Tag: psychological theory
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Winter Dreaming…
It’s been a little while since we explored dreamwork here. If you don’t know, my approach (generally) is to allow my dreams to hold their own space. I try not to analyze my dreams, but to participate in them. To let my dream selves show me what I need to know. I take some time…
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Energy loops? Another layer of “reexperiencing”
I can’t remember the first place I read the term “energy loops,” but it almost immediately resonated with my experience of a particularly challenging trauma recovery phenomena. You’ll have to excuse the less linear nature of my attempt to describe something so abstract. In the mental health field, we tend to focus on reexperiencing as a…
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Dissociation and finding balance in cycles
The idea for this essay started as I was reading a Pitchfork article about dissociation and music, that was a surprisingly nuanced and interesting take on dissociation in the cultural zeitgeist in general and songwriting more specifically. It tied together and stimulated some thoughts I’ve been mulling over about this particular cultural moment, and the influence of…
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Layers of energy along the mind-body-spirit axis
The notion of mind-body connection can be misleading. It suggests they are separate but connected, whereas I would rather say they are existing within the same matrix, two sides of the same coin. It’s the frequency of energy that makes them feel separate (or if you’re inclined to want a footnote, we could call these Gamma, Beta,…
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Boundaries, Intuition and a ritual for Protection
The ability to set clear boundaries, to have boundaries, rightly holds an important place in moving towards a greater sense of wellness and emotional safety in relationships. Somewhat less popular a topic but also important, is the ability to respect the boundaries of others. I have seen many a helpful adage about how to set…
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Reclaiming self-worth, integrating your inner child(ren)
Trigger warning: discussion of abuse culture, and brief reference to the documentary Allan vs Farrow Culturally we are reckoning with abuse culture in a way that has never been so sustained and is moving across demographics that were not previously engaged with anti-violence activism. The push for accountability is needed and long overdue, and yet…
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Healing Perfectionism
Perfectionism is often viewed as a form of anxiety. Some make connections to procrastination (if I can’t do it perfectly I shouldn’t even bother), missing deadlines (I can’t turn this in until I’m sure that it’s just right), difficulty apologizing and being accountable (I must convince you I didn’t actually make a mistake), and restrictive behaviors…
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A case for Anger
It’s a commonly applied concept in both psychological theory and popular culture that anger is a “secondary emotion” and one that can be destructive for both the person experiencing the feeling and whomever it is directed towards. The ask is usually to “get underneath” the anger. I have always believed that experiencing anger was an…
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Ambiguous Loss and Collective Grief
This piece was originally written in three separate newsletters between 3/28/20 and 4/21/2020. I considered editing it to make it a bit more evergreen, but I feel it is am important record of a difficult and important time. Spring of 2020, particularly in my home at the time of Brooklyn, NY was a huge pivot…
Inward Vision 