Behavioral Issues

Sometimes your therapist asks you a question that stops you in your tracks and completely shifts your perspective on a situation. For me, it was when my therapist asked me to picture my current situation as if it was a movie scene. Then came the breakthrough question: “What do you…

Everyone lies from time to time. Whether it’s to get out of work or spare someone’s feelings, lying every once in a while is normal and common. However, when someone lies frequently, they are known as a habitual liar. Lying often is harmful, and can even be a sign of…

Life can get stressful and overwhelming, and sometimes our methods of dealing with it are helpful in the short term but become more problematic over time. These unhelpful behaviors are referred to as “maladaptive behaviors” or, more specifically, actions or responses that are not suitable or effective in a given…

Your 12-year-old son keeps getting in trouble at school — for picking on his classmates, lying to his teacher, and even stealing other kids’ things. You think he’s just “acting out.” Until you find out he’s been sneaking out at night for the last 6 months.  It becomes apparent that…

The oncoming car ignores their red light and slams into the side of my Subaru as I turn left. My tires squeal in protest as I’m pushed sideways across the intersection by the impact, but before I know it, the crash is over. The tunnel vision wears off — I…

Aggression is hostile or violent behavior. It’s a woman yelling at her son for accidentally spilling his milk on the carpet. It’s a child pushing his friend down on the playground because she was playing with his favorite toy. It’s a girl snapping at her boyfriend because he didn’t invite…

Have you lied yet today? Maybe you took a sick day at work when really you’re feeling fine; maybe you said sorry to your significant other when you didn’t truly mean it; or, maybe you told your server that your chicken tasted great when it was just subpar. The thing…