Why do we procrastinate? If you procrastinate, you will be happy to know that it is probably not because of lack of self-control or laziness. Your procrastination is likely to be all about anxiety, not some character flaw or moral failing. Anxiety and procrastination are closely linked. When you feel anxious about something of course you feel the impulse to put it off.   Perfectionism, catastrophizing, resentment, low self-esteem, and imposter syndrome can all trigger anxiety and impede your ability to get things done. The scenario that I hear the most from my clients is that they know that they have something to complete … Read more…

Understanding Phobias So many of us find ourselves with phobias. Are you afraid of closed-in spaces, spiders, or flying in an airplane? For most people, a negative experience starts the phobia. Pandemic anyone? In countries that seem to have beaten COVID, researchers have found that a significant number of people have developed agoraphobia and are afraid to leave their houses, even though it is now safe for vaccinated people to go out. This is not too surprising. After all, the message that it was not safe to leave the house was pounded into our brains by the news, public service … Read more…

Understanding your body’s stress response  Did you know that a natural hormone produced by your body to keep you safe can actually end up being bad for your health?    It’s the stress hormone cortisol.  It’s part of your natural “flight or fight” response that has kept humans alive for thousands of years.  It is for emergencies only however, such as escaping an angry bull elephant or a hostile attacker. The body’s stress response was meant to be triggered by life or death situations.  In the modern world, it is often triggered by daily stressful social, economic, and work situations. … Read more…

Are you suddenly feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and worried when you had been responding to the “new pandemic normal” just fine?  Many people felt kind of energized and easily able to “keep calm and carry on” during the early months of this crisis, but recently, for quite a few people, this ability has waned.  Six months into these “unprecedented times”, there is a neurological reason for this burn-out and part of it has to do with the way your wonderful brain is always working to ensure your survival. Take the fight-or-flight response, for example. Your amygdala, the temporal lobe of your brain, is … Read more…