A chapter of my life I would title “The Hard Years” would be the decades I struggled with mental health misdiagnoses and alcoholism. What got me through it? I had a deep desire to “fix” my inability to move up from the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as well as stop feeling stuck in…
Tag: Borderline Personality Disorder
55 Rules For Love – Rule #12 – Support Each Other When The Going Gets Tough
Originally Published: February 8th, 2020 Supporting each other when the going gets tough has been a challenge for Michael and I. Over the years, we’ve had very different opinions on what defines a stressful situation and how we cope with it. I am emotional. When the going gets tough, I can easily feel overwhelmed, powerless…
55 Rules For Love – Rule #5 – Don’t Say Words With The Intent To Hurt
Originally Published: January 15th, 2020 Hurt People Hurt People Hurt people hurt people. My husband Michael told me these simple and profound words a few years ago because when I was angry at him, I would lash out saying words to hurt that I would quickly regret. My transition over the years from lashing out…
55 Rules For Love – Rule #4 – Only We Can Make Ourselves Happy, It Is Not The Other Person’s Responsibility
Originally Published: January 13th, 2020 Codependent No More My first thought on this rule is Melody Beattie’s book, Codependent No More. Codependency has many definitions, but my favourite is: … an excessive reliance on other people for approval and a sense of identity. For so many years, my happiness depended on the approval of others….
I Am Healing The Past To Be Free For The Future
Originally Published: January 5th, 2025 2026 I spend more time now thinking about the past as I process and heal through trauma that has been weighing me down for decades. This allows me the freedom to move on and have more space in my mind to be excited for future possibilities and fun. S, 🌻…
Embracing 50: Decoding My Diagnosis: Navigating Mental Health Challenges
As my 56th birthday approaches, I’ve decided to repost blogs about past birthdays. I wrote Embracing 50: Decoding My Diagnosis: Navigating Mental Health Challenges on March 26th, 2019 while we were living in Doha, Qatar. Rereading this blog reflects an important truth for me: I can’t advocate enough the importance of a proper mental health diagnosis. My…
Living With Histrionic Personality Disorder – Sexually Provocative Behaviour
Sexually Provocative Behavior It was January, 1997. At 27 years old, I was going for it. I wanted to be a somebody in Halifax – in the up-and-coming explosion of film and television productions throughout Nova Scotia. As newly ordained and completely naive manager (and soon-to-be scapegoat for the restaurant’s failure) of Robert McKelvie’s Pastavino…
DBT – Skills Thermometer – A DBT Skills Anchor Chart
DBT Skills Thermometer Once the group went through the 4 DBT sections of Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness, this lovely Cheat Sheet or Anchor Chart was given to us as a sort of wrap up of the skills and the group. I find it so very helpful. Perhaps, this can help you,…