Brain-Friendly “Circuit Breakers” for Fear, Stress, and Anxiety

“Fear.” If I were perfectly concise and accurate, that would be the sum total of my response to the question, “What do you specialize in as a psychotherapist?” Because, when you get right down to it, that’s what we’re all dealing with, in one way or another. Fear, fear of fear, fear of conflict, fear of being alone, fear of …

#WeBelieveHer – At a White House vigil before the Kavanaugh Hearings

During these past few weeks, there’s been still another wave of women coming forward to tell their stories of sexual assault, both in the therapy room and out, some for the first time ever, even after decades of silence. My therapy colleagues and I are not just sitting and listening, but also speaking out, for ourselves and our patients, for …

When You Can’t Sleep at 3 in the F***ing Morning

It’s 3am and you can’t sleep. 3am and you can’t sleep? Ugh. This post is for you. This post isn’t about WHY you wake up and can’t get back to sleep at 3 in the morning, or HOW to stop waking up at 3 am every morning. (That stuff will be in the upcoming additional posts in this series.) This …

Free Book Excerpt: ‘Rewire Your Brain for Love’

Better integrated brains make better relationships! Download a free excerpt from the bestselling book, “Rewire Your Brain for Love: Creating Vibrant Relationships Using the Science of Mindfulness” (Marsha Lucas, PhD – Psychologist / neuropsychologist in Washington, DC) So many thanks, to so many people, for making my book, Rewire Your Brain for Love: Creating Vibrant Relationships Using the Science of …
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Sleepless? Five Things to Know About Using Melatonin Correctly

“I can’t fall asleep, but melatonin doesn’t work for me.” Sleep eludes a lot of us, so I hear this fairly often. And almost as often, it’s because the poor tired person has been taking it wrong. Melatonin can be a very effective way to help your body sleep better – not just longer, or faster, but better, giving your …
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Go ahead, be selfish: VOLUNTEER

Doing good for others is good for you – and the fact that you’ll benefit from it personally doesn’t make it count any less. Here’s a compiled list of the benefits to YOU from volunteering to help others — it probably covers a lot of your own New Year’s “resolutions”. Over and over, research has clearly demonstrated these wide-ranging benefits. …
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Ruts and Holes Along the Way

Walking your path, living your life in an authentic, meaningful way, isn’t always as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes you fall into ruts — or holes. I was reminded of this piece by Portia Nelson while sitting with a patient today – thought I’d share it here. Autobiography in Five Short Chapters Chapter One …
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Stressed? Anxious? Irritable? Balancing Your Brain’s Negativity Bias

Fear, and even stress, are essential – to a certain degree. They keep us alive by insisting we pay attention to potential dangers and threats. However, living with too much fear – and fear’s conjoined twin, anger – leaves us living lives that are small, miserable, and stressed. In order to protect you, your brain has what’s called a negativity …
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Body Scan Mindfulness Practice

One very helpful mindfulness practice is the Body Scan. Mindfulness practice, as succinctly defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn:  Paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally. In a body-scan mindfulness practice, the thing you’re paying attention to (on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally) is your body — everything from your toes to your scalp. Using your body as the focus …
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Poor sleep hurts your brain: Risk factor in the development of Alzheimer’s

Poor sleep now, Alzheimer’s later? The amount and quality of your sleep now could play a big role in how your brain does as you age, including developing Alzheimer’s. Here’s more research to convince you to move sleep up from the bottom of your to-do list. I’ve written before about the importance of good quality sleep (here, for example). Now …