Author: Nicole Weis

Top 10 Most Downloaded Close the Chapter Podcast Episodes in 2023

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Top 10 Most Downloaded Close the Chapter Podcast Episodes in 2023

I am deeply grateful for your unwavering support of the Close the Chapter Podcast.

From our very first episode, which aired on April 22, 2019, to the 244 solo and guest episodes we've released since then, you have been there for us every step of the way.

My goal for the podcast has always been to provide you with powerful, practical, and purposeful tools and information that can transform your life. I am committed to changing the global conversation around mental health, and I believe that by tuning in, you can find the encouragement, support, and inspiration you need to continue the hard work of healing, finding your true authentic self, and making meaningful changes.

Your support through subscribing, writing meaningful reviews, sharing episodes, and posting on social media makes a significant difference.

The most important work we can do is to cultivate healthy relationships with ourselves and others. By learning how to have authentic and vulnerable conversations, we can create inner peace, calm, clarity, contentment, and compassion.

Wishing you a wonderful year ahead.

Thank you for being a part of our community and for your ongoing support.

Below are the 10 most downloaded episodes.

It's important to make a commitment to take care of yourself, and I understand that it can be challenging at times. But know that I'm here to support you and cheer you on every step of the way. Remember, you deserve to prioritize your own well-being!

#1 - Episode 198 - Co-Dependency & Finding the Way Back To Yourself with María-Victoria Albina, NP, MPH

#2 - Episode 194 - 6 Fears of Intimacy & Closeness

#3 - Episode 201 - 10 Ways We Self-Sabotage & How to Break the Cycle

#4 - Episode 199 - The Power of Awe: Easing Anxiety, Burnout and Chronic Pain with Jake Eagle, LPC

#5 - Episode 202 - The Impact of Family Imprints & How to Set Boundaries with Johanna Lynn

#6 - Episode 196 - The Courage to Be You & Stop Catastrophizing

#7 - Episode 200 - Breaking Free From Burnout with Amy Mangueira

#8 - Episode 197 - Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free with Nancy Levin

#9 - Episode 195 - What is Displacement & Its Impact

#10 -Episode 207 - Understanding Parent-Child Dynamics in Romantic Relationships

 

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

Top 10 Most Downloaded Close the Chapter Podcast Episodes in 2022

website blog image

Top 10 Most Downloaded Close the Chapter Podcast Episodes in 2022

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support of the Close the Chapter Podcast! It’s hard to believe the first episode aired on April 22, 2019. We have released over 193 solo and guest episodes.

My mission and goal for the podcast was and continues to be helping you find powerful, practical and purposeful tools and information to begin transforming your life. And, I want to help change the global conversation around mental health.  I hope it provides extra encouragement, support and inspiration to keep doing the hard work of healing, improving your sense of worth and value, and making sustainable changes. 

By subscribing, writing meaningful reviews, sharing episodes and posting on social media, you are making a huge difference. 

Relationships with yourself and others are the most important work we can do. By learning how to have more authentic and vulnerable conversations, you begin to create inner peace, calm, clarity, contentment and compassion.

When you feel sad, lonely, anxious, afraid, angry, joyful or excited, tune into an episode based on what you might need or just binge listen instead of watching a show. I’m available 24-7 on any podcast platform. 🙂 

Below are the 10 most downloaded episodes.

Make a commitment to take care of yourself. I’m here to cheer you on! 

#1 - Episode 47 - Healing From Childhood Emotional Neglect with Dr. Jonice Webb

#2 - Episode 148 - The Fawn Response; The Origin of People Pleasing

#3 - Episode 28 - It's Not Always Depression with Hilary Jacobs Hendel 

#4 - Episode 151 - The Freeze Response & How to Work through It 

#5 - Episode 147 - Gaslighting in Relationships

#6 - Episode 153 - 10 Tips to Overcoming Your Fear of Rejection

#7 - Episode 144 - The Hard Truths About Relationships

#8 - Episode 152 - Healing Your Insecurities

#9 - Episode 142 - How Avoidance Coping Keeps You Stuck

#10 - Episode 115 - Triangulation: A Toxic Relationship Pattern

 

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

Tips to Keep Your Mental Health in Check During Covid and These Uncertain Times

Tips to Keep Your Mental Health in Check During Covid and These Uncertain Times

CoolRevolution had the privilege of being part of a virtual conference hosted by Women of Westfield, a network of women from all walks of life, who are interested in bettering their community and building relationships with other like-minded women. Kristen Boise, a marriage and family therapist at Pathways to Healing Counseling gave us all tips on how to navigate all the uncertainties happening around us because of Covid and this pandemic that just continues to spread and wreak havoc on our lives in so many ways. 

The first thing to know: You’re not alone. 

“Everyone is struggling on some level,” Kristen said. “Everyone is afraid or uncertain right now.”

To help us get through, Kristen offered 10 tips. Instead of trying to tackle all 10 right now, pick just one thing from this list to do right now and focus on it in the week ahead. Little steps can go a long way.

 

Tip No. 1 - Deep Breathe.

Take five to six breaths – inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth – every hour. Yes, hourly. You can use any breathing technique that you are comfortable with. Kristen prefers to do this with both feet planted on the floor. Breathing is essential for the nervous system and your body.

When things seem out of control, when the kids start to argue, or someone at work causes you stress, before doing anything, plant your feet on the floor, and breathe. Breathe before responding, reacting or over-reacting.

 

Tip No. 2 – Process. Connect & acknowledge emotions.

Chances are you did not learn this growing up. Most of us were taught to control our emotions. That’s not healthy. It’s important to process how you feel. To get started, watch the Disney Movie “Inside Out,” which is about 11-year-old Riley who goes through the emotions of joy, fear, anger, disgust and sadness when she moves to a new city. 

It’s important to process your emotions, regardless of what those emotions are. Ask yourself: What am I feeling? 

Ask the same things of your kids and friends. It’s a much more powerful question than: How are you doing? 

Teenagers are especially struggling right now, because of covid. One day they are in school, the next they are doing virtual learning. There is so much uncertainty, and they are missing out on all the things kids typically do, like hanging out with friends, going to events, going on dates. There is a feeling of isolation. 

Everyone is missing out on connections. So, check in with your teens, family members and friends by asking: What are you feeling?

 

Tip No. 3 – Movement. 

You need movement at least five times a week. 

“Covid is a trauma,” Kristen said. “Our world got flipped upside down. This can throw us off our routine.”

To help, move. That doesn’t mean you have to start training for a marathon or a big exercise program – although it can. It can mean walking 10 minutes on a treadmill, or walking 30 minutes around your neighborhood or doing yoga from an online video. Do what works best for you, and try to build your movement into a daily routine. 

 

Tip No. 4 – Watch expectations.

“Expectations are resentments waiting to happen,” Kristen says.

We often expect our spouses to be able to read our minds or know what we want or need. When they don’t say or do what we “expect” them to, then we get upset. This isn’t rational. 

“Only you know what you need in the moment,” she said. “You have to communicate.” 

A suggestion to better understand this is a Netflix documentary, “Call to Courage” by Brene Brown. 

 

Tip No. 5 – Boundaries. Boundaries. Boundaries. 

More than half the women who attended the virtual seminar admitted they often have trouble with boundaries and will agree to something they don’t want to do, just because they don’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings, or they don’t want to be rejected, or because they think it’s the right thing to do. 

“We cannot have healthy connections without healthy boundaries for yourself and in your communications,” Kristen said. “Boundaries are what feels good to you.” 

 

Tip No. 6 – Build a Support System.

This could be one person or several people, but you need a place where you can be vulnerable, authentic and real, and have someone who will allow you to share your emotions and feelings without judgment or giving advice. Likewise, when a friend comes to you, instead of jumping in to give advice or try to help solve the issue, let them share, and then lead with empathy.

 

Tip No. 7 – Limit News Exposure.

“Some people are listening to the news like they are drinking from a fire hose,” Kristen said. It’s leading to more feelings of uncertainty and angst. 

It’s OK to get the key headlines but obsessing about the news is not healthy. 

 

Tip No. 8 – Recognize and work through the ways you numb.

Everyone has a vice. Is it wine? Binging on Netflix. Overeating? Online shopping? Pills? 

There is a whole litany of ways people numb, because we don’t like to be uncomfortable. But, the best way out of feeling uncomfortable is to learn to sit in discomfort and work through it by breathing and processing feelings. The first step is awareness, Kristen said. The next step is to breathe. 

“Numbing is to shut down emotions that need to be processed,” she said. “So instead of moving to vices, ask: What am I feeling? Connect. Breathe.”

 

Tip No. 9 – Stop Shoulding on Yourself. 

The word “should” equals shame. 

“We ‘should’ all over ourselves,” she said. “I hear it in almost every conversation. I should have made a healthier meal. I should be eating all organic...”

Replace the word “should,” with “could.” 

 

Tip No. 10 – Listen. Read. Write. 

Journaling allows you to move through your emotions, and you have to get it out, otherwise, you loop the same thoughts in your mind. 

Instead, Kristen suggests being a witness to your own thoughts. Emotions are like waves, they come, peak and then go down. When you write down those feelings, it helps to work through them.

“It’s healthy to let out your own feelings,” she said. “You are letting your body free itself. When we let it out we get it out.” 

For more information on how to navigate these uncertain times and other tips on mental health, check out Kristen’s podcast, Close the Chapter

Also, check out “Unlocking Us,” or “Dare to Lead,” by Brene Brown. Kristen also likes Brendon Burchard’s podcast, The Brendon Show.

 

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

Dive a little deeper into this topic below

Change is an Inside Job

Change is an Inside Job

Where does your worth and value come from? We live in a society that looks outside of ourselves to feel good about who we are. We compare ourselves to others and feel less than and not good enough. We learn quickly this is an empty space that cannot be filled. We will never feel enough because there is always someone better looking, richer, smarter, thinner, prettier, more successful, wealthier, has a bigger house, more fit and the list goes on. So, how do we change this? 

Change truly is an inside job. It takes self-work to start the process. We have to take responsibility for our own stories and begin to unpack who we really are. Over time, we will stop looking to others to tell us we are good enough or worthy.  We have the ability to write our own ending by taking our power back. It begins with you.

We continue doing the same things and behaviors even if it makes us feel bad about ourselves because it’s easier. Our brains like repetition and patterns. This does not mean they are healthy for us.  

There are some essential steps to begin the process of change. 

  1. Ask yourself some key questions. Do you really want to change? Are you committed to whatever it takes to make the change? Are you ready to give up and let go of something that no longer serves you even if it makes you uncomfortable? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?  Are you willing to move through the fear to get to the other side?
  2. Own your own stuff. We can’t change anything unless we own it first. For example, if you want to create healthier relationships, then it’s important to take an inventory of how you have contributed to the issues. Maybe you need to improve your boundaries, how you communicate or your negativity.  Growth happens when we are uncomfortable. 
  3. Write down possible solutions. When you say, “I don’t know.” I challenge you to look deeper. I believe we don’t give ourselves enough credit and we often have a gut feeling and talk ourselves out of it.  
  4. Watch the self-talk. This can be the key killer to making change. The more negative self-talk, the more we won’t attempt to make a change. Write out the negative statement and then the opposite statement. We are not our thoughts. 
  5. Inaction keeps you stuck. Not taking any steps, even if they are baby steps, will keep you stuck. Try doing things differently every day. Make an intention to focus on what you want. Keep trying. Never give up. You are worth it! 

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-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

Dive a little deeper into this topic below

The Four Relationship Killers

The Four Relationship Killers | 1.18.2022

Have you ever wondered why some relationships make it while others fail? 

At a very early age, I developed a keen curiosity about people and relationships. I often wondered why people made certain choices like who they dated or married. I had a thirst and passion to find out answers. 

I came across the work of Dr. John Gottman, a well-known psychologist at the University of Washington and author of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, and immediately liked what he discovered during his research. 

Gottman studied more than 2,000 married couples over two decades and found four attitudes that most predict the dissolution of a relationship, especially in combination. They are criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling the four horsemen of the apocalypse.  He discovered patterns about how partners relate to each other that can be used to predict, with 94 percent accuracy, which marriages would succeed and fail. I found this to be powerful information. 

Let’s explore what these mean and how these might play out in your relationship.

Criticism is attacking your partner’s personality or character. Typically, it is with the intent of making someone right versus wrong. You might have said or heard these in your relationship, “Why are you so…?” Or, “You always or never…” It is healthy to talk about disagreements without attacking your partner’s personality or character in the process.  

Contempt is one step up from criticism and involves tearing down or being insulting toward your partner. These include insults, name calling, hostile humor, sarcasm or mockery and body language and tone of voice like sneering or rolling your eyes. Contempt for a partner is the most crucial indicator of divorce. 

Defensiveness is really about seeing yourself as the victim by warding off a perceived attack. Adopting a defensive stance in the middle of a conflict may be a natural response, yet it is not helpful in working through conflict. Making excuses like, “It’s not my fault…” or “That’s not true, you’re the one who…” Sometimes you will repeat yourself without paying attention to what the other person is saying. Or, maybe you “yes-but,” which is starting off agreeing but end up disagreeing. 

Finally, stonewalling is withdrawing from the relationship as a way to avoid conflict. Partners may think they are trying to be “neutral.” People who stonewall simply refuse to respond. For example, you may change the subject, physically leave the room, give a stony silence or mutter under your breath. 

All couples will engage in these types of behaviors at some point in their marriage. When the four horsemen take permanent residence, the relationship has a high likelihood of failing. It’s not the conflict that is the issue with how you handle it that makes the difference.

If your relationship is filled with these four issues, there is hope.  Take responsibility, change yourself and work together towards making improvements now. As Gottman made clear, with work and investment in overcoming these challenges, marriages can improve and become better.

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

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Are You Sleepwalking Through Your Life?

Are You Sleepwalking Through Your Life? | 1.11.2022

Do you feel stuck in a rut and doing the same old thing? So many people feel exactly the same way. You may not feel fulfilled with your life or hopeless that things can be different. When you start working on yourself, you will see your life and the world with a different set of lenses. It really does shift your life in a way you might not thought was possible. You may be seeing things through distorted or foggy lenses now and not living in the present. 

Once you begin the journey of working on your issues, you will begin separating  your issues from others’ and not take things as personally or reacting to what others say so quickly. It gives you a sense of freedom, peace and joy you may not have experienced before. 

How do you begin to wake up and live in the present? Below are some quick steps to start the process. 

  • Write a vision statement. Start writing about what you want and feel passionate about. What are things you dream about or love to do? When do you feel alive and fulfilled? What have you always wanted to do and your negative self-talk has kept you from pursuing it? Once you have your vision statement, post it on your mirror, wall or someplace you will see it daily. 
  • Make a vision board. If you have trouble with your vision statement, start making your vision board first. This will help you gain clarity. Cut out pictures from magazines and paste them onto the board. You can include places you would like to travel to, a job you might dream of doing, inspirational people and words, quotes or anything motivational. Hang this up and look at it regularly. 
  • Determine your blocks. Start exploring your blocks to waking up and being present. Is there a past issue or trauma you haven’t dealt with that needs to be worked through and removed as an obstacle? Do you have some beliefs or negative thoughts that play in your head as tapes? For example, you may believe, “I am not good enough. I am different. I have to be perfect. I am not worthy or unimportant.” It’s important to explore these and where they first started so you can work through them and learn how to shift these into positive self-statements. 
  • Trust and believe you can make a change. Do you feel hopeless to make a change? No matter what has happened in your life or how old you are, it is absolutely possible to change and have more peace and joy. It takes a commitment to working on you and setting things into motion by taking some daily action. It’s all about changing your thoughts and behaviors. Do it today!

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

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5 Things To Try When You Don’t Feel Good Enough

5 Things To Try When You Don't Feel Good Enough | 12.28.2021

Do you look outside of yourself to feel better and get worthiness? Do you think if I look better, make more money, have a bigger house, lose weight, drive a nicer car, I would be happier and feel good enough? We live in a society that places value on appearance, material items, how much money we make and the cars we drive. We look outside of ourselves for worth and value. This truly is a black hole and a moving target. It ends up being an empty well that never gets filled up.

Everyone wants to feel like we matter, we are loved and important. Worthiness does not come from outside of you. It is an inside job. It has to come from within. If we spent more time looking deeper within, we can start to explore the blocks preventing us from feeling worthy. 

Are you ready to dig deeper? Below are a few steps to begin working on stepping more into feeling better about who you are. 

  1. Notice your pattern. What are you doing to gain worthiness? Are you placing a high value on external things or your image? Awareness is the first step to changing it. We can’t change what we don’t see. 
  2. Identify your negative beliefs. What are the beliefs you have about yourself? I am not good enough. I am stupid. I am ugly. I am a failure. These are statements that keep you from believing you are worthy. It keeps you stuck. When we identify them, we can begin to change them. 
  3. Change your self-talk. This truly does make a difference. Start telling yourself, “I am smart. I am beautiful. I am worthy. I matter.” No one else is going to do this for us.  We are our own worst enemy sometimes. We treat ourselves like dirt, which brings us down. We need to be lifting ourselves up. 
  4. Create meaningful connections. Research shows that when we have meaningful connections (even just one), then we feel more valued, loved and worthy. Step out of your comfort zone to reach out and make deeper conversations with others. Get curious about who they are and what they feel passionate about. 
  5. Ask for help and support. Many of us learned growing up that it is weak to ask for help. It’s actually the opposite. It represents strength and courage. A support network is essential to healing and growth.  It starts by reaching out. You are worth it! 

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

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Step Into Your Worth

 Step Into Your Worth | 12.14.2021

We are all here for a purpose. A universal need is to feel loved, to feel important and like you matter. We all want to feel as if we are making a difference in someone’s life, in the work place, at home, etc. We try to achieve in order to fill this black hole in our lives. So, we become “doers.” We are going from one thing to the next and barely have time to breathe. During the process, we start feeling out of control, out of balance and losing parts of ourselves. We feel completely overwhelmed.

We are trying to please everyone while in the process we end up pleasing no one and feeling depleted, exhausted and anxious. We wake up one day to say why am I doing all of this? Who am I? 

We are sleep walking through our lives. When we wake up, decide what we want and what matters, our lives shift. It might be about working through the past so you don’t feel stuck. It might be working through the feelings of not being good enough at whatever it may be.

There is no such thing as perfect. We begin comparing ourselves to others and thinking there is something wrong with us because we aren’t Martha Stewart or able to work 90-100 hours a week or have the perfect kids or spouse. When we let go of the idea of having it “all together,” then we can focus on what really matters and what you value most. When we compare ourselves we become stuck because we are no longer focused on what we want; we are focused on what we don’t have or where we fall short. 

Everyone has a story. Every person has been hurt or experienced some level of pain in their lives. Every family has some sort of “Pathology” or unhealthy patterns because there is no such thing as perfect. We are human beings. 

Here are some quick steps that are powerful:

    1. Explore forgiveness. Forgiveness is about you, not the other person. It might be about forgiving yourself and giving yourself grace.
    2. Write out your vision. What matters to you? What do you value? What do you want to be different in your life? Look at work, family, friends, spiritual, health, relationships, parenting, etc. Vision boards are great! 
    3. Explore your own feelings & journal. We often don’t know what we are feeling because we are too busy to stop and think. Writing them down and what you are going through really does help because you are not keeping it inside.
    4. Build a support network. Talk to people that are going to lift you up in your vision and goals. You both can serve this role for each other. It helps keep you accountable for making progress towards where you want to go. 
    5. Set healthy boundaries. Boundaries are about taking responsibility for your own feelings and choices. We can control how we respond to others. We cannot control others and rescue or fix everything. We teach others how to treat us. 
    6. Remove the masks.
    7. Speak your truth. 
    8. Give yourself grace. It’s okay to make mistakes. These are just learning opportunities. We are all humans. These are the times that we learn the most and grow and evolve. 
    9. Believe in yourself. Work on your self-talk. If you need to clear out some stuff from the past, do it. When we tell ourselves how inadequate we are, then we stay in that place. When we accept our inadequacies, then we can move past them and just know this is part of the human experience. 
    10. Never give up. You are worth it. You are enough. Be who you are and who you were created to be because you are the only you in the world.

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

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Psychology of Star Wars

Psychology of Star Wars | 11.30.2021

The first three original Star Wars movies offer some deep and meaningful lessons woven throughout the story line. It’s interesting to look at them from a psychological perspective.  Even if you have not seen the movies, that is okay. There are some helpful themes that can be applied to daily life. 

The Jedi masters’ teachings are powerful. It is really about what we believe to be true that determines whether or not we have the “force.” Our beliefs determine the outcome and how we feel. If we focus on negative and hate towards yourself and others, then we are focusing on the dark side. If we try to see the good, spread love, support others and build connections, then we are focusing on the light side.  

Darth Vader believed he wasn’t enough. So, he shifted to the dark side to feel more powerful. In the end, when he allowed himself to feel, he connected to the light side. He always had the light within, which showed at the end of Return of the Jedi. Not feeling good enough drove a lot of his decisions and behaviors. He wanted to feel powerful and important.

Our beliefs play a huge role in how you see yourself and the world around you. Take time to be aware of your beliefs and how they shape how you feel. We all have so called dark and light within each of us. No one is all good or all bad. We all make mistakes and are imperfect. It’s how we look at these mistakes and feelings. Do you look for your worth by trying to be perfect or powerful by achieving? Do you focus on the negative and breed hate? 

Research shows that the happiest people feel all of their feelings, see they are imperfect, and work on building healthy connections with others. Start by exploring what you believe about yourself and make a choice to see the light within you.  

 

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

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What Are You Lying About?

What Are You Lying About? | 11.16.2021

Are you honest with yourself? Do you lie to others? Have you been asked to lie by keeping secrets? Have you told part of the truth but not everything? Do you ever find yourself exaggerating the truth for the attention or a better story? Do you ever tell a “white” lie? For example, if someone asks if you like their hair or what they are wearing, you say you do even when you don’t because you don’t want to hurt their feelings. 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are human. Lying is part of this human experience. It is part of this journey to teach and wake us up to the truth.  However, this is not giving people permission to lie. Lying is extremely toxic and causes much pain, hurt, harm and unhealthy patterns. 

Truth is essential. It is required to making a change. Where do we begin? 

  • Start by getting honest with yourself.  If you really want to make a change, don’t sabotage yourself by not being honest with you. For instance, if you want a better relationship, you need to start with getting honest about what is really happening. Don’t sweep long-standing patterns under the rug. Get courageous and face what you have put off. 
  • Write or talk about the truth. Have you been asked to keep secrets? It’s vital you share the secret with a safe person like a counselor in order to work through it and begin releasing it. Secrets are toxic and can eat away at you causing unnecessary stress and anxiety. It’s time to let it out, process through it and heal. 
  • Be mindful of how you communicate your truth. Speaking your truth with love and grace will bring more freedom and peace. Telling people whatever you think without a filter is not speaking your truth – it is just mean. It’s important to think about how you want to share your feelings or what you think before you speak it.
  • Lean into the discomfort. Change is sometimes uncomfortable. You might be afraid to face the truth. Do the opposite of what you normally do. Don’t run away from it. Face it and trust it will lead you on the road to healing and becoming more of who you are.

-Kristen D Boice M.A., LMFT, EMDR Trained

Do you want to join a community of souls wanting to grow, evolve, and on a healing journey?

I would love for you to join our free Close the Chapter Facebook community and check out my YouTube Channel where I post weekly videos with Mental Health Tips.

Dive a little deeper into this topic below