Confidence is the ability to trust or have faith in someone or something, including oneself. Parents hope to raise a confident child who will launch into becoming an independently functioning adult. Less confident children have higher rates of failure-to-launch. In early stages of life, it is the responsibility of the parents to take a very directive approach to help shape the child’s understanding … Continue reading
Category Archives: Necessary Conversations
Communicating well in the face of conflict
Six Degrees of Shame
Shame is a very unpleasant feeling and probably the most unpleasant of them all. Shame is a feeling experience where we berate ourselves and question the goodness of our essence. Arrogance or hostility can be someone’s cover for shame. Interesting, huh? The feeling of shame spreads across a spectrum: embarrassment, vulnerability, resentment, reactive, threatened, and … Continue reading
Navigating Through Our Intense Negative Emotions
Each individual is a sentient being. Sentient is Latin for “feeling”. All humans have wavelike feeling experiences. It is powerful to be conscious of our passionate, intense, negative emotions; because when we navigate correctly through these stormy, rough waters, we have the power to be agents of positive change and growth. If we don’t seize the … Continue reading
The Love of an Aunt: Call me “Ellie”
My Beautiful Aunt Gilda died on her birthday, yesterday at 2:00 PM. She passed with amazing grace, and my personal loss is deep. You see, my Aunt was a caring mother to me in every way. I was blessed to have her as a role model, a mentor, a confidante and a source of unconditional … Continue reading
Mental Illness: A Communicable Disease?
There has been an enormous amount of press and publicity about the Ebola virus and the lives this terrible communicable disease has recently claimed. The current statistic reports that presently the Ebola death toll nears 1,000 people worldwide. Thank goodness, steps are being taken to overcome this horrible killer. Lots of discussion, awareness, worry, work, research and … Continue reading
The Bystander Effect
I believe that the Bystander Effect needs to be considered as seriously as leaving the scene of an accident or leaving the scene of a crime. Continue reading
Mother’s Day and Mythology
For many children, Mother’s Day is a myth. It is a fantasy; an idea or illusion a child wistfully carries in their mind, but never truly experienced. The population of these children who are older, are the ones who linger by the Hallmark cards for long periods of time: reading and replacing; reading and replacing. They finally settle for some benign message that ultimately says “Have a Nice Day”, but nothing more. Continue reading
Virtual Vexation: Is Social Media Endangering Your Health?
Last week, I shut down my computer, packed a small bag and headed for the mountains to hang with my dear friends and let my brain stop aching. I felt like I was coming down from a serious binge and had to heal from a heavy hangover. What was the drug? Social Media; a “drug” … Continue reading
The Mad Ramblings of a Pedestal Professional
When I come into the door after a long day at the office, I am emotionally inverted. I feel as though my feelings have been sucked into a vacuum and I can hardly connect with my own family who needs my attention as well. Sometimes I feel numb. Sometimes I think that if one more person asks one more thing of me I will scream. Continue reading
Relationships and Attachment
Some people make attachments with others that go from one extreme to the other: “I don’t want you; please don’t leave me!” They overshoot that midpoint of secure attachment and don’t get much joy or comfort from their connections with others. Continue reading
Doc Ellie🙏🏼 