Yoga for Difficult Moods
A three-part workshop facilitated by:
Lane Gormley, LPC – Ray of Hope Counseling Services and Cindy Olah, RYT, Owner and Chief Instructor – Sacred Garden Yoga.
Reach for the Light: The Care and Treatment of Sad Moods in Winter
Written by Lane Gormley, EdS, LPC, NCC
(Image: http://mkalty.org/field-of-flowers-in-the-summer-light/://mkalty.org/field-of-flowers-in-the-summer-light/)
Signs of Fall
As early as late August, the light outside looks different – paler and muted with a lessened ability to stimulate the brain and to brighten our surroundings. The sun rises later. The sunset often comes before we have finished our work. Inside and outside, there will be less and less available light (light that our bodies can use) until the winter solstice. Nature’s response can be to go to bed or to find more light. Bears go to bed, spending more and more time in their caves as the dark hibernation period of deep winter approaches. Migratory birds head South in search of more light.
Wily Coyote and the ACME Corporation: The Dynamics of Anger
Written by Lane Gormley, EdS, LPC, BCC, DCC
One Kind of Anger
Some of us have watched the situation play out in front of our eyes for a lifetime – the continual and unsuccessful attempts
of Wily E. Coyote to blow up the Roadrunner. This was one of my favorite cartoons as a child, and I still like it today. After all these years, it makes me laugh. In addition to its comic value, though, I think that it demonstrates some valuable points about the destructive side of anger. If we make destructive anger explicit, it could help us to understand our own anger or potential for anger. It might even permit us to harness its force as an agent for good in our lives. Here are some ideas about destructive anger as illustrated by Wily Coyote:
Hating the Holidays? How to Turn Things Around
Written by Lane Gormley, EdS, LPC, NCC
So many people are sad during the winter holidays. There’s even a name for it – Holiday Depression. The period that lies between our preparation for Thanksgiving and the celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, and/or Kwanza can seem like Death Valley when the winter and rain of January set in. If you are a holiday enthusiast, you can skip this blog. It is for the rest of you.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): An Overview
Written by Lane Gormley, EdS, LPC, NCC
Symptoms of BPD
Clients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder are emotionally unstable, or emotionally dysregulated. They often have a distorted self-image and feel as though something is “wrong” with them. They may fear abandonment. The resulting anger, impulse-driven behaviors (including self-injury), and moodiness may threaten their relationships.
A Time of Grief and Remembrance
Written by Lane Gormley, EdS, LPC, NCC
Moving On
Americans are not good at grief. We are in a hurry to get back to work, to attend to every minor errand, to go to the bridge club, and to pick up the thread of our continuity. Stopping is uncomfortable. We don’t have time to mourn our losses and, besides, how do you do that? Then, there are the tears. What if someone saw us cry? What would they think? What if we started crying and couldn’t stop? We are just generally uneasy about honoring our sadness. One of my Clients in the Crisis Unit at a major hospital lost her mother at the age of 12. At the funeral, her aunt told her, “It’s OK to cry today, but tomorrow this has to be over. We have to go back to normal.”