For as long as I can remember I’ve struggled with obsessive thoughts, with severe ruminations that can interfere with daily life. My thoughts get stuck on something and like a broken record, repeat a certain fear over and over and over again until I scream out loud, “STOP IT!” The French call Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder “folie...

Buddhism asserts that attachment is the primary source of suffering. So then detachment or “non-attachment” would be our ticket out of that pain. Except that it’s not so easy … letting go of a person, place, or thing that has our heart temporarily held hostage. You may be grieving the death of a loved one,...

I carry a few different business cards in my purse. Because I never know what conversation I will have with a stranger at any given time. A month ago I fetched cream for my coffee at a café in South Bend, Indiana. Naturally my family didn’t know a soul in the joint. However, by the...

One form of cognitive behavioral therapy is exposure therapy, where your brain is supposed to form new connections and rewrite the language of your amygdala (fear center), so that it doesn’t associate every dog with the pit bull who took a bite out of your thigh in the fourth grade. By doing the exact thing...

I loved this post by Elvira Aletta, Ph.D. on Psychcentral! To view the entire post, click here. I have excerpted her five tips for people who love persons afflicted with mental illness. 1) Be informed. Go to the library or do a Google search to learn more about whatever diagnosis our loved one has. Be...