Take My Wife, Please!
In my work as a relationship coach, I’m often reminded of the absurdity of celebrity and the obsession we have with idealizing their every move.
From TMZ to Dish Nation, we see dodgy tabloid headlines of failed celeb marriages that barely get out of the gate. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion, as we line the streets for the Grand Prix of relationship chaos!
I’ve been a licensed therapist and coach in Los Angeles for over 25 years, so you can imagine the marital carnage I’ve witnessed. In the late 90’s I was referred an A-list actor who struggled with extreme anxiety and panic attacks. I managed to get him back up and running and he gratefully referred me a few of his angst-ridden A-lister friends and before you know it I had a reputation for discretely taking care of the rich and famous.
The irony of all of this is that most celebrities, in my experience, are the worst possible examples to serve as mentors for all matters of relationship!...
Late Blooming... Moments of Truth
If you're like me and considered to be a late bloomer, there's good and bad news... The good news is all those additional years of experience have gleaned invaluable wisdom and strength. The bad news... you're late!
So how to tackle this one? The truth will always set us free and my truth began very young in boarding school when I was noticeably the only 14 year old boy whose voice hadn't yet broken and not a single hair on my legs! It was devastating self-esteem decimation!
It doesn't get any worse than being 15 and finally visiting the luxuries of home on a brief reprieve from school, only to be greeted on the phone by "Hello Melanie dear, can I speak to your mum please!" Melanie being my very feminine oldest sister! You get the picture.
On to college in the States (then an 18 year old young man with full hormones intact and maybe requiring a quick shave once a month) and time to declare what to do with my adult life. It seems to me there are two types of people in the world;...
High Anxiety: Mea Culpa
At the root of most all presenting problems that bring people in to seek help, anxiety is the culprit!
Ask any therapist, family physician, healer, astrologer, tarot reader or psychic and they will likely concur that the underlying catalyst for unrest is anxiety.
And yet, it is so misunderstood.
For 10 of my 20 years in the field of personal development, I specialized in anxiety disorders. Impressive? Well, what does being a specialist actually mean? It certainly commands respect and credibility but what really is the secret behind being so special in a particular field?
What creates a specialization is experience. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.
Consider this: The Cheesecake Factory specializes in 50 kinds of cheesecake, even though they have over 10 pages of other appetizers and main dishes on their menu (and portions that could feed half of Ethiopia, but that's another post!) So why cheesecake? Because it's a very popular dessert and for years, all that was on offer was...
