Self-care should not be an attempt to overpower or conquer oneself, but rather the free experience of oneself. If conquering yourself—i.e., making yourself not angry, not sad, not nervous, etc.—is your primary aim, then chances are, however you go about the conquering, you will only succeeding in fortifying whatever neurosis you were struggling with in… Continue reading Self-Care vs. Coping Skills: how free do you want to be?
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Viktor Frankl on the “Will to Meaning”: an introduction to self-care
“I consider it a dangerous misconception of mental hygiene to assume that what man needs in the first place is equilibrium… a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of… Continue reading Viktor Frankl on the “Will to Meaning”: an introduction to self-care
Depression? Anxiety? A Therapist’s Guide to Staying out of Therapy
Why would a therapist write an article helping people avoid therapy? For the same reason a physical therapist would write an article helping people avoid injury. It's part of the gig. A therapist should be interested in helping people avoid a situation that requires therapy, and I truly believe that the obvious points I'm going… Continue reading Depression? Anxiety? A Therapist’s Guide to Staying out of Therapy
“He who despairs finds the eternal man” –Kierkegaard
The following piece was written a little over a year ago, but for some reason never made it to my blog. Reading it over again brought back some insights that I wanted to share with my readers. My hope is that it finds its way to people working through similar issues who might need a… Continue reading “He who despairs finds the eternal man” –Kierkegaard
Beating Anxiety: don’t kid yourself, worrying is not beneficial
Chronic worriers often tell themselves that worry is beneficial. The following is a short list of popular beliefs about the supposed benefits of worrying. 1) Worry helps me find better solutions to problems. 2) Worry motivates me to get things done. 3) Worry protects me from negative emotions. 4) Worry helps prevent negative outcomes. 5) … Continue reading Beating Anxiety: don’t kid yourself, worrying is not beneficial
Beating Anxiety: how mindfulness affects the worrying brain
Far from being the latest advance in big-gym yoga, mindfulness has been an ancient bedrock of mental health since there was such a thing as mental health. It is perhaps the most historically ubiquitous and thorough-going practice used in combating anxiety and increasing emotional well-being. This being the case, I am fascinated that mindfulness had… Continue reading Beating Anxiety: how mindfulness affects the worrying brain
3 Tips for New Dads: things that will make you a better man, if they don’t kill you first
Some men look forward to having kids all their life. Not me. The thought almost never crossed my mind for 35 years. At 25 I was married and content with life. The wife and I traveled a ton and went where we wanted when we wanted, spending ungodly amounts of money doing it, and answering… Continue reading 3 Tips for New Dads: things that will make you a better man, if they don’t kill you first
My Journey to Becoming a Therapist
I was awoken in the middle of the night by my older sister standing over my bed, “wake up, Eric. Wake up!” Sobbing with a look of terror on her face, what she was about to tell me would rattle me for decades. I’ll have to rewind a bit to give my reader a better… Continue reading My Journey to Becoming a Therapist
Beating Anxiety: 3 ways to control worrying
In a previous article I highlighted 5 popular beliefs about the supposed benefits of worry. I explained why there is no such thing and how worry only leads to more worry, less emotional maturity, and more entrenched fears. Here I want to finish what I began in that article and provide a few basic techniques… Continue reading Beating Anxiety: 3 ways to control worrying
Eric Hyde Counseling 
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