"Cutting," burning, head banging, gouging at your skin are all forms of self-injury, which I will refer to as SI for the purposes of this post. SI behaviors are basically impulse control issues. When a person is experiencing negative feelings, the need to alleviate the emotional pain is a normal...

When it comes to the problem with healthcare in the U.S., I tend to agree with Dr. Andrew Weil that "what's missing, tragically, is a diagnosis of the real, far more fundamental problem, which is that what's even worse than its stratospheric cost is the fact that American health care...

Are you afraid to feel angry, jealous, lonely, helpless or anxious? It's no coincidence that four out of seven clients I have seen this week have all had the same paralyzing fear about expressing their feelings to someone they love, be it a parent, lover, friend, or wife. What they...

Doctors in the VA are under pressure NOT to diagnose PTSD, because a diagnosis of PTSD leads to increased benefits and disqualifies the soldier from re-deployment. Bodies are at a premium here, folks, with many soldiers being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan numerous times. Hardball on msnbc.com reports that the...

I was asked to write about ways to renew yourself for spring. My first thought was, "Oh no, am I doing anything that would count as 'renewal' aside from chasing down my accountant to get my taxes straight (from 2007 no less)"! Or having the urge (I didn't say I...

If you're anything like me, you're up to your eyeballs in people telling you that you should practice gratitude on a daily basis. At least once a week there is a headline blog on the Living Section of the Huffington Post about gratitude. I've noticed in my own life that...

Step #4 Look for Solutions...stop submitting, stop rebelling.

Do you hate your body? Do you try to diet thinking that if you just lost 10 pounds, your life would be miraculously improved? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of your struggle with weight? Then practicing...

Blog on Step #3...Look for Answers...don't stop until you've found them.

There are reasons why you are a chronic dieter, and if you have an eating disorder, there are reasons for that too. Do you know what they are? My guess is, probably not. That's why you're reading this! It's...

Seeking Help and Support is step #2 in ending the battle of chronic dieting. It's also the second step in recovery from an eating disorder. If you've been dieting all of your life in order to attain thinness, then you may not be able to achieve body satisfaction and meet...

Last week I invited you to welcome in the New Year by stopping your dieting. I gave 2 compelling reasons why diets don't work for lasting weight loss, set point and water balance. This week I'm going into more detail on the first step toward "diet recovery": Admit you have...

It's that time of year again folks... time to make that all-important New Year's resolution. I feel like the odd-one-out by having a different goal for myself than to lose weight. In fact, the phrase "On Monday I'm starting my diet" has become so common place in our culture, no...

With the New Year approaching, I know I'm not the only one thinking about changes I'd like to make in 2009. To do this, I ask myself, what qualities really worked for me this year and what qualities didn't serve me so well that I can "let go" of.

A recent article in People magazine asked the following questions "What's happening at Fort Bragg?" and "Is the Army doing enough to protect its women?" Three female soldiers from the nation's largest army base have been murdered in the past six months allegedly by spouses or boyfriends that have served...

PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may not be a "household name" yet, but it soon will be. As our combat veterans return from Afghanistan and Iraq, we will be inundated, as a country, with cases of PTSD and TBI, traumatic brain injury. Are we equipped as a nation...

Last week, I wrote about the benefits of selfishness, especially to those of us who are people pleasers. I had no way to predict the flood of responses I received from women expressing their gratitude that someone was giving them permission to take care of themselves FIRST. Here's what...

Be more selfish this holiday season and you will have a better holiday. Many of you doubt my last statement don't you? But I invite you to answer these questions for yourself:

• Do you give of yourself to others only to be disappointed in what you get back?
...

If You Still See Black and White, You Need a New Pair of Glasses!

I was standing around Peet's Coffee in Santa Monica the other day waiting for a friend. While I waited for my coffee to be made a black man, I later found out his name is Carl,...

When I read the news yesterday that Joaquin Phoenix was giving up acting and getting out of the business, I felt strangely proud and full of admiration for him. I have always wondered why more celebrities don't come to this same decision, especially the ones who are always complaining about...

Did I really just see a picture of Sarah Palin's 7yr old daughter, Piper, carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag? Are you kidding me? I was so struck by this picture and the fact that nobody seems to be commenting on the absurdity of the situation, that I felt compelled to...

An out -of -work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide. A 90 year old Ohio woman shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years. A record 500,000 homeowners...