“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.” Helen Keller Last night, after Thanksgiving dinner at my daughter’s house, my wife showed me a picture of last year’s Thanksgiving at our home in Palisades Highlands. The photo illuminated our round granite table, and the cobalt blue and gold heirloom dishes her mother kindly gave
Emotions can run high for the holidays. This time of year seems to bring up our entire history of Christmas or Chanukah past. Hurt feelings can pop out of the woodwork when we least expect it. To keep our sanity there are a few things to keep in mind going into this yule tide season.
2025 has been quite a year and we are only halfway through it. We lost our home in the Palisades fires and then the whole world caught fire. Wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and Israel, mass shootings and our president is pressing his authority like never before. There seems to be nowhere to turn in
Disaster doesn’t knock before it enters your life—it arrives uninvited, turning everything familiar into something unrecognizable. One moment, you’re stepping out the door like you have for years, and the next, life as you know it is gone. That’s exactly what happened to me. It was a typical sunny morning in California. I headed to
“Everywhere You Go There You Are” Jon Kabat-Zinn In my last blog about “My Own Worst Enemy,” I spoke about self-attack and the lack of compassion, understanding, respect, and empathy. I described a patient of mine who believed that he was behind where he should be in life and therefore, he will never be able
When I work with couples the central problem lies in the way they treat one another and their inability to communicate or listen to each other. The lack of respect, the harsh words, and the hurtful things they say and do to one another destroy the love and connection that initially brought them together. It starts with what our parents taught us or what they failed to teach us. If we grew up in a home that was neglectful, violent, hateful, racist, or exclusive, it’s more than likely we will become a person who reflects those qualities. And if there were no other viable alternatives to that wounding environment in our young lives, we would naturally develop a deeply negative inner life. We identify with what we experience. If our experience lacks heart, so will we.
Don’t worry be happy goes the phrase. Why not, we covet bliss. Mindfulness, cleansings, wellness groups, groping ceremonies, psychedelics, sports and on it goes. Big question, how are we going to accomplish well-being in a world in crisis, rising crime, difficult relationships, health issues and childcare. The day-to-day grind, loss of loved ones, illness, malaise, and pathos around and within us. So, how does one find happiness in all of this?
The problem of blaming the parents remains a very difficult one for psychotherapists and patients because our need to be loyal to our parents naturally leads us to lay the responsibility for our problems on some essential flaw within us. But the fact is that though parents try to do their best, they may not
Dr. Bill Cloke sat down with FIT-FACTS Harry Mitterbauer to discuss a global issue that needs to be talked about: Fitness and Mental Health is a fine balance that very few people are lucky enough to have mastered. Many people look great, but do you feel great? Listen to the podcast below for insightful information