Four Ways for Parents to Manage Their Emotions

When toddlers melt down and teens snap back, it’s natural for us to have emotions. Some parents feel overwhelmed or out of control. Others try to push their emotions away. Emotions, after all, can be quite painful. Whether it’s joy, fear, rage, or anxiety, emotions affect parents every day. How we manage our emotions influences […]

How to Help Your Kids Regulate Their Emotions

Today, Marc Brackett is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional intelligence. But he remembers what it was like to be a kid who struggled with his emotions. “I would sometimes just sit in a room and cry and catastrophize, like I’m never going to figure this out,” he recalls. He would think, […]

Your Emotions Care About the Facts

…..But Your Emotions Care about Facts The popular maxim that “facts don’t care about your feelings” has become a touchstone of modern debate. It suggests that truth is harsh and objective, immune to the influence—or distortion—of emotion. But does this slogan capture the whole story? Naturally, our emotions care profoundly about facts. They respond to […]

How Avoiding Painful Emotions Can Lead to a Smaller Life

“Being cut off from our own natural Self-compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer.” ~Gabor Mate Most of us avoid experiences not necessarily because we don’t like them or want them, but because we don’t want to feel how we will feel when we go through that experience. Our lives become altered […]

Therapy Isn’t Something to Be Ashamed Of

As a therapist, as well as someone who goes to therapy, I can speak firsthand about the importance of attending therapy. Think of it this way: you are driving your car and suddenly you hear a funny noise. At first, you ignore it and hope it goes away. But over time, the noise starts to […]

The Benefits of Accepting Your Unwanted Emotions

Since it is difficult to accept unwanted emotions, it helps to understand the benefits of doing so. We need a helpful carrot, a reason for the pain. Being open to feeling emotional pain without purpose can feel reckless, masochistic, and devoid of Self-compassion. The first step in accepting our emotions is understanding that they serve […]

Surviving Election Night: 7 Tips to Manage Your Emotions

Election night can create a roller coaster of emotional stress as results come in. Pundits will debate, and if the last few weeks are any indication, misinformation and conspiracy theories will fly. No matter where you stand politically, it’s a high-stakes event, and that tension can feel overwhelming, making you vulnerable to manipulation that makes […]