Dealing With Uncertainty

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Dealing With Uncertainty

Uncertainty is really hard for us.  As humans, we love knowing.  We love knowing what to expect.  We love routines.  We love being certain of things. We love structure.  Our brains are hard-wired to create these shortcuts for us that help us to understand our world.  We are bombarded with information and stimuli to our senses every minute of the day. Our brains have developed an ability to filter out unimportant information, make judgment calls about what's not important.  Based on our previous experiences, it’s a shortcut for our brain so it doesn’t have to pay attention to everything.  I wrote about these shortcuts in this blog. We look to the things we are certain of to help us make sense of our world.

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5 Things We Can Learn From Our Pets

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5 Things We Can Learn From Our Pets

As many of you know from my previous blogs, I am a HUGE animal lover-especially cats!  Ok, saying that I love cats is a major understatement, but you still get my point.  Have you ever just sat and observed animals for a while?  I have and it is one of my favorite things to do.  In fact, I have learned so much from just observing my pets and the animals that live outside such as the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to name just a few.  Of course, I think part of the reason that they grace my presence is that I supply them with food and fresh water daily, but who wouldn’t stick around when provided with endless food and water!?!?   I have spent hours watching animals in their daily activities and as humorous as they are and as much fun as I get from watching them, I truly believe that we can certainly learn so much from them as well as enjoying their antics.  

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Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Health

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You have strep throat.  Although you don’t like going to the doctor, you do it.  You don’t hesitate too much about going except for maybe the fee associated with a medical appointment.  You don’t fear being judged for going to the doctor to get treatment for your sore, red throat.  However, if you are struggling with sadness or struggle with calming racing thoughts, you fear being judged about this.  Why?  Is it because many people don’t understand or believe in the severity and debilitating effects of mental illness?  When you have strep throat or perhaps a broken arm, it is quite easy to recognize and tell how much suffering one is experiencing.  However, with mental illness, the physical signs are typically not as noticeable. 

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7 Strategies On Forgiveness

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Forgiveness.  We hear that word often, but what does it truly mean?  Sure, we all have said “I forgive you” for various things and to many people.  However, do we all have the same understanding of forgiveness?  People likely define and understand forgiveness differently, at least to some extent.   Forgiveness involves working to allow ourselves to become free of negativity such as anger, resentments, desires to seek revenge, and/or see karma happen to those that have wronged us. 

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