More About…
More about Substance Use & Abuse
When your relationship with drinking or using becomes problematic it can be rather a challenge to step away without support. If your choices are having negative consequences in your life, it could be helpful to learn about how to change that.
Using too much of a substance or getting involved in behaviors that are destructive is much like any other relationship that’s gone south ~ it can be hard to see your way out. Worse yet, it can seem like there’s only one solution. While it may well be that ending your relationship with substances is the best destination, there are many routes to achieving that.
I’m not a believer in ‘one size fits all’. We all find our way to what works best for us, in every area of our lives, and this area is no exception. Together we find what solutions and supports work best for you, essentially customizing how you move forward without substances that previously served you, and no longer do.
PTSD / C-PTSD
If you, or a loved one, has been diagnosed with PTSD or C-PTSD this is one of the major areas of my work. When you feel like there’s no more adrenaline in your tank and calls leave you feeling drained beyond anything you can describe it might be time to see if there’s more going on for you.
As a trauma informed therapist, I want to help you understand what’s going on. Knowledge is power. Increasing what you know will give you more options for how you manage your personal pain points.
If you’re a current or former first responder – police, fire, paramedic or medical professional – and you are seeking to understand more so that you can experience life more comfortably, please get the support you’ve earned.
Anxiety
Anxiety shows up in many ways and has a habit of morphing its presentation. Today it might feel like you can’t get enough done fast enough while tomorrow binge watching Netflix might be the furthest you’ll get.
As Andy Puddicombe, founder of Headspace and former monk puts it, “The problem with anxiety is that it inhibits our ability to deal with the issue that’s caused it in the first place. It makes our capacity for rational thought dip, while it, itself, begins to spiral out of control. This makes it harder to address the issue and causes genuine misery to ourselves and those around us.”
There are real tools and strategies that you can learn to use as you move away from anxiety and toward addressing the issues that caused it to start with.
Navigating Changes
Life has an odd sense of humor, doesn’t it? There are changes that sneak up, ones that give us warnings which we chose to ignore. Together we can navigate them to what’s next.
Singer/Songwriter Alanis Morissette put it this way in her song Ironic, “Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right. And life has a funny way of helping you out, when you think everything’s gone wrong, and everything blows up in your face.”
From unexpected twists in relationships, to the sudden ending of a career, and just about everything in between, I’ve seen a great deal. My own life has taught me that life really does have a funny way of showing up. Navigating the unexpected what it’s all about.
Boundary Setting
Boundaries are, quite literally, lifesaving tools. The problem is most of us weren’t taught anything about them nor how to use them wisely for greatest effectiveness.
Knowing when and how to set limits, reinforce them and re-work them as necessary, are not skills generally taught alongside parallel parking lessons. Most of us either learn them the hard way or we don’t learn them at all and wonder why we feel like the human equivalent of mashed potatoes.
While it might sound harsh or difficult, the reality is that once you learn how and when to use boundary setting you’ll never look back. It really is a skill that anyone can learn at any time in their life.