in defense of “trying”

the word “trying” has a bad rap. why? yoda said, “do, or do not. there is no try“. there is the idea that “trying” is associated with excuses, that trying comes just before failing, that trying implies no commitment, etc. fair enough. here are my points: what does try mean? let’s start by looking at… Continue reading in defense of “trying”

escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

almost two weeks ago now, catatonic kid (let’s call her CK) posted another entry in our cross-blog conversation about depression and language. in fighting darkness, recovering words, CK took her words and crafted a beautiful post. it’s a work of art and it, along with her readers’ comments, also raises a number of very interesting… Continue reading escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

depression and the power of language

depression is a state of subtraction, says catatonic kid, depression is not an approachable thing. it seems, in fact, to be precisely the opposite. it has a power to repel that is apparently so strong that it stops our mouths before we have even thought to speak of all that runs through its dark night.… Continue reading depression and the power of language

what do your favourite words tell you about yourself?

yesterday, i came across a post by lisa collazo on good therapy that inspired me to follow her idea to really look into what words mean for us. one of her questions was – what are your favourite words? here they are, with an explanation why – and read on, because we’ll turn it into… Continue reading what do your favourite words tell you about yourself?

watchful words: 7 ways to rename a mental illness

in thinking about today’s blog post and still in line with this week’s theme of the national mental health week, i came back to one of my favourite books about therapy, ben furman’s and tapani ahola’s solution talk: hosting therapeutic conversations. the following is an excerpt and summary of the chapter, “watchful wording” where they… Continue reading watchful words: 7 ways to rename a mental illness