If you’re reading this right now, I want to say first that you’re not alone. You’re not weird or defective. If you fear happiness, you are very likely in pain, and fear is a normal reaction to things that hurt. A fear of happiness develops in people for a variety of reasons. You might haveContinue reading “When Happiness is Scary”
Category Archives: Self-care
The Gentle Art of Self-Allowing
There is a broad base of therapeutic literature focusing on self-regulation, or the ability to manage and re-direct one’s emotions in a healthy way. When individuals act out in unhealthy ways due to a lack of control over their emotions, this is called dysregulation. Most people would agree that a high level of self-control isContinue reading “The Gentle Art of Self-Allowing”
Why Trauma Makes Resting So Difficult
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash I have one memory of rest that sticks out for me. It happened a month or so ago, in my apartment. I was sitting at my sewing machine, stitching a small, padded pouch for my friend’s rosary. Time softened and melted away, and I was blissfully unaware of anythingContinue reading “Why Trauma Makes Resting So Difficult”
Reclaiming Your Sense of Self After Codependency
Codependency can develop for many reasons: an addiction or chronic illness in the family, an attachment disorder from past trauma, or having lived in a dysfunctional environment, among others. Codependency is even transmittable, passing down from parent to child, and from partner to partner. Mental Health America defines codependency as an “emotional and behavioural conditionContinue reading “Reclaiming Your Sense of Self After Codependency”
What to Do When You Struggle With Neediness
We sometimes get to a place where we need help. Depending on how we grew up, we can react to this place in several different ways. Those who had a secure, trusting attachment to a parental figure are more likely to feel safe asking for help as adults. If you developed a more avoidant attachmentContinue reading “What to Do When You Struggle With Neediness”
