Eran is my friend from UBC. She is relentlessly positive, which is a good counterpoint to all the relentless negativity out there, and she’s a great writer. Here’s her bio:
About Eran: Eran Norton is a 31-year old gal from Vancouver, Canada, who blogs about learning to live her life out loud at Ms. New Boots. Having quit her comfy 9-5 at a non-profit in 2007 with no plans other than to “find happiness”, she embarked upon a journey of the unknown. Now she freelances as a motivational coach, musician’s representative, writer and singer. You can follow Eran and her new boots on her blog (www.msnewboots.com), Facebook (www.facebook.com/msnewboots) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/erannorton).
- No matter how you spin it, when you tell people you’re seeing/have seen/are thinking of seeing a shrink, there will always be some who will secretly think you’re nuts.
- The more you admit to folks that you’re seeing a shrink, the more people you will come across that are also seeing a shrink. Apparently, we’re all a little bit nuts.
- I’m not as crazy as I may have originally thought. In fact, I’m not even the craziest person I know. When you face your problems head-on and talk about them, they start to shrink in size.
- Figuring out what made you depressed/angry/anxious/crazy in the first place doesn’t always solve the problem. It’s actually more important to learn how to live with those things, rather than to expect them to go away entirely.
- Don’t ever go into therapy thinking that you’ll be able to figure out ways to make the people around you change. You can’t change other people; you can only change yourself. But often, by changing your own behavior, you can effectively improve the relationships you originally wanted to change.
- Most people go into therapy with an awareness of what they can gain, but it’s also important to be aware of what you can lose. Really productive counseling and therapy can totally change your perceptions and approach to life. Be aware that although you may be changing for the better, the people and circumstances around you might not follow suit.
- In my own personal experience, talking is the best medicine. Therapeutic drugs like anti-depressants and other psychiatric medications have just proven to be a band-aid. They make the symptoms go away but they don’t heal the central problem.
- Therapy is expensive, but it’s also some of the best money I’ve ever spent.
- There are not many situations where you can spend an hour sitting and only talking about yourself without feeling guilty about ignoring the other person. Your shrink is not meant to be your friend – they’re getting paid to listen, so enjoy it.
- Life is what you make of it and as far as I know we only get one shot at it. There’s always going to be choices to make – make the right choices. Make the choices that feel right.