Mother Nature occasionally packs quite a punch. For example, tornados often leave a wide path of destruction in their wake. Sometimes, in the news reports from areas affected by a tornado, we’ll see a neighborhood through which a tornado traveled seemingly haphazardly, leaving some places untouched while destroying others. This phenomenon is a fitting metaphor for how trauma works in our lives. … [Read more...]
Cloudy with a chance of sadness
I often find myself trying to help someone understand what it is like to live with a major depressive disorder. My go-to metaphor is to compare depression with the weather. Typically, people modify their behavior based on what the weather is each day, often without stopping to think about it at all. For example, at least in Minnesota, people tend to wear heavier coats during wintertime. The net … [Read more...]
Feeling SAD after the holidays?
As we moved through the 2020 holiday season, most of us knew how different things would be. There was less “hustle and bustle.” Many typically found joy and comfort in the year-end rush to make the most of the holidays, to savor the warmth of friendships, to bask in the love of our families. That is not to say that problems take the holiday season off; instead, we collectively try to focus on the … [Read more...]