Mindful Living

Telling stories can be a fun activity, but it is also good for you! When we share stories of how we grew up, our parents or extended families, we build upon the connections and it helps shape our identity. Telling stories helps us see that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. My father told a lot of stories, and I hated listening to them, but now I wished I had listened a little more closely. My children love hearing stories of my family and can be entertained for hours by them. So here is a brief, kind of funny story from my childhood: When I was about 8, I was at the local bar with my father, and he told me to drive home, which was a little over 2 miles away. I was excited, but also afraid. Being that I seldom turned down a challenge I got behind the wheel and drove us home. It was difficult to see out of the windshield because I wasn't tall enough. My father yelled a few times because I was too close to the edge of the road, but other than that I did great!...

September 2010 Newsletter Kettle Moraine Counseling We are happy to announce 2 new therapists joining us! Deb Graf (http://kettlemorainecounseling.com/Deb.htm) sees children, adolescents, adults and couples and she comes with many years of experience as a teacher. One of Deb’s specialties is working with children who have experienced trauma or have attachment issues. Layne Sampson (http://kettlemorainecounseling.com/Layne.htm) is another new therapist who is energetic, accepting of others and very skilled. She sees adolescents, adults and couples and one of her specialties is intimacy/couples issues. Layne is also working on becoming a yoga instructor! Kettle Moraine Counseling now has a play therapy room (pictures coming soon)! It’s a wonderful, safe place for children to explore, heal and express themselves. Question and Answer. I feel so stressed out and irritable all the time! What are some ways I can get a handle of this? First off, good job recognizing that something needs to c...

What is self esteem? It seems like a not so well defined word that we use a lot in daily life. I see many people who think they do not have high self esteem, and it always takes some digging to find out what that means to them. How I define self esteem is this sturdiness inside and a love for ourselves on a deep level, even with our imperfections. It's the sense that we know we are OK. The most beautiful part of knowing that we are OK is that others are OK then too- and that is very powerful for relationships and healing. Self esteem is not thinking that we are all that, or that we are better than others, but also, we are not worse than others either. Most of the time when people come off as arrogant or act like they are very special, it's a false sense of importance in order to hide wounds and feelings of inadequacies. People with high self esteem are able to admit when they are wrong because it doesn't mean that there is something wrong with them . People with good self e...