If you’ve ever had a thought so disturbing it made your stomach drop, you’re not alone. Most people occasionally experience random, intrusive thoughts like imagining pushing someone into traffic, blurting something offensive, or even harming a loved one. These thoughts come and go without much weight. But for people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, they aren’t as temporary. The thoughts tend to stick, sparking fear, doubt and spirals of self-questioning.
Do you ever find yourself reacting to certain situations in a way that feels overwhelming or outsized? Do you find yourself yearning for others to reassure you amidst this feeling or insist that someone else act in a particular way that will relieve your activated emotions? Do you ever get teary-eyed or tender when you think of yourself when you were a child, or see an adorable picture of you when you were a kid? If so, you may have just uncovered your wounded inner child.
You're an active participant in your life, not a passive bystander. You’re connected to your body, your emotions, your time, and your values. That connection helps you move through life in a way that actually feels like living.
In all relationships, life occurs, and shifts happen outside of and inside the couple unit. As much as we may want to protect our relationship bubble from outside influences, we are not immune to the climate around us. If we expect to be the same people, with the same life, and the same experiences throughout a long-term relationship, we are actually setting ourselves up to be especially vulnerable to the impact of both external pressures and internal change. Change will happen. The adage of change being the only constant is especially true when navigating relationship changes. So how do we navigate them together, instead of growing apart?
When previously romantic long distance relationships depended on idealization, pining, and pen-pal style correspondences, these days, LDRs contain as many emotional, logistical, and relational challenges as more geographically convenient connections, compounded by the added variable of physical distance. Because of this growing access to romantic partners across the world, long distance relationship advice, support, and communication tips for couples navigating love across the globe have never been more needed.
If you’ve ever had a thought so disturbing it made your stomach drop, you’re not alone. Most people occasionally experience random, intrusive thoughts like imagining pushing someone into traffic, blurting something offensive, or even harming a loved one. These thoughts come and go without much weight. But for people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, they aren’t as temporary. The thoughts tend to stick, sparking fear, doubt and spirals of self-questioning.
Do you ever find yourself reacting to certain situations in a way that feels overwhelming or outsized? Do you find yourself yearning for others to reassure you amidst this feeling or insist that someone else act in a particular way that will relieve your activated emotions? Do you ever get teary-eyed or tender when you think of yourself when you were a child, or see an adorable picture of you when you were a kid? If so, you may have just uncovered your wounded inner child.
Almost every client had questions and doubts about the EMDR experience beforehand. All questions are completely understandable, especially because there are some EMDR myths floating around the dialogue that can percolate and lead to a general sense of hesitation. Let’s break down together what EMDR is, and what EMDR isn’t.
Have you ever found yourself feeling both grateful and sad at the same time? Maybe you’ve started a new job, moved in with a partner you love, welcomed a baby, or finally left a place that wasn’t serving you, only to feel sad alongside the excitement.
When most people hear the word grief, they think of losing a loved one to death. And while that can be one of the most painful types of grief, it’s not the only one. Grief is actually a natural emotional response to any significant loss, not just the loss of a person, but the loss of routines, roles, relationships, dreams, or even parts of ourselves.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I know this isn’t logical, but I still feel it,” or “I wish I could stop being so hard on myself”? These are moments where different parts of us seem to be pulling in opposite directions, and they’re exactly the kinds of moments where Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can be deeply helpful.
When it comes to healing from trauma, discomfort can sometimes be part of the process. In EMDR, it often means something meaningful is starting to move.
When people think of trauma therapy, they often assume that remembering the traumatic event is a necessary part of healing. But what if you don’t remember? Whether due to childhood amnesia, dissociation, or the brain’s natural defense mechanisms, many people struggle with unclear or missing memories of painful experiences. If this sounds familiar, you may wonder: Can EMDR Therapy still help?
Imagine your emotional state as existing within a window. When you're within this window, you can think clearly, make rational decisions, and feel in control of your emotions. This state allows you to handle daily stresses without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. It’s where we experience a balance between our sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous systems. This is your window of tolerance.
