Bob Mortimer Cured my Scuirophobia
A lifelong crippling phobia, gone. I'm free. I read a book that retold--practically verbatim--the story of my first meeting a new friend in a London bar, it also engaged squirrels in new and interesting ways, and eventually solved a murder mystery...all while making me laugh out loud every few chapters. People on the bus no longer sit near me. The Satsuma Complex is written by Bob Mortimer, a comedian from Middlesborough, who has lived a colorful life and pissed in more than one teapot in hotels across England. The germaphobe and tea-lov…
Grad-School Second and Third Thoughts...
When school started in August, I scrambled to cancel everything I had planned for the fall and early winter. On this list were monthly sound bath sessions with a couple beloved clients, one-off sound bath sessions with brand new clients (schedule months before) , a weekly sound meditation class, that I had contracted to teach at a local university, a handful of routine (and not so routine) medical appointments that I'd scheduled months earlier, visiting family and friends (alongside that is an imperative to visit with an old acquaintance …
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What the Heck Happened to my Social Anxiety?!
That's me, being gregarious in public This is Weird, It's Disappeared: Whatever it is, I'll take it. I woke up 3 weekends back, and my social anxiety was completely gone. I hopped from bed and decided to—against all past preferences and prior levels of discomfort—head out to our community farmer’s market, without a human buffer or anything. Springing up on a sunny Saturday morning I dressed in something cute and took off from our little house, to go out and meet the people. At the market I waved hello to folks and stopped to f…
#MeToo...& After
Oftentimes folks post positive feel-good updates on social media and blogs. I'm totally guilty of this. I often live through the tough times in my daily life, without finding ways to share in this forum. The plus-side of this strategy is that shiny-happy posts abound. The down-side is a missed opportunity to share experiences that may be helpful to others. When Hashtag-Me-Too emerged, friends around me shared their in-person stories of rape and sexual abuse. I did the same with them, and my community seemed fortified by the sharing. Last …
Post-Covid Social Anxiety
A week ago today, I was sat across from two good friends/neighbors who were in our Covid Bubble during lockdown. We were attending a book event at the new local bookstore/cafe. The younger of my two friends admitted to me that she finds it challenging to prepare for social engagement and was relieved that we all decided to attend the book talk together. I must say I feel this challenge at social events, myself. I often just power through the angsty feeling and head into the social morass anyway--as I did before the pandemic. But the angsty fee…
On Socials