Shame is a feeling of inadequacy or “brokenness.” Everyone experiences shame at some level. It doesn’t equal failure. Facing shame is necessary for our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

Anxiety and self-worth are directly related. Whatever reflections we got as children determine what we think of ourselves and how we learn to access our self-worth. If we learned to access it from the outside in, we feel worth based on what we do, have, or look like. This fuels chronic anxiety.

Critical? Defensive? Struggling to stay engaged in arguments? Giving someone the cold-shoulder? Unable to self-soothe and find your self withdrawing? These “Four Horsemen” are cancers in relationships. Fortunately, they are fixable. Find out how to start spotting these in your relationship now.

One reason communication breaks down is because of emotional hijackings. The emotional system perceives pain from something that was said or done, it turns on, and starts driving how we behave. The cycle of conflict begins.

Anxiety fuels self-doubt, automatic negative thoughts, ruminations, worries, conflict, arguments, affairs and divorce. Anxiety is universal. It drives our thinking and behavior. Understanding the relationship between your emotional system and your thinking brain is the key to effective anxiety treatment.

Parents are stressed out, tired, and often overwhelmed. It’s easy to become angry. Then everyone is upset, and the guilt-cycle begins. Understanding how to cope is essential to regulating our emotions and wellbeing and theirs.