What’s the Present Moment and Why Should I Care?
When we talk about the present moment, we’re talking about right now. And now. And also now. It moves along with you. In other words, whatever the thing is that you’re doing/reading/smelling is the present moment.
I Hate My Job... Now What?
Well, of course the easy answer is to “leave it and find something else.” It’s not that simple, though. Technically, it is that simple, but in actuality, there’s way more that goes into making changes than just impulsively deciding on doing something. Here are five questions to ask yourself when you’re faced with hating your job and feeling stuck about it.
Accepting That People Might Not Like You
This seems funny to talk about, but it’s actually a significant factor in lots of lives. Here's the long and short of it. You will interact with people who don’t like you. WILL. Not “maybe you can sway them,” but actually, “some people won’t like you.” Period. Sit with that. Is it hard to stomach?
Anxiety About Your Relationship Doesn’t Mean It’s Done
You should know by now that anxiety is something we love to focus on and work with clients on. You should also know that relationships are something we love to focus on and work on with clients. Wouldn’t it make sense that we end up combining the two?
We Can’t Control How Others Respond
Frankly, we can’t control how the conversation goes. We can’t control the way it unfolds or the intensity of others. Furthermore, there are cases when talking about things makes it worse (if you’re not talking about the ‘thing’ that needs to be talked about, or if you’re trying to talk to somebody who’s overwhelmed and on the verge of shutting down, or if you’re approaching conflict with a person who’s conflict avoidant - all recipes for unhelpful discussions). Long story short: we cannot control how other people respond.
How to Talk About Issues with a Loved One
This is our bread and butter, really. “How to talk with others” is the shorter version of the title (and is way more general). However, we’re keeping it specific because, while some people struggle with basic conversation (for a variety of reasons), others struggle with bringing up and/or talking about hard things.
My Friend is Driving Me Crazy - What Do I Do?!
We focus on relationships at The Counseling Hub, but when we talk about relationships, we’re not specifically talking about romantic relationships or intimate partnerships. The term relationship implies relationships of any kind. And, much like with partnerships, relationships contain their own set of problems.
Here are three things you can do if you have a friendship with somebody who is currently driving you crazy (colloquially speaking).
8 Reasons Counseling is Not the Same as Friendship
This is actually a pet peeve of mine. Probably because I hear people say things like, “I’m good at telling people what to do. I’m basically a counselor,” or, “My friends always ask my advice. I pretty much do counseling.” As a counselor educator (one who trains future counselors) and counselor in private practice, I need to clarify why this is inaccurate.
*Just because it's not a friendship doesn't mean there aren't high levels of care and camaraderie in the counseling office. We very much care for our clients and sometimes wish we could be friends outside of sessions! But we can't!!