"Good Grief" for the Holidays: Charlie Brown, Anderson Cooper, and Podcasts

 

As the end of year approaches we hear the word "happy" a lot. 

Happy Holidays, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year. 

But this time of year is often anything but "happy" when it runs head long into memories of those who aren't with us. Grief runs deep. It is about yearning and missing. It's proof of our love. 

You may have heard the phrase "processing loss." Therapy, counseling, grief groups and empathic people are essential in the journey to understand the complex experience of bereavement.

Sometimes we aren't able to have a session or a meet up when the pangs get strong.

I'd like to recommend a relatively recent podcast series: "All There Is with Anderson Cooper."

https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper

In 2022, Cooper, a well known journalist and reporter, began to record his feelings as he was going through the belongings of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who had died in 2019.

With her, Cooper had suffered the sudden death of his father when he was 10 and the death of his older brother by suicide when he was 21. He had suppressed his grief for decades.

With his experience as a interviewer, Cooper has used the podcast to explore his own complex reactions while speaking with knowlegable therapists and with fellow travelers in grief. Some of the participants are well known to the public  (i.e.,Stephen Colbert, Andrew Garfield, Whoopi Goldberg, Naomi Judd) and some not (i.e., Irene Weiss, a survivor of the Holocaust, Randy Shelin, father of a brilliant young man who died by suicide at 18.) 

There are 3 seasons of episodes and, if prefered, you can also watch the discussions on CNN's You Tube channel. The URL for an episode with an author and leadership trainer on grief, Francis Weller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRWPA8oPyGs

Till next time, please take good care.

The Natural World: Not Black and White

"Blue" can be more than a subdued or sad mood.

Noticing the blues of water, skies and, yes, hydrangeas can bring calm to the mind and relaxation to the body. The research tying time spent in nature to improved mental health is robust.

Take a walk, a stroll, a run or a hike. Have a picnic or a play date. Yes, please take good care. 

(Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of Evidence, (May, 2021) M. P. Jimenez, et al., Int. J. of Environ Res Public Health; Vol. 18, Issue 9, 4790)

The Unexpected Gift: Appreciating Life's Nice Moments

 

While in midtown on an errand, I had the pleasure of running right smack dab into a 10-foot high 6-foot wide fresh floral display in the middle of the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue. NYC is a wonderous place but this was an atypical sight. I guessed that the display was a remnant of the prior day's Easter Parade. On a busy block full of people, only 4 other individuals had stopped to look. It seemed other folks were buried in their thoughts or phones. Perhaps many were in a rush to their next appointment. 

They missed out on one of life's nice, unexpected moments. And it smelled nice, too.

Here's hoping you'll stop to smell the roses when they pop up in front of your nose....

Spring Ahead

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."

Rainer Maria Rilke (1922)

Sonnets to Orpheus (Part One, XXI)

As always,take good care.

Happy Lunar New Year! May the year of the Dragon bring wisdom, good luck, innovation and honor to all who celebrate!

Yes, the Psychologist is In! (Back at the Office)

The Doctor is in (and it's been a while, I know.)

With the end to the Federal Emergency COVID Protocols in May, I've returned to the office to see clients in person one day a week. That may increase in the months ahead.

Health insurance companies are continuing to cover remote psychotherapy sessions even after the end of Federal Emergency protocols. Where it is appropriate I'm also continuing to meet with clients over video using the HIPAA compliant platform:  Doxy.Me

Current research indicates that the treatment outcomes are generally similar when comparing the delivery of services through telehealth vs in-person.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8595951/

However, I recommend that clients starting in therapy or coaching come in-person if possible for at least three sessions. 

If you have any questions or concerns about COVID 19 precautions please feel free to give me a call.

I look forward to seeing you IRL soon.

Until then I hope you'll take good care.

Update in Year Three: It's Not "New Normal"; It's Just "Now"

The phrase "new normal" is frequently applied as we approach May 11th when the COVID-19 National Emergency will end.  But,"normal" implies steadiness and the COVID-19 virus has shown that it doesn't stand still. So, where are we "now?"

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a treacherous journey for many. As of this April more than one million Americans didn't make it, while more than six million people world wide have succumbed to this virus.  Another 15 percent of us (though probably many more) have devloped Long COVID, a syndrome where inflammatory processes continue after the initial acute viral infection and create a separate burden.

Beyond these physical manifestations, there are emotional and psychological responses to the pandemic that continue to this day. Researchers have found that the stresses of lockdown as well as the restrictions to usual routines heightened levels of loneliness, anxiety, depression and aggression as well as alcohol and substance use.

One of the few fortunate outcomes of the pandemic is that getting help for mental or behavioral distress no longer required going to a physical office. Through this national emergency clinicans have been permitted to provide telehealth services reimbursable by health insurance. Often, this made the process of getting treatment more convenient and provided safety and security for the client and the clinican as the COVID-19 infection cycle continued. The good news is that--as of this moment--this situation is not expected to change after May 11th. Insurance companies appear satisfied with this option for providing counseling.  

Another fortunate outcome of these challenging years is that the importance of nurturing the self and connecting to others became clear in the face of isolation, loss and disruption. Clients in my clinical and coaching practices reported reprioritizing their time and energy toward relationships in their work, families and social networks. The "stuff" our consumer culture promotes doesn't ground us the way our alliances and interconnections do.

Here's a wish that those of you reading this post "now" are investing in yourself and in the communities--both personal and professional--that encourage you to take good care. 

There's only one of you and, of course, you matter.