But You Don’t Look Sick: Dealing with Chronic Illness

If you suffer from a chronic illness, physical condition, or pain, you have probably heard some version of the phrase “but you don’t look sick” at one time or another. It’s frustrating and annoying to say the least. Those of us who live with a chronic health condition often find ourselves being misunderstood by others. They see us as looking normal and seem to find it hard to believe we are struggling physically.

Relationships: The Power of Wii ™

Wii ™. It’s not just a game console. It is also a powerful concept for couples. It may take you a few moments to catch it, but it is worth the effort of thinking about it.

The Growing Parent: Anger & Keeping Your Cool

Most of us have the tendency to say things we later regret when we are angry. Unfortunately, those that are the closest to us get the brunt of that more often than we would like.

Compassion: A Tale of Two Equals

In the recent best seller Daring Greatly, Brene’ Brown quotes Pema Chodron, “…Compassion is… a relationship between equals… Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity…”

The Dating Coach Answers: How Can I Date Successfully?

I had dated “unsuccessfully” for many years as I navigated single life. I had many relationships that broke up, and this frustrated me. Marriage was my ultimate goal when I was single, and it took me a long time to attain this. So, what would I have to offer to those who are in the midst of this life stage now? I wallowed in that thought for a while and felt somewhat defeated.

The Growing Parent: Anger & Negotiating

Clearly the parent is supposed to be in charge, and I’m not suggesting otherwise. In fact statistics even show us that well-defined boundaries result in the best outcome for raising children. However, both my clinical and personal experiences show that being willing to give a little sometimes can have a tremendous impact on your relationship with your children.

Nathan’s Story: Athletes & Suicide Prevention

Athletes can have a difficult time of transition because they spend their whole lives working toward a collegiate and professional career in their sport of choice. Every evening, weekend, and holiday are spent in the gym, the driveway, a game, or a tournament. All of this hard work developing skills is for the ultimate goal of a scholarship or a contract.

The Growing Parent: Anger & Listening

Make a point to listen to your child’s side of the story. This can often be extremely challenging for some parents, particularly when your child is clearly in the wrong. Nonetheless, it is extremely important for our children to feel confident that we are listening to them and understanding what they are trying to say.

Entrepreneurs: Sprint to the Spa

We talked about how our bodies prepare when we run from tigers (which are really imaginary hamsters chasing us). As you might imagine, this process is quite taxing on our bodies – it’s the reason that tigers sleep for a day or two after a big hunt, their bodies are refueling and repairing. The very process that maximizes our chance of survival, over time, becomes destructive and damaging when we don’t take time to repair. We are made to sprint from danger and then rest and recover.

How to be Like Iron Man

The character of Iron Man intrigues me. He is a combination superhero and rapscallion with a smidgen of chivalry thrown in to endear him to the hearts of many people. Beneath his modern day suit of armor, he shines as any Knight of the Roundtable, albeit more like a Monty Python character than the classic versions of knights like Arthur.