Blog
This is One of the Most Effective Ways to Break Free from an Intrusive Thought
I've written many times about the confluence of my work with my personal life, and how they each inform the other: what I learn parenting my sons influences how I work with my highly sensitive clients and what I learn from my clients influences how I parent and how I...
If You’re Feeling Lonely During the Holidays, You’re Not Alone
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we're entering into what can feel like a particularly lonely season for many people: the leaves have fallen from the trees, daylight disappears early, and the holiday season is upon us. In this week's episode of Gathering Gold, I share...
I’m Sending You Some Comfort and Guidance as We Enter the Holidays
As we descend into the holiday season, I'm sending you these past posts and a webinar with hopes that they'll offer support and comfort for whatever may arise during this charged time: loneliness, sadness, grief, joy, excitement, fear, dread, disappointment. May these...
This is How Worry Can Steal our Breath and Also Return It
I've been thinking a lot about worry lately. I hear it in my clients. I see it in comments on my posts. I watch how it shows up in my kids. And, oh, how I know worry in my own cells. It's part of my DNA, quite literally. I've been curious about the shape and tone of...
I Turned 50 on Friday and This is What I Want to Share With You
I've written a birthday blog post almost every year since I started this blog in 2009. I wrote about entering my 40s here, and in today’s very special Gathering Gold episode, Victoria and I reflect on aging as I cross the threshold into the next decade of life: my...
How do I Know the Difference Between Intuition and Fear?
On a recent group call, a participant asked one of the most common questions for those struggling with anxiety and intrusive thoughts is: "So if I don't trust these anxious thoughts then what can I trust? If my truth is really that we are not right for each other [or...
How Laughter and Humor Can Be Sources of Both Pain and Joy
Laughter is powerful. It can be a sign of deep comfort and intimacy, or a weapon used to reject and humiliate. Some of us grew up in homes where jokes were plentiful but tears weren’t allowed; others may have felt that silliness or goofiness was frowned upon. For...
How the Anxiety, Grief, and Joy of Autumn Can Lead the Way to Growth
Every autumn, I hear an upsurge of anxiety, grief, longing, groundlessness, and joy among my highly sensitive population. Sometimes it will sound like this: "I've been feeling more anxiety lately and I'm not sure why." Me: "Well, we don't have to know why, but if you...
Feeling Anxiety About the State of the World? You’re Not Alone.
The topic of world and eco-anxiety shows up in my practice every few months, but it currently seems to be at an all-time high. And how could it be otherwise when news of doom and disaster inflames and floods our airwaves daily? One of the byproducts of being a highly...
How Do We Trust Ourselves to Make Good Decisions During Pandemic Flux?
I'm touching down into another layer of self-trust, listening closely to my Yeses and Nos, to the signals in my inner landscapes that let me know which aqueduct valves to close so that the underground waters are redirected from elements of outward service to inner...
If You’re Struggling with Relationship Anxiety, this One is For You
This post is for those of you struggling with relationship anxiety. But it's also for anyone who struggles with anxiety that attaches onto a specific theme - health, parenting, money, friendship, sexuality - and struggles to understand in your cells the concept of...
Healing From Suffering Requires Meeting this One Character with Kindness
It's a character that I meet every day in my work and in my life. It's a character that can feel hot or cold, loud or quiet. It's a character that can slither into psyche expertly, quickly, often without conscious awareness, for it has likely been with you for a long...
Intergenerational Wounds: Healing the Pain that Didn’t Start with You
We're living in an extraordinary time on our planet: a time of extraordinary pain and also extraordinary possibility. In our 24/7 media culture designed to light up the amygdala's fear response, it's easy to only see the world's pain right now, and there's no doubt...
This Is a Roadmap to Break Free From Anxiety at Last
"There are many therapists and coaches out there who are a lot of fluff and flash without a lot of substance – but Sheryl is the real deal! I’m a tough customer (a type A, lawyer, perfectionist), and this course really exceeded my expectations!" - Tracey, Los Angeles ...
This is the First – and Most Essential – Step to Heal your Anxiety
Last weekend I met with one of my two monthly circles of women. This one consists of two other women who I've known since I was a child and who love me as deeply as anyone can be loved. And by this I mean that all parts of me are accepted. I can share my places of...