I wanted to pass along an article that I recently read, which was posted in Psychology Today on March 25, 2021. Many of my clients’ presenting issues that cause significant distress involve having emotionally immature and unstable parents. This posted article wonderfully captured the pain, trauma, challenges, and frustrations that these individuals endure and suffer through in silence, particularly since others do not seem to understand nor empathize with their plight. They seek therapy in a desperate attempt to identify and develop ways to cope with this unpredictable and hurtful behavior. The article provides a sense of validation and insight for such clients, in addition to effective methods in which to develop emotionally healthy boundaries to enhance personal growth and self-esteem.
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As I was enjoying a smoothie with one of my close friends after an exercise class, we observed the many women in the café with plastic surgery. She looked at me and said, “It is a privilege to age; I don’t know why most people have a hard time embracing it.” Her words struck me in a way I had not previously thought about the aging process. As a society, we have become consumed with age-defying creams, plastic surgery, cosmetic procedures, and any type of exercise that will defy gravity. My friend’s words came from a place of survival; a place in which she never thought she would live past 30 years old (she is now 37). 
Why I started yoga?
The years of hard work and dedication have finally come to fruition. Your senior in high school is admitted into college. You take the biggest sigh of relief you have had since he started high school. The rest of the senior year is filled with excited anticipation for your student as well as for yourself. The weeks prior to the drive (or airplane trip) to college are occupied with busy errands and online ordering to establish your student’s new home for the next few years. The actual trip to college may be filled with chatter while your youngster expresses his fears as well as aspirations, realizing that he is entering into one of the greatest transitions in life. Your role as parent is to reassure him that he will handle this change graciously while learning to maneuver and negotiate obstacles that come his way. Little did you realize the physiological reactions that would unexpectedly arise as you leave his dorm room. 
Do you ever feel stuck in a rut, feeling that life is monotonous and that you are a robot doing the same thing every day? We are part of a very busy, work-focused society where many people do not even take all of their allowed vacation days. My husband and I lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for one year due to a job transfer in 2004. We observed that the work-life balance in Canada differed from the American work culture. To illustrate, the work days were shorter and people would definitely use all of their vacation time, usually taking the whole month of August off from work for family vacation. 
“God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, the COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference.” We recognize this quote as the serenity prayer, most typically used in alcoholics or narcotics anonymous communities. As a heuristic, individuals tend to view addiction associated with substances or activities that are tangible, such as alcohol, drugs, or gambling. This belief system is consistent with the specific definition of addiction is the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. In my clinical experiences as a psychologist for 20+ years, however, I have conceptualized addiction in a way that can apply to everyone and anyone, use of substances or not.