensitive phrase I’ve heard in my work as someone who specializes…
The NPR program Fresh Air broadcast an interview earlier this week with New York Times reporter and author Barry Meier discussing his e-book A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine’s Biggest Mistake. While…
We’ve written a few posts in the past (#1, #2) about using light therapy to regulate your circadian rhythms. As a person who has a hard time with the Portland winters, I regularly…
“Where there is love there is pain” –Spanish Proverb I’ve known and lived with many amazing dogs and cats in my life. Each animal I’ve known has been special and wonderful in their…
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright…
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Hans Hofmann Oversaturated. That’s how it can feel once the holidays have ended. And now that the last…
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes…
If you live in a major city you have probably encountered a person who is dressed strangely, mumbling to himself, not making eye contact, and perhaps pacing back and forth or engaging in…
Have you ever had the experience of learning the ending of a book, movie, or TV show that you had really wanted to read/watch and saying to yourself, “AARGH—it’s ruined for me!”? In…
