I have always been a people pleaser, it’s simply ingrained in who I am. This doesn’t mean I don’t speak my mind, engage in conflict when necessary, and follow my own intuition and desires– it just means that my knee-jerk, automatic response is to make others happy and do/say what I know will please them.…
I want to be alone I want to be with people, even the loud and stumbling and belligerent ones Don’t touch me, I’m claustrophobic Hug me tightly and hold my face in your hands, even if they’re clammy I need a routine I want to live each day different from the last I want to…
It never occurred to me that there was a problem with the way I approached confrontation with my loved ones. I spewed my feelings, raised my voice, overreacted, brought up past grievances I had been marinating in, and went into every argument with one goal in mind: to be the victor. I believed that arguing…
As my husband and I approach our seventh year together and our second wedding anniversary, we are fielding more and more “when will the babies come?” questions from friends and family. They have led to a few late night, not-so-serious baby discussions between us, but in all honesty, we are still really enjoying living child-free.…
I’m excited to share with you another Huffington Post article of mine that went live today! You may recognize parts of it, as it is a revised & edited version of one of my previous posts on The Other Courtney. Check it out and pass along to anyone struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, or any…
Consider this: there is no such thing as a bad day. The way we react to the events happening around us can make us feel angry, frustrated, hurt, and like we are having a bad day, but the day itself is not bad. It’s just how we are responding to reality (which is completely in our control, by…
I used to have debilitating panic attacks every single day, until one day I just stopped having them. It was literally an overnight thing, they ceased completely because of one simple (or not so simple) thing: acceptance. When my counselor, Ken, told me the key to conquering his panic attacks 30 years ago, I doubted…
It has been almost one year since I nervously sat next to a crackling fire in my living room, about to be hypnotized for the first time. I was completely petrified, scared to let my psyche and willpower (or so I thought) be placed in the hands of another person. I wasn’t being hypnotized to…
Dear Alcoholic, I have a lot of feelings concerning you and your behavior, and I’ve been working towards not being so angry with you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting your alcoholism be an excuse for your actions, I just know that I can no longer be a person who is affected by you.…
