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Post-Traumatic Growth?

3/19/2022

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What is Post Traumatic Growth?

Opportunities for Growth

Trauma shatters our lives in so many profound ways.

While it takes tremendous effort to heal, it can also produce some incredible opportunities for growth.

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Not Everyone Deserves You

2/13/2022

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Not Everyone Deserves You

Surround Yourself with Love

We live life more fully when we surround ourselves with people who like us, value us, and prioritize us and we do the same with them.

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Codependency versus Healthy Traits

1/30/2022

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Competing Needs for Autonomy versus Connection

We all have needs for independence/autonomy AND connectedness/togetherness.

These can feel like competing forces but when we integrate them in healthier ways, we experience interdependency.

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Signs of a Toxic Work Relationship

1/28/2022

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Toxic Work Friendship

Work Friendships Are Complicated

Work friendships are often complicated with competing personal and professional needs.

We need to recognize the signs when they become toxic so that we can limit our contact or set stronger boundaries.

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Signs of Losing Yourself

1/25/2022

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Signs of Losing Yourself

Neglecting Ourselves to Protect Ourselves

When life is especially painful and challenging we can lose ourselves in the process.

It’s often a defense to protect ourselves.

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Are you the Family Scapegoat?

1/12/2022

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Family Scapegoat

Scapegoats See the Family Dysfunction

Have you felt like a lone wolf in your family that gets a lot of pressure to blend in?

Being the family scapegoat is a challenging position to be in but also gives greater freedom to chart our own course.

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Good Enough is the New Perfect

1/7/2022

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Good Enough Not Perfect

Good Enough is Enough

Giving ourselves the grace of “good enough” is a gift that keeps on giving.

The irony is that we’re often able to do/be better than we otherwise would in chasing the mythical place of perfection.

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Stop Chasing People

1/5/2022

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Stop Chasing People

Spending Our Time Wisely

It’s a self-empowering act to stop chasing people but rather spend our time more wisely with people who value our presence and naturally have time/interest in reciprocating.

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Ways to Stop Future Tripping

1/1/2022

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Stop Future Tripping

Coming Back to the Present

It’s easy to “future trip” when our present is already so challenging.

Instead of worrying about a future that may never come to fruition, coming back to the present moment and cultivating moments of playfulness, pleasure, connection and gratitude is the antidote.

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Signs of Growing up Too Fast

12/29/2021

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Growing Up Too Fast

Why We Lose Our Childhood

When we’re forced to grow up too fast, we still have childlike needs that need to be met in adulthood.

Understanding what caused us to lose our childhood and ways to reparent ourselves in adulthood is the beginning.

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Reparenting Ourselves with Love

12/17/2021

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Reparenting Our Inner Child

Caring for Our Inner Child

No one has a “perfect” childhood but the need to reparent ourselves is especially critical when our needs were consistently unmet.

Childhood wounds can interrupt our lives into adulthood but thankfully we can still learn, heal and grow.

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Don't Feel All Your Feelings

12/16/2021

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Emotional Regulation

Finding the Right Balance

Anything taken to an extreme can become problematic.

We don’t need to attend to all feelings and all thoughts.

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Impact of Childhood Trauma

12/2/2021

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Impact of Childhood Trauma

Childhood Abuse Impacts Us into Adulthood

An integral part of healing from childhood abuse is recognizing the ways that it impacts us in the present.

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Being "Normal" is NOT the Goal

9/30/2021

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Am I Normal?

Living Our Most Authentic Lives Matters

One of the questions I get asked the most as a therapist is, “Am I normal?”

Underneath this question is often a desire to fit in, to belong, and to know that we’re not alone.

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Don't Use Labels as a Weapon

9/28/2021

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Labels As Weapons

Pathologizing Others Harms Us Too

Labeling other people’s behavior with derogatory and inaccurate terms is harmful for others but also for ourselves.

When we judge others harshly or project our own discomfort onto them, we’re less likely to give ourselves permission to be human and do our own growth.

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Stop Weaponizing Emotional Eating

9/26/2021

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Stop Weaponizing Emotional Eating

More Compassion, Less Stigma

We’ve received so many messed up messages about food, eating, and our bodies that we can internalize these messages in harmful ways.

Instead of pathologizing and discriminating against diverse bodies, let’s appreciate all the colors of the body rainbow.

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

9/24/2021

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome Can Bring Growing Pains

One of my most memorable experiences feeling “Imposter Syndrome” was walking down the hallway of my new therapy office to greet my first client ever in private practice almost 22 years ago.

Feeling the anxiety of intense self-doubt can be paralyzing but it also can be the result of growing pains.

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Healing Isn't Linear

9/21/2021

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Process of Healing

Healing Comes With Progress & Set Backs

Healing is often a slow and steady process with plenty of setbacks.

That’s perfectly okay.

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Denying Your Pain Doesn't Make you Stronger

9/20/2021

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Being Vulnerable is Courageous

Being Vulnerable is Courageous

It makes us stronger to acknowledge our pain and more likely that we can heal when we do so.

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Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds

9/19/2021

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Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds

How We Use Our Time Matters

We don’t automatically heal or gain wisdom with the passing of time.

It’s how we use our lived experiences that gives us that.

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Signs Your Boss is a Narcissist

9/16/2021

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Signs Your Boss is a Narcissist

Awareness is Key to Self-Empowerment

Having a self-absorbed perfectionist for a boss can be a huge headache and even detrimental to our health and well-being in larger ways.

Interacting with them can erode our confidence and sense of reality as we’re constantly mistreated and even blamed for their own failures.

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Valid Feelings Don't Justify Poor Behaviors

9/15/2021

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Valid Feelings don't Justify Poor Behaviors

Poor Behaviors Aren't Necessary

Just because we feel strongly about something doesn’t mean we have the right to treat others poorly.

This isn’t about perfection or being robotic, it’s about learning and taking responsibility for our lives

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Caring for Your Inner Child

9/14/2021

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Caring for Your Inner Child

Replacing Self-Judgment with Self-Compassion

Our “Inner Child” represents that part of ourselves that is playful, creative and yet has also been hurt.

Instead of kicking ourselves when we’re down, we can learn to console ourselves with encouragement and love.

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Don't Be the Bigger Person

9/12/2021

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Don't Be the Bigger Person

Have Reasonable Expectations

Too often we’re told to “Rise Above” or “Be the Bigger Person” in situations where we’re being poorly treated.

This can too easily be misinterpreted that we shouldn’t advocate for ourselves, ask for more or set appropriate boundaries

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It's okay to Take a Break from Feeling

9/11/2021

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It's okay to take a break from feeling

Finding Balance with Our Feelings

“Feeling our feelings” can be taken to an extreme where we’re doing it 24/7.

This is about striking the right balance between overindulging & ruminating on one side and denying or ignoring on the other.

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Contact
James Guay (#lmft39252)
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
​for clients residing in the State of California
310-405-0840
james@livingmorefully.com

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8581 Santa Monica Blvd #146
West Hollywood, CA 90069

  • Home
  • Appointments
  • Services
    • Anxiety Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • LGBTQ Therapy
    • Mindfulness Therapy
    • Friendship Therapy
    • The James & Heather Show
    • Retreats
  • Biography
  • Testimonials
  • Vlog