As with all seasons, we witness transition, but winter is special because it’s also a transition from one year to another. Winter is a naturally slow time, providing more opportunity for contemplation. 10 years ago, I decided to mark each new year not with resolutions, but with a meditative labyrinth walk. Many cultures use labyrinths to slow down and ponder, as a means to bring clarity and calmness to the mind, and to connect to what’s important. The 3 questions I use encomp

December 28, 2020 The year 2020 is coming to a close. It marks the end of a year and the end of a decade. When you’re bereaved, every year that ends is the beginning of another year without a loved one who has died or has moved out of your life in some other way. Grief is the acclimation process from an old life to a new one. Each year, there is room for all feelings that come with grief and there is room for integration. The Mindfulness and Grief Institute shares 5 things to

October 12, 2020: The Unspoken Grief of a Special Needs Diagnosis. There’s a type of grief that comes along with a life-altering event unrelated to death. Pauline Boss is known for naming it “ambiguous loss” and it’s associated with either a physical absence with psychological presence (divorce, missing persons, miscarriage) or a physical presence with psychological absence (dementia, addiction, chronic illness). It’s the kind of grief that someone experiences when there is a

October 9, 2020: October is ADHD Awareness Month. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD, you’re no stranger to parenting with frequent frustration, worry, shame, and exhaustion. You know what? Your child is living with all of that, too. You know what else? Both you and your child can live with more confidence and less frustration with a few changes. Check out these tips: 1. Develop a positive mindset. How you view your child, their diagnosis, and yourself as a parent have a hu

October 8, 2020: October is ADHD awareness month. Here are some myths, facts, and awesome resources for adults with AD/HD or the people who support them. Myth: You’re not hyper, so you can’t have ADHD. Fact: In the DSM-5, there are 3 types of AD/HD: Hyperactive-Impulsive, Predominantly Inattentive, and Combination. If you have significant trouble with memory, work performance, emotional regulation, managing day-to-day tasks, maintaining attention, and/or fidget frequently, ta

October 5, 2020: October is ADHD Awareness Month. What’s it like to grieve and have ADHD? There is actually a lot of overlap in the two, and adults and children with ADHD may feel their ADHD symptoms amplified when grieving. Some of the commonalities between ADHD and grief include difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, restlessness, social withdrawal, poor academic/work performance, impulsivity, and trouble with eating and/or sleeping. For people with ADHD, they may also ex

October 1, 2020: Fall is awesome (except for pumpkin spice anything - it's just not for me), but the shorter days and cooling temperatures often have me feeling a little sleepier and a little quieter. This seasonal transition messes with most of our sleep cycles and can mean the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) for some. Our sleep cycles are managed by the amount of light we receive. During the summer months, we have plenty of daylight and that can often mean we’

September 25, 2020: If you’ve seen my other posts this week, the theme is Andy Goldsworthy. I can’t name all the ways he’s influenced me as an artist, photographer, therapist, and human. His art and process have value for us at any age. Taking your kids or teens out to make their own land art is a great hands-on way to get their brains and bodies connected to their outer and inner environments. Andy uses materials that nature provides. Leaves, mud, rocks, sticks, flowers, wa

September 24, 2020: Andy Goldsworthy taught me how to fail. Watching his creative process and listening to him reflect on his work has helped shift my mindset around making mistakes and failing. Sometimes I even look forward to it now. Time and temporality feel like enemies to a creature of finite existence. We often feel like we’re working against the clock. Andy talks about working with time, not against it. In an exchange with an onlooker during the filming of “Rivers and