by Sheryl Lisa Paul | May 15, 2022 | Anxiety, Mother Wound, Parenthood transitions, Relationships |
This is what I can tell you about the mother wound. I can tell you about mother-longing. I can tell you that we never stop longing for a mother to… … feed us. … take care of us. … nurture us in just the right way: not too much and not too... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Dec 19, 2021 | Anxiety, Parenthood transitions, Trust Yourself |
As Victoria and I prepare for our next Gathering Gold episode on winter, I’ve been thinking a lot about contrast, risk, and paradox, and how the highly sensitive person, whose tendency is to stay within the safe bounds of a comfort zone, has to push themselves to take... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | May 23, 2021 | Anxiety, Break Free From Relationship Anxiety, Intrusive Thoughts, Parenthood transitions, Relationships |
I’ve been thinking a lot about vulnerability lately and its connection to anxiety, gratitude, and the experience of being in love. Thanks to the brilliant work of Brené Brown, the word vulnerability has entered the mainstream and has led to an unprecedented... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | May 9, 2021 | Parenthood transitions |
Our older son left for a 10-day canoe trip on Wednesday morning. The group of eleven 9th and 10th grade kids and three instructors will be following the Lewis & Clark route on the Missouri river in Montana as they learn about history, keep journals in the spirit... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Apr 11, 2021 | Anxiety, Dying/Death, Health anxiety, Highly Sensitive Person, Parenthood transitions |
It’s Saturday night. I feel something tighten around my throat, around my soul. I don’t name it right away, slipping into the amnesia of “everything’s fine” and forgetting to slow down enough to notice the wisdom of my body, the... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Feb 21, 2021 | Anxiety, Highly Sensitive Person, Parenthood transitions, Transitions - General |
Parenting news bulletin: Our children are not here to meet our emotional needs and fulfill our dreams. We’re here to support theirs. (**see note at the end of the post) This is a sharp left from the parenting path our world has been on for thousands of years,... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Jan 17, 2021 | Anxiety, Empty Nest, Intrusive Thoughts, Parenthood transitions |
I was driving into town one evening last week and as I drove down our local highway I flashed on a time over twenty years ago when I drove from Los Angeles to San Diego. As my body sank into the somatic memory, a wave of nostalgia surged up that said, “I miss... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Dec 6, 2020 | Anxiety, Parenthood transitions |
With the pandemic surging, worry is on the upswing. Worry is a culturally acceptable way to refer to anxiety, but I think of them as the same thing. If you’re on my site, worry may be taking centerstage in your life, if not every day then some days. The stakes... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Nov 15, 2020 | 20s, Anxiety, Moving, Parenthood transitions, Retirement/Grandparent, Transitions - General |
As I’ve shared many times, the panic attack that dragged me into the underworld of my unearthed pain and initiated me into the landscape of anxiety that would become my life’s work occurred at age twenty-one, three months before graduating from college.... by Sheryl Lisa Paul | Oct 11, 2020 | Anxiety, Empty Nest, Parenthood transitions, Relationships, Transitions - General |
We’ve arrived at the end of a cycle in our family’s life. An essential and positive end, but an end nonetheless. And if there’s anything I’ve learned about endings in my nearly forty-nine years on this planet, it’s that they need to be...