November 2020 – Keith Wilson

How Adversity Brings Out Your Potential

This plant in my office is one of my heroes This jade plant, I think you will agree, is a beautiful specimen; as good as a house plant can be. It is lush and green and healthy. It propagates well. It’s lived a long time. Continue reading →

The Help Page for Feelings

When you’re having a strong feeling, it can seem as though you’re being swept away by a power greater than yourself. It seems that way, but you’re not. Continue reading →

How to Re-Traumatize Yourself

And un-re-traumatize yourself, too First, a bad thing happens. Rape, murder, combat, abuse. You don’t have a lot of control over it. That’s the point. Something happens way, way out of your control. You barely make it. Now you’re left with the memories. That’s the trauma. Continue reading →

What Color Are Your Glasses?

You know what rose colored glasses are, right? People who are said to be wearing rose colored glasses are said to be seeing the world as only pleasant and happy. We scoff at people wearing rose colored glasses. They are naive, sanguine, and overly optimistic. But, glasses come in all colors. They all distort yourContinue reading “What Color Are Your Glasses?”

Peeling the Onion

How do you really feel? Finding your true feelings is like peeling an onion, not like cracking an egg. Continue reading →

How I Made Peace With My Inner Critic

And saw him for who he really is As a writer and a shrink, I’m intimately familiar with the inner critic, both my own and others’. You might expect us to be natural enemies. Most of my clients come to me complaining about their inner critics and asking me to silence them. If only theyContinue reading “How I Made Peace With My Inner Critic”

Take Out the Garbage

Letting go of grudges, repeatedly I once facilitated a group for people recovering from severe mental illnesses. We met once a week and they talked about how things were going for them. They tried to support each other. One day a member of the group came in and said his landlord was going to evictContinue reading “Take Out the Garbage”

Wrangling the Parts of Your Mind

How Internal Family Systems Therapy Can Help You are divided. You must have noticed this when you’re trying to decide whether to have that chocolate cake, or stick to your diet; when you rise, groaning from your bed, despite how comfortable that pillow looks; when you want to tell your boss to shove it, butContinue reading “Wrangling the Parts of Your Mind”