Can “mental muscle” help us recuperate?

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥    @HeartSisters

Dr. Amy Morin described her early career as a psychotherapist who“intended  to help others build mental strength”. She could never have imagined, however,  that she would soon need what she calls “mental muscle” to help herself. When Amy was just 23, her mother died of a brain aneurysm. Three years later, a heart attack killed Amy’s young husband, Lincoln – a tragedy that was followed by her father-in-law’s sudden death.

This is what she wrote about surviving the pain of those losses:

“I was a 26-year old widow with no Mom. Losing the most important people in my life sent me on a quest to learn how I could stay mentally strong.”  

Continue reading “Can “mental muscle” help us recuperate?”

It’s okay not to feel “normal”

 by Carolyn Thomas      @HeartSisters

What is “normal” around here anyway? What the world is experiencing now during the COVID-19* crisis is unprecedented –  meaning nothing like this has happened before. A global viral pandemic is just not “normal”.  At least, to us.

We long to somehow translate each new development or warning or news report into what our brains can recognize as a return to normality. But there’s nothing about unprecedented events that should feel “normal” to any of us.    . Continue reading “It’s okay not to feel “normal””