Thoughts

Is it time to get back to “normal” ?

I know so many people are itching to get back out there, to get back to pre COVID-19 “normal.” But the truth is we are far from that possibility. At some point we will all, personally, be touched by this virus.  Today, July 2, 2020 there have been 516,000 deaths reported worldwide from COVID-19. FWIW I think in the end we will find that this…

Read More

Aaaaaand, about that virus (COVID19)

(MARCH 2, 2020 COVID-19) I drafted this post a few days ago and started this section with “Well, it looks pretty clear that we are going to be dealing wtih COVID-19 on our home turf in a hot second.” Apparently I was correct. I’m in the Pacific Northwest and we have 3 cases in Oregon, close to where I live, and at least 18 in…

Read More

Celebrating Chinese New Year: A Second Chance to Set Your Intentions

Chinese New Year Lantern

Chinese New Year follows the Chinese lunar calendar and typically falls somewhere toward the end of January (this year it falls on the 25th), just about the time that most people have started to wane on their resolutions. This tendency to wane is the reason that I recommend having themes or intentions instead of resolutions, and one of the reasons that I love Chinese New…

Read More

Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, Try a New Year’s Theme

Around this time of year, the internet is flooded with articles about making New Year’s Resolutions, goals, and plans. I’m a big fan of looking ahead but I am adamantly opposed to resolutions. Why? Because not only is it human nature to have trouble sticking to change, but with resolutions, we create an all-or-nothing situation that practically guarantees we will feel that we’ve ‘failed’. It’s…

Read More

My Top 5 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Stress

Can you believe the holiday season is already here? It’s time to wrap up calendar year projects, go to holiday parties, buy all the things if we do gifts, decorate, and get ready emotionally and physically for the dawn of a new decade. It can be a joyous and fun time for many, and a sad lonely time for others. But regardless of how this…

Read More

Your Values, Your Healthcare – A Story

[this is an excerpt on values from my book Overcoming Overwhelm if you would like a full chapter (for free!)  just click here.] About 15 years ago, a woman named Susan came to see me for high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, and high blood pressure, a cluster of symptoms we call metabolic syndrome. She was 53 years old and found herself more than 40 pounds heavier than…

Read More

Overcoming Overwhelm: Why Thinking About Health is Imperative.

[this is an excerpt about why you may want to deal with your health concerns from my book Overcoming Overwhelm] When you are suffering with chronic pain, imbalanced hormones, digestive complaints, fatigue, or pretty much any other ailment, you’re not only suffering through these symptoms, but also using your energy reserves to deal with them—energy that you might direct toward other things (such as, ahem,…

Read More

Overcoming Overwhelm: You Can’t Fail at Self Care

[this is an excerpt on true self care from my book Overcoming Overwhelm if you would like a full chapter (for free! just click here.] There will always be times when you get off track—times you accidentally oversleep and don’t get to the gym, times you forget to plan for dinner and end up going out, or times you lose it and eat a bowl…

Read More

Overcoming Overwhelm: One Change

Change is hard. For some people making changes is hard. For others maintaining changes is hard. And no matter how many times you read “it takes x days to make a new habit” or “fake it ‘til you make it” the reality is that our brains will fight us tooth and nail when we try to do something different because that’s what brains do. Believe…

Read More

What To Do If You Get Off Track

I saw a patient a while back who went on a new medication that changed everything. We’d been working together for a year or so and she really, really wanted to see if she could get her health sorted without taking any prescription medications. It doesn’t matter what she had going on, or what medication was on the table because this story isn’t about the condition, or…

Read More