Good Pain Vs. Bad Pain

I think most people with chronic pain are familiar with this concept, but maybe you haven’t articulated it. When I started doing Pilates and experimenting with different types of bodywork, like acupuncture, chiropractic work, cupping, electrical stem, gua sha, etc., I started to really clarify this point for myself and my practitioners and trainers. Good …

My New Pandemic OCD Rituals

OCD means that even when I am exhausted or in pain, sometimes I can’t help but engage in my rituals and obsessive behaviors. In these times, I can find myself washing up the dishes, and then suddenly I’m doing laundry and cleaning all the counters and the toilets and I don’t know exactly how I …

Why Do We Feel the Need to Be “New” and “Improved” at the New Year?

Why do we need to be different? Everywhere this time of year there are advertisements for New Year’s resolutions that will change you: make you better, make you different, make you a new you for the new year. Why do we want that? Why are we so unhappy with who we are? Can we improve …

Anxiety Sneaks Up on Me

It’s rare for me to have an anxiety or OCD crisis nowadays. I see my therapist regularly. I have a medication regime that on the whole is working. I have changed a lot of things in my life to support my mental health. All of these things keep me fairly on an even keel. However, …

Self-Care Hurts

Yesterday afternoon I was lying on the acupuncture bed, trying (and failing) not to wince when the acupuncturist lightly touched a tender muscle before putting in a needle. I had been traveling for family and was still stiff, sore, and knotted up after the long flights. I knew that I would feel better in the …