Month: <span>February 2016</span>

Psychology Today Relationships Stress • By admin 0 Comments

9 Things to Do When Someone Has Hurt You

Originally posted on Psychology Today, February 2, 2016

Being able to put your past abuse into perspective doesn’t mean you will be immune from being hurt in the present. If you are around people for very long, you will end up hurt by someone.

Your past patterns of dealing with being hurt are not those you want to continue. So here are some steps you can take to deal with new situations. They will help you develop some new techniques and keep you from reacting to new hurts in old ways.

1. Recognize the offense for what it is.

Is it intentional? Is it unintentional? Is it a misunderstanding? Listen to what your heart tells you about what happened. Usually your gut reaction is a good indicator of what you really think. However, listen to the truth behind that reaction to make sure it’s not an old one coming up from your past. Choose to respond intentionally instead of reacting instinctively.

2. Resist the tendency to defend your position. 

If you determine that you need to confront the person who has hurt you, offer only your point of view about the incident. It is amazing how many confrontations you can diffuse by removing defensiveness and hostility. When you stick to what you are feeling, you give the other person permission to explain his or her point of view. Then together you can come to a consensus, hopefully resulting in mutual forgiveness.

3. Give up the need to be right. 

This can be an unfortunate leftover of past abuse and can escalate a bad situation into a worse one. Other people are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions. When differences of opinions arise, it does not necessarily dictate that one person is right and the other is wrong. You may simply disagree.

4. Recognize and apologize for anything you may have done to contribute to the situation. 

Make certain, however, that it is a legitimate wrong or oversight and not false guilt brought on by past situations. However, don’t assume that past abuse gives you a pass on your own responsibility for your actions. Treating someone badly and then blaming it on something in your past does nothing in the present to help the other person, who is not to blame for your past abuse.

5. Respond, don’t react. 

This will require you to pause long enough to take the opportunity to think and evaluate. Sometimes, just waiting will add needed perspective. By responding and not just reacting, you exert control over your behavior. Past emotional abuse may have caused you to develop some pretty sensitive buttons that others can inadvertently push without understanding the consequences. Learning this skill will help you respond appropriately, giving your responses greater power and meaning for others.

6. Adopt an attitude of bridge-building as opposed to attacking or retreating. 

A conciliatory attitude is much easier for everyone to deal with than a hostile, defensive one. Practice maintaining an attitude of love and acceptance. This doesn’t mean youagree with the person who has hurt you or with what he or she has done. Rather, you have chosen to respond in a certain, predetermined way. When you present your concerns with a door open to reconciliation, you should find yourself pleased at how often the other person will opt to walk through.

7. Realize that you may be the target of someone’s anger but not the source of it.

You may find yourself in the unenviable position of being the proverbial straw that broke someone else’s back. Take responsibility only for your part, and avoid falling into the trap of accepting false guilt from others.

8. Create personal limits.

This is part of reclaiming your personal power. You have the right to define what your limits are—and insist that they be respected.

9. Realize that even if someone has hurt you, that need not take away your personal happiness. 

Remember, you are in charge of your attitude and response. You can get over it and go on. If the hurt was unintentional, ask yourself, “Why am I magnifying it by holding on to it?” If the hurt was intentional and forgiven, ask yourself, “If the person has asked for my forgiveness and moved on, why am I still stuck in the pain?” If the hurt was intentional and unforgiven, tell yourself, “I choose to forgive the pain the person caused me so I can move past it.” Then reassert yourself and determine to be happy. That’s a choice you should reserve for yourself.

Dr. Gregory Jantz is the founder of The Center • A Place of HOPE. Pioneering whole-person care nearly 30 years ago, Jantz has dedicated his life’s work to creating possibilities for others, and helping people change their lives for good. The Center • A Place of HOPE, located on the Puget Sound in Edmonds, Washington, creates individualized programs to treat behavioral and mental health issues, including eating disorders, addiction, depression, anxiety and others.
Jantz, G. (2016, February 2). 9 Things to Do When Someone Has Hurt You. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hope-relationships/201602/9-things-do-when-someone-has-hurt-you
Psychology Today Relationships • By admin 0 Comments

The 3 Keys to a Happier Relationship

It’s never easy, but it’s less complicated than you think. 

Originally posted on Psychology Today, Jan 20, 2015

Relationships are not easy. We all know that. We’ve been blinded by jealousy, been frustrated that we’ve had to compromise on something, and felt unappreciated by a long-term partner. That’s all because of the strong emotions that relationships bring out of us. When we are filled with love, we are also filled with passion. When we are filled with passion, we are filled with fire. And that fire isn’t always the easiest to manage—in ourselves or in our partners. But I wouldn’t want it any other way; relationships are the core purpose of our lives.

We humans are very social creatures. We love people, and we thrive when we are surrounded by those we love the most—especially a special someone. There is nothing better than snuggling on the sofa, feeling an arm around you, and resting your heads on each other. It feels so good it’s like a drug. And then there’s all the passionate activity in bed, too—an even more powerful drug.

Yet all these powerful things that make a relationship so amazing don’t make it easy.

It’s still two souls, two bodies, and two minds, each with their own opinions, plans and perceptions of the world. But when we find a way to make it work—and work hard at keeping it that way—there’s nothing better. So how do you make it work—and work on making it work?

There’s lots of research suggesting all kinds of strategies, but I think it boils down to three simple things:

Talk to each other. Communicate. Listen. Be open. Be non-judg mental. As long as you keep talking, you will be able to sort anything out. You won’t agree on everything, but by sharing what’s most important to you, you’ll be more likely to reach a happy compromise if that’s what’s needed.
Stay physical. Stay connected. Stay passionate. Remember those first dates that made you fall in love with your partner? Recreate them. Better yet, have a weekly date night. Keep it fun and adventurous. Show your partner how much you love them—and let them do the same to you.
Support each other’s dreams and goals. Regardless of what you think of them. They are their dreams and goals, not yours. That’s why they’re going after them and not you. So do everything you can to encourage them, inspire them, and keep them going. There’s nothing like seeing your partner succeed at something they worked really hard on. Be proud, and celebrate their achievements.
Do these three things, and you will discover that you can make relationships a lot easier than you think. Be open with each other, stay connected, and support each other. Treat your partner like you would like them to treat you. Trust me: You will find a deeper, more fulfilling love than ever before.

Susanna Halonen, author of Screw Finding Your Passion (It’s Within You, Let’s Unlock It), is a life coach (link is external) and writer based in London, England. As the Happyologist ® she helps individuals and organisations to live their best, most passionate lives.
Halonen, S. (2015, January 20). The 3 Keys to a Happier Relationship. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-path-passionate-happiness/201501/the-3-keys-happier-relationship
Anxiety Confidence Depression • • By admin 0 Comments

You Matter…

Ever felt like someone was more important than you, like if you were in a line-up you would be chosen last or maybe not even at all? From the cold comment by your best friend, to your parents not showing up to your baseball game, or the wish that someone would just call, but that it never happens–it’s an ongoing experience for many. In a conversation I recently had with a young lady, I was surprised to hear how many experiences she had gone through wherein she was given the message, “You don’t matter.” She was told to care for everyone else so frequently that even now, caring for herself is an uncomfortable pursuit. “You need to be supportive.” “Take care of your sister.” “You need to be more considerate.” These types of statements can lead someone to experience a deflated self, perhaps resulting in a self-critical voice or what others have called the “Harsh Judge” and did just that in this young lady’s life. My heart hurt for her. I fervently wanted her to believe the truth that she really does matter.

You matter.

You are born with the desire for belonging and the need for purpose and presence in relationship. When it’s threatened, violated, or even taken away, it can leave us feeling broken, unwanted and sometimes worthless. It’s not meant to be this way. This isn’t normal pain, but it can sometimes start to feel that way. The narrative that repeats becomes familiar: “You’re not good enough”, “You’re not important”, “Nobody cares about you.” These then, become the filter by which you experience the world. It’s what I see in others and in myself. My “truth” acquiesces to someone’s narrative and/or directive for me. “You’re not important” becomes “I’m worthless, good-for-nothing and unlovable.” How painful is that and what a miserable message to hold on to! This isn’t normal pain. Just like a broken bone isn’t normal pain. It’s abnormal, uncommon, and unnatural. BUT, pain validates connection. It tells you something has been violated or is under threat. Pain demonstrates that peace was in existence, otherwise there would be no room for it. Just like without good, we could not understand bad. Something has to be in existence before the other can occur. Life before death. Truth before a lie. Peace before pain. So often I say to people, “If you break your toe, you’re not thinking about your nose.” Pain will repeat itself until you do something about it because pain requires a response. It creates hyper-focus or tunnel vision. It isolates. But what happens when everything you do results in no change? Sooner or later what tends to happen is that we concede to the pain. We surrender and submit. It becomes our truth–“I don’t matter.” Think about that tape (“I don’t matter”) playing in each experience you have, in either performance or relationship. It’s heavy. It’s burdensome. It’s suffocating. It separates and isolates us from what is really true and the culmination of isolation, is death. What is truly life-giving is knowing that you really do have worth, that you have significant value, and are worthy of love.

You matter.

When it hurts, think about what it is that has been violated or is under threat. When I feel devalued, it’s because I have great worth. When I feel unloved, it’s because I am loved. Tell yourself those truths. Repeat that narrative and silence the tape that brings us down. Let’s get out of the pain cycle and continue entering into the Peace cycle. It is there that we find love, trust, and true quality.

-Dustin Lehman, MS, LCPC, LMFT, PC

9 Things to Do When Someone Has Hurt You

Originally posted on Psychology Today, February 2, 2016 Being able to put your past abuse into perspective doesn’t mean …

The 3 Keys to a Happier Relationship

It’s never easy, but it’s less complicated than you think.  Originally posted on Psychology Today, Jan 20, 2015 …

You Matter…

Ever felt like someone was more important than you, like if you were in a line-up you would be chosen last or maybe not even …