The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Dwight Bain USA Today Newspaper asked readers  “What do you want the most?”  and the most common answer was to be happy. While this sounds reasonable, it’s actually quite a puzzle because happiness is very individualized and hard to broadly define. What makes one person happy may not have much effect on another, or might even annoy them. While the formula of what creates happiness is elusive,  (think of Thomas Jefferson’s writing about the “Pursuit of Happiness”),  the physical and psychological benefits of happiness are easy to track. Here’s a short list of the benefits of being happier. Happy people are better liked Happy people have more satisfying relationships with others Happy people have 13% fewer fights and arguments Happy students are 20% more likely to get “A” grades Happy teens are 10 times less likely to start smoking Happy people have an income that is roughly 7% higher Happy people have 10% fewer stress related illnesses Happ...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC Everyone does something wrong. It could be gossiping about a friend, belittling a spouse, inappropriate punishment of a kid, lying to a neighbor, or stealing from work. Regardless of the offense, there are steps that a person must take to demonstrate they have accepted responsibility for their wrongdoing. 1.        Acknowledge Internally. The first step a person takes is to admit what they did was wrong internally. This is the most critical step because it is not about what others see rather it is a condition of the heart. The person must recognize that their behavior was wrong or hurtful to another person and then choose to amend. Many people fake this first step in order to look good in front of others but without it, no real positive change can occur.  2.       Confess to Another. This step can be embarrassing and is often skipped for that reason. When a person has done wrong to a vic...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC I must admit that when my friend shared she had cancer, it evoked vast amounts of fear mostly because my understanding was lacking in this area. But now with the advancement of many medications, surgical procedures, types of chemotherapy or radiation, various treatment options, and many cases of cancer survivors, many forms of cancer are no longer as intimidating. Yet walking through this with my friend for the first time was daunting. While each experience with cancer is unique, having a base of what is nice, hard and informative to a patient is very useful. Here are a couple of tips from my friend, the conqueror. Some nice things that happened during treatment: Friends and family traveled from out of town to spend time and just sit. The meals offered to the entire family were a huge blessing and an enormous help. She was fortunate enough to have a supportive spouse take on additional responsibilities and give large amounts of grace. The...

By Christine Hammond Religious abuse exists in every type of faith. Oftentimes, it is not the religion itself that is the problem but the people within the practice. This is precisely why it is hard to get away. Most likely it began with an attraction of sorts, a need being filled, companionship, and a sense of belonging. But those positive feelings were soon met with conflicting emotions of isolation, inadequacy, guilt, shame, and distrust. The confusion feels like physical abuse without the marks. Others who have left the religion are shunned, disgraced, and humiliated. You want to pull away but are unsure of how. Try these steps. 1.        Learn the signs of religious abuse. Memorize and identify when they are being used against you. Saying in your head, “This is abusive behavior,” promotes awareness and empowerment. 2.        Get a new perspective by sidestepping religious rituals. This is not about abando...

By: Brian Murray, IMH “I used to spend so much time reacting and responding to everyone else that my life had no direction. Other people's lives, problems, and wants set the course for my life. Once I realized it was okay for me to think about and identify what I wanted, remarkable things began to take place in my life.” ― Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go: Hazelden Meditation Series 1 Corinthians 10:29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? How many times have you heard a young child when asked or told to do something respond with a rebellious "NO." Okay, lets take it to the next level, how many times have teenagers been asked or told to do something and they responded with a rebellious "NO." Okay, lets try this one more time, how many times has a grownup been asked or told to do something and they responded with a  boisterous "NO." Ironically thes...

By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH You have finally realized that you are married to a narcissist.   Everyone else around you already knew this and even warned you about him but for some reason you thought it would be different.   Maybe you believed that he would change for you and maybe he did before you got married but as soon as you walked down the aisle everything changed.   Suddenly this incredible dreamy person who swept you off your feet, met and even exceeded your every expectation, became this other alternate ego.   At first he convinced you that you were the problem and then you finally realized that he is. Now what do you do?   Well there are several obvious destructive options: have an affair, run to another county, develop an addiction, become even more depressed, gossip about him to a few hundred of your girlfriends, or end the marriage in divorce (which seems easy but is often very ugly).   Or instead you could learn to understand what yo...