Taking Love in
Love is one of the most elemental of emotions—it is a building block to some of our deepest relationships and a component in many of our happiest days. Yet the ability to freely give and receive love is a fragile skill, which traumatic experiences can all too easily dent or damage. Learning how to be loved is a vital part of your healing, and here are a few tips on how to regain your ability to accept someone’s care, concern, and nurture.
The first set of tips have to do with the person who is expressing kindness, care, concern, nurture, attention, aka love to you. Because you have experienced... Read More
After having worked in a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected girls for 8 years, I observed that the phenomenon of learned helplessness had become an all-to-common denominator for these children. It was very rare that an abused child was placed with us for a single incident of abuse. By the time these children reached our facility, many of them had already been physically or sexually abused numerous times throughout their childhood and adolescence.
Many times these children had been abused not by a single perpetrator but by several different people, including members of their... 
Value affirmations, also known as self-affirmations, are positive assessments of one’s abilities, traits, and personality qualities. Value affirmations can increase 
There are styles of thinking that are commonly related to anxiety and unhappiness. One patterned way of thinking that is identified by therapists who work with cognitions is the all-or-nothing style. It is very often a part of the negative body-image experience. This way of thinking can lead to a lot of unnecessary distress but is also a symptom of feeling overwhelmed. When the mind is faced with too much to deal with, a tactic it uses to conserve energy is to reduce its interpretation of experiences to simple categories: black or white, all or nothing, all bad or all good. In this effort to simplify... 
Picture it: Thanksgiving Day, 2011. You’ve just joined your family at the table to feast on turkey and stuffing when suddenly, a festive, well-meaning relative suggests that everyone go around the table and share something that they are thankful for. Ugh. If you are one of the millions of Americans who is suffering with depression, this may feel like an impossible, unanswerable question. If you've been feeling such deep despair that you haven't been able to get out of bed for the last several days, then you probably feel that you don’t have anything to be thankful for. You’re probably just... 
For a while, it was the story that wasn't a story: Occupy Wall Street, where many people of different backgrounds took action to bring attention to the need for change in our political and economic systems. I found myself elated that large groups of people across the country had organized a way to “do something” about situations that often seem intractable to me. I agree that many of our governing assumptions are skewed, and I see this way of functioning reflected in the microcosm in the autocratic ways of thinking that our brains often slip into.
In his books, The Mindful Brain, and The... 
Please note: This article does NOT apply in cases of violence or abuse. There can be nothing “right” about such a relationship.
Feels so bad it’s good
He doesn’t usually call when he says he will.
He’s not great at expressing affection – especially in public.
He doesn’t seem all that interested in introducing you to his friends.
You can’t get him out of your mind. He’s catnip!
Why does it sometimes feel so right to be with Mr. Wrong?
If his behavior is driving you nuts, and that pattern doesn’t change and it doesn’t lead to a breakup, it must be because – are... 
How do you know what you are and what you are not, and why? Where did you gain this knowledge and experience that influences your current behaviour and choices? In the process of the development of your Self, did you consciously stop to think about if you wanted to be shaped in a particular manner while it was happening? Certainly there were moments where you may have wanted to stop an experience or avoid pain, but in retrospect can you say that it didn’t shape who you are today that in some way that has value to you? Do you want to, and can you re-author your Self and hence shape your experiences? Some... 
I’ve learned to trust myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it.
-Sarah McLachlan
There are no physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual benefits to low self-esteem. On the other hand, when you value yourself highly you are most likely positive, consider life to be a playful adventure, are confident in your abilities, maintain a healthy lifestyle, laugh a lot, and are never bored by what life offers.
What are 20 things you love about yourself? How easily you complete this exercise or (complete it at all!) will give you an idea about your current... 
