Hilary Valdez “Where your fear is. There is your task.” -Carl Jung Fear is part of being human. It’s okay to be afraid. People may suppress or deny fear, mistaking it for weakness. Fear protects us from danger and helps us stay alert to risk. Everyone, even the bravest Marine or Navy Seal feels fear at times. The difference is how they respond to it. The first step toward facing fear is to acknowledge it honestly. What if you and your group of Neanderthal homies were out hun

The Journey Inward Life is not a straight line. The journey at times can be terrifying, balanced by periods of boredom. At different points on my journey I pondered where was I going. What was my purpose? What am I? Who am I? My father would say, “You’re a smart guy, but you’re not thinking.” That didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy, but it was true. Inner confusion affects all of us at different stages in our lives. During therapeutic sessions, Sigmund Freud would go for walk

Single Parenting An important factor for mental health in children is the parent-child relationship. However, significant changes have...

Wounded Warriors With a graduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, I worked in Seattle, at the University of Washington’s Medical...

Suicide Prevention Month In 2024, Japan recorded 20,268 suicides. The most cited motives were health problems, economics, livelihood and...

Years ago, as an adventurous wild man, I went to place called Afognak, part of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of...

PTSD and Suicide Prevention Debriefing Marines after Operation Iraqi Freedom II was an intense therapeutic process. Marines were expected...

Life is motion. Motion is energy. Life changes people. Circumstances change. In the early stages of my life, I experienced significant,...

The Walk of Life Illness humbles us all, but it can also draw families closer in care, compassion, and connection. When my sisters and I...

Fate, Destiny, and Karma “You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it.” - Carl Jung Do you believe in Fate? Karma? Destiny?...

Relationship Challenges Are you still with the same romantic partner from high school? Well, that depends on your age. The road of...

The World You See A few years ago, I was in Rockford, Illinois, an idyllic leafy, tree-filled city, north of Chicago, close to Kenosha,...

Personal Growth During Vietnam my role as a bugler was to play taps while Marines were being buried. Grim duty. I played over 100...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY Women today make up almost half of all workers in the United States. An increasing number of women are either the sole...

To be an effective writer, every scribe knows they have to risk being transparent and honest. In this article you might figure out how...

Guys like to take things apart and blow things up. During life, all guys need to tune themselves up, readjust their outlook, and...

Children of Suicide One of my saddest memories as a trauma specialist was conducting a group therapy session for children. A Christmas...

“What’s right today is wrong tomorrow. It all depends on where you are; It all depends on when you are; It all depends on what you feel;...

Self-Management & Stress As we know, defensive behavior leads to resisting change. Stress management involves recognizing, accepting, and...

Conflict Resolution Lessons Decades ago, when I was a Federal Investigator with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., I attended...