A PhD from the U of Mom

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 12 Comments

Today, I’m happy to be sharing a guest post I think you’ll like a lot. It’s from Judith Westerfield, a delightful, art supply-toting, pacemaker-wearing, dog-loving psychotherapist.

In this post, Judy Judith, as she’s known, offers us the Cliff Notes version of this unique training led by our mothers – the U of Mom.

The U of Mom Curriculum

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”    Continue reading “A PhD from the U of Mom” →

How working – and not working – affects heart disease risk

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

I find myself in an uneasy position since I survived a heart attack. After a rewarding 35+ year high-profile career in the public relations field, I am no longer able to go to work because of ongoing debilitating symptoms of coronary microvascular disease.

I was in deep denial about this turn of events in the early months, desperate to return to the work I loved and to those I loved working with.

I felt even crazily hopeful that I might be somehow able to feel “normal” again if only I could just get back to my office.  Continue reading “How working – and not working – affects heart disease risk” →

Three types of heart happiness defined

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Dr. Martin Seligman is considered the father of what’s known as the positive psychology movement. He was once elected president of the American Psychological Association by the largest vote in that organization’s history, which must have made this self-described “natural born pessimist” feel almost happy. He’s also the author of a book that I often recommend to heart patients called Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. This gem, originally published 20 years ago, is still a valuable tool for learning skills that decades of research have shown may actually enhance our sense of wellbeing – a commodity that’s in short supply for the freshly-diagnosed heart patient. Dr. Seligman lists some basic identifiable types of the elusive state we call happiness:

‘Happiness’ is a scientifically unwieldy notion, but there are three different forms of it you can pursue:   Continue reading “Three types of heart happiness defined” →

How life’s worst tragedies turn into great speech material

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas ♥  @HeartSisters

I discovered Toastmasters back in 1987 (insert eternal thanks here to my dear friend Peter Forster for dragging me as his guest to my first meeting).  Since that day, I spent decades practicing my public speaking/ listening/thinking skills during our weekly club meetings every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. – which tells you that Toastmasters is tons o’ fun.

Or, that I’m a slow learner.

A really useful Toastmasters tip that I learned over lo these many years has been how to decide on a compelling speech topic, including this odd lesson:  “Life’s worst moments often make the best speech material”.

And that has never been more true than after I survived a heart attack.  Continue reading “How life’s worst tragedies turn into great speech material” →