Emotions 101 We all have feelings, or emotions. We need emotions to survive. Emotions get us going, they make us act to protect ourselves, and they help us to get what we need or want. Anxiety makes us slow down and avoid danger, anger drives us to fight, sadness causes us to withdraw and grieve, shame demands that we hide....[ read more ]
At, The Story Isn’t Over, we have a foot in two very different communities. We have a clinic in Bolton, a small primarily white, privileged community, and we have a clinic in Brampton, a large city, where differences abound, and where being white may make you one of a minority, rather than a majority. We are all immigrants, whether 1st...[ read more ]
Ugly news isn't anything unusual, and yet so far this year has been exceptional in its bleakness with the daily updates on the new COVID-19 virus. This week, we hit a new low on ugly-news, with the death of George Floyd, another unarmed Black man who was pinned to the ground by the knee of a white officer in Minneapolis,...[ read more ]
Getting drunk and drinking way too much, is culturally acceptable. For every individual drinker, there is a group of drinkers, who make the drinker think that everyone else drinks that way. Alcohol and anger, go hand-in-hand. Where there is alcohol, there is a loosening of restraint and inhibitions, and with that comes an ease in expressing hot emotions. Some people...[ read more ]
There’s a little boy. He’s not much more than 2, or 3-years-old. He’s sitting on the floor playing with his trucks. He has a favorite; it’s blue, bright blue, like kids’ toys often are. He fills the truck with small items, to ferry to, and from, the sofa to the shelf. He’s caught up in his imagination, focused on the...[ read more ]
If you google, ‘how to stop being so angry,’ you will find numerous blogs with a list of to-dos to help you control your anger. What makes this blog different is that it helps you to work out what is going on deep down inside you. It isn’t so much about practical tips, such as walking away, and breathing, you...[ read more ]
When I say I’m fine, I mean I don’t want to tell you what is really going on inside. I may be in a rush, I may not feel comfortable telling you what is troubling me, and most often, I may feel restricted in what I say as a therapist given the general belief among therapists that we shouldn’t self-disclose...[ read more ]
The sun is shining; we want to run outside, put on the sprinklers, light up the BBQ, and invite our besties over for supper. But, instead, we are masked and gloved, walking at a carefully measured distance from our fellow shoppers, trying to find something to cook for our cranky kids, and, just as cranky spouse. Physical distancing was, perhaps...[ read more ]
For many, childhood is the most wondrous and exciting time in a person’s life. But even when a child is growing in a loving and stable family environment, they can feel fear and anxiety. Think back on your childhood. Everything new was something to be not-so-sure of. It was easy to feel a bit anxious on the first day of...[ read more ]
Twenty years ago my dad died. I was working with him in the North of Thailand. I got up in the morning as usual and got ready to leave the house to go to work. As I was pushing the door open to leave I had a moment of hesitation; an urge to go back and see him. But I...[ read more ]