Wilson Counseling: The Armchair Chronicles

digsdigs.com Have you ever caught yourself saying, "Where has the year gone?" I feel this way at the end of every year. I don't know what happened to 2014. A full year gone. What have I done in that time? What do I wish I had done? This can be a pretty reflective time of year--the passing of one year, and the beginning of the next. If you can find even one quiet moment to sit and reflect on your year, what comes to mind? For some of you, it will be the mistakes and regrets that haunt your thoughts. For those mistakes, you beat yourself up emotionally. For some of my clients, this might include a small chiding: "Why did I say something so dumb?" Or a more cruel voice: "I don't deserve to be loved." "My family would be better off without me." "I will never get better." "I am a loser." These words are soul crushing. If you really believe them, it becomes hard to change anything about your life. Imagine feel...

This is a great article from National Public Radio about how you can deal with past trauma or current feelings that are troubling you by simply editing your life story through journaling. If you can commit 15 minutes a day for four days, you can do this. The article includes a link with instructions on how to conduct the exercise. This is similar to what I do in therapy sessions when I help my Houston clients who are stuck learn to reframe their views of themselves and their life situations. It is often exactly what my clients need to get un-stuck. Are you feeling stuck? Contact one of our Houston counselors to find out how to become unstuck and find your happier ending today!

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32300000/Hump-Back-Whale-humpback-whales-32310756-1280-1024.jpg I have a very creative, artistic seven year old daughter. She often sees her world through a totally unique lens. Several years ago, I walked into her bedroom and found that she had cut some holes in her blue bed sheets. Puzzled about why she would do this, I asked her why she cut her sheets. She replied, "The horses needed water." Although I am not really sure what she meant exactly, I could imagine in her creative mind that the blue bed sheets were a cool stream and she wanted her toy horses to have access to a drink. I love seeing the world through her minds eye, and I try to tell her how much I appreciate her creative side, just as I try to appreciate each of my children's unique qualities. But, somewhere along the way, she started to feel it was not good to be different. One day, seemingly out of the blue, she told me, "Mommy, I am an odd ball. I don...