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Author: Heather Edwards

Heather Edwards Mental Health Counseling / Articles posted by Heather Edwards (Page 6)

Is Fear Your Driver? Pump the brakes. Take the wheel.

How to conquer a phobia: The psychology behind phobias and how you can face them Jackson A. Thomas interviewed me for tips on managing anxiety and panic. Check out the article published in Chicago's Community Health Magazine. They often come out when it rains and they’re used as fish bait. But Candace Tucker isn’t going anywhere near them. “I used to fish with my dad and sisters a lot, so naturally worms were involved,” says Tucker, a resolution specialist in Parma, Ohio. “The more I looked at them I started noticing how nasty they are. It’s the smell of them, how they wiggle and the nastiest part: They can grow another head if one is cut off.” This fear of worms, called vermiphobia or scoleciphobia, has inflicted Tucker since...

Waiting for the Solar Eclipse

An hour before the eclipse, my eldest cat jumped into the windowsill. She seemed to know we were on the cusp of an astrological anomaly.  Oregon would be the first to experience it. Since I’m in NYC, I turned on the news and watched. Then, headed to my rooftop and awaited the northeast reveal. Wary to look directly at the sun because of warnings about permanent retinal damage, I wondered how I could see something I can’t look at. So I positioned my iphone camera toward the sun and it became my eyes. I took many photographs hoping for a brief separation in the clouds to capture this unusual phenomenon. Others were on their rooftops and balconies also awaiting a glimpse of the partial sun....

When Romance Dies: 7 Steps to Bounce Back

Someone yanked the carpet out from under you. You’re flabbergasted, broken-hearted, and wondering if you’ll ever love again.  You thought this was the one. It’s hard to imagine life without him. You were already thinking about next steps - marriage and children. What will you tell your friends and family? What will they think of you? Where did you go wrong? Your mind races as the tears flow. It hurts. Yet, as much as you wanted it to work, it wasn’t a perfect relationship anyway. In fact, there’s no perfect relationship. But, what now? Allow yourself to cry. The loss of a relationship - even if YOU did the breaking up - is a loss. It can feel like a mini grief cycle. Your feelings will...

The Art of Non-Attachment – Learning to let go

I heard the crash of my beloved pottery as it shattered on the cement floor. It jolted me. It freed me. 17 years ago when I was starting out as a potter (one of my passions), I toiled endlessly to make each piece perfect. The walls needed to be straight. The mouth perfectly circular, and the form of the body exact - that's the beauty and the art of it. My instructor painfully witnessed my labor and determination for perfection everyday. I attended every open studio session and took multiple classes per week. I knew if I worked hard enough, I'd get it. One night that instructor suggested non-attachment to the work. I had no idea of what he meant. He might as well have been speaking a foreign language...

Is Shame Holding You Back? You are worthy.

Let’s go alternate reality. Yes, AR. What’s your biggest wish for this year? Five years from now? Or for your lifetime? Tap into the full experience of that image. Be the hero in your own game. One where you make the rules. You tell the story. You determine the outcome. What’s there? Who’s there? Smell the scents, see the colors, connect to the people, hear the sounds, engage with your surroundings. Notice the energy that fills you up. Close your eyes. Lock it in. Wait. Did I hear the voice of self doubt? Disbelief? Uncertainty? It’s okay. It’s what we do. Notice it and dismiss it. Shift your focus to what you want. The nasty little self critic gremlin works hard at sabotaging your dreams. It’s...

Scarcity to Abundance – Healing from loss

“How do you want to die?” These are the haunting words spoken by her doctor after being diagnosed with stage four cancer. Three months after her passing, I’ve turned toward and through my grief and loss seeking peace. Grief takes time. It can feel overwhelming and eternal. But it eventually changes. The cloud lifts. Clarity and lightness return. Our love for those who have passed before us never dies and perhaps that’s what keeps us moving forward. They’re never really gone. They live on in memories, moments, and a felt sense of connection to them. While sitting on the edge of loss and wholeness, I’m struck by the flood of ideas about cultivating a robust authentic life. It’s an integration of real science from multiple areas of...

Heather Edwards Happiness

Psychology Today: 5 Steps to Happiness

Psychology Today - Mark Banschick, MD. Article By Guest Blogger, Heather Edwards Reclaiming Happiness By Mark Banschick M.D. on February 13, 2017  The Intelligent Divorce Guest blogger Heather Edwards has a five important tips that'll help you align with your heart's desires. The quest for health and happiness today seems like an uphill battle. Each day, the  issues gracing our headlines challenge the equilibrium of our hearts and soul. The politicsof the moment burdens our psyche. Many worry about jobs, paying for college or for rent; and the world continues to show its openness to violence, depressing our sense of peace, love, and hope for a better tomorrow. We’re further misaligned by our own personal demons. Whether it’s illness, relationships, or finances, each of us has a complexity of...

What is Love?

This Valentine’s Day I'm challenged to answer the question, “What is love?”. Recent personal events have stretched and profoundly changed me in beautiful and unforeseen ways. Because of this, love has a broader, richer, more complex meaning than before. So when I’m asked the question, “What is love?”. Its definition extends well beyond a Valentine's Day celebration of attraction, sexuality, partnership, and mating. While I appreciate that, it goes much deeper. It's an expression of give-and-take, mutual support, sometimes giving more than you knew you could, truly being there for someone else in their darkest hour, accepting what may be difficult to see, and accepting love in its many forms when it comes back to you. Where do you see love? In heart shapes in the clouds,...

How Failure Hones Your Awesomeness

Are you the kind of person that sets your sights HIGH and then feels defeated, hopeless, and lost if things don’t work out? Sometimes, it seems downright impossible to get what you want. Failure hurts on many levels and we can all agree that it doesn’t feel good. The good news is that failure is a natural extension of growing, changing, and expanding. It’s you, stretching and recoiling. You put yourself out there, took a risk, believed in an idea or project, and when it got tough and fearsome, you longed for your safe zone. Let’s take a look at a few of the most influential people in history. Did you know Abraham Lincoln was defeated 8 times for elected positions in politics, lost a job,...

Thanks Giving: Donate your coats

Last Saturday, my husband and I were outside enjoying a 70 degree afternoon among the crisp fallen leaves of autumn. It was magical. The warm, full sun cast dancing shadows on the ground through the trees. Acorns, a light cool breeze, and the fresh scent of earth filled our consciousness. It hardly felt like a November afternoon. We were visiting family for an early Thanks Giving. Eight hours later, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped 30 degrees, and sleet began to fall. We were hardly prepared for this dramatic change. We were away for the weekend and he didn’t have a coat. I only had warm-weather shoes and no socks! It was a stark reminder of the brute strength of winter. It called my attention...