For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 323 422 2036
The Emotional Environment
How well did you sleep last night?
Is hybrid work taking more of a toll on you than office work or remote work ever did?
Do you become apprehensive in crowded spaces anticipating the unanticipated?
Do feelings of exhaustion cause misunderstandings with you and your significant other?
Or maybe the news or social media is reinforcing anger, hopelessness, or a feeling that you're not volunteering enough. Other concerns may involve ideas about not owning a place; not being partnered or having a child, or worries about savings.
Joy, Anger, Grief, Worry, Fear, and Sadness
We don't live in one world, we live in many.
With 10 million people in Los Angeles county, we make our way through lines, sit on extended holds for services, and spend far too much time lost in our phones. We are constantly being pushed and pulled by each of these moments, all the while our lives are happening.
And everyday, we experience multitudes of people, energies, attitudes and behaviors in others, who are going through the same thing in their own lives. It seems by day's end, something as simple as deciding on dinner can cause our already frayed nerves to go into overdrive. These combinations become a serious condition when prolonged over time. Being tired, too much for too long, separates the efficient exchange of information between the brain and the body.
It takes a toll on our ability to fully commit, concentrate, and connect; especially with self.
We don't live in one world, we live in many.
With 10 million people in Los Angeles county, we make our way through lines, sit on extended holds for services, and spend far too much time lost in our phones. We are constantly being pushed and pulled by each of these moments, all the while our lives are happening.
And everyday, we experience multitudes of people, energies, attitudes and behaviors in others, who are going through the same thing in their own lives. It seems by day's end, something as simple as deciding on dinner can cause our already frayed nerves to go into overdrive. These combinations become a serious condition when prolonged over time. Being tired, too much for too long, separates the efficient exchange of information between the brain and the body.
It takes a toll on our ability to fully commit, concentrate, and connect; especially with self.
The Pandemic, RSV, the flu and a variety of viruses
Throughout its course, we have each discovered our hearts and a persistent need for mobility, or solitude, or meditation depending on whether we are feeling isolated or feverish. Each new virus has been perplexing with the main question being: How do I reconcile being safe while having a need for human contact? These viruses and their variants have positioned us, ever-vigilant in our efforts to recover a sense of living community and to examine the responsibilities we have towards our loved ones and others in our local area. It is a global alteration, possessing both tragedy and joy found side by side on any day, in any moment.
Transitions occur from unbearable grief to inconsolable frustration to interdependency, via ratification with each new booster.
Going into its fourth calendar year, this pandemic has fortified many of my clients' perspectives from dread to management. I often hear people speak along these lines, now: 'I don't feel guilty, I feel responsible.' Well, yes. We are open to the world even when it is not open to us, as we are repeatedly hurled in this wave machine, snow globe, or what have you when the numbers go up and down and up and down. Juggling our work responsibilities and family's needs and then assisting those in the community who rely on our support, while we are all in the clutches of being done and undone, surely feels as though our resilience may collapse. But this is not over. We as a country, have become dispossessed by the theatrical militancy from the anti-intellectual movement who impede the health of our nation at every turn, with obstruction in politics and climate change and gun safety.
Our grief unfortunately doesn't submit to mathematical measures and so the body chooses what it shall do when there are too many consequences and not enough solutions.
Throughout its course, we have each discovered our hearts and a persistent need for mobility, or solitude, or meditation depending on whether we are feeling isolated or feverish. Each new virus has been perplexing with the main question being: How do I reconcile being safe while having a need for human contact? These viruses and their variants have positioned us, ever-vigilant in our efforts to recover a sense of living community and to examine the responsibilities we have towards our loved ones and others in our local area. It is a global alteration, possessing both tragedy and joy found side by side on any day, in any moment.
Transitions occur from unbearable grief to inconsolable frustration to interdependency, via ratification with each new booster.
Going into its fourth calendar year, this pandemic has fortified many of my clients' perspectives from dread to management. I often hear people speak along these lines, now: 'I don't feel guilty, I feel responsible.' Well, yes. We are open to the world even when it is not open to us, as we are repeatedly hurled in this wave machine, snow globe, or what have you when the numbers go up and down and up and down. Juggling our work responsibilities and family's needs and then assisting those in the community who rely on our support, while we are all in the clutches of being done and undone, surely feels as though our resilience may collapse. But this is not over. We as a country, have become dispossessed by the theatrical militancy from the anti-intellectual movement who impede the health of our nation at every turn, with obstruction in politics and climate change and gun safety.
Our grief unfortunately doesn't submit to mathematical measures and so the body chooses what it shall do when there are too many consequences and not enough solutions.
Burnout
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is characterized by three main symptoms: The sustained experience of workplace stress that leaves a person feeling exhausted, negative about their job, and with a reduced professional efficacy.
Basically, it's being worked to the point of being too tired to care.
-
And what about your kids?
For children, the wellbeing of an adult has a direct impact on them. Maturity helps to temper emotions as we navigate through the day to day, but children reflect what they absorb around them; they don't choose to be fearful, loving, or calm. They don't decide what's on the to do list, what their schedule is, or how patient their own parents are. Emotions are often derived from our environments and this translates even more so with children. With these kinds of stressors, people both big and small need empathy, not adversity.
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is characterized by three main symptoms: The sustained experience of workplace stress that leaves a person feeling exhausted, negative about their job, and with a reduced professional efficacy.
Basically, it's being worked to the point of being too tired to care.
-
And what about your kids?
For children, the wellbeing of an adult has a direct impact on them. Maturity helps to temper emotions as we navigate through the day to day, but children reflect what they absorb around them; they don't choose to be fearful, loving, or calm. They don't decide what's on the to do list, what their schedule is, or how patient their own parents are. Emotions are often derived from our environments and this translates even more so with children. With these kinds of stressors, people both big and small need empathy, not adversity.
I'm Here to Listen
And to support you with ideas that can help reduce stress. As you learn to relate better with yourself, you begin to relate to others more effectively, and actual problems find their right size. Boundary setting, grounding techniques, empathy, and self-care are tools that you develop and the good news is that you already possess these.
With therapy your clarity improves about your ongoing emotional needs, wishes, and desires. Through weekly exploration and discussion, you are invited to create and choose alternatives that help you to better manage environmental stressors with greater success and, in turn, you not only feel better; but you develop new coping skills that enable you to feel good about yourself.
Problems, misunderstandings, interruptions, and unforeseen changes are always going to be present. It's how you deal with them that makes them what they are. It’s important to feel well.
French philosopher Albert Camus once remarked that writing is ''where one confesses and accuses oneself and where we seek out listeners to ourselves, of our solitude, despair and guilt." This too, is therapy.
Let's talk.
For information, or to schedule an appointment, call 323 422 2036.
And to support you with ideas that can help reduce stress. As you learn to relate better with yourself, you begin to relate to others more effectively, and actual problems find their right size. Boundary setting, grounding techniques, empathy, and self-care are tools that you develop and the good news is that you already possess these.
With therapy your clarity improves about your ongoing emotional needs, wishes, and desires. Through weekly exploration and discussion, you are invited to create and choose alternatives that help you to better manage environmental stressors with greater success and, in turn, you not only feel better; but you develop new coping skills that enable you to feel good about yourself.
Problems, misunderstandings, interruptions, and unforeseen changes are always going to be present. It's how you deal with them that makes them what they are. It’s important to feel well.
French philosopher Albert Camus once remarked that writing is ''where one confesses and accuses oneself and where we seek out listeners to ourselves, of our solitude, despair and guilt." This too, is therapy.
Let's talk.
For information, or to schedule an appointment, call 323 422 2036.