Coping With A “February”

Insight from Martha Beck. http://marthabeck.com/

I am thinking of training a hamster to predict the weather in Phoenix, where I live. It will not be difficult; I will purchase two buttons – a red one that says “sunny” and a blue one that says “not sunny”. Then I will teach the hamster that the blue button does not exist. We’ll make millions!

Guide to Avoiding Avoidance

Dr. Martha Beck does it again. More  fabulous and useful advice.

Is there really such a thing as good grief? Does fear of suffering only increase suffering? For the fastest way through bad times, read on….
Melanie’s life was shrinking like a cheap blouse in an overheated dryer. At 30 she’d developed a fear of flying that ended her dream of world travel. Within a year, her phobia had grown to include—or rather, exclude—driving. After the World Trade Center attacks, Melanie became terrified to enter the downtown area of any city. She quit her job as an office manager (the potential for mail-based terrorism was too big) and called me hoping I could help her devise a way of earning money from home. “Everybody tells me my fears aren’t realistic,” she said. “But I think I’m the most realistic person I know. It’s a dangerous world—I just want to be safe.”