isolation

Embrace The Boredom of Life

I'm just going to come out and say it. Life can be boring, mundane, and monotonous.  There. It's out in the open. Can't take it back.

It seems that so many people strive for this "perfect" life, but don't realize that striving for something that doesn't exist without embracing this basic sort of fact (that's clearly a personal bias) that life can be boring at times leads to feeling dissatisfied and unhappy. It's not that I don't want people to strive for better or more or more content or happier, but I want people to be realistic about their strivings.

Anxiety - Part II (Existential)

Anxiety - Part II (Existential)

Alrighty, friends. This is a continuation of the first part in a series of posts on anxiety. Each post covers one distinct aspect of anxiety (existential, biological and genetic, evolutionary, psychological, and behavioral) and all aspects can comprise your (or anybody's) experience with anxiety. Although some might be more relevant than others. The purpose of this isn't to tell you how to 'cure' your anxiety and it's not a magic fix; the purpose is to think about anxiety in a different way. 

I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. Lots of counselors that I know think of anxiety as purely a psychological problem. That is, they believe anxiety is a result of your thoughts... and that's about it. My take is that there are many more pieces to the puzzle (see the list above of all the different aspects). When we start to understand all these aspects and see how they influence and/or show up in our own lives and in our experience of anxiety, then we can start moving forward in an effective and efficient way in managing and living with our anxiety.

Don't Confuse Strength with Stoicism

Don't Confuse Strength with Stoicism

This might be one of the areas that I feel most strongly about.

This misguided, societal belief that being strong equates to being stoic. That showing emotions is a sign of weakness, rather than an immense sign of strength. That to cry is to not be strong enough to hold it together. That nobody is walking around in pain, with anxiety, or dealing with depression, grief, and sorrow.

WHY, I ask you?! WHY?!