Recent content by Mtnjac

How to say No! When to say No! Why I can choose to say No! That I can live with symptoms without stressing over them. That ignoring my symptoms usually diminishes them. Writing is sooo therapeutic! I never knew I could out-cuss a sailor! To redirect negative thoughts into the nearest trash can...

Yes. Hard.

I have a dog! Bestest bud ever. Believe me, my inner child was pissed at myself, the guy AND my therapist, who has had finer moments. But this widow cautiously went anyway, against everything that was screaming not to. This is the funny part though: I’m up there in years so I was thinking it...

You know what? I still tear-up. The crying jags of hours and days eventually tapered as I learned to live with my beloved’s absence. But my point is that I do allow, even embrace, my feelings of loss no matter how long or short the duration. This is healthy. Tears are cleansing, relieving and...

Others will chime in here with wise comments so mine will be brief. The loss of your beloved father has put you in crisis. Your grief will override everything else for some time. Just allow yourself to mourn. Be gentle. Understand where you’re at. Allow your grief to come and go. It is a very...

Your description could be me. Mine has diminished and reappeared along with myriad other pains, over decades, first commencing with a bad breakup over fifty years ago! It went away after the birth of my child, then reappeared following a slide on my behind down a cliff. I have always associated...

Oh yes! My symptoms do worsen at times before improving. It means that you have them cornered and your subconscious mind thinks it must turn up the dial to keep you from understanding yourself at a deeper level. It’s like a Mama bear protecting her young! It’s pretty common. Stay the course...

Oops, I forgot to add that subliminally, I probably am feeling some separation anxiety. Right on, JanA!

Wonderful idea! Yes, win-win-win. It achieves the same thing only easier for all. Thank you!

Hey all you pumped just say No-er’s! Reporting in to say that Mr. Wrong showed up again to invite me to a fundraiser. Guess what? I texted: “No thank you, have fun!” Now how hard was that Mtnjac? (With a little help from my friends!)

The question asks for my thoughts about how to improve this program. You’re asking me? I guess you might get a gem from someone. So I’ll put one out there and hope it’s a geode. The best part for me, was the journaling. It was hard, intense, humbling, relieving. I hated it. So that means it...

I forgot to mention that my late husband was sometimes overtaken by rage, particularly when young. His favorite coping mechanism was to remove himself from the trigger or person, literally leaving the location to go for long walks along the beach. He would usually return in a much better mood.

Anger and its management is a long and complex subject, but let’s start with this: somewhere along the line something happened to you that caused you to be very afraid of expressing yourself. I don’t pretend to know what that was, but I’m certain that it is fear-driven anxiety coming out of you...